Russia to launch new test of Sarmat strategic missile

MOSCOW - Russia will soon hold another pop-up test of its latest Sarmat intercontinental missile at the Plesetsk cosmodrome, said Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff of the Russian Army on Tuesday.

"The first launch of this rocket took place in late December last year. Currently, the Plesetsk cosmodrome is in full swing preparations for the next throw test," Gerasimov told reporters here.

The general thought Sarmat superior in its characteristics to all existing types of intercontinental ballistic missiles.

"It has a shortened active phase of the flight, and it has enhanced capabilities to overcome missile defense, which is capable of carrying large quantities of ammunition and enormous power," the state-owned RIA Novosti news agency quoted the general as saying.

The Plesetsk cosmodrome is a Russian spaceport located in northwestern Russia, about 800 km north of Moscow.

In his annual address to parliament on March 1, President Vladimir Putin said Russia has begun testing Sarmat which has "practically no range limits" and can penetrate any missile shield.