Reports: Russia test-fires long-range ballistic missile

MOSCOW, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- Russia test-launched a long-distance ballistic missile Saturday as part of its Northern Fleet's military exercises, news agencies reported.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, companied by Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, watched the launch from the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov.

"The missile covered 11,547 km. This is the best result that has ever been attained in using this ballistic missile," Medvedev was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.

It was the first time that a submarine launched the Sineva ballistic missile to its maximum range, said an aide to the Russian navy commander.

"For the first time in Navy history, the launch was not to the Kura test range in Kamchatka, but to the area of an equatorial part of the Pacific," Captain first rank Igor Dygalo was quoted by the RIA Novosti news agency as saying.

Medvedev boarded a Russian naval ship in the Barents Sea Saturday to observe the tactical exercises of the Russian Northern Fleet, which are part of the larger-scale Stability-2008 exercises conducted with Belarus from Sept. 22 to Oct. 21.

The RSM-54 Sineva is a third-generation liquid-propellant intercontinental ballistic missile that entered service with the Russian Navy in July 2007. It can carry four or 10 nuclear warheads, depending on the modification.

Russia's Strategic Missile Forces said last year that Russia would conduct at least 11 test launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles in 2008 and would double the number of launches after 2009 "to prevent the weakening of Russia's nuclear deterrent."