The Bulava is a submarine-launched ballistic missile developed for the
Russian Navy and deployed in 2013 on the new Borei class of ballistic missile
nuclear submarines. It is intended as the future cornerstone of Russia's
nuclear triad, and is the most expensive weapons project in the country. The
weapon takes its name from bulava, a Russian word for mace. The Bulava is
almost equal to the 1979 Trident C4 in terms of performance and size. Bulava
has slightly greater range but a lower throw-weight.
Designed by Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology, development of the missile
was launched in the late 1990s as a replacement for the R-39 Rif solid-fuel
SLBM. It is expected that the first three Borei-class submarines will carry
16 missiles, while the following five vessels will carry 20 missiles.
Development and deployment of the Bulava missile within the Russian Navy is not
affected by the enforcement of the new START treaty.
The missile's flight test programme was problematic. Until 2009, there were 6
failures in 13 flight tests and one failure during ground test, blamed
mostly on substandard components. After a failure in December 2009, further
tests were put on hold and a probe was conducted to find out the reasons for
the failures. Testing was resumed on 7 October 2010 with a launch from the
Typhoon-class submarine Dmitri Donskoi in the White Sea; the warheads
successfully hit their targets at the Kura Test Range in the Russian Far East.
Seven launches have been conducted since the probe, all successful. On 28 June
2011, the missile was launched for the first time from its standard carrier,
Borei-class submarine Yury Dolgorukiy, and on 27 August 2011 the first
full-range) flight test was conducted. After this successful launch, the start
of serial production of Bulava missiles in the same configuration was announced
on 28 June 2011. A successful salvo launch on 23 December 2011 concluded the
flight test programme. The missile was officially approved for service on 27
December 2011, and was reported to be commissioned aboard the Yuri Dolgorukiy
on 10 January 2013. The missile did however continue to fail in the summer
of 2013 and was not operational as of November 2013. The Bulava is finally
operational aboard Yury Dolgorukiy as of October 2014.
Description The Bulava missile was developed by
Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology under the leadership of chief designer
Yury Solomonov. Although it utilizes some engineering solutions used for the
recent Topol-M ICBM, the new missile has been developed virtually from scratch.
Bulava is both lighter and more sophisticated than the Topol-M. The two
missiles are expected to have comparable ranges, and similar CEP and warhead
configurations. Bulava has a declared START throw weight of 1150 kg to 9,500
km. The missile has three stages; the first
and second stages use solid fuel propellant, while the third stage uses a
liquid fuel to allow high maneuverability during warhead
separation. The missile can be launched from an inclined position, allowing a
submarine to fire them while moving. It has a low flight trajectory, and due to
this could be classified as a quasi-ballistic missile. The missile
possesses advanced defense capabilities making it resistant to missile-defense
systems. Among its abilities are evasive maneuvering, mid-course countermeasures
and decoys, and a warhead fully shielded against both physical and
electromagnetic pulse damage. The Bulava is designed to be capable of surviving a
nuclear blast at a minimum distance of 500 metres.
The Bulava's advanced technology allows it to carry up to 10 hypersonic,
individually guided, maneuverable warheads with a yield of 100–150 kt
each. Borei-class submarines carrying Bulava
missiles are expected to be an integral part of the Russian nuclear triad until
2040. Bulava can be loaded on TEL road mobile
launchers, on railway BZhRK trains, other various displacement ground sea
sub. Development history
= Inception = In the 1990s, Russia had two
submarine-launched ICBMs, the solid-fuel R-39 and the liquid-fuel R-29 Vysota
family, both developed by the Makeyev Design Bureau. A new missile, designated
R-39UTTH Bark was under development to replace the R-39. The Bark was planned
to become the only submarine-launched ballistic missile of the Russian nuclear
arsenal. However, its development was plagued with problems, and after three
test failures the Bark programme was canceled in 1998. Moscow Institute of
Thermal Technology was now tasked with developing a new advanced missile. The
institute promised that it would able to quickly develop a new naval missile
based on its recent Topol-M land-based ICBM.
