Article Posted on : - May 15, 2012

Test launch of Bulava missile. A File photo.

MOSCOW (PTI): The blueprints of Bulava, Russia's most lethal and advanced submarine launched nuclear missile, which carries up to 10 warheads may have been leaked out, the country's authorities fear.

A defence employee has been accused of leaking sensitive information about the intercontinental missile with a strike range of upto 8,000 kms, to a foreign intelligence service, Ria Novosti news agency reported citing a report in the Kommersant daily.

The leaked information includes the Bulava missile's guidance and control system.

"There is conclusive evidence of his guilt," a law enforcement source was quoted by the daily as saying.

Details of the case have not been disclosed because it involves state secrets, the news report stated.

Experts suggest the company in question could be the Yekaterinburg-based Avtomatika Science and Production Association, which has been developing the missile's control and guidance system.

The man is due to go on trial at the Sverdlovsk Region Court, which will take place behind closed doors due to the sensitive nature of the case.

The Bulava (SS-NX-30) SLBM, developed by the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology (since 1998), carries up to 10 MIRV warheads and has a range of over 8,000 kilometres.The three-stage ballistic missile is designed for deployment on Borey-class nuclear submarines.