Russia confirms test launch of new, nuclear-capable ICBM

04/17/2024 / By Kevin Hughes

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation confirmed on Friday, April 12, that it had conducted a test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from the Kapustin Yar rocket launch complex in the Astrakhan Oblast in southern Russia.

As reported by the Russian military, its Strategic Missile Forces “successfully launched” an ICBM from a mobile ground-based missile system from Kapustin Yar. The test was reportedly successful and demonstrated “the high reliability of domestic missiles, ensuring the strategic security of the country.”

The Kremlin has refused to confirm what type of missile it test-fired, although it is almost certain that it was a nuclear-capable missile, and that the test was part of a state testing program for future missile systems.

Speculation is rife regarding what ICBM the Russian Defense Ministry was testing. Suggestions indicate that the Kremlin may have been testing a new version of the Topol mobile ICBM known as the Topol-ME, the same missile it conducted a test launch of around the same time last year. (Related: Russia’s nuclear-capable Satan II ICBM goes on active combat duty for the first time)

Russia possibly testing biggest missile in its nuclear arsenal

Very little is known about what kind of missile the Russians launched at Kapustin Yar. All the Defense Ministry would say in addition was that “the launch objectives were completed in full,” and that residents of the Astrakhan, Dagestan and Volgograd oblasts reported noticing white traces from the launch in the sky.

The launch was also conducted on the same day Russia celebrated Cosmonautics Day, commemorating the day in 1961 when cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person in outer space.

Once this missile enters active service it will be joining the Sarmat or Satan-2 ICBM, destined to be the largest missile in President Vladimir Putin’s nuclear arsenal.

Described as capable of bringing about an “unstoppable” apocalypse, the Satan-2 is a 208-ton intercontinental, silo-launched ICBM the size of a 14-story apartment building that can reach speeds of up to 15,880 miles per hour.

Like this mystery ICBM, the Satan-2 is expected to undergo more testing before going into active service. It has been plagued with launch delays and other technical difficulties, but the Russian Defense Ministry is expected to attempt a launch over the South Pole once it deals with its technical problems.

Among the biggest problems for Russia’s ICBM arsenal is the serious shortage in electrical components. The Russian Telegram channel “VChK-OGPU,” which is likely connected to the Russian Federal Security Service, reported that one of the major manufacturing facilities for Russian ICBMs, the Krasnoyarsk Machine-Building Plant in Siberia, is experiencing “a serious shortage” of components “for production of strategic missiles.”

“The electronics of the new RS-28 [Sarmat] missile system are largely of foreign origin and, due to sanctions, [they] are experiencing a serious shortage,” reported the channel. “Now all efforts are being made to somehow correct the situation with the supply of sanctioned electronics.”

Follow NuclearWeapons.news for more news about Russia’s nuclear-capable ballistic missiles.

Watch the video below about a Russian crew carrying out a combat training launch of a mobile-based solid-propellant Yars ICBM at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome.

This video is from the Cynthia’s Pursuit of Truth channel on Brighteon.com.