IMAGE MADE JULY 14 - The Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO) announced July 15, 2001 it has successfully completed a test involving a planned intercept of an intercontinental ballistic missile target. The test took place over the central Pacific
IN PHOTO: The Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO) announced July 15, 2001 it has successfully completed a test involving a planned intercept of an intercontinental ballistic missile target. The test took place over the central Pacific Ocean. A modified Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) (shown here) was launched from Vandenberg AFB, California and a prototype interceptor was launched approximately 20 minutes later 4,800 miles away from the Ronald Reagan Missile Site Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. The intercept took place approximately 10 minutes after the interceptor was launched, at an altitude in excess of 140 miles above the earth, and during the midcourse phase of the target warhead's flight. Reuters/HoNew

Russia will have a new liquid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, in its arsenal by 2020. The Sarmat-class missiles is designed to equip a wide range of combat vehicles, light ships and coast guard motorboats, according to portal luch.kiev.ua.

The new long-range Sarmat heavy ICBMs is meant to replace a Cold War system known as SS-18 Satan in the West. These systems were developed in the 1970s, thus are already approaching the end of their service life. Silo-housed and highly accurate, the SS-18 Satan was described as "currently the world's most powerful nuclear missile," according to Sputnik International, noting the system way back then had posed a serious threat to U.S. land based strategic missiles systems.

The new Sarmat will be built along the achievements of its SS-18 Satan predecessor, but is expected to feature more advanced countermeasures, including a complex command and control systems as well as a high degree of maneuverability. The latter will enable it to penetrate enemy missile defense systems, Sputnik International added.

"It is used to hit static and moving modern armoured targets that have combined, spaced or monolithic armour, including explosive reactive armour, as well as pinpoint targets like permanent fire positions, tank in a trench, lightly armoured objects, hovered helicopters, waterborne targets and manpower of enemy at any time of day or night," portal luch.kiev.ua said. Quoted by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, General Sergei Karakayev, commander of the Strategic Rocket Forces, or RVSN, said experimental work on test samples of a new silo-based missile system armed with the Sarmat-class missiles will begin in 2015.

Karakayev said the RVSN will have three types of land-based ICBMs. Including silo-based, road mobile, and railroad, "which all proved its high efficiency in the Soviet era." The RVSN will revive the "Barguzin" project to place nuclear missiles on trains.

"The weapon's mobility makes it difficult to track, thus complicating a preemptive strike," according to Sputnik. By 2018, Russia's nuclear forces will be limited to 1,550 warheads and 700 total deployed strategic nuclear delivery systems, by virtue of the New START treaty. It signed the treaty with the United States in 2011.