Russia’s new strategic nuclear submarine, the Imperator Alexander III, has successfully tested a Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile, the Russian defence ministry said on Sunday.

The missile was launched from an underwater position in the White Sea off Russia’s northern coast and hit a target thousands of kilometres away on the Kamchatka peninsula in the Russian Far East, the Defence Ministry said.

As per the Federation of American Scientists the missile is designed to carry up to six nuclear warheads.

“Firing a ballistic missile is the final element of state tests, after which a decision will be made to accept the cruiser into the Navy,” the Ministry said in a statement.

The Imperator Alexander III is the seventh of the Russian Project 955 Borei (Arctic Wind) class nuclear submarines and the fourth of the modernised Borei-A variant, according to Reuters.

The Borei class submarine is armed with 16 Bulava missiles. The 12-metre (40-foot) missile has a range of about 8,000 km (5,000 miles).