With Nuclear Capability: Russia Announces Missile Tests at Kura Range

Ahead of the Moscow parade, Russia announced missile tests at the Kura range in the Ust-Kamchatsky district, where rockets capable of carrying nuclear warheads are being test-fired.

Authorities say no people are allowed in the area, according to the Kamchatka regional emergency ministry.

All movement and operation of any equipment are also banned.

“The Russian Ministry of Defense warns residents of the region about tests at the Kura range in the Ust-Kamchatsky district, scheduled to take place from May 6 through May 10 inclusive,” the statement reads.

The Kura range in Kamchatka is a testing facility of the Space Forces of Russia’s Aerospace Forces, located in marshland along the Ozyornaya River, about 500 km north of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

It is used for testing, including practicing strikes on targets with missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

The Kura test range (formerly known as “Kama”) was established in the early 1950s as a remote site for weapons testing.

In 1956, the site hosted its first tests of an intercontinental missile using a prototype of the R-7. During the Soviet era, more than 300 tests were conducted here.

After the collapse of the USSR, testing resumed only in the early 2000s, including the addition of submarine launches.

In recent years, Russia has used the range to test intercontinental missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

Tests at Kura

On September 27, 2005, a target at the Kamchatka range was hit for the first time by the Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile, designed to arm strategic nuclear submarines.

After numerous tests, the Bulava was officially accepted into service on May 7, 2024.

Russia’s Northern and Pacific naval fleets operate a combined total of seven nuclear-powered submarines, each equipped with 16 Bulava missiles.

Another development – the Sarmat heavy intercontinental ballistic missile – is considered the successor to the R-36.

The first launch of Sarmat took place on April 20, 2022: the missile delivered training warheads from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome to Kamchatka.

The Kura test range was also used for testing a space launch vehicle.
On July 9, 2014, the Angara-1.2PP rocket was launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome – a non-production version of the prospective Russian space rocket designed for comprehensive testing of systems of the future Angara rocket family.

The flight trajectory of Angara-1.2PP was ballistic: after 21 minutes, the rocket’s second stage, together with a non-detachable payload mock-up, landed in Kamchatka.

On February 19, 2022, a few days before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia conducted exercises of its strategic deterrence forces.

As part of these drills, intercontinental ballistic missiles were launched toward the Kura test range: the land-based Yars was launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, while the submarine-launched Sineva was fired by the nuclear-powered strategic missile submarine K-18 Karelia of the Northern Fleet from the waters of the Barents Sea.

In addition, the Kura test range received a simulated strike by cruise missiles launched from Tu-95MS strategic bombers, which are part of Russia’s nuclear triad aviation component.

The next large-scale exercise took place on October 26, 2022, and simulated a massive nuclear retaliatory strike in response to an enemy attack.

Ballistic missiles were launched toward the Kamchatka test range: Yars was launched from Plesetsk, while Sineva was launched from the Barents Sea.

On October 25, 2023, during exercises involving the land, air, and naval components, Yars and Sineva missiles were again launched toward the Kura test range.

The latest strategic deterrence forces exercises took place on October 29, 2024. During these drills, a Yars missile was launched toward the Kura test range.

One of the most recent reports from the Russian Ministry of Defense states that the nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine Krasnoyarsk of Project 885M Yasen-M struck a target at a test range in Kamchatka with a Kalibr cruise missile in April 2025, from a distance of over 1,100 km.