Bulava
Bulava missile test history
| Date | Result | 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. |
| 2 | 12/21/05 | Success | First launch from a submerged submarine. |
| 3 | 09/07/06 | Failure | Launch from a submerged submarine. The first stage failed shortly after launch. |
| 4 | 10/25/06 | Failure | Launch from a submerged submarine. Failure of the first stage. |
| 5 | 12/24/06 | Failure | From a surfaced submarine. Problems with the third stage. |
| 6 | 06/28/07 | Success | Unconfirmed reports about problems with one of the warheads. |
| 7 | 11/10/07 | Failure | The first stage failed shortly after launch. |
| 8 | 09/18/08 | Failure | Failure of the bus. |
| 9 | 11/28/08 | Success | The "first fully successful test" of the missile. |
| 10 | 12/23/08 | Failure | Failure of the third stage. |
| 11 | 07/15/09 | Failure | Failure of the first stage. |
| 12 | 12/09/09 | Failure | Failure of the third stage. |
| 13 | 10/07/10 | Success | |
| 14 | 10/29/10 | Success | |
| 15 | 06/28/11 | Success | First launch from Project 955 submarine, Yuri Dolgorukiy (YD). |
| 16 | 08/27/11 | Success | Full-range test to the Pacific (YD). |
| 17 | 10/28/11 | Success | YD. |
| 18-19 | 12/23/11 | Success | Salvo launch of two missiles (YD). |
| 20 | 09/06/13 | Failure | First launch from Aleksandr Nevskiy (AN). Failure on the 2nd minute. |
| 21 | 09/10/14 | Success | First launch from Vladimir Monomakh (VM). |
| 22 | 10/29/14 | Success | First launch from fully loaded submarine (YD). |
| 23 | 11/28/14 | Success | AN. |
| 24-25 | 11/14/15 | Success(?) | Salvo launch from Vladimir Monomakh. One of the missiles did not perform properly. |
| 26-27 | 09/27/16 | Success(?) | Salvo launch from YD. The second missile exploded after launch. |
| 28 | 06/26/17 | Success | YD. |
| 29-32 | 05/22/18 | Success | Four-missile salvo launch from YD. |
| 33 | 08/24/19 | Success | From YD. |
| 34 | 10/29/19 | Success | First launch from Knyaz Vladimir. |
| 35-38 | 12/12/20 | Success | Four-missile salvo launch from Vladimir Monomakh. First launch from the Pacific. |
| 39 | 11/03/22 | Success | From Generalissimus Suvorov. |
| 40 | 11/05/23 | Success | From Imperator Alexander III. |
| 41 | 10/29/24 | Success | From Knyaz Oleg. Part of the strategic forces exercise. Launch from the Pacific. |
| 42 | 10/28/26 | Success | From Generalissimus Suvorov. Westward launch from the Sea of Okhotsk. |
There is some uncertainty about results of two tests. The one on 27 September 2005 was reported to be successful at the time, but in December 2006 Ivan Safronov reported that the third stage of the missile failed in that test. Also, there were some reports about problems in the June 28th, 2007, but it is not clear whether these were credible.
There are also several events in which a launch may have been scrubbed. These include the 2019 and 2023 strategic exercises, as well as an event in June 2025, which may have been an attempt to launch a Bulava missile from the Knyaz Pozharskiy submarine.
Bulava missile has also been tested in pop-up tests from a land-based launcher.
The book
