The Strategic Rocket Forces carried out a successful test launch of a Topol/SS-25 missile on October 10, 2013. The missile was launched at 17:39 MSK (13:39 UTC) from Kapustin Yar to the Sary Shagan test site in Kazakhstan. According to a representative of the Rocket Forces, the test was used to confirm characteristics of the Topol missile, to test the systems of the Sary Shagan test site, and "to test new combat payload for intercontinental ballistic missiles."
Previous test launch of a Topol missile from Kapustin Yar to Sary Shagan took place in June 2012.
UPDATE 10/11/2013: As it turns out, the missile was seen from the International Space Station:
Here are a couple of stories: Slate, Universe Today.
The book
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according to NOTAM russia wil launch an SSN23 this week.
V6610/13 - AIRSPACE CLSD WI AREA WITH COORDINATES: 693300N 0343200E-693100N 0344000E-692900N 0350000E- 692900N 0341000E-695330N 0341000E-693300N 0343200E. SFC - FL050, 15 0700-1300, 16 0600-1200, 17 0430-1030, 18 0300-0900, 15 OCT 07:00 2013 UNTIL 18 OCT 09:00 2013. CREATED: 14 OCT 06:04 2013
V6577/13 - TEMPO DANGER AREAS FOR ACFT FLT ACT WI COORD: 1. 6933N 03432E-6933N 03500E-6929N 03500E- 6931N 03440E-6933N 03432E. 2. 7041N 03419E-7053N 03420E-7130N 03450E- 7111N 03747E-7024N 03710E-7041N 03419E. 3. 8119N 08946E-8136N 08848E-8233N 08656E- 8238N 08807E-8253N 10508E-8235N 10523E- 8136N 10511E-8134N 10409E-8119N 08946E. SFC - UNL, 15 0700-1300, 16 0600-1200, 17 0430-1030, 18 0300-0900, 15 OCT 07:00 2013 UNTIL 18 OCT 09:00 2013. CREATED: 11 OCT 09:51 2013
V6576/13 - ATS RTE SEGNENTS CLSD: B480 BADRO - BESON, B488 NUTLA - BALUD, B815 EVMUV - LIMUS, B816 ATKUP - LIMUS, B934 MOTEM - RAVUL, G490 DEVID - KUTET. SFC - UNL, 15 0700-1300, 16 0600-1200, 17 0430-1030, 18 0300-0900, 15 OCT 07:00 2013 UNTIL 18 OCT 09:00 2013. CREATED: 11 OCT 09:37 2013
P5676/13 - ATS RTE B240 SEGMENT TILICHIKI NDB (TK) - OKLED CLSD. SFC - UNL, 15 0700-1300, 16 0600-1200, 17 0430-1030, 18 0300-0900, 15 OCT 07:00 2013 UNTIL 18 OCT 09:00 2013. CREATED: 11 OCT 09:37 2013
Thank you! We'll see how it goes.
Any guesses as to what a "new combat payload" might be? Are the Topol's being used for any hypersonic/boost-glide R&D?
I don't think it's something exotic. As for Topol and the hypersonic stuff, I haven't seen anything on that, but as I understand, it's not impossible.
It has always seemed to me that the concept for a hypersonic "atmospheric skipping" vehicle was overly complex. Why not simply employ a standard conical shaped reentry vehicle with built in vernier thrusters, (similar to those on the nose of the space shuttle). With BMD interceptors today being kinetic kill vehicles, it would only take an infinitesimal shift in trajectory to successfully evade them.
Easier still, you just deploy multiple warheads/decoys. There is a weight penalty for maneuverability and I'm not sure it's worth it in the end.
Not sure why Russia is interested - then again I feel that way about most of Russia's recent weapons purchases.
The primary US interest is to have any prompt strike missile fall outside of the New START inspection regime since it would not count as a "ballistic" missile.
Read somewhere - I think Carnegie Institute for Peace - that boost glide weapons let you fly under the radar horizon for the big early warning radars. I'm not sure how much that matters though given the amazing infra-red trial as boost glide vehicle must leave in its wake.
What's the significance of these Topol launches out of Kapyar into Sary Shagan [five so far], only 2000 km range? And I'm looking for photographs of the Topol's 'combat stage' ['warhead bus'] and the thruster arrangement on it, to compare with strange shapes in the exhaust plume observed and videotaped from the ground. Please contact jamesEoberg at c-o-m-c-a-s-t d0t n-e-t with suggestions.
It's quite simple, in fact - flying missiles from Kapustin Yar to Sary-Shagan allows testing all kind of missile-defense-evading measures since Sary-Sharan hosts quite a few radars that can follow a warhead. Indeed, they were built precisely as missile-defense radars and some have non-trivial warhead discrimination capability.
There were definitely more than five launches of this kind. Here is a Topol launch in 2005, a launch of a K65M-R in 2006. You could follow the trail from there - you'll get more than five flights.
As for the photographs of the "combat stage", it's hard to tell anything without seeing actual photos, but it's hardly surprising that it looks different from a regular Topol warhead.