Intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of traversing the North and South Poles and of penetrating "almost any air defense system" will comprise the whole of the Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces' arsenal by 2021, Deputy Defense Minister Yury Borisov said.
"Work on a new rocket is going at full speed," Borisov said Saturday, Itar-Tass reported. "The heavy missile is really a unique weapon that the U.S. does not have."
The missile has been tentatively named "Sarmatian" according to earlier reports.
The development of the ICBM came in response to the US's development of a Prompt Global Strike system, which will make it possible to deploy nonnuclear missile strikes anywhere on the planet within an hour, he said.
Military officials said last year that Sarmatians may comprise up to 80 percent of Russia's nuclear arsenal by 2021. Borisov said work on the project is progressing ahead of schedule.
The government plans to pump $23 trillion into a rearmament program by 2020.
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