MOSCOW, April 24 (Xinhua) -- Russia plans to equip all of its missiles with a new warhead which was successfully tested on Saturday, from 2008, its Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister, Sergei Ivanov said on Monday.

    "Last Saturday, we began official flight tests for the ... arming of promising missile systems which will go into service in 2008," Ivanov was quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency as saying when he reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin, "that is of landmark significance for us and the country."

    Ivanov said that the successful tests confirmed that its missile systems would be equipped with the new warhead, beginning from late 2006.

    The minister said that both single and multiple warhead options were envisaged.

    "They have been unified and are to be supplied both to the Strategic Missile Forces and the Navy," Ivanov said.

    "The deviation [from target] did not exceed several hundred meters, which is a good result for the first launch. The warhead dummy arrived at the preset point at a distance of more than 2,000 kilometers at the Balkhash test field in Kazakhstan, leased by Russia," Ivanov noted.

    The defense minister also said that the success of the tests to date would mean that the program would continue on a rigorous schedule. Enditem