The Yars RS-24 Is a Russian-made mobile nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile which can be mounted on truck carrier or deployed in silos. The first production of Yars began in 2004. The layout of the vehicle is similar to the Topol-M SS-27. Russia fully deployed the first Yars RS-24 regiment consisting of three battalions in August 2011, and put two battalions of the second regiment on combat duty on December 27 last year. A second regiment of the Teikovo Missile Division in central Russia will be fully equipped with Yars mobile ballistic missile systems in 2012, Strategic Missile Forces (SMF) spokesman Col. Vadim Koval said on Thursday, February 16, 2012. The RS-24 Yars is a modification of the SS-27 Topol-M. According to information from the manufacturer, the RS-24 Yars is able to penetrate highly protected targets and also any current Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) System. The first firing test was conducted in May 2007, when it was launched from Plesetsk in northwest Russia and hit its target in the Kura firing range in Kamchatka in Russia's Far East.