Article Posted on : - Jul 01, 2010

A file photo

MOSCOW (BNS): The Strategic Missile Forces of Russia has received the RS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missile system which has been put on combat duty, according to a news report.

"One of the RS-24 systems had already been delivered to the Strategic Rocket Forces and put on combat duty," the chief designer of the Moscow Heat Engineering Institute, which produced the new weapon system, was quoted as saying by Itar-Tass news agency on Wednesday.

The SMF had intended to deploy the new-generation ICBMs in its fleet by 2009.

The missile was first tested in May 29, 2007.

The RS-24 Yars is a new-generation intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying multiple warheads. The ICBM has been designed to replace the Soviet-era SS-18 and SS-19 missiles.

The Yars missile has been designed for deployment both in silos and on mobile platforms. Together with the Topol-M single-warhead ICBM, the Yars is slated to constitute the core of Russia's Strategic Missile Forces in future.