Russia says it launched mobile ICBM from Plesetsk Cosmodrome

Russia said Friday that it launched a mobile solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the northwestern Arkhangelsk region.

The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that it successfully conducted the combat training launch of the “nuclear-capable” ICBM, which reached a designated area at the Kura training ground in the Kamchatka region of Russia’s Far East.

“The Strategic Missile Forces practiced the procedure for redeploying a mobile intercontinental ballistic missile launch battery to a remote area, preparing for and conducting the launch,” the statement said.

It added that the purpose of the combat training launch was to confirm the “tactical, technical, and flight characteristics of the missile system.”

The ministry did not identify the missile used in the exercise.

Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces are responsible for the country’s land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles and form a key component of its nuclear deterrent.

In May, the Defense Ministry said it launched a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome toward the Kura training ground during nuclear drills that also involved neighboring Belarus.