Moscow tests new missile system
Monday, November 29, 2004 Posted: 1319 GMT (2119 HKT)

Putin says Russia is developing unique nuclear missile system.

MOSCOW, Russia (AP) -- Russia on Monday successfully tested a modernized
anti-ballistic missile system, the military said, in what an analyst

sign that the country was trying to answer the United States' withdrawal

the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.

Moscow tests new missile system
Monday, November 29, 2004 Posted: 1319 GMT (2119 HKT)

Putin says Russia is developing unique nuclear missile system.

MOSCOW, Russia (AP) -- Russia on Monday successfully tested a modernized
anti-ballistic missile system, the military said, in what an analyst called
a
sign that the country was trying to answer the United States' withdrawal
from
the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.

The test-firing of the missile, which can intercept and destroy other
missiles,
was aimed at certifying it for further use, said a Space Troops spokesman
who
declined to give his name.

He said the missile's technical performance was flawless during the launch
that
took place at 11 a.m. Moscow time (0800 GMT) at the Sary-Shagan testing
range
in the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan.

The Interfax news agency said Monday that the missile was an A-135, which
the
Russian military has been armed with since the early 1950s.

Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov reported to President Vladimir Putin about
the
successful test, according to the Interfax news agency.

"The missile accurately hit the training target," the agency quoted Ivanov
as
saying.

Ivanov told Putin that his ministry would "further perfect and modernize
the
anti-ballistic missile system," Interfax reported.

Russia reacted calmly when Washington withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic
Missile
Treaty in 2002 in order to develop a nationwide missile shield. But Moscow
has
since complained about Washington's plans to build new low-yield nuclear
weapons.

Last month, Putin said Russia was developing a new nuclear missile system
unlike any weapon held by other nuclear powers.

In the past year, Russian defense officials have also made several
announcements about new weapons.

Alexander Pikayev, a senior analyst with Moscow's Institute for Global
Economy
and International Relations, said Monday's test signaled that Russia had
stepped up work on its anti-missile defense system program in response to
the
Unites State's unilateral withdrawal from the ABM treaty.

He said that over the past 10 years, Russia had tested its anti-ballistic
missiles "extremely rarely."

Earlier this year, Russia announced plans to test-fire a mobile version of
the
new Topol-M missile before the year's end and commission it in 2005.

Topol-Ms have a range of about 6,000 miles (9,650 kilometers) and
reportedly
can maneuver in ways that are difficult to detect. The missile has been
deployed in silos since 1998.