Russia will build a new heavy intercontinental ballistic missile by 2018, Strategic Missile Forces commander Col. Gen. Sergei Karakayev said on Monday, Sept 3.

“Construction of the missile is ongoing,” he said. “It is to be completed by 2018.”

The new missile is to replace the R-36M2 Voyevoda (NATO reporting name SS-18 Satan) missile. So far all of Russia’s recent ICBM projects, both sea-launched (Bulava) and ground-based (Topol-M, Yars), have been solid fuel.

Karakayev said the new ICBM will have a launch mass of around 100 tons with a better payload-launch weight ratio than in a solid fuel missile.

Such ICBMs can only be deployed in silos.

The Russian Defense Ministry previously said that unless the United States abandons its plans to create a missile defense system in Europe, Russia will take counter measures, including the building of a new heavy liquid-propellant missile, RIA Novosti reported.