The Russian Defence Ministry announced on Wednesday (June 1) that its Strategic Missile Forces has been conducting exercises with its Yars mobile ground-based missile system in Russia’s Ivanovo region.
Its report reads: “In the Ivanovo region, autonomous launchers of the Yars mobile ground-based missile system of the Teikovsky formation of the Strategic Missile Forces perform intensive manoeuvring actions on combat patrol routes as part of the exercises.
“Strategic rocket men are working on the issues of bringing missile systems to field positions, making marches up to 100km long, dispersing units with a change in field positions, their engineering equipment, organizing camouflage and combat security.”
And around 1,000 military personnel were said to be involved in the exercise, Russian news agency Interfax reports.
The thermonuclear RS-24 Yars ballistic missile can reportedly carry up to 10 warheads and has a range of about 12,000km.
It is said to weigh around 49.6 tonnes and can whiz through the air at an alarming speed of 24,500 kilometres per hour.
The terrifying missile was put on display in Moscow during Victory Day earlier this month, Russia’s celebration for defeating the Nazis in the Second World War which involves a military parade.
Dubbed the “monster missile”, it is an intercontinental ballistic missile that can be launched on the road or from nuclear silos.
This is a breaking story. More to follow.