New missile launcher to star in upcoming Victory Day parade

Scores of various war machines, including the most modern Topol-M missile units, have gathered near Moscow.

This is no war, but nearly a recital of one of the big parades which is scheduled to be on Red Square on May 9, marking 65 years since the end of the Great Patriotic war between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.

The importance of the date will be marked by a grand show this year. Apart from range of weaponry on the ground there will be 140 helicopters and planes flying over Moscow this spring.

Special guests are planned as well, including 950 war veterans who actually fought against Nazi troops, and also representatives from the member states of the anti-Hitler coalition, including a military band from the US.

Military parades became quite a tradition during Soviet times. One of the most remarkable was probably back in 1941, when the war started. As the troops paraded through Red Square on that day, they proceeded directly into battle.

This year, authorities are planning to use both the old and brand-new machines that Russia currently possesses, including the brand- new Topol-M mobile ballistic missile launch system.

It is the most advanced and modern weapon of its kind; a huge machine which weighs about 50 tonnes, and is armed with a ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead. It is planned that this machine is to be the foundation of Russia’s strategic armed forces. It is the first such machine developed in Russia since the collapse of the USSR. This machine is going to be probably the most impressive one at the upcoming parade.