File picture dated 1998 showing Russian Army artillerymen working at the missile launch pad during a display of the replacement of a nuclear missile by another at the Tamanskaya division, Saratov region. A rocket regiment equipped with the newly-developed Topol-M strategic intercontinental ballistic missiles will be put into service in 1998. Two silo-based Topol-M missiles are already on trial service in a regiment of the Taman division in southwestern Russia's Saratov region. The missiles, which are cheaper to produce and maintain than previous models, are intended to replace the various missiles deployed by the former Soviet Union. Topol-M missiles will form the backbone of Russia's strategic nuclear forces in the 21st century. Under the 1993 START II disarmament treaty signed with the United States, Russia must replace its multiple-warhead SS-18s with single-warhead missiles. Photo/Copyright AFP
