Russia Successfully Launches Ballistic Missile

[Ryan Ruck]

Possibly the reason for the stepped up alert at NORAD?

Russia Successfully Launches Ballistic Missile

On Friday, Russia successfully launched a ballistic missile from Barents Sea to earth land in the eastern Kamchatka Peninsula, in combat training, a defense press service reported.

As per the press statement by defense press service, the RSM-54 missile was fired from the submarine at 10:25 Moscow time (0625 GMT) from the Barents Sea in the direction of the Kura testing range on the Kamchatka Peninsula.

"The successful launch confirmed the high readiness of the maritime strategic nuclear forces and the efficiency of the tactical control system," a defense official said in release.

[Sean Osborne]

RSM-54 "Sineva" ICBM has a range of 7,000 km (4350 miles).

Using my "great circle" approach to analyze this test - which is a repeat of an earlier test of the same SLBM missile system in August of last year -possible reciprocal bearings of the launch-to-target (Barentz Sea to Kura impact range, Kamchatka) might make a real-world target any location on an arc from Israel to central Alaska.