On October 29, 2024 Russian armed forces conducted a regular exercise of strategic forces (in English). This is an annual exercise that is traditionally held in the fall. The previous one was held on 26 October 2023. As in previous years, the President of Russia participated in the exercise from the National Defense Control Center. According to the official announcement, the exercise tested procedures of "a massive nuclear strike in response to a nuclear strike by an adversary."

Like in 2023 (and in 2022), the exercise involved a launch of a Yars missile from a mobile launcher in Plesetsk, a launch of a Sineva missile from a submarine of the Project 667BDRM/Delta IV class from the Barents Sea (Novomoskovsk in 2024, Tula in 2022 and 2023), and launches of ALCMs conducted by two Tu-95MS bombers.

This year, the exercise also included a launch of a Bulava missile from the Knyaz Oleg submarine of the Project 955A/Borey-A class deployed in the Sea of Okhotsk. This appears to be the first time this kind of exercise included a Bulava launch. The plan of the 2019 exercise appears to have included a Bulava launch, but it didn't take place. There was a Bulava launch three days after the 2020 exercise, but it was a salvo launch of four missiles that normally would not be included in an exercise.

UPDATE: My readers tell me that there was an apparent attempt to launch a Bulava in October 2023. The NAVAREA XIII 129/23 NOTAM issued in October 2023 (top image) covered the same areas as the NAVAREA XIII 133/24 and NAVAREA XIII 134/24 issued in October 2024. Also, in 2023, one of the Project 995 submarines departed Vilyuchinsk/Rybachiy on 15 October 2023, 11 days before the exercise. In 2024, Knyaz Oleg left the base on 19 October 2024, 10 days before the launch. There was no launch in 2023.