If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
Or that's what Crazy Ivan thinks...
In a story from Russian media, the defense ministry announced a planned test shoot of its poor performing SS-NX-30 Sub-Launched Ballistic Missile. The new nuke can carry up to 12 warheads with a 150kt yield each.
And it looks as if the third time's the charm...
Russia's military has announced that it successfully launched an advanced ballistic missile from a nuclear submarine, after a series of failures had raised doubts about its viability.The Defense Ministry said on October 7 that the Navy had fired a Bulava missile from near Russia's border with Finland to the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East, a distance of more than 6,000 kilometers.
The missile had previously failed in seven out od 12 shoots, the last one being in December, 2009, throwing the program into deep doubt.
The launch could mark the sixth successful Bulava test of 13 conducted to date, though even the five declared test successes have been questioned by some military specialists (Isachenkov, Associated Press). The missile's previous test last December ended in the weapon burning up over Norway, producing a highly visible light in the night sky.
It is reportedly the most expensive defense program now being run by the government in Moscow and has flirted with cancellation more than once.
Russian officials have blamed assembly errors for failed tests of the weapon, which was designed to penetrate enemy missile shields with its rapid liftoff and evasive movements. Hundreds of contractors work on the weapon's components, complicating efforts to check for problems, the government sources argued.
-- Christian
