MOSCOW. Oct 28 (Interfax) - The Russian military has carried out another test launch of a new interceptor missile of Russia's missile defense system at a site in Kazakhstan, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.
"A unit of the [Russian] Aerospace Forces' air defense and missile defense forces conducted another successful test launch of a new missile of the Russian missile defense system at the Sary-Shagan site (Kazakhstan)," the Defense Ministry said.
"Following a series of trials, the new interceptor missile of the missile defense system reliably confirmed its built-in characteristics, while the units operating it successfully accomplished their set task by engaging a simulated target with the desired accuracy," commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces' missile defense force Maj. Gen. Sergei Grabchuk said.
Commander of the United States Space Command John Raymond said in April that tests of a Russian interceptor missile pose a challenge to U.S. interests in near space. Raymond said that this Russian system is capable of destroying satellites in low Earth orbit.
Grabchuk said in January that Moscow's missile defense system is undergoing an upgrade, which will help bolster its capabilities.
The airspace over Moscow is protected by a second-generation system, which entered combat duty in 1995.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in June 2019 that the modernization of the Moscow missile defense system is expected to be completed by 2022.
The Moscow missile defense system is equipped with A-135 complexes with short-range intercept missiles.
It was reported earlier that Russia is developing a mobile deployment long-range (extraterrestrial) intercept antimissile, 14Ts033 Nudol. According to media reports, the two-stage antimissile 14Ts033 may be used on the new A-235 missile defense system, which is being developed to protect Moscow's airspace alongside the A-135 system. The new missile is intended to destroy the warheads of intercontinental ballistic missiles and spacecraft in low Earth orbits.