Russia test-launched a new nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile which President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday would make Moscow's enemies stop and think. Putin was reportedly shown on TV being told by the military that the long-awaited Sarmat missile had been test-launched for the first time from Plesetsk in northwest Russia and hit targets in the Kamchatka peninsula, nearly 6,000 km (3,700 miles) away, according to Reuters report.
Here are the 10 facts about the nuclear-capable Sarmat missile:
- Sarmat has been dubbed Satan 2 by Western analysts, it is among Russia's next-generation missiles that Putin has called "invincible," and which also include the Kinzhal and Avangard hypersonic missiles.
- Sarmat is an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of nuclear charges. The nuclear-capable missile can be deployed with 10 or more warheads on each missile.
- The Sarmat superheavy intercontinental ballistic missile is designed to elude anti-missile defence systems with a short initial boost phase, giving enemy surveillance systems a tiny window to track.
- Weighing over 200 tonnes and able to transport multiple warheads, the Russian President Vladimir Putin says the missile can hit any target on Earth.
- The Russian defence ministry said in a statement the test "successfully" took place at the Plesetsk cosmodrome in northern Russia. According to the ministry, the missile delivered training warheads to the Kura test range of the Kamchatka peninsula, in Russia's Far East. "Sarmat is the most powerful missile with the longest range of destruction of targets in the world, which will significantly increase the combat power of our country's strategic nuclear forces," the ministry said.
(With inputs from agencies)
