MOSCOW, April 26. /TASS/. Russia’s Aerospace Force has successfully test-launched a new interceptor missile of the country’s anti-ballistic missile (ABM) defense system at the Sary-Shagan proving ground in Kazakhstan, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Monday.
"The combat team of the Aerospace Force’s air and anti-ballistic missile defense troops conducted another successful test-launch of a new missile of the Russian anti-ballistic missile defense system at the Sary-Shagan proving ground (the Republic of Kazakhstan)," the ministry said in a statement.
As Aerospace Force Anti-Ballistic Missile Defense Formation Major General Sergei Grabchuk said, "the ABM system’s new interceptor missile reliably proved its inherent characteristics while the combat teams successfully accomplished the task, striking a mock target with the required accuracy."
The general earlier said in an interview with the Defense Ministry’s Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper that the latest interceptor missiles would make it possible to boost the combat capabilities and improve the characteristics of the country’s new ABM system.
As he specified, an interceptor missile that destroys enemy warheads develops a speed of over 3 km/s or more than four times the speed of a Kalashnikov assault rifle’s bullet.
The ABM system operated by Russia’s Aerospace Force is designated to shield the country against airspace attack weapons.