Intercontinental ballistic rocket "Stilet" has reached its target

On Tuesday Russia's space troops operational crew carried out a successful training-military launching of an RS-18 intercontinental ballistic missile /SS-19, "Stilet"/ that has been part of Russia's strategic armament for over 25 years.

The missile was launched on Tuesday morning from the Baikonur space center.

The launching aims at confirming the input tactic and technical characteristics, including the missile complex's reliability when prolonging its exploitation period.

The space troops were carrying on constant monitoring of the starting itself as well as all the flight stages up to the final one.

Pre-launching operations, starting and flight of the missile have been realised in strict compliance with the planned program, the training targets on the "Kura" testing area /Kamchatka/ have been hit by all the six training and military blocks with the desired precision.

When considering the results of the fulfilled launching Space troops commander Colonel-General Anatoli Perminov highly assessed professionalism of the operational crew from the Baikonur cosmodrome experimental department.

A light-class missile-carrier, "Rokot", has been converted from an RS-18B intercontinental ballistic missile at the Khrunichev state space center. It is launched from the Plesetsk state experimental cosmodrome /in the north of the European part of Russia/. Moreover, the "Mashinostroyeniye" research-and-production enterprise is currently converting a light-class missile-carrier, "Strela", from this intercontinental ballistic missile which is to be launched from the Svobodny space center /Russia's Far East/.

The first modification of the RS-18 intercontinental ballistic missile /SS-19, "Stilet"/ was taken to the armory in 1975, while the next one with improved tactic and technical characteristics in 1980, the press service reported. Its characteristics are as follows: launching mass - 105.6 tons, length - 24 meters, diameter - 2.5 meters, number of stages - 2, warhead - separable, engine - liquid-propellant rocket /NDMG and AT/, launching - gas-dynamic, "hot" from a transport launching container of a separate-start underground silo.