Kura Test Range is an intercontinental ballistic missile

Intercontinental ballistic missile

An intercontinental ballistic missile is a ballistic missile with a long range typically designed for nuclear weapons delivery...

 impact area used by Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, located in northern Kamchatka Krai. It is 130 kilometres (80.8 mi) northeast of the settlement of Klyuchi. The center coordinates are 57°20′N 161°50′E . This area is not only in an isolated part of Kamchatka but is surrounded by the Okhotsk Sea and Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

.

The range was developed beginning in 1955 and was operational in 1957 . It continues to be active. The most recent impact was on 7 October, 2010, when a RSM-56 Bulava ballistic missile was fired from a submarine in the White Sea

White Sea

The White Sea is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is surrounded by Karelia to the west, the Kola Peninsula to the north, and the Kanin Peninsula to the northeast. The whole of the White Sea is under Russian sovereignty and considered to be part of...

 in West Russia, to Kura. Test launches of R-29RMU Sineva

R-29RMU Sineva

The R-29RMU Sineva , also designated RSM-54,is a Russian liquid-fuelled submarine-launched ballistic missile. It has the GRAU index 3M27, and is identified by NATO as the SS-N-23 Skiff...

 and RT-2UTTKh Topol M missiles also frequently target the Kura Test Range.

The United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 maintained a permanent Eareckson Air Station

Eareckson Air Station

Eareckson Air Station is a United States Air Force military airport located on the island of Shemya, in the Alaskan Aleutian Islands. It was closed as an active Air Force Station on 1 July 1994, however the airport is still owned by the USAF and is operated by the USAF 611th Air Support Squadron...

 (formerly Shemya Air Force Base) only 935 km (581 mi) away, equipped with radars and aircraft to monitor impacts at Kura. One of these radars, Cobra Dane

Cobra Dane

The AN/FPS-108 COBRA DANE radar is an active electronically scanned array installation operated by the United States Air Force at Eareckson Air Station on the island of Shemya, Alaska. This radar system was built in 1976 and brought on-line in 1977 for the primary mission of intelligence gathering...

, was fielded in 1977 at Shemya

Shemya

Shemya or Simiya is a small island in the Near Islands group of the Semichi Islands chain in the Aleutian Islands archipelago southwest of Alaska, at . It has a land area of 5.903 sq mi , and is about 1,200 miles southwest of Anchorage, Alaska.The Russian vessel Saint Peter and Paul wrecked at...

specifically for this purpose.