MOSCOW - Russia has successfully test-launched a RS-18 intercontinental ballistic missile on Tuesday, said the Defense Ministry.

According to the ministry's spokesman Vadim Koval, the missile was launched from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan and had reached the target in Kamchatka.

"The main task of the launch is to test the new missile's stability and capability to overcome the existing anti-missile defense means," Koval told reporters.

"The test was conducted under a program of extending the service life of the RS-18 missile and also to test its new combat equipment," he added.

Koval said that the Russian Strategic Missile Forces are considering to extend the RS-18 missiles' service life by one year to 33 years.

The RS-18 is a ground-based intercontinental ballistic missile capable to carry six self-guided warheads.

The missile, which first entered service in the 1970s, is one of the oldest missiles in the current Russian strategic arsenal.