Russia Set to Launch Angara-A5 in December

At a news conference in Moscow today Yuri Bakhvalov, Deputy General Designer of the Khrunichev Space Center, told reporters that Russia was planning a December launch for the maiden voyage of its heavy-lift rocket the Angara-A5. The launch is tentatively scheduled for December 25th.
An earlier version of Angara, the Angara 1.2 Pervy Polyot (First Flight), a scaled down version, launched on its first demonstration test on July 9th of this year.

The Angara 5 is meant to replace Russia’s heavy-lift Proton rocket and would become the workhorse of the Russian fleet tasked with primarily launching military payloads. A future super heavy-lift Angara 7 is also planned, if needed.

ROSCOSMOS head Andrei Mazurin said the Angara program is intended to ensure Russia maintains the capability to launch all payload sizes on a modern fleet of rockets.

Work on the Angara 3, a medium-lift launcher meant to eventually replace the Zenit, is in the “initial phase” according to Bakhvalov.

The launch of Angara-A5 will take place from the Plesetsk launch center.

Angara 1.2 Pervy Polyot Launch, July 9, 2014

Angara Background Information (Russian)