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Russian army to be reequipped with Iskander-M missile systems in 2019 - Defense Ministry

In accordance with the state defense order, the manufacturer will hand a unit of the Iskander-M systems over to the Western Military District

Iskander-M mobile short-range ballistic missile launcher Mikhail Tereshchenko/TASS

Iskander-M mobile short-range ballistic missile launcher

© Mikhail Tereshchenko/TASS

MOSCOW, January 1. /TASS/. The missile troops of the Russian Ground Forces will be fully reequipped with the Iskander-M missile systems in 2019, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

"In 2019, the process of reequipping the missile troops of the Russian Ground Forces with the Iskander-M missile systems will be completed. In accordance with the state defense order, the manufacturer will hand a unit of the Iskander-M systems over to the Western Military District," the statement reads.

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About 200 new types of weapons will be tested at the Kapustin Yar range in Russia’s southern Astrakhan Region in 2019.

"In 2019, about 200 new types of weapons are planned to be tested, which is commensurate with the 2018 number and half as many as in 2017," the statement reads.

According to the ministry, the number of tests carried out at the site has been growing in the past two years. "As steps are being taken to implement the state rearmament program, the range of tested items will expand in the two years to come," the Defense Ministry stressed.

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