Russia has successfully fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile.
Russian Defense Ministry officials say the Bulava missile was launched Thursday from a Russian nuclear submarine. Its warheads struck their designated targets on Russia's far-eastern Kamchatka Peninsula.
The Bulava missile has a range of 10,000 kilometers and can carry six individually targeted nuclear warheads. Some previous tests of the missile failed and Russia appointed a commission to investigate.
Bulava missiles will be deployed in new Borei-class nuclear submarines - the first of which is to be commissioned this year. News media reports in Russia say the Bulava missile has the ability to penetrate any future missile shield.
The Bulava test comes as the United States has reached agreement on deploying an anti-missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic. The plan to put 10 missiles in Poland and tracking radar in the Czech Republic has angered Russia. But U.S. officials say the system is designed only to counter potential threats from rogue states that develop missiles that could threaten the U.S. and its allies.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
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