As of December 2010, the Russian strategic forces included
611 strategic delivery platforms,
which can carry up to 2679
nuclear warheads. The Strategic Rocket Forces
have 375 operational missile systems of four types that can carry 1259 warheads.
The strategic fleet includes 12 strategic missile
submarines. Their 160 missiles can carry 576 nuclear warheads.
Strategic aviation bomber force consists
of 76 bombers that can carry up to 844 long-range cruise missiles.
In October 2010 the space-based tier of the early
warning system included three operational satellites on highly
elliptical orbits.
After an exchange of ratification documents between the United States and Russia, which took place in Munich on February 5, 2011, the New START treaty formally entered into force. Among other things, this means that the United States and Russia...
On February 1st, 2011 the Space Forces conducted a launch of a Rockot space launcher (converted UR-100NUTTH missile) with the Geo-IK-2 geodetic satellite. The launch was performed at 17:00 MSK (14:00 UTC) from the launch pad No. 3 of the...
Commander of the Space Forces, General Oleg Ostapenko, was quoted by the Russian press as saying that Russia has built a new early-warning radar in the Kaliningrad region. According to Ostapenko, the new radar is "already functioning, even though the...
As expected, the Russian parliament ratified the New START treaty earlier this week - the Duma passed the resolution that approved the Federal Law on Ratification of the Treaty on January 25, 2011. The Federation Council, the upper chamber of...
The Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST) in Moscow published a very good overview of the current status of the Russian strategic bomber force. Highly recommended....
The first draft of the New START ratification law that emerged from the Duma committees was very brief - the entire document included one paragraph: Ratify the Treaty between the Russian Federation and the United States on measures for further...
The Bulletin Online BY PAVEL PODVIG | 6 JANUARY 2011 Senate approval of New START on Dec. 22 opened the way for quick reciprocity on the side of the Russian parliament, which launched its own ratification process just two days...
The Strategic Rocket Forces are planning to conduct ten missile launches in 2011, according to a statement of Vadim Koval, the press-secretary of the service. These will be three launches of Topol/SS-25, four UR-100NUTTH/SS-19 (RS-18) launches, and three launches of...
Russia is building a new early-warning radar in Irkutsk region, the head of the Spetsstroy was reported as saying. Details are scarce, but the the radar is probably being built at the Mishelevka site. It is not clear yet what...
A story about Russia's working on a new heavy MIRVed ICBM is definitely not the kind of news that supporters of the New START treaty would like to land in the U.S. Senate in the middle of the treaty ratification...
The book
