On December 25, 2007 the K-114 Tula submarine of the Project 667BDRM/Delta IV class performed a successful launch of a R-29RM Sineva missile. The launch was performed from a submerged submarine deployed at Barents Sea at 13:00 MSK (10:00 UTC). The warheads successfully reached their targets at the Kura test site on Kamchatka at 13:34 MSK.
This is a second launch of a R-29RM missile from the Tula sumbarine in less than ten days - previous launch took place on December 17, 2007.
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_rapidshare.com/files/82752924/Navy.Ru_-_Operation_Behemoth_1991.flv
Here the popular review about 'Operation Behemoth' - a salvo launch of 16 R-29Rs from Delta-IV, with subtitles, synchronised by clip time:
0:00 - 0:07
Theoretically, subs should launch ICBMs onboard within short time (they say several sets of 10 seconds), but in practice that wasn't verified, and was long considered to be impossible...
0:16
...Our submarine fleet proved that the launch of the entire set of missiles is possible.
0:21
In the August of 1991, they (submarine fleet) performed unique operation 'Begemoth'.
0:31
[description of scene]: Begining of August, 1991, NORAD (they say 'Central monitoring station for ballisitc missiles of USA')...
0:40
... They can see the entire world on the monitors, like on the palm of hand. Suddenly, in the Barentz Sea, one after another, objects appear, starting from the sea level, shooting up into outer space. This is a Soviet submarine launching ballistic missiles...
0:53
...But what is this? One, another, 3rd, 8th, 9th, 16th... Incredible.
1:03
For the first time in history, there was a complete launch of all (implied entire set of) ballistic missiles.
1:09
One of the NORAD junior officers try to joke: 'Perhaps Russians are playing around, sir?'...
1:15
...to which the commander responded negative as he knew that today Russian submarine fleet is performing unique training, and it now became evident that the training operation was completed successfully.
1:25
Operation 'Begemoth' went into history of both fleet and strategic nuclear forces.
1:33
But then, in 1991, almost all forgot about it...
1:40
... Cause just a few days later, august 'putch' occurred. Nothing like this was ever considered to be possible. Only a handful of people have witnessed a sight never seen before - only observers at Russian guard ship, convoying the sub.
2:05
End of 80s: 'Perestroika', 'Glasnost', cooperatives, delayed salaries, strikes of miners and first conflicts on the outskirts of the USSR...
2:22
...beginning of warm friendship with the fierce enemy, - USA. The practical manifestation of said friendship turned out to be signing of a treaty reducing nuclear arsenal.
2:33
Our country, as opposed to our overseas allie, was following the guidelines of the treaty closely.
2:37
It was clear to army officials that the number of missiles would have to be cut down, but, - where to start?
2:51
It seems that stationary missile shafts are the most reliable part of nuclear triad, well hidden and protected.
2:59
Chance of error is minimal, the maintenance is easy, thus the SLBMs would have to be cut.
3:11
And indeed, supporting a submarine fleet is extremely costly, each launch of missiles from subs is associated with some degree of risk.
3:21
As the sub crew say, they 'launch the missiles from their own backs'. But silo-based launches are performed several kilometers away from the ICBM silo.
3:30
There were several reasons to be concerned about the effectiveness of SLBM submarine fleet.
3:39
But the most important reason was that there was a popular opinion floating around that in the case of a global nuclear conflict, none of the submarines would be able to launch all of its missiles (right away)...
3:49
Calculations of the designers of subs is one thing, while practical exploitation is another...
3:56
Sinking of a sub can not only occur due to premature launch of the rocket, but also spilling of highly toxic fuel...
4:05
Fault of SLBM silo at submarine K-219 resulted in the death of several crewman and the decommission of the sub.
4:15
(Russian proverb, - the sense is 'The considerations is one thing and the reality is quite other')
4:20
Sub maintains a certain depth due to so called 'neutral buoyancy'.
4:23
The launch of a rocket pushes the sub down, and shortly thereafter, having lost several tens of tons of weight, the sub is starting to surface (starting rise to the surface)...
4:37
Designers compare the launch of the missile with getting punched by a boxer, but launching the entire set of missiles would be like getting punched many many times...
4:59
What to do to ensure that the sub doesn't submerge a bit after each launch?
5:06
What to do to prevent the change in angle of the sub. Change as large as 2 degrees incapacitates the sub from launching missiles.
5:11
To guarantee a safe launch, the sub must be positioned within the so called 'launch corridor'...
5:18
Think of it as a long underwater tube, you cannot rotate within it, go left or right or up / down.
5:24
During the launch of the missile, all mechanisms of the sub are working.
5:31 Powerful pumps move water by the ton to compensate for the loss of weight. Central computer takes care of maintaining the elevation, sub being propelled in all sorts of ways to try to keep itself within the launch corridor.
5:42
Even the best automated systems cannot guarantee correct position.
5:50
Dynamic loads on the sub depend upon tens of factors which are hard to consider simulataneously. Example: different water density in different parts of the ocean, water currents, etc.
6:00 - end
Bureaucrats kept criticizing that it is impossible to launch all missiles from the sub even though it was demonstrated that missiles can be launched in groups of 4 within only a few seconds of each launch.
Thank you for the video and the transcript. I posted the video at YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzvKdi-18Ps
One note about the text - there is no way NORAD was taken by surprise - at that time the U.S.-Soviet notification agreement was in force and the Soviet Union must have notified the United States about the upcoming launch.