In an extreme show of force, Russia has test-fired a missile dubbed the 'Satan 2' and capable of carrying nuclear warheads. The test came as part of a military exercise that involved fighter jets and submarines with missiles fired from land, sea and air.
Projectiles were fired by long-range strategic bomber aircraft and nuclear subs from Russia's northern and Pacific fleets, with Russia's Ministry of Defence describing the exercise as a success, saying 'all assigned targets were engaged'. Watch footage of the launch here:
Credit: Russian Ministry of Defence
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In a statement, the Russian Ministry of Defence said: "In accordance with the Armed Forces Training Plan the Russian Federation conducted training on the management of Russia's Strategic Nuclear Forces.
"To participate in the training, forces and means of the ground, sea and aviation component of the Strategic Nuclear Forces of the Russian Federation were involved.
"From the State Plesetsk cosmodrome, the combat calculation of the Strategic Missile Forces launched the launch of the intercontinental ballistic missile Topol on the Kura test range."
Credit: Russian Ministry of Defence
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Vladimir Putin has been modernising the country's missile forces over the past year.
Back in October it was announced the country was going to begin building the 'Satan 2' bomb - a 40m nuclear weapon. And last week it was announced the country plans to test the superweapon - capable of wiping out an area the size of the United Kingdom or France.
The officially named RS-28 Sarmat missile has a top speed of 4.3 miles (7km) per second and has been specifically designed to get past anti-missile shield systems. The missile can contain up to 16 nuclear warheads.
Military expert Dr Paul Craig Roberts has previously described how 'five or six' of the Russian missiles could wipe out the entire US east coast.
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Credit: Russian Ministry of Defence
He wrote in Global Research: "The atomic bombs that Washington dropped on these helpless civilian centres while the Japanese government was trying to surrender, were mere popguns compared to today's thermo-nuclear weapons
"One Russian SS-18 wipes out three-fourths of New York state for thousands of years.
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"Five or six of these 'Satans' as they are known by the US military, and the East Coast of the United States disappears."
In total there are about 15,000 nuclear weapons in the world, owned by a total of nine countries: American, Russia, Britain, France, China, Pakistan, India, Israel and North Korea. The majority of these are owned by the United States and Russia.
Topics: nuclear, World News, vladimir putin, Russia