No airspace restrictions up to "unlimited height," Russia may be preparing to launch intercontinental ballistic missiles!

Ukrainian defense media "Military Report" reported that Russia has temporarily closed the airspace over Kapustin Yar missile test site and restricted the height from the ground up to "unlimited height," sparking speculation and concerns that Russia may launch an intercontinental ballistic missile.

"Defense Blog" reported that a Russian Federation NOTAM stated that all air traffic over the missile test site would be restricted from 06:00 to 16:00 local time between May 12 and May 13. The restriction extends from the ground up to "unlimited height," and observers noted that this is consistent with the flight trajectory of a ballistic missile.

The Kapustin Yar missile test site is located 100 kilometers east of Volgograd, and it is one of Russia's intercontinental ballistic missile bases. "Military Report" pointed out that before previous long-range missile tests by Russia, similar airspace closures had occurred, but some were for test missiles while others were strikes against Ukraine.

On November 21, 2024, an airspace closure in Volgograd resulted in an attack on Dnipro, Ukraine, by a medium-to-long-range ballistic missile, marking the first such incident since the start of the war. Russia later claimed that it was the RS-26 "Oreshnik" medium-range ballistic missile.

Last December 11-13, as well as December 16-21, Russia also issued two NOTAM restrictions, followed by a large-scale missile strike against Ukraine. However, there was no RS-26 involved this time, though a significant number of short-range ballistic, cruise, and hypersonic missiles were still launched.

Many defense analysts believe that Russia's airspace closure notices are no longer just for trial exercises but are preparations for operational missile launches.

Analysts pointed out that such a scale of airspace closure (especially with the height set to "unlimited") shows that Russia is preparing to launch long-range strategic weapons or is developing new missiles.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1831839616069828/

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