Article Posted on : - May 24, 2010

Bulava Missile being launched from a Russian sub

MOSCOW (BNS): Russia has decided to carry out test launches of its Bulava ballistic missile in November and not in June as planned earlier, an agency report said.

The Russian Navy had earlier intended at least four new test launches of the missile at the end of June, but defense industry experts suggested they would need to build three missiles under identical conditions to establish the causes of the failures, RIA Novosti said.

The news agency quoting Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said, "We should be ready to resume the (Bulava) tests by November, I think."

Serdyukov said that the problems with the missile apparently originate from the faulty assembly process.

"It all comes from the poor quality of assembly. But each failed launch has experienced different problems," the minister said.

He hoped that testing of the three identical missiles would allow the experts to pinpoint the cause of failures.

Russia had last tested the missile in early December 2009, which ended in failure. Only five of 12 Bulava launches have been officially reported as being successful, the report said.

The Bulava (SS-NX-30) is a three-stage liquid and solid-propellant submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). It carries up to 10 MIRV warheads and has a range of over 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles).

The missile has been specifically designed for Russia's new Borey class nuclear submarines.