The launch
is part of state tests of weapons and systems of the Vladimir Monomakh
nuclear-powered submarine, ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov
said.
The three-stage Bulava SLBM carries up to 10 independent warheads and
has a range of 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles).
The Borey class, the Russian Navy’s first post-Soviet ballistic
missile submarine design, will form the backbone of the fleet’s
strategic nuclear deterrent force after older boats are retired by 2018.
Russia expects eight of the boats to enter service by 2020.
The missile — developed specifically for the new Borey-class —
has suffered a string of failures in past tests.
Last September during state trials of the Aleksander Nevsky nuclear-powered
submarine a Bulava rocket experienced a malfunction. Following this
incident Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered to hold five
additional launches of Bulava missiles.
Despite the test failures, the Russian military insisted there is no
alternative to the Bulava as the main armament for Russia’s new
Borey-class strategic missile submarines. |
