Russia Successfully Test-Fires Iskander-M Tactical Missile Systems

Russia’s Central Military District has successfully test-fired Iskander-M operational-tactical missile systems, an official in the Russian armed forces announced Wednesday. The Kremlin has deployed several Iskander missiles to its territories over the past few months amid growing tensions with the West over the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Iskander-M, a version of the Iskander tactical missile system, can hit targets located deep inside the enemy lines. Officially adopted by the Russian Army in 2006, the Iskander-M missile system has a firing range of up to 310 miles, and is equipped with two guided missiles.

“After live-firing at the Totsky range, Iskander-M operators delivered a preemptive strike on tactical missile systems and other remote targets that determine the imaginary enemy’s military potential,” Colonel Yaroslav Roschupkin, assistant to Central Military District’s commander, told Russia’s Tass news agency.

The latest report came weeks after the Russian media said earlier this month that Moscow could sign a deal with the Armenian military to provide Iskander-M ballistic missiles. Russia, which has been trying to boost its sanction-hit economy by defense sales, is also trading its hardware to other countries, including India, Pakistan, China and Iran.

Last week, Russian media reported that the country’s armed forces in East Siberia would be trained and equipped with a new set of Iskander ballistic missile systems by September. Local media reports also said that Russian troops would first be trained on how to operate the missile system in southern Russia, before being deployed in Buryatia, a region in Siberia.