Russia tests intercontinental ballistic missile

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
The Russian military on Thursday successfully test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile as part of regular efforts to check the readiness of Soviet-built missiles, a military spokesman said. The RS-18 Stiletto missile, also known as the SS-19 in the West, blasted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and its warhead hit a designated target on the Kura testing range on the Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia's Far East, Space Forces spokesman Alexei Kuznetsov said in a statement. Kuznetsov said the launch was intended to "confirm the missile's technical characteristics and reliability" as part of efforts to extend the lifetime of this type of missiles.