MOSCOW, Dec. 16 (Xinhuanet) -- Russia's Strategic Missile Forces will continue to reduce its missile systems deployed in the Urals and Siberian regions next year, Commander Col. Gen. Nikolai Solovtsov said Friday.

    Two units in the Kostroma and Chelyabinsk regions were disbanded this year and some 30 RS-22 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) and 40 RS-20 ICBMs were destroyed, reducing the number of Russia's ICBMs to 520, Solovtsov was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying.

    Russia, however, is also modernizing its missile arsenal.

    Solovtsov said his forces deployed the fifth regiment of silo-based Topol-M ICBM this month and will deploy the first mobile Topol-M system next year in the Ivanovo region in central Russia.

    With a takeoff weight of 47.2 tons and a payload of 1,200 kg, the Topol-M missile can hit targets as far as 10,000 km. Thanks to its three engines, it also accelerates much faster than all the previous types.

    Given its advanced auxiliary engines and guidance equipment, the missile's flight trajectory is unpredictable to the adversary. Its designers also claim that it is fully resistant to electromagnetic pulse. Enditem