MOSCOW, October 8 (RIA Novosti) - A Volna ballistic missile, launched in the Barents Sea from the Borisoglebsk strategic submarine (Russia's Northern Fleet), hit a target in the Kura training area on Kamchatka (Russia's Far East), the Russian Defense ministry said Saturday.

The Volna two-stage ballistic missile is the oldest in the Navy's arsenal. The R-29R missile system (SS-N-18 Stingray in NATO classification) was developed by the Makeev State Rocket Design Bureau in the mid-1970s.

In the early 1980s, the RSM-50 missile, built on its platform, was adopted by the Navy. The missile was repeatedly modernized and upgraded in the subsequent period. In the latest modernization, a civilian version of the Volna was produced. It differs from the basic model in an additional solid-fuel engine that can put small spacecraft into a low-earth orbit.