Article Posted on : - Dec 20, 2010

SS-18 Satan ICBM.

MOSCOW (BNS): Russia will continue to deploy SS-18 Satan heavy intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) as part of the country's nuclear arsenal until at least 2026, the commander of Strategic Missile Forces (SMF) said Friday.

According to a news report by RIA Novosti, the service life of the missile system equipped with SS-18 Satan missiles has been extended.

"The missile is routinely tested and currently there are no serious technical restrictions in the system to continue extending its service life," said Lt. Gen. Sergei Karakayev, commander of SMF.

Satan, which can carry 10 independently targeted nuclear charges, was designed at the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau in Dnepropetrovsk, in the south of central Ukraine.

The missile has a maximum range of 11,000 km with a launch mass of over 210 tonnes and a payload of 8.8 tonnes.