DMITRY DONSKOY SUBMARINE PREPARES FOR FUTURE BULAVA MISSILE TESTS
RIA Novosti
Oct 28, 2009
MOSCOW, October 28 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s Dmitry Donskoy strategic
nuclear-powered submarine returned on Wednesday from a short sea
test run to prepare for upcoming test launches of the troubled
Bulava missile.
"The sub left the base in Severodvinsk on Monday to test the readiness
of the equipment for future launches of the Bulava missile," a
Severodvinsk administration official said, without specifying the
date for the next test of the missile.
The Typhoon-class submarine, based at a naval facility in northern
Russia’s Severodvinsk, is the only vessel in service with the Russian
Navy capable of testing the new Bulava submarine-launched ballistic
missile (SLBM).
The Russian military expects the Bulava, along with Topol-M land-based
ballistic missiles, to become the core of Russia’s nuclear triad.
However, the Bulava’s development has been dogged by a series of
setbacks, which has officially suffered six failures in 11 tests.
The latest Bulava failure during the launch from Dmitry Donskoy in
the North Sea on July 15 was caused by a defective steering system
in its first stage, a defense industry source said on Monday.
The future development of the Bulava has been questioned by some
lawmakers and defense industry officials, who have suggested that
all efforts should be focused on the existing Sineva SLBM.
But the Russian military has insisted that there is no alternative
to the Bulava and pledged to continue testing the missile until it
is ready to be put in service with the Navy.
The Bulava (SS-NX-30) SLBM carries up to 10 MIRV warheads and has
a range of over 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles). The three-stage
solid-propellant ballistic missile is designed for deployment on
Borey-class nuclear-powered submarines.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
