Russia has successfully tested a submarine-based inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM), the Defense Ministry said Wednesday. “The Sineva ICBM was launched from the underwater position. The warhead reached targets at the Kura range on the Kamchatka Peninsula,” the ministry’s press service said.
The Sineva was launched by the Tula nuclear-powered submarine in the Barents Sea, a marginal sea in the Arctic Ocean, to test the reliability of marine strategic nuclear forces, according to the ministry.
The Sineva, which is a liquid-propellant missile with a maximum range of over 10,000 km and capable of carrying four to 10 nuclear warheads, has been in Russian Navy service since July 2007.
It will remain to be Russia’s principal ICBM for sea deployment until 2030, as it was designed as an alternative for Bulava, Russia’s most advanced three-stage solid fuel ICBM.