On December 27, 2011, at 16:00 MSK (12:00 UTC) the Strategic Rocket Forces successfully launched a UR-100NUTTH/SS-19 missile from a silo launcher at the Baykonur test site. The ministry of defense reported that the launch was used to confirm the current 32 years service life of the missile and to consider extending it to 33 years (I should note that the Rocket Forces already reported extending service life of UR-100NUTTH to 33 years in 2008). The missile was manufactured in 1978 and was deployed in 1979-2009 in Tatishchevo and then in Kozelsk. It was withdrawn from service in 2009.

The report also says that the launch was used "to test the new combat equipment developed to counter missile defense." Accordingly, representatives of the NPO Mashinostoryeniya took part in the launch.

This is not the first time the industry and the Rocket Forces use missile defense as a pretext for developing new systems. No details about the new anti-missile defense system have been released, but it is probably the famous "hypersonic maneuverable warhead" that made quite a bit of news about five years ago, after first reported to be tested in 2004. Development of this warhead apparently continued without much fanfare after that. I know that a test of this system was supposed to happen around October 20-22, 2011, but was cancelled at the last moment because of a problem with the missile. This time the missile seemed to have worked.

It might be something else, though - some reports quote an unnamed source in the General Staff as saying that this kind of new warhead was first successfully tested in 2010 (probably referring to the Topol launch from Kapustin Yar in December 2010). I would doubt that this is the same warhead - the "hypersonic" one seem to be too large for Topol.