Russia test fires new ABM system that can hit satellites in space

Russia has successfully test fired an anti-ballistic missile system designed to protect against both air and space attacks, its defense ministry announced, amid Western media reports insisting that it is capable of destroying Western satellites.

“At the Sary-Shagan testing range (Republic of Kazakhstan), a combat crew of the air and missile defense troops of the Aerospace Forces successfully carried out a regular test launch of a new missile of the Russian missile defense system,” the Defense Ministry declared on Thursday as quoted by the local media, adding that the system is already in service with the country’s Aerospace Forces.

Commander of the 1st Army of Special Air and Anti-Ballistic Missile Defense, Lieutenant General Andrey Demin, further underlined that the testing “reliably confirmed the missile’s characteristics,” as the combat crew successfully struck their simulated target.

Other reports identified the missile as the “new-age 6,000 miles-per-hour hypersonic Zircon” that was launched from the Admiral Gorshkov frigate in the White Sea, striking a naval target 450 kilometers away in the Barents Sea at a speed of over Mach 8.

According to another report by the UK-based Daily Mail, the test firing was followed by “another weapon to be used on US cities in the event of a nuclear war.”

The paper cited Russian media naming the “devastating weapon” as Russian President Vladimir Putin's “weapon of choice to wipe out American cities in the event of nuclear war.”

The development came following reports that the US had successfully tested an SM-3 ABM against a simulated intercontinental ballistic missile earlier this month, prompting Moscow to accuse Washington of providing “false information” about its capabilities.

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This is while the commander of the US Space Command, Gen. John Raymond, claimed in April that Russia’s extra-terrestrial interceptor missiles pose a challenge to American interests in near space, insisting that this Russian system is even capable of destroying satellites in low Earth orbit.

“The threats to US space systems and [their] allies are real, serious and increasing,” Raymond further warned, adding: “The United States is ready and committed to deterring aggression and defending the nation, our allies, and US interests from hostile acts in space.”

The British publication also reported that Russia is developing a mobile long-range interceptor missile, dubbed 14Ts033 Nudol, that “may be used on the new A-235 missile defense system, which is currently being developed to protect Moscow’s airspace.”

It further cited “experts” as saying that it can reach Mach 12, with a 620-mile range and is intended to destroy the warheads of intercontinental ballistic missiles and “spacecraft” in low Earth orbits.

It also quoted Raymond as vowing: “The United States is ready and committed to deterring aggression and defending the nation, our allies, and US interests from hostile acts in space.”

Last year, Russia's Aerospace Forces carried out another successful launch of a new interceptor missile at the Sary Shagan testing range.

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