On March 26, Russia conducted the sixth flight test of its anti-satellite missile system, known as the PL-19/Nudol. The test launch reportedly took place at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, a spaceport in western Russia approximately 800 kilometers north of Moscow. This was the fourth successful fight test of the system, and the first to launch the...
U.S. officials report that Russia has increased deployment of an allegedly INF-violating cruise missile. During a March 20 hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Republican Deb Fischer asked if Russia was increasing its production and deployment of the cruise missile. U.S. STRATCOM Commander General John Hyten, responded, “Yes.” Christopher Ford, the Assistant Secretary of...
On March 12, a Russian official announced that Moscow will accelerate the delivery of S-400 air and missile defense systems to Turkey due to a request from Ankara. “Turkey expressed a wish to accelerate its implementation and we managed to find the most appropriate solution as we agreed to accelerate the contract’s implementation, so I...
Russia’s Caspian Fleet flagship, the RFS Tatarstan (691), conducted live firing exercises at sea. Speaking to TASS News Agency, Russian military spokesman Vadim Astafyev said: “The crew of the Tatarstan missile ship has successfully hit air, sea and shore targets with various types of shipboard weapons, including the AK-630M artillery system, the AK-176M artillery mount...
On March 11, Russia released footage of its new ‘Kinzhal’ nuclear-capable air-launched missile. The Kinzhal was first announced by Putin earlier this month, in his State of the Union to Russia’s Federal Assembly. Putin claimed that the Kinzhal’s “unique flight characteristics of the high-speed carrier aircraft allow the missile to be delivered to the point...
In a speech on March 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the development of new nuclear delivery systems capable of evading U.S. missile defenses. The State of the Union address officially unveiled two new capabilities: a low-flying, nuclear-armed, and reportedly nuclear-powered cruise missile and a submarine-launched, long-range, nuclear-tipped torpedo. “The containment of Russia didn’t succeed,”...
On February 12, Russian officials announced they had conducted a successful test launch of a new anti-ballistic missile interceptor. According to the deputy commander of the Air and Space Defense Alliance, Andrei Prikhodko, “The missile’s tactical and technical characteristics regarding the range, precision and operational lifetime are significantly higher compared to present-day weapons.” Reports indicate...
On February 5, Russian state-run media reported that the country has permanently deployed Iskander missiles to its Kaliningrad exclave bordering Poland and Lithuania. Russia previously deployed the advanced missile system to Kaliningrad in December 2017, a reportedly “temporary” move in response to a U.S. build up of forces in Europe. The Iskander (NATO designation: SS-26...
On January 10, Russian officials acknowledged plans to deploy a second S-400 air defense division to occupied Crimea. Vadim Astafyev, Russia’s Southern Military District spokesman, told the state-run TASS news agency that the incoming system would be placed on combat duty in Crimea “soon.” The first S-400 division was earmarked for delivery in July 2016...
On January 18, Russian state-run news agency TASS announced that Moscow has begun delivery of S-400 Triumf air defense missile systems to China. “The implementation of the contract has begun, the first shipment has been sent to China,” a source familiar with the sale told TASS. The shipment reportedly includes a control station, a radar...
