Russia may extend Topol Missile service life

Russia may extend the service life of RS-12M Topol (SS-25 Sickle) mobile ballistic missile systems until 2019, Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces (SMF) commander lieutenant general Sergei Karakayev said.

RIA Novosti quoted the commander as saying: "The evaluation of its Topol missile reliability and technical condition allows us to consider further extension of its service life."

The single-warhead solid-propellant, silo-based intercontinental ballistic missile has a range of 10,000km and can carry a nuclear warhead with a yield of 550 kilotons.

The missile will be replaced by the mobile Topol-M (SS-27 Stalin) and RS-24 Yars missile systems in the next decade.

As of August 2011, the SMF possessed 171 road-mobile Topol missile systems, 50 silo-based and 18 road-mobile Topol-M systems, plus nine RS-24 systems.