MOSCOW, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- Russia will put the new multiple-warhead RS-24 intercontinental ballistic missiles into service in December, the commander of the Strategic Missile Force (SMF) said on Tuesday.

    Andrei Shvaichenko was quoted by local media as telling reporters outside Moscow that the SMF plans to conduct five missile launches by the end of the year.

    The commander said the RS-24 missiles could boost the force's combat capability.

    The RS-24s, together with the already-deployed Topol-M single-warhead missiles, will become the backbone strategic weapons of the SMF, accounting for no less than 80 percent of its arsenal by late 2016, he said.

    The SMF has already conducted several successful launches of the RS-24 missiles, which are set to replace the older RS-18s and RS-20s.