The Russian military stated that it has conducted successful tests of two Submarines Launched
Ballistic Missiles (SLBM).
Two Russian submarines took part in the exercise on Saturday and each fires one SLBM.
The missiles were Bulava and Sineva.
The military said, "The life-sized models of payloads completed the full launch cycle
and successfully neutralized dummy targets"
The targets were located in Kamchatka, in Russia's far east, and Archangelsk, in the
country's north.
It is important to note that both the missiles are capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads.
In this video Defense Updates analyzes Russia’s testing of two deadly Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile.
Let’s get started.
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INF Treaty was signed by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987.
It banned ground-launch missiles with ranges from 500 km to 5,500 km that is 310 to 3420
miles
The INF Treaty eliminated around 2,700 nuclear and conventional missiles, as well as their
launchers.
This was achieved by May 1991.
This included short-range missile with 310–620 mi that is 500–1,000 km range and intermediate
range missile with 620–3,420 mi that is 1,000–5,500 km range.
The treaty had provisions for 10 years of onsite inspections.
INF Treaty went a long way in ending the serious standoff between U.S Pershing and cruise missiles
and Soviet SS-20 missiles in Europe.
It should be noted that the treaty does not cover sea-launched missiles.
The U.S pulled out of the treaty effective from 2nd Aug
There were 2 main factors that resulted in U.S abandoning the treaty which we will now
look into one by one.
The primary one was the Russian Novator 9M729 missile.
As per the United States, Novator 9M729 is land-based and has a range between 500 km
to 5,500 km that is 310 to 3420 miles depending on fuel load and warhead used.
This makes the missile violate the terms of the INF treaty.
The second was the Chinese factor.
It was noted that China is not a signatory of any treaty like this and used it to develop
a large arsenal of missiles.
The Chinese Rocket Forces has more than 2,000 ballistic and cruise missiles, almost 95%
of which would violate the INF treat if China was a signature.
The U.S recently tested a new ground-launched cruise missile.
The missile test would not have been permitted under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces
or INF Treaty.
To know more on that missile, please check the video on above card.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had ordered the military to prepare a "symmetric
response" to the US test.
It it not entirely clear as of now if the tests of Bulava and Sineva were pre scheduled
or directly connected to Mrs Putin's statement.
RSM-56 Bulava is developed for the Russian Navy to replace the solid-fuel R-39 and the
liquid-fuel R-29 Vysota.
Bulava got deployed in 2013 on the new Borei class submarines.
It is intended to be the future cornerstone of Russia's nuclear triad.
As per reports, it's the most expensive weapons project in the country.
Bulava 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 weigh in at 37.4 tonnes
Though there is not much information regarding the accuracy of Bulava, it is reported to
have an accuracy of 350 m CEP
Bulava can reach speed of Mach 24 in the terminal phase.
The missile has a range of more than 5600 mi or 9,000 km.
Bulava is Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicle or MIRV capable missile.
Each MIRV can take out multiple targets.
MIRV capable missile are also much harder to intercept when compare to normal missile,
since they saturate Anti Ballistic Missile Defense system with ‘n’ number of warheads
simultaneously.
The first true MIRV design was the American Minuteman III land based Intercontinental
Ballistic Missile which was introduced into actual use in 1970.
Bulava can carry 6 warheads each having yield of 150 kt.
But Bulava has 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 overwhelm them
with large number of decoys.
RSM-54 Sineva is another advanced Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles developed for
the Russian Navy.
It is actually seen as a rival to Bulava.
Sineva entered service in 2007 and were deployed in the Delta IV class submarines.
Sineva like Bulava is a three-stage rocket but uses liquid propellent.
The missile is 114.8 m in length , 1.9 m in diameter and weigh in at 40.3 tonnes
Sineva is reported to have an accuracy of 500 m CEP.
The missile has a reported range of more than 5157 mi or 8,300 km.
In a 2008 exercise, Sineva set a record for the longest distance flown by a ballistic
missile, traveling more than 11,000 kilometers (6,853 miles).
Sineva like Bulava is also MIRV capable missile.
It can carry four warheads of 500 kiloton each or 10 MIRV with 100 kiloton yield.
Sineva can reach speed of Mach 23 in the terminal phase.
Though exact nature of Sineva's anti missile defense counter measures are not known, it
is believed to have decoys.
ANALYSIS (its not Sensors- something went wrong in editing. Sorry !)
The probability of a nuclear conflict has increased significantly with the ending of
INF Treaty.
Russia blamed the Trump administration for the collapse INF treaty and warned of a potential
new arms race.
President Vladimir Putin called on the U.S. to resume nuclear talks so that the strategic
stability could be safeguarded.
Putin said in a Kremlin statement on August 5, the demise of the INF has “created fundamental
risks for everyone,” . He suggested a return to “common sense” in international security
policy.
President Trump recently stated that his administration had been discussing with Russia "about a pact
for nuclear weapons, so that they get rid of some, we get rid of some".
He also added."We'd certainly have to include China at some point”
Bulava and Sineva are two of the most powerful missile in the planet and similar in capability
to American UGM-133A Trident II SLBM that are deployed in Ohio class submarines.
Even if the tests were not conducted in response to American cruise missile, it serves another
purpose.
The submarine launches come weeks after a blast at a missile testing site in Archangelsk,
which killed at least five nuclear engineers
On March 1, 2018, the Russian President gave a very feverish speech during the ’state
of nation' address before Russian lawmakers and other senior government officials.
During the speech, Mr. Putin revealed that Russia was working on a host of advanced weapons.
The list included Avangard - a hypersonic boost-glide vehicle, Sarmat or Satan 2 - an
Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, Poseidon or Kanyon - a nuclear-armed unmanned undersea
vehicle, Kinzhal - a hypersonic cruise missile as well as an unnamed unlimited range nuclear
cruise missile.
The blast was most likely caused by one of the two weapon- Poseidon or Burevestnik and
dented the image of Russian military.
The test of Bulava and Sineva may be aimed at restoring the image.
But whatever the the reasons, Bulava and Sineva represent a one fo the most effective instrument
of nuclear deterrence.