Defense/ Missile drop tests

The 100-ton ballistic missile Sarmat may be test launched in one or 1.5 years after its drop tests that are planned for 2015, a Russian defense industry source told TASS on Thursday.

"If everything goes according to plan during the drop tests, if they pass successfully, then in a year or 1.5 years the missile will be test launched," the source said.

According to the source, the drop tests check the missile’s separate stages. "This is done on a special stand to check the missile’s lift capacity," he said. "It’s difficult to speak of the timeframe now, but it is usually done at the end of the year," he added.

Russia’s Sarmat 100-ton ballistic missile may be test launched in 2016-2017 — source