Development of strategic nuclear forces remains the top priority for
the Russian military. Within the nuclear triad, the military has a big
stake in reinforcing naval strategic forces, although the other two
elements, ground-based missiles and strategic bombers, are also being
modernized.
Yuri Dolgorukiy
The navy accounts for approximately
40% of the defense ministry’s budget, according to Vice Premier Sergey
Ivanov, who discussed spending in mid-2009. “It’s much more than is
spent on strategic missile forces, space forces and the air force put
together. It’s hundreds of billions of rubles,” he said, adding that
the navy’s money will be mainly spent for procuring strategic nuclear
submarines.
The Russian navy’s main program in
this area is the construction of the strategic Borei-class (Project
955) submarines, each armed with 16 R-30 Bulava ICBMs with multiple
warheads. These subs have a submerged displacement of 24,000 tons,
submerged speed of 29 kt. and endurance of 90 days. The navy plans to
have eight such submarines by 2017 to replace the aging fleet of
Delta-IV-class boomers.
The first Borei-class
sub, Yuri Dolgorukiy, was laid down in 1996 at the Severodvinsk Sevmash
shipbuilding plant, but commenced its first sea trial in July 2009. The
cost of construction is unofficially estimated to be 23 billion rubles
($760 million). The first Borei submarine was scheduled to enter
service in 2009, though this has been delayed. Two more submarines of
the class—Vladimir Monomakh and Alexander Nevsky—are being built at
Sevmash. According to Sevmash officials, the keel of the fourth
submarine was to be laid down on Dec. 22, the day Sevmash celebrated
its 70th jubilee. It will reportedly be the first of the improved
Borei-A class.
Last summer and fall, the Yuri
Dolgorukiy conducted sea trials, but its introduction into service may
be delayed because of problems with the weapon it is designed to carry.
Bulava (RSM-56, SS-NX-30) is a new submarine-launched ballistic
missile. The Moscow Institute of Thermotechnics (MIT) has been working
on the weapon since 1988. The three-stage missile has a launch weight
of 36.8 tons and can deliver a 1,150-kg. (2,530-lb.) throw-weight
(i.e., payload) to a range of 8,000 km. (4,970 mi.). The engines of the
first two stages are powered by a solid propellant while the third
stage burns liquid fuel, which ensures the speed necessary for the
warhead-separation phase. The missile reportedly carries 6-10 nuclear
warheads, each 100-150 kilotons, which after separation maneuver at
hypersonic speed to engage individual targets. To speed up development,
Bulava has some commonality with the Topol-M mobile ICBM, also built by
MIT.
Bulava’s test-firing trials started in 2004
from on board the Dmitry Donskoy (Typhoon-class) ballistic-missile
submarine. So far, 11 test launches have been carried out, of which
five were successful. The run of bad luck began in December 2008 when
the missile self-destructed in flight. An investigation showed the
reason was a bad pyrobolt that was used to separate the missile’s
stages. The military insisted on additional ground testing, but the
next sea launch, in July 2009, was also unsuccessful, as the
first-stage engine failed after 28 sec., causing the missile to
self-destruct again.
The test failure led to the
resignation of MIT head Yuri Solomonov, who nevertheless continues to
work as Bulava’s chief designer. The government insists that the reason
for the failure was low manufacturing quality, and initiated a total
inspection of Bulava’s production chain.
The
military, however, decided to continue the trials. The RIA Novosti news
agency cited a Russian defense industry source who said the delay was
caused by the need to resolve additional technical issues between the
defense ministry and the manufacturer. The navy, meanwhile, is keen to
complete Bulava development despite the technical problems, because it
does not have an alternative weapon for the Borei-class submarines. On
Dec. 9, another test was attempted, resulting in yet another failure.
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