The Russian defense ministry has stated that Russia has successfully test-fired an intercontinental
ballistic missile from its latest nuclear-powered submarine.
The ministry said that the Bulava missile was fired from Prince Vladimir Borei class
submarine from a submerged position.
The defense ministry said in a statement, the missile successfully traveled from the
White Sea in the north-western Arkhangelsk region to the Kura missile test range in Russia's
Far East.
The ministry added, "The flight of the missile took place as normal,”
The submarine is expected to be operational by the end of the year.
It is interesting to note that the Bulava program is Russia’s most expensive military
program and along with the Borei class submarine.
The duo is expected to be part of the Russian nuclear triad until the 2040s.
In this video Defense Updates reports on Russian test firing Bulava SLBM from Prince Vladimir
Borei class submarine.
Let’s get started.
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Ballistic missile submarines are generally nuclear powered and carry long-range nuclear-tipped
missiles also known as SLBM or Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile.
Nuclear strikes can be carried out from land, air, and sea and this is known as Nuclear
Triad.
Nuclear powered ballistic missile submarines are considered to be the most potent weapon
developed by mankind and they are the most survivable part of the nuclear triad.
There are good reasons for it.
A surprise preemptive strike might wipe out a country’s land-based missiles and nuclear
bombers, but it’s very difficult to track and take out a ballistic-missile submarine
patrolling quietly in the depths of the ocean.
Since they can’t be taken out by ‘first strike’ and can retaliate against an enemy
with SLBMs, no sane adversary will attack a country that possesses a Nuclear Powered
Ballistic missile submarines armed with SLBMs.
The importance of these can be gauged from the fact that the 14 Ballistic Missile Submarines
of American Ohio class together carry approximately 50% of the total US active inventory of strategic
thermonuclear warheads.
Nuclear powered ballistic missile submarines are very complex and costly to develop.
This is why the US, Russia, UK, France, China, and India are currently the only countries
to field a nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine.
Prince Vladimir is a Borei class submarine.
Borei class is the latest class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine developed by Russia
and is operated by the Russian Navy.
The Boria class constitutes the new backbone of the sea-based component of Russia’s nuclear
triad.
Russia has 3 of these in active service.
The Borei submarines are approximately 170 meters (560 ft) long, 13 meters (43 ft) in
diameter.
It is powered by OK-650 reactor developed by OKBM Afrikantov which uses nuclear fission
to generate power.
This pressurized water reactor (PWR) uses 20-45% enriched uranium-235 fuel to produce
190 MW of power.
Though developed initially in the 1970s, the reactors have seen several enhancements like
aimed at improving safety and efficiency.
Upgrades include better monitoring subsystems, designed for the rapid detection of leaks
and newer-generation emergency cooling systems for the main reactor core.
Borei subs have a maximum speed of 46 km per hour (25 kn; 29 mph).
Being much smaller and silent than the previous Typhoon class, the submarines of this class
will be much harder to detect.
Similar to other Russian boomers, the Borei class retains a double-hull construction.
Borei class includes a compact and integrated hydrodynamically efficient hull for reduced
broadband noise and the first-ever use of pump-jet propulsion on a Russian nuclear submarine.
The noise level is speculated to be five times lower when compared to the third-generation
nuclear-powered Akula-class submarines and two times lower than that of the U.S. Virginia-class
submarines
Borei class submarine is designed to carry 16 Bulava SLBM.
RSM-56 Bulava is developed for the Russian Navy to replace the solid-fuel R-39 and the
liquid-fuel R-29 Vysota.
The Bulava is the submarine-launched version of Russia's most advanced operational missile,
the Topol-M (SS-27) solid fuel ICBM.
The missile is designed by Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology,
Bulava got deployed in 2013 on the new Borei class submarines.
It is intended to be the future cornerstone of Russia's nuclear triad.
Bulava like American Trident II SLBM is a three-stage rocket but uses solid-fuel rocket
motor for the 1st & 2nd stage and liquid fuel for the 3rd stage, which makes it more maneuverable
during the warhead separation phase.
The missile is 11.5 m in length, 2 m in diameter and weighs in at 37.4 tonnes
The missile uses Inertial guidance, possibly with Astro-inertial guidance and/or GLONASS
update.
It has an accuracy of 350 meters CEP (Circular Error Probability)
Bulava can reach a speed of Mach 24 in the terminal phase.
The missile has a range of more than 5600 mi or 9,000 km.
Bulava is also MIRV capable missile.
It can carry 6-10 warheads each having a yield of 150 kt.
To give viewers a perspective here is a comparison.
Trinity Test in New Mexico in July 1945, which ushered in the nuclear age, had a yield of
20 kilotons.
Hiroshima’s “Little Boy" bomb had a yield of 13-18 kilotons whereas Nagasaki's "Fat
Man" bomb had a yield of 20– 22-kilotons of TNT.
Bulava is also designed to accommodate up to 40 decoys along with the actual warheads.
This is done to keeping in mind the growing anti-missile defense technologies.
The idea here is that Bulava will be able to penetrate those defenses by overwhelming
them with a large number of decoys.
New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) between the United States and the Russian
Federation agreed on having only 8 warheads per missile, so currently, each Bulava will
be armed with 8 warheads.
Bulava has seen a fair share of troubles during the testing phase.
The Bulava missile has encountered many unsuccessful tests and this delayed the operational deployment.
Around 10 of the 27 known earlier tests have ended in failures.
This was mainly due to budgetary constraints and not due to the technical incapability
of Russian engineers and scientists.
Russian defense sources had stated that the Bulava missile will not enter service until
it is 98-99% reliable.
The latest test indicates that Russian engineers are able to fix the lingering issues.
It is to be noted that Russia is planning to build 10 Borei submarines by 2027.
A single Borei class submarine will be able to unleash 16 missiles with 8 warheads each
that is 128 nukes.
This is enough to destroy a significant portion of any country.
This means Russia will have a destructive and updated sea-based nuclear deterrence.
But this is not it, viewers may note that several new weapons were reveled by Russian
President Putin on March 1, 2018, in his State of Nation address before Russian lawmakers
and other senior government officials.
This includes the Burevestnik - a nuclear-powered & nuclear-tipped cruise missile, the Avangard
- a hypersonic boost-glide reentry vehicle, the Poseidon - an autonomous thermonuclear
torpedo, the Sarmat - a new intercontinental-range ballistic missile, and the Kinzhal - an air-launched
hypersonic missile.
The effort is elaborate and the resurgence of the Russian military is clear.