The Rocket Forces commander mentioned at a press-conference that the service life of the SS-25 Topol missile has been extended to 20 years. This means that theoretically these missiles, deployed in 1988-1992, could remain in service until about 2012.
Not all of these missiles will be kept in service - their decommissioning has been underway for some time and by the Rocket Forces own estimates, only 150 of the current 306 missiles will be still operational by 2010. But I will still have to revise my estimates and projections, since I assumed that these missiles will have somewhat shorter lives.
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