MOSCOW, December 16. /TASS/. Russia’s Strategic Missile Force will hold 16 missile launches in 2016, which is double the number of launches this year, Commander Col Gen Sergey Karakayev told reporters on Wednesday.
"Next year, 16 launches are planned, of which two launches for the purpose of extending the service life and 14 launches for the purpose of holding experimental tests of missile systems being developed, providing strategic missiles with combat capabilities and as part of training to practice control of the Russian Armed Forces," Karakayev said on the eve of Strategic Missile Force Day.
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This year, Russia’s Strategic Missile Force has carried out seven missile launches, of which one launch for practicing control of the Russian Armed Forces, two launches for experimental tests of combat capabilities for strategic missiles and three launches for experimental tests of missile systems being developed. One more launch was carried out "to liquidate missiles with the expired service life with the concurrent launch of space vehicles," the commander said.
Another launch is planned for December 2015 for experimental tests of combat capabilities, he added.
Karakayev told journalists on Tuesday that the Strategic Missile Force’s launch plan for this year had been fulfilled completely.