According to one report that quotes an unnamed representative of the defense industry, the first test launch of the Bulava SLBM in the series scheduled after the last September's failure of the missile will be conducted in September 2014. Following the failure, the ministry of defense announced a plan to test five additional test launches to make sure that the missile is ready for deployment. The five missiles were taken to the Votkinsk plant for inspection. The tests were expected to begin in May-June 2014, but the preparations apparently take longer than expected.

The same report says that it is not clear yet which submarine will carry out the test - it could be either Alexandr Nevskiy or Vladimir Monomakh. Alexandr Nevskiy along with Yuri Dolgorukiy, the second and the first submarine of the Project 955 class, have been already accepted for service and moved to Gadzhievo. Vladimir Monomakh, which is undergoing acceptance trials, is expected to be ready for service (sans missiles) by the end of 2014.