Moscow launches strategic drills with nuclear-capable Yars ICBM system

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
29 Mar 2023 08:39

The Russian Defense Ministry says 3,000 troops and over 300 "pieces of equipment" will partake in the exercises.

A Russian Yars intercontinental ballistic missile system in Victory Day Parade in Red Square in Moscow, Russia, June 24, 2020 (Reuters)

Moscow announced on Wednesday that it began military exercises including thousands of troops, during which Russian forces will launch the nuclear-capable Yars intercontinental ballistic missile system, a replacement to Russia's Topol system.

“In total, more than 3,000 military personnel and about 300 pieces of equipment are involved in the exercises,” the Defense Ministry said on Telegram.

The Yars ICBM, dubbed by Putin as part of the country's "invincible weapons" due to the lack of publicly recorded anti-air missiles that can intercept it, has a reported range of 12,000 km and travels at a speed over 20 times the speed of sound - over Mach 20 or 24,500 km/h.

The advanced missile system can also be launched from silos or loaded on a truck for mobility.

Military forces will conduct drills using the Yars missile system in three different Russian regions, the Defense Ministry said.

“Also, strategic missilemen will carry out a set of measures to camouflage and counter modern aerial reconnaissance means in cooperation with formations and units of the Central Military District and the Aerospace Forces.”

Russia boasts hypersonic ICBM inventory

In December 2022, Russia announced that a regiment armed with Avangard missiles conducted combat duty at the Yasnenskoye missile formation in the Orenburg Region of the southern Urals.

The Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle can fly through the dense layers of the atmosphere at up to Mach 27 (about 32,000 kilometers per hour), performing direction and altitude maneuvers, and overcoming any missile defenses.

The missile system with the hypersonic glide vehicle will improve the Russian Strategic Missile Force's combat capabilities, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly unveiled the system in 2018, and it has since been projected as the cornerstone of the country's hypersonic capabilities.