Russia Test-Fires RS-24 Yars Mobile ICBM in 6,700 km Strategic Launch on August 28, 2026

Key facts

• Russia test-fired a mobile solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome on August 28, 2026.
• The missile's training warheads traveled more than 6,700 km to the Kura test range in Russia's far-eastern Kamchatka region.
• The launch was part of a Strategic Missile Forces exercise to verify the missile system's tactical, technical and flight characteristics.
• Independent researcher Pavel Podvig identified the missile as the RS-24 Yars based on launch footage and characteristics.
• The RS-24 Yars is a solid-fuel, three-stage ICBM deployed in both mobile and silo-based configurations.
• The Yars can carry multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles (MIRVs) and has a range exceeding 10,000 km.
• The Yars entered Russian Strategic Missile Forces service in 2010, replacing the RS-12M Topol.