MOSCOW, May 16 (RIA Novosti) - A regiment of the Strategic Missile Forces deployed in Teikovo, Ivanovo Region (Central Federal District) will be rearmed with the Topol-M mobile missile systems.
Forces commander Nikolai Solovtsov said at the enlarged session of the force's military council that the rearmament timeframe and procedure had been coordinated.
The fourth launch of a Topol-M missile was carried out successfully in December 2004, completing the program of state trials of the system created by the group of chief designer Yuri Solomonov in the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology.
The missile is a mobile analogue of the silo-launched missile of the same name, which was put on combat duty in December 1997 in Tatishchevo outside Saratov. As of now, one more regiment of the Tatishchevo missile group is being rearmed with the silo-launched Topol-M systems.
The mobile Topol-M system has cross-country chassis and can avoid space reconnaissance satellites and AWACS planes. Its warhead, which flies at supersonic speeds, can maneuver very smartly, evading modern or even prospective air defense systems.
The press service of the Strategic Missile Forces reports that the troops are working to confirm and prolong the service life of their missiles. "The task of maintaining missiles in combat readiness is fulfilled despite the physical aging of weapons and hardware," runs the statement by the press service.
