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The Bulava missile that just made its maiden flight, has many different designations. The U.S. Department of Defense apparently calls it SS-NX-30 (which will become SS-N-30 after the missile is accepted for service). But in the START Treaty data exchan...
Yet another delay for Yuri Dolgorukiy - the lead ship of the Project 955 Borey class. The plan to have the submarine in service by the end of 2006 proved too optimistic. The new date, announced by Admiral Vladimir Masorin,...
One more test launch of the Bulava missile will take place in December 2005 (the first flight test of the missile took place on September 27, 2005). According to Interfax sources in the military, the test is scheduled for December...
On December 21, 2005 the Dmitry Donskoy submarine of the Northern Fleet performed a successful launch of the Bulava ballistic missile from a submerged submarine. It was the second launch of the Bulava missile.
As the history of the cold war clearly demonstrates, nuclear primacy is a notoriously poorly defined and elusive goal. This is why it was very interesting to read the article by Keir Lieber and Daryl Press, “The Rise of U.S....
A flight test of the Bulava ballistic missile attempted today at 19:50 MSK (15:50 UTC) apparently ended in failure. According to a representative of the Ministry of Defense, quoted by ITAR-TASS, the missile strayed off course and fell into the...
The Russian press is slowly picking up the story about the failed flight test of the Bulava missile that took place on November 12th, 2007. I thought it would be useful to collect in one place what we know about...
Bulava missile test history Date Comment 0.1 12/11/03 Success Pop-up test of a mockup of the missile. 0.2 09/23/04 Success Pop-up test. 1 09/27/05 Success(?) First flight test. Launch from a surfaced submarine. Reports about failure of the third stage....
Comments
As one who has studied the various strategic nuclear infrastructures, yours and ours, I get nervous when one side starts re-modernizing ones' nuclear force. A new SLBM test launch hitting its intended target ? Long Range Aviation conducting joint exercises with the Northern Fleet ? It is my sincere hope that all this activity conforms to Strategic Arms Reduction protocols. . .if I didn't know better, I would say someone is looking to modernize its strategic forces. My question is, why ?
New MIRVed missiles to keep the warhead levels up (at least w/ SSBNs) when all the SS-18, later the SS-19 and SS-25 retire.
Also, this probably should form the basis of a new, mobile land-based MIRV missile.
The Russian strategic forces desperately need a modernization and re-shaping after the chaotic Yeltsin years. I think these movements are in the right direction. It should be accounted also the coercitive deployment of American nukes and CPGM in Europe aimed at Russian strategic facilities.
I think the building of a small versatile and survivable strategic force is correct. It also should account the capability to disrupt the American NMD that can be used for extortive purposes.
According to the following table from Kommersant, the first launch of Bulava was a failure. Is that a mistake?
[http://www.kommersant.ru/doc.aspx?DocsID=733374 ; language - Russian]
It's hard to tell. As I understand it, the missile launch was a success, but there was a problem with the warhead.