Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images(MOSCOW) — Russia’s military on Friday said it had successfully carried out a second test launch of its most advanced nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile. Russia's military on Friday said it had successfully carried out a second test launch of its most advanced nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile.The country's defense ministry released a video showing what it said was the launch of a RS-28 'Sarmat' missile from a base in Plesetsk in northwest Russia, close to the Arctic Circle.The Sarmat is a heavy ICBM intended to replace Russia's aging, Soviet-era missiles that form the basis of its nuclear deterrent. Kremlin/EPA via Shutterstock

The Sarmat is a heavy ICBM intended to replace Russia’s aging, Soviet-era missiles that form the basis of its nuclear deterrent. The Sarmat, which NATO named “Satan 2,” has been in development since at least 2011 and is believed to be able to carry an increased number of nuclear warheads and has an increased range. You listen to us now,” Mr Putin boasted during the March speech, when he revealed other weapons his country apparently has in the works, such as an underwater drone armed with a nuclear warhead powerful enough to sweep away coastal facilities and aircraft carriers, and a nuclear-powered cruise missile that’s “invulnerable to any existing or prospective air and missile defence systems.”

The White House responded to Putin’s March 1 speech by saying he merely confirmed what the US already knows: that Russia has been developing “destabilising weapons systems for over a decade in direct violations of its treaty obligations.”

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said President Trump understands the threats and that America is “moving forward to modernise our nuclear arsenal and ensure our capabilities are unmatched.”

Another new weapon Mr Putin unveiled during the state-of-the-nation speech, called Avangard, is an intercontinental hypersonic missile that would fly at 20 times the speed of sound and strike its targets “like a meteorite, like a fireball.”

This article originally appeared on Fox News and is republished here with permission Russian state-run news agency TASS has reported the Sarmat missile will go into mass production in 2020 and is expected to become operational the year after, according to EuroNews. The massive rocket, which Putin claimed weighs over 200 tons, is believed to be able to fly 16,000 miles and is capable of flying over the South Pole to strike the U.S.Experts have questioned how complete some of the new weapons vaunted by Putin are in reality, noting that they are long-term hedges against advances in missile defense technology. Putin's boasts also seemed targeted in large part at a domestic audience, shortly ahead of a presidential election.Russia has long protested the U.S.' development of a missile defense shield in Europe, which the U.S. argues is intended to guard against North Korea and Iran, but which the Kremlin says can be directed at Russia.Putin presented the Sarmat and the other superweapons render missile defense useless and suggested it should prompt the U.S. to abandon the Europe-based shield.Putin's saber-rattling with the weapons, which he accompanied in his speech with warnings that the U.S. had failed "to contain Russia," has prompted fears of a new nuclear arms race, as China also works to develop its own next-generation weapons and President Donald Trump has spoken of massively increasing the U.S. nuclear arsenal.Putin has since said he does not want an arms race. The test-launch also comes after Mr Putin’s recent re-election and a congratulatory phone call from US President Donald Trump — in which Mr Trump reportedly also warned his Russian counterpart, “if you want to have an arms race we can do that, but I’ll win,” according to two officials that spoke to NBC News.
The Russian military announces a second test of its most advanced nuclear ICBM, the RS-28 Sarmat, from a base in Plesetsk. President Vladimir Putin claimed in his March 1 state of the nation speech that the new nuclear arsenal will be impossible for U.S.-engineered technology to intercept.