Russia to deploy 22 new ballistic missiles in 2014

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that 22 land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles will next year be added to Russia's nuclear arsenal, the RIA Novosti reported. "We intend to continue prioritizing the development of the main component of our strategic nuclear deterrent," Putin said at a meeting on the development of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces. Putin did not specify the type of new ICBMs to be deployed, but a source in the Defense Ministry said on condition of anonymity that the missiles will be mobile and silo-based Yars ICBMs. Yars is armed with the multiple-warhead RS-24 intercontinental ballistic missile, which has considerably better combat and operational capabilities than the Topol-M (SS-27 Stalin). Russia currently deploys an estimated 326 ICBMs with approximately 1,050 warheads, according to a June report by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.