Russia plans to deploy the first military unit armed with nuclear-capable ballistic Sarmat missiles no later than this autumn, TASS news agency reported on Saturday citing Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Russia's Roscosmos space agency.
The unit will be based in Uzhur, in the Krasnoyarsk region, about 3,000 km (1,860 miles) east of Moscow, TASS quoted him as saying in an interview with the state Rossiya 24 TV channel.
The Sarmat is capable of carrying 10 or more nuclear warheads and decoys, and of striking targets thousands of miles away in the United States or Europe.
This week's test, after years of delays due to funding and technical issues, marks a show of strength by Russia at a time when the war in Ukraine has sent tensions with the United States and its allies soaring to their highest levels since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.
Rogozin said in an interview with Russian state TV that the missiles would be deployed with a unit in the Krasnoyarsk region of Siberia, about 3,000 km (1,860 miles) east of Moscow.
He said they would be placed at the same sites and in the same silos as the Soviet-era Voyevoda missiles they are replacing, something that would save "colossal resources and time".
The launch of the "super-weapon" was a historic event that would guarantee the security of Russia's children and grandchildren for the next 30-40 years, Rogozin added.
Western concern at the risk of nuclear war has increased since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 with a speech in which he pointedly referred to Moscow's nuclear forces and warned that any attempt to get in Russia's way "will lead you to such consequences that you have never encountered in your history."
"The prospect of nuclear conflict, once unthinkable, is now back within the realm of possibility," United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said last month.
