Russia's new nuclear-capable missile suffered another failed
test launch, the defence ministry said Thursday, solving the mystery of
a spectacular plume of white light that appeared over Norway.
The Bulava missile was test-fired from the submarine Dmitry Donskoi
in the White Sea early Wednesday but failed at the third stage, the
defence ministry said in a statement.
The pre-dawn morning launch coincided with the appearance of an
extraordinary light over northern Norway that captivated observers.
Images of the light that appeared in the sky above the Norwegian
city of Tromso and elsewhere prompted explanations ranging from a
meteor, northern lights, a failed missile or even a UFO.
Describing the latest failure of the Bulava as a major embarrassment
for the military, leading Russian defence analyst Pavel Felgenhauer
said the images were consistent with a missile failure.
"Such lights and clouds appear from time to time when a missile
fails in the upper layers of the atmosphere and have been reported
before," he told AFP.
"At least this failed test made some nice fireworks for the Norwegians," he joked.
The White Sea, which is the usual site for such missile tests by Russian submarines, lies close to Norway's own Arctic region.
This was the 12th test launch of the Bulava and the seventh time the firing has ended in failure, the Interfax news agency said.
The submarine-launched missile is central to Russia's plan to revamp
its ageing weapons arsenal but is beset by development problems.
"The first two stages of the rocket worked but in the final and
third stage there was a technical failure," the defence ministry said
in a statement.
The statement said the problem was with the engine in the third stage, while in past launches the first stage had been faulty.
The problems with the Bulava have become an agonising issue for the
defence ministry, which has ploughed a large proportion of its
procurement budget into ensuring the missile becomes the key element of
its rocket forces.
The previous failure in July forced the resignation of Yury
Solomonov, the director of the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology
which is responsible for developing the missile.
Felgenhauer said that it had dealt a serious blow to Russia's bid to maintain a credible nuclear deterrent.
"By the year 2030, Russia could lose its position as a global
nuclear power if the problems are not solved. And it could be that
these missiles will never fly properly.
"The Russian defence industry has disintegrated to such an extent
that it simply cannot make such a complicated system work. Technology
and expertise have been lost," he said.
The problems are also a major political embarrassment, coming as
Russia negotiates with the United States the parameters of a new arms
reduction treaty to replace the 1991 START accord.
The treaty expired on December 5, and despite intense negotiations the two sides have yet to agree the text of a new deal.
In a separate development, a successful test-firing took place of
Russia's intercontinental surface-to-surface ballistic missile Topol
RS-12M, news agencies quoted a statement from the strategic rocket
forces as saying.
The missile -- introduced to the rocket forces before the fall of
the Soviet Union -- was fired from the southern Russian region of
Astrakhan and hit its target at a testing range in neighbouring
Kazakhstan.
The Bulava, which can be equipped with up to 10 individually
targeted nuclear warheads, has a maximum range of 8,000 kilometres
(5,000 miles).
It is the sea-based version of the Topol-M, Russia's new
surface-to-surface intercontinental missile, and designed to be
launched from Moscow's newest Borei class of submarines.
Defence analysts say that a further headache for the military is
that the new submarines are designed to be compatible with Bulava and
if the new missile fails to work the vessels will be virtually useless.
(Original News)UFO-like lights over Norway 'not linked' to failed Russian missile on You Tube
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