Military Commissions First Unit of New Mobile ICBMs

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http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2006/12/05/014.html

Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said Monday that the military was commissioning its first unit of new intercontinental ballistic missiles mounted on mobile launchers.

The new version of Topol-M missiles are "capable of penetrating multi-echeloned missile defense systems," Ivanov said in televised remarks at the start of a Cabinet session chaired by President Vladimir Putin. snip

The Topol-M missiles, capable of hitting targets more than 10,000 kilometers away, have so far been deployed only in silos. Its new version, which will be mounted on a heavy, off-road vehicle, makes it harder for an enemy to track it down.

Ivanov said earlier this year that the Strategic Missile Forces would get 69 Topol-M missiles by 2015; Russia so far has deployed about 40 silo-based Topol-M missiles. snip

Washington withdrew in 2002 from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in order to deploy a national missile-defense shield -- a move opposed by Russia, which said the pact was a key element of international security. Moscow has also bristled at NATO's eastward expansion and warned that the redeployment of U.S. forces closer to Russian borders threatened its security.