Russia stands up RS-24 ICBM

Russia's new RS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) was put on combat duty for the first time with the Teikovo missile regiment in the Ivanovskaya Oblast in central Russia on 4 March.

The RS-24 is a modification of the RS-12M2 Topol-M (SS-27 'Stalin'). It is a mobile system that is capable of "penetrating highly protected targets", as well as any current ballistic missile defence (BMD) system, according to Youri Solomonov, head of the Moscow Institute for Thermal Technology, the lead manufacturer of the missile.