MOSCOW. April 12 (Interfax) - The Russian military launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from the Kapustin Yar range in Russia's Astrakhan region on Friday.
"This launch was carried out as part of state tests of prospective missile systems and in order to prove the stability of missiles present in the arsenal," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
The launch involved a missile from a mobile missile system. A combat crew of the Strategic Rocket Forces launched the missile, it said.
"The results achieved confirm the high reliability of Russian missiles in terms of maintaining the Russian Federation's strategic security. The goals of the launch have been fully accomplished," the ministry's statement said.
The Defense Ministry said earlier in January that the Russian Strategic Missile Forces would carry out seven ICBM training and test launches in 2024.
Russian Strategic Missile Forces Commander Sergei Karakayev said previously on December 16, 2023 that Russia informs the United States at least 24 hours prior to any scheduled launch of its ICBMs or submarine-launched ballistic missiles.
"The United States of America also provides the same information," Karakayev said at the time in an interview with the Defense Ministry's newspaper.
The Russian Strategic Missile Forces is a service branch of the Russian Armed Forces and the main component of the country's strategic nuclear forces.
According to official information, the Kapustin Yar range's experimental and test facilities and its combat fields are located in four Russian regions (Astrakhan, Volgograd, Saratov and Orenburg) and five Kazakh regions (West Kazakhstan, Aktobe, Karaganda, Kyzylorda, and Zhambyl), occupying a land area of almost 9.5 million hectares.
The test ranges and the measuring system of the Kapustin Yar range allow for testing warheads, "including their prospective configurations in the entire range of possible conditions of delivery in the interests of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces," the Defense Ministry previously said.
The ministry said earlier that Russian forces are developing elements and systems of the national missile defense system using the Kapustin Yar - Balkhash route.