The new missile would be deployed per 16 missiles on the Borei I- and per 20
missiles on Borei II-class submarines. As the new submarines would not be ready
in time for flight tests, the Typhoon-class submarine Dmitry Donskoy
was upgraded to carry Bulavas. Key people involved in the decision to
develop Bulava included the institute director and Bulava's chief designer
Yury Solomonov; director of the Defense Ministry's Fourth Central Research
Institute, Major-General Vladimir Dvorkin; Navy Commander, Fleet Admiral
Vladimir Kuroyedov; Defense Minister, Marshal Igor Sergeyev; Economics
Minister Yakov Urinson and Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin.
= First tests = The missile completed the first stage
launch-tests at the end of 2004. Although it was initially planned to
base the Bulava design on the Topol-M, the first tests showed that the new
missile was completely different in terms of appearance, dimensions and
warhead lay-out. It was later acknowledged that the Moscow Institute
of Thermal Technology had developed Bulava virtually from scratch, reusing
only a few engineering solutions from the Topol-M.
= Troubles = By 2009, the missile had experienced 5
failures in 11 tests. This led to the missile's chief designer, Yury Solomonov
resigning from his post in July 2009. Aleksandr Sukhodolskiy was appointed as
the new general designer of sea-based ballistic missiles at the Moscow
Institute of Thermal Technology; Solomonov however retained his post of
general designer of land-based missiles. Explanations for the failures
Chief designer Solomonov has blamed the failures on the poor state of the
Russian defense industry and problems in the design-technology-production chain.
"Sometimes [the problem] is poor-quality materials, sometimes it is the lack of
necessary equipment to exclude the 'human' factor in production, sometimes
it is inefficient quality control" According to Solomonov, the industry is
unable to manufacture 50 of the necessary components for the missile,
forcing designers to improvise and look for alternative solutions, which
seriously complicates the testing process. Solomonov further said that
despite the failures, there was no need for changes in the design.
Sergei Kovalyov, the designer of three generations of Russian strategic
submarines said that due to lack of funding, the developers had been unable
to conduct test launches from a floating pad to test the underwater segment of
the missile's trajectory. He also said that there were insufficient funds to
conduct ground-based test launches. Both types of testing had been standard
procedure during Soviet times. Kovalyov also criticised the poor quality of
missile components provided by a large number of sub-contractors and the
absence of military representatives at manufacturing plants.
The 2009 Norwegian spiral anomalies, a temporary strange light phenomenon over
vast areas of northern Norway have been explained with a failed stage of a
Bulava missile test. According to a spokesman, "The missile's first two
stages worked as normal, but there was a technical malfunction at the next,
third, stage of the trajectory". Effects on the military
Due to the delays in Bulava's development, the launch of the fourth
Borei-class submarine, Svyatitel Nikolay, has been pushed back. Russia
was planning to build eight of Borei-class submarines by 2015.
Only one Typhoon-class submarine, Dmitry Donskoy, has been modified to launch
Bulavas. The Bulava program is the most expensive weapons project in Russia.
Debate about the program Despite continued test failures, the
Russian defense minister, Anatoly Serdyukov, has stated that the project
will not be abandoned. "We will certainly not give up the Bulava. I
think that despite all the failures, the missile will fly," he said in an
interview in late December 2009. The Russian military has been adamant that
there is no alternative to Bulava. There has been discussion among analysts
about the possibility of re-equipping the Borei-class submarines with the more
reliable liquid-propellant R-29RMU Sineva missiles. The Sineva is an
upgrade of the R-29RM Shtil and entered service in 2007. According to RIA
Novosti military analyst Ilya Kramnik, this would have been an attractive
option, given that the less advanced Sineva missiles already have "virtually
the same impressive specifications as the Trident II SLBMs wielded by the U.S.
Navy and the Royal Navy." However, the work needed to redesign and modify the
Borei-class submarines to carry Sinevas is regarded as too expensive.
