The Russian submarine-launched Bulava ballistic missile failed today in another test, RIA Novosti reported (see GSN, Dec. 2).
(Dec. 23) -
The Russian Bulava strategic missile, shown in an earlier test, failed a flight test today.
The missile was launched from the submarine Dmitry Donskoy in the White Sea and was aimed at the Kura firing range in Kamchatka.
"The launch was a failure," a Russian naval source said. "The crew performed well. The missile left the tube, but went off course due to a malfunction after the first stage separation."
Naval officials are set to investigate the failure, the fifth in 10 test-launches of the Bulava.
The navy had planned to deploy the missile next year, but now intends to conduct a number of additional flight tests before deciding whether the field the weapon, a high-level official said this month (RIA Novosti, Dec. 23).
"This is a serious blow to Russia's military plans to deploy the Borei submarines," military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer told the Associated Press. "The failure delays (Bulava's) production and deployment indefinitely."
The Bulava would be able to hit targets at ranges up to 6,200 miles with as many as six independently targeted nuclear warheads, AP reported. It would be deployed on three Borei-class vessels that are still being built (Mansur Mirovalev, Associated Press I/Google News, Dec. 23).
RIA Novosti identified the missile's maximum range as 5,000 miles and said it could carry as many as 10 warheads (RIA Novosti).
A total of 70 Russian strategic nuclear missiles are set to be commissioned over the next three years, AP reported. Moscow in recent years has commissioned a number of Topol-M ICBMs annually, for a total of 50 over roughly a decade. The announcement yesterday from a Cabinet commission suggests it plans a significant boost in the pace at which the Russian strategic missile forces receive new weapons.
An estimated $141 billion in spending in the next three years is also expected to buy 30 short-range Iskander missiles and additional fighter jets, helicopters, tanks and naval vessels, according to Russian news agencies (Associated Press II/Google News, Dec. 22).
Some Topol missiles might be deployed in Belarus to counter U.S. plans to deploy missile defenses in Europe, Agence France-Presse reported.
"If the United States continues to bring elements of its strategic forces closer to Russia's borders, including missile defense sites in Poland and the Czech Republic, which are aimed at the reduction of our nuclear deterrent, mobile Topol complexes could be placed in Belarus," a Russian Defense Ministry official told Interfax (Agence France-Presse/Spacewar.com, Dec. 23).