Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy
Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky believes it is impossible to refuse from the
submarine-launched intercontinental ballistic missile Bulava, despite its recent
unsuccessful tests, and impossible to replace it with another missile.
“We shall continue (to work with Bulava). Just think, how can it be replaced
with any other,” the commander told Itar-Tass.
Answering a question if it is real to develop another missile instead of
Bulava or to use instead of it the recently adopted for service in the RF Navy
Sineva (RSM-54) strategic missile installed on the 667BDRM project
nuclear-powered submarines of the Dolphin class (Delta 5 by NATO
classification), Admiral Vysotsky said: “It’s impossible.”
The Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology is chiefly responsible for the
Bulava missile’s design. Bulava carries the NATO reporting name SS-NX-30 and has
been assigned the GRAU index 3M30. In international treaties, the common
designation RSM-56 is used.
The Bulava design is based on the Topol M, but is both lighter and more
sophisticated. The two missiles are expected to have comparable ranges, and
similar CEP and warhead configurations. The Russian military developed Bulava to
possess advanced defence capabilities making it resistant to missile-defence
systems. Among its claimed abilities are evasive manoeuvring, mid-course
countermeasures and decoys and a warhead fully shielded against both physical
and Electromagnetic pulse damage. The Bulava is designed to be capable of
surviving a nuclear blast at a minimum distance of 500 metres. Prime Minister
Vladimir Putin has claimed that Bulava could penetrate any potential
anti-missile defence system.
The Bulava is planned to carry up to 6 MIRV warheads with a yield of 150 kT
each. A full-capacity payload requires the forfeiture of all final stage
countermeasures and of some shielding.
The decision on developing the Bulava missile was adopted in 1998 after three
unsuccessful tests of the Bark missile of the Miass Construction Bureau named
after Makeyev. The missile completed the first stage launch-tests at the end of
2004. It was originally scheduled for completion in late 2006, but is now not
expected to enter service until 2009. The first boats to carry the Bulava will
be the forthcoming Borei class submarines, which will be outfitted with sixteen
missiles each. The first three boats of this class will be deployed in 2010 (a
total of 5 were planned for 2015.) A land-based variant is also expected.
On 19 September 2008, a senior Navy official announced that Russia will adopt
the new Bulava-M submarine-based ballistic missile for service with the Navy in
2009. However, as of July 2009 about half of the tests of the submarine-based
Bulava-M have been failures.
The first test launches conducted on 27 September 2005, and 21 December 2005,
from the Dmitry Donskoi, a Typhoon class ballistic missile submarine, were
successful. The next three flight tests, on 7 September 2006, 25 October 2006,
and 24 December 2006, ended in failures of the missile, the causes of which have
not yet been revealed.
One successful test launch was conducted on 28 June 2007, although some
reports claim problems with the missile’s warheads. On August 5, 2007 Russia
made a decision to start serial production of the Bulava sea-launched ballistic
missile. However, this did not happen, and after a longer period of reviewing
the programme the decision was made to continue the flight testing.
On 25 July 2008, the Dmitry Donskoi went to sea to conduct tests of the new
launching system.
Three more tests were conducted during 2008. The first was
conducted on 18 September 2008 at 18:45 Moscow time. Some reports did however
say that the test was not quite successful and that the bus failed to separate
the warheads, or that the missile carried no warheads at all. The second was
conducted on 28 November 2008 from a submerged Typhoon class submarine in the
White Sea. First reports suggested that is was a successful test. The third and
last test of 2008 was conducted at 03:00 GMT on 23 December 2008, but failed
after the missile went off-course and self-destructed. On December 23, 2008 a
senior Russian Navy official said that at least five more Bulava tests will be
conducted during 2009.
In February 2009 it was announced that the flight tests would be resumed in
March 2009. This was later delayed to June 2009. On July 15 a new test was
conducted, ending in another failure when the missile’s first stage
malfunctioned shortly after launch.
In the last days of October 2009 another launch reportedly failed when the
missile did not leave the launch tube, according to an anonymous source.
However, according to other sources, “the launch was tentatively scheduled for
November 24 but has been postponed to the end of 2009.”
There was another test on December 9, 2009, which failed. The failure caused
the 2009 Norwegian spiral anomaly, causing puzzlement and excitement there
before the source was later identified. The Russian Defence Ministry reported
that the first two stages of the rocket worked properly, but a technical failure
in the third stage resulted in the launch failure.(@Itar-Tass)
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