Probe After a launch failure in December 2009
caused by a defective engine nozzle and which led to the 2009 Norwegian spiral
anomaly, further tests were put on hold and a review of the missile program was
initiated. The results of the probe were delivered to the Russian government in
May 2010. = 2010 tests =
Testing was resumed for the first time after the probe on 7 October 2010. The
missile was launched from the submerged Dmitry Donskoy, in the White Sea, and
the warheads successfully hit their targets at the Kura testing range, 380
kilometres to the north of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in the Russian
Far East. The launch reportedly took place at 07:15 UTC. The missile
travelled over 6,000 kilometres, and the rocket's trajectory was within the
normal parameters, according to a Navy official.
The second test launch in 2010 from Dmitry Donskoy was set to 29 October and
was successful. The next test to be performed from Yuriy
Dolgorukiy was initially planned to December 2010, but was postponed to
mid-summer 2011 due to ice conditions in White Sea.
Each of following new test missiles needed to been built under nearly
identical conditions, in order to determine the cause of potential
failures. = 2011 tests and deployment =
Russian defense sources have stated that the Bulava missile will not enter
service until it is 98-99% reliable. According to the Russian Vice Premier
Sergei Ivanov another six successful launches will be required before the
missile could be commissioned. After a successful test salvo launch in December
2011, Russian president Dmitry Medvedev announced that the Bulava missile was
ready and it would now be adopted for service with the Russian Navy.
= 2012 tests and deployment = On August 2012 a high-ranking official
of Russia’s United Shipbuilding Corporation said in 2012 Russia will
test fire its Bulava missile only once, in November, specifically from the
nuclear-powered submarine Alexander Nevsky.
= 2013 deployment = Bulava was finally commissioned with its
lead carrier Yuri Dolgorukiy on 10 January 2013. The official ceremony of
raising the Russian Navy colors on the submarine was led by Russian Defense
Minister Sergey Shoigu. After another failed launch in September, Shoigu
announced a pause in the state trials of the next two submarines and five more
test launches. The entire production run of the missiles was then recalled for
factory inspections. Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yury Borisov told
reporters on Wednesday 20 November 2013: "The commission has completed its work.
The causes have been determined. They are technological and are related to the
production of the nozzle," Borisov told a roundtable meeting on state defense
contracts. The cause of the failure does not call into question "the correctness
of the production of the product in general," he said. The flaw that has
been revealed has been corrected on the three remaining missiles in this batch,
Borisov said. Borisov said Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has made
a decision to hold another five Bulava launches. "These launches will be
planned next year," Borisov said. The intercontinental ballistic missile
Bulava was launched at the Kura testing ground in Kamchatka during the state
testing of the strategic nuclear submarine Alexander Nevsky in the White
Sea on September 6. "The missile left the launch container, but the its board
system failed three minutes into the launch," the Russian Defense Ministry
earlier said. Timetable & SLBM Comparison
Service In October 2010 it was reported that
150-170 operational missiles would be built.
After the successful launch on 28 June 2011, the Russian government announced
the start of serial production of Bulava missiles. On 10 January 2013, Bulava was
adopted into service with its lead carrier submarine Yuri Dolgorukiy.
See also Comparison of ICBMs
M51 SLBM - French submarine-launched intercontinental ballistic missile
Trident II SLBM - US submarine-launched intercontinental ballistic missile
JL-2 SLBM – Chinese submarine-launched intercontinental ballistic missile
R-29RMU2 Layner - Russian submarine-launched intercontinental
ballistic missile based on R-29RMU Sineva
RS-26 Rubezh - Russian Intercontinental Ballistic Missile based on the RS-24
Yars RS-28 Sarmat - Russian heavy
intercontinental ballistic missile, replacement for R-36M SS-18
RT-2PM2 Topol-M RS-24 Yars
R-39M R-39 Rif
RT-23 Molodets References
External links MissileThreat news articles, primarily
with an American view of events. Russia's Bulava undergoes fast-track
test programme, May 2006. Technical data in PDF, DTIG.
Technical data from CNews.ru. Technical data from warfare.ru.