April 17, 2006 :: BBC Worldwide Monitoring :: News
Russia has announced the testing and deployment schedule for its mobile Topol-M (SS-27) ICBM and sea-based Bulava (SS-NX-30) SLBM. Yuriy Solomonov, chief designer of Russian ICBMs, was quoted as saying that the first missile regiment armed with truck-mounted Topol-M missiles will be put on combat duty in 2006. The Topol-M is capable of hitting targets at a range of more than 10,000 kilometers (6,000 miles), and is said to be the core of Russia’s modernized missile arsenal. Solomonov added that the Bulava (the sea-based version of the Topol-M) will begin a three-year test schedule in June/July 2006, and will be deployed on the submarine Yuriy Dolgorukiy in 2008. Asked how many trials the Bulava will undergo during this period, Solomonov replied “no less than ten.”
Solomonov also recently said that the Topol-M (SS-27) ICBM and Bulava (SS-NX-30) SLBM will provide an offensive deterrent through at least 2050. In recent weeks, Russian defense analysts have expressed their concern that the number of Russian nuclear weapons could fall below the threshold of the Strategic Offensive Reduction Treaty, which requires the U.S. and Russia to cut their nuclear arsenals to between 1,700 and 2,200 warheads by 2012. At present, only five or six new single-warhead Topol-Ms are added to the Russian inventory each year, while an increasing number of Soviet-made missile carrying multiple warheads are decommissioned. Solomonov said that the Russian military will announce later this year a plan to adapt the sea-based Bulava, which can carry six warheads, for ground-based launches. The chief designer did not elaborate any further, but assured reporters that the number of active Russian warheads would be no less than 2,000 by 2020. (Article)
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