The test launch of the Bulava ended in failure on December 24. Shortly after the incident, Kommersant, a leading business daily, reported that “two special commissions were set up to investigate the causes of the failed test launches.” The first commission will deal with technical issues directly related to the launches, while the other one will try to locate the origin of a leak to the press about the failure of the Bulava. Well, to say a “leak” is to say nothing. The whole world became aware of the three unsuccessful launches of the Bulava. The previous two unsuccessful launches occurred September 7 and October 25, RIA Novosti reported. The missiles were launched from a ballistic missile submarine in the White Sea. The first missile failed to reach its target, and the second self-destructed after deviating from its trajectory.
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The Bulava was supposed to become a powerful weapon that can be launched from any location around the globe. One missile is capable of destructing about ten targets, each the size of a city. The R-30 (SS-NX-30) intercontinental ballistic missile was developed on the basis of the Topol-M, a similar land-based missile. The Bulava were to be deployed on new submarines of Borei class. One submarine will carry 12 missiles aboard. The Bulava is equipped with 10 warheads; each of the warheads can be programmed for independent target acquisition. In other words, one submarine will be capable of hitting 120 targets while operating in any part of the world, the Arctic and Antarctic inclusive.
However, the three unsuccessful test launches occurred in a row following the four successful ones. The Bulava missile was developed at the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology. A team of designers and engineers was headed by Yuri Solomonov. The team was previously involved in the development of the Topol-M. According to Solomonov, the Bulava was designed to become a modified version of the Topol-M that would enable the government to significantly cut production costs. That is why all the tests were carried out at sea. There were no test launches on land. Besides, the above design bureau has never developed naval missiles. The test program went off without a hitch until last year. The latest series of failures put in jeopardy the plans for the deployment of the Bulava in 2007. The Russian military will have to conduct from 12 to 14 successful test launches of Bulava missiles prior to commissioning them as the naval component of Russia’s strategic nuclear forces, said Anatoly Perminov, head of the Federal Space Agency, in an interview to Kommersant.
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