September 27, 2005 :: RIA-Novosti :: News
Russia today conducted the much anticipated first flight test of its new Bulava SS-NX-30 intercontinental ballistic missile. The missile was successfully launched from the Dmitry Donskoy Typhoon-class submarine of the Northern Fleet from the White Sea, and it traveled to its designated target at the Kura testing range on the Kamchatka peninsula.
The Bulava had undergone surface and underwater “pop-up” tests in September 2004 to test the submarine release mechanism, but it did not involve the firing of any missile engines.
The test comes a day after President Putin affirmed that Russia continues to develop hypersonic maneuverable warheads for its new missile systems which are capable of evading the sort of midcourse missile defenses being deployed by the United States. The Bulava is the sea-based variant of the Topol-M missile, said to carry such warheads.
Russian Navy spokesman Igor Dygalo told Itar Tass that the Borey-class nuclear submarines will be equipped with the Bulava missiles; two such submarines are being constructed at the Sevmash plant in Severodvinsk in the Arkhangelsk region. The first submarine, the Yury Dolgoruky, will be commissioned in 2006 and the second, the Alexander Nevsky, in 2007. (Article)
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» Sep. 27: Itar Tass on Bulava launch
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