Russian nuclear submarine successfully testfires ICBM

Moscow, Dec 17 (UNI) An inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM) was sucessfully testfired from nuclear submarine of the Russian Navy's Northern Fleet today.

The missile, launched from the K-114 (Delta IV class) Tula submarine, in the Barents Sea in the Arctic towards a site in the country's Far East, hit the target on the Kura test site on the Kamchatka Peninsula on schedule, RIA Novosti news agency reported, quoting the Russian Navy's press service.

''The launch was conducted from an underwater position as part of training to test the readiness of the marine strategic nuclear forces,'' the press service said.

The Tula submarine, built in 1987, has been modernised at the Zvyozdochka (Starlet) Engineering Plant in Severodvinsk in the Arkhangelsk Region.

The submarine is equipped with 16 inter-continental PSM-54 missiles and torpedoes. Tula submarines form the mainstay of the strategic nuclear fleet. Seven of the series were built between 1984 and 1992.

UNI