Comments

You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name

Your e-mail (optional)

Website (optional)

	My Original Nic Pic-a-Nic Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Foto

Submit your comments on this article

-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-

Russian Military stunned by missile falures

2009-07-20

The Russian military's drive to revamp its Soviet-era missile arsenal has suffered a major setback after a nuclear-capable missile touted as the new pride of its rocket forces failed again in testing. The submarine-launched Bulava intercontinental missile has now reportedly failed on more than half of its 11 test-firings and the latest launch was particularly disastrous as it blew up before completing the first stage.

The defence ministry late Thursday confirmed that the Bulava had exploded after launch from the nuclear-powered submarine Dmitry Donskoy off northern Russia "due to a failure in the first stage".
I'd wager the sailors on the Donskoy were very happy it cleared the tube before it went boom.
It was the sixth failure in 11 test launches, according to the specialist military newswire of the Interfax news agency. ITAR-TASS said the flight lasted a mere 28 seconds. "It is a big setback that puts into doubt the validity of the nuclear deterrent," independent Russian military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer told AFP. "This time it was in the first stage. That's not good."

Posted by:3dc

#4 In a sign of the importance of the project, the Kommersant newspaper said a colossal 40 percent of the defence ministry's purchasing budget is currently being spent on development of the Bulava.

Awesome! Spending their budget on useless crap that doesn't work and can't be used anyway! I thought we were the only ones who did that. God forbid they should spend money on something useful like a working army or a floating navy.

Posted by: gromky 2009-07-20 14:29

#3 I doubt many Kursk veterans, living or dead, are much surprised.

Posted by: Besoeker 2009-07-20 12:55

#2 If Russia used the UN against The One, that would be a good deterrent for dealing with him.

And the sailors in the sub are damn lucky that missile didn't blow up inside.

Posted by: DarthVader 2009-07-20 09:58

#1 Deterrent? Against what? The One, maybe? It would be a lot less expensive to just not shower for a week.

Posted by: gorb 2009-07-20 09:56

00:00