Pentagon says Russia’s Sarmat test not a threat

The Pentagon said that the Sarmat ICBM test was not a threat and Moscow gave US advance notice.

Russia launched the new RS 28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile ICBM as a routine test and not a threat to the US, the Pentagon told reporters. It did not come as a surprise, since Moscow notified the US in advance of the terms of the still-existing arms control treaty.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Wednesday afternoon that Russia notified the US under its New Start treaty obligations that it planned to test this ICBM, a Pentagon spokesman said that the test was routine and the US Defense Department deemed it not a threat. The new missile was launched from the Plesetsk military cosmodrome on Wednesday morning, with Russian President Vladimir Putin calling it an event of great significance for the country.

Putin said that this unique weapon will strengthen the potential of our armed forces, make sure that Russia is safe from external threats and give pause to those who try to threaten us in the heat of frenzied aggressive rhetoric.

The Russian president said that the new missile would have no analog for a long time, and will be able to penetrate all modern defenses.

The test missile launched from Plesetsk and flew over the whole length of Russia before landing in the designated target area on the Kamchatka peninsula in the far east. At the end of the year, the Sarmat is expected to complete trials, at which point it will officially enter service with Russia's strategic missile forces.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that the Sarmat could carry more weapons and can be fitted with the new hypersonic glider warheads, and will replace the existing R-36 Voevoda silo-based ICBMs.