Russia to Test New Nuclear Missiles By Year's End

After several delays, Russia now plans to test-launch before the end of the year its new generation of nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles, which it says will be able to penetrate the defensive shield of the United States, The Independent reported on Tuesday.

Called the Sarmat, Moscow says it will have an 11,000-kilometer range and a payload of up to 15 warheads that can reportedly destroy an area the size of Texas and evade missile defenses with multiple hypersonic warheads. Its launch silos also will reportedly be built to withstand seven nuclear strikes.

Outside experts, however, doubt the validity of some of these claims by the Russians.

In any case, Moscow says it expects the missile to enter service by the beginning of the next decade as part of its ongoing nuclear modernization.

The test launch of the weapon, which has been in the works since 2009, will be held at the Plesetsk testing ground in west Russia, according to the Daily Mail.

'The main aim is to check the rocket's systems at the moment of leaving the silo, the switching on of the Sarmat's first stage and the following five seconds [of flight],' a source told Kommersant newspaper.

Russia first unveiled images of its largest ever nuclear missile during a Victory Day rehearsal last year.

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