Russia Will Increase Its Ballistic Armed Forces, Missile Troop Commander: Nothing Is Affordable

JAKARTA - Russia's senior military commander said on Monday his country plans to upgrade ballistic weaponry with a new strategic missile system, planning a maximum-distance launch and possibly increasing testing in response to rising external threats.

Commander of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces Colonel General Sergei Karakayev said the country planned the launch of a maximum distance test as part of testing the new system.

"In terms of range, there is no place that our missile cannot reach," the Russian state news agency RIA quoted Colonel General Karakayev as saying to Krasnaya Zvezda.

He said Russia may increase the intensity of testing its advanced missile weapons if external threats increase.

For the first time, Russia is publicly developing a new intercontinental ballistic missile system, Osina, saying the introduction of the new missile into combat and a number of new missile systems is a priority.

He further said Russia was completing the development of a missile system similar to its new medium-range hypersonic ballistic missile known as Oreshnik, which President Vladimir Putin said would soon be mass-produced.

Colonel General Karakayev said the new Russian state armament development program would consider various options for Russia's development of strategic offensive weapons, considering similar steps by the US following the end of the New START nuclear weapons agreement between the two countries by 2026.

Colonel General Karakayev said Russia had not ruled out the possibility of increasing the number of warheads on deployed missiles after the New START agreement ended, in response to similar actions by the United States.

He also said Moscow and Washington continued to warn each other 24 hours about any test launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine-launched ballistic missiles.

The Russian weapons program ensures Russia's strategic missile forces are equipped with a mobile missile system, Colonel General Karakayev said.

"Division of missiles equipped with a mobile-based missile system will be a decisive means to cause devastating damage to the enemy in retaliatory attacks, due to its high maneuverability and defense capabilities, particularly in the context of deploying US missile defense systems," he said.