Russia to test Iskander tactical missile systems on May 29*

28.05.2007    

Russia is planning to test missiles of the Iskander tactical missile
systems on May 29, First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov told
President Vladimir Putin on Monday.

The tests will take place at a testing range near Znamensk in the
Astrakhan region, he said, adding that he will attend them with Defense
Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, Interfax reports.

Iskander is a short range, solid fuel propelled, theater quasiballistic
missile produced in Russia.

The system is intended to use conventional warheads for the engagement
of small and area targets, such as:

- hostile fire weapons (missile systems, multiple launch rocket systems,
long-range artillery pieces);

- air and antimissile defence weapons, especially those located in
relatively fixed sites;

- fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft at airfields;

- command posts and communications nodes;

- critical civilian infrastructure facilities;

- other vital small and area targets.

The Iskander-E system is equipped with a solid-propellant single-stage
guided missile controlled throughout the entire flight path and provided
with a nonseparable warhead.

In flight, the missile follows a non-purely-ballistic path, which
includes such features as violent maneuvers in the terminal phase of
flight and the release of decoys. The missile never leaves atmosphere as
it follows a relatively very flat trajectory. These features are meant
to defeat any anti ballistic missile systems operating in the world today.

Prepared by Alexander Timoshik
Pravda.ru