A senior military officer says Russia will have a new liquid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the Sarmat, in its arsenal by 2020.
General Sergei Karakayev, commander of the Strategic Rocket Forces (RVSN), told journalists on December 16 that "experimental work on test samples of a new silo-based missile system armed with Sarmat-class missiles is expected to begin in 2015."
Karakayev also said that the RVSN will revive the "Barguzin" project to place nuclear missiles on trains.
He said the RVSN, which is responsible for long-range nuclear missiles, will have three types of land-based ICBMs: "silo-based, road mobile, and railroad, which proved its high efficiency in the Soviet era," Karakayev said.
Karakayev spoke at a reception on the eve of the 55th anniversary of the RVSN.
President Vladimir Putin has emphasized that Russia will continue to develop its nuclear forces.
Russia has been cool toward U.S. calls for further cuts in nuclear weapons following the landmark New START treaty, signed in 2010.
