Colonel-General Sergey Karakayev, the commander of Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces, gave an interview to today’s Defense Ministry daily Krasnaya Zvezda (Red Star) yesterday, for the occasion of the professional day of the Russian strategic forces (which is Dec. 17), during which he made a number of points.
• Russia and the U.S. are still notifying each other of planned missile test flights. “Pursuant to the existing 1988 Agreement between the U.S.S.R. and the U.S.A. on Notifications of ICBM and SLBM Launches and under the effective New START Treaty, we notify the United States of a launch through the National Nuclear Risk Reduction Center,” he said, reported TASS. The notification indicates the planned date and place of a missile launch and the area of the fall of warheads. The U.S. side also provides similar data on its ICBM and SLBM launches, Karakayev said. The SMF will carry out eight test-launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles from two proving grounds in 2023.
• The Strategic Missile Force is over 85% armed with advanced weapons. “Considering the plans of placing advanced weapons on combat alert in 2022, their share in the [Strategic Missile] Force exceeds 85%,” Karakayev said. The combat inventory of the Russian Strategic Missile Force includes over 60% of delivery vehicles and nuclear charges of the Russian strategic nuclear forces (the other 40% resides in the Russian Navy’s nuclear ballistic missile submarines—ed.), which enables it, along with high combat command and control capabilities, to reliably accomplish assigned tasks, including nuclear deterrence, he stressed.
