13 août 2014. Portail des Sous-Marins

Deux missiles Bulava seront lancés depuis les SNLE de la classe Borei Alexander Nevsky et Vladimir Monomakh.

Ces lancements du missile balistique Bulava auront lieu en septembre ou octobre, a indiqué mercredi une source de l’état-major de la marine.

Le Vladimir Monomakh devait initialement lancer un missile Bulava en aout ou septembre, alors que l’Yuriy Dolgorukiy — le 1er exemplaire de la série — devait le faire en nombre. Il n’était pas prévu que l’Alexander Nevsky effectue de lancement cette année. L’Alexander Nevsky est le 1er sous-marin Borei de série, il a été admis au service en 2013. Le Vladimir Monomakh devrait l’être à son tour à la fin 2014.

Dans un premier temps, il avait été annoncé que l’Alexander Nevsky et le Vladimir Monomakh effectueraient 3 essais de missiles Bulava depuis la mer d’Okhotsk à l’été ou l’automne 2015. Pour cela, les sous-marins emprunteraient la route du Nord, avec chacun 16 missiles à bord, avait indiqué une source de la commission militaro-industrielle.

D’après le vice-ministre de la défense, Yuriy Borisov, au total 5 lancements sont prévus.

Référence : ITAR-TASS (Russie)

MOSCOW, November 20 (RIA Novosti)

The latest failed launch of Russia’s new submarine-launched ballistic missile was caused by a manufacturing glitch, the Defense Ministry said Wednesday.

On September 6, a Bulava missile fired during state trials of the ballistic missile submarine Alexander Nevsky in the White Sea failed in the second minute of flight. A state commission led by the head of the Russian Navy, Admiral Viktor Chirkov, has carried out an investigation into the failed launch.

“The commission has finished the investigation. The causes of the failure are related to faulty manufacturing of the missile’s nozzle,” Deputy Defense Minister Yury Borisov said at a roundtable conference on state defense contracts held by RIA Novosti.

Borisov said the same flaw had been fixed on three remaining missiles in the same production batch, but claimed that production of the missile in general was “technologically sound.”

Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has previously ordered five additional launches of the Bulava missile following a failed launch on September 6. They have been slated for next year, Borisov said.

With the latest flop, eight of 19 or 20 test launches of the Bulava have officially been declared failures. Some analysts have suggest the real number may be considerably higher, however.

The three-stage Bulava SLBM carries up to 10 independent warheads and has a range of 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles).

Despite the test failures, the Russian military has insisted there is no alternative to the Bulava as the main armament for Russia’s new Borey-class strategic missile submarines.

The first Borey-class boat, the Yury Dolgoruky, was commissioned into the Northern Fleet in January.

MOSCOW, September 16 (RIA Novosti)

All Bulava missiles from the same batch as the one that failed on September 6 will undergo additional tests by their manufacturer, a senior defense industry official told RIA Novosti Monday.

Oleg Bochkarev, deputy head of the government’s Military-Industrial Commission, said the extent of the examination will be determined after the cause of the Sept. 6 launch failure has been identified.

The tests will be carried out by the Votkinsk plant that makes Bulava submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) and Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missiles, and could take place on-site at storage facilities, Bochkarev said.

There will also be additional launches using Bulava missiles from the same batch as the one that malfunctioned on Sept. 6, he said.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered five additional launches of Bulava missiles following the failed launch of Sept.6, when a missile fired during state trials of the Alexander Nevsky nuclear-powered submarine in the White Sea malfunctioned.

Including this latest failure, eight out of 19 or 20 test launches of the troubled Bulava have been officially declared unsuccessful.

The Russian military has repeatedly stated that there is no alternative to the Bulava.

The three-stage Bulava carries up to 10 MIRV warheads, has a range of over 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles) and is designed for deployment on Borey-class nuclear submarines.

Sept. 10, 2013 defense-aerospace.com

(Source: RIA Novosti; published Sept. 7, 2013)

Russia Puts Submarine Trials on Hold After Bulava Failure

MOSCOW --- Russia has put trials of two nuclear subs on hold following an unsuccessful launch of a Bulava submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) on Friday, a Russian defense ministry spokesman said on Saturday.

“The day before, a Bulava SLBM was fired toward the Kura test site in Kamchatka [in Far East] during state trials of the Alexander Nevsky nuclear-powered submarine in the White Sea,” the spokesman told journalists, adding that the rocket experienced a malfunction in one of its systems on the second minute of the flight.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered to halt state trials of the Borey-class Alexander Nevsky and the Vladimir Monomakh submarines, designed to carry Bulava, and to hold five additional launches of the troubled SLBM, the spokesman said.

A state commission led by the Russian Navy Commander Adm. Viktor Chirkov will investigate the reason for the unsuccessful launch.

The Alexander Nevsky submarine was expected to be handed over to the Navy on November 15, while the other Borey-class sub, the Vladimir Monomakh, will join the fleet in mid-December, Russia’s Sevmash shipyard chief Mikhail Budnichenko said in early July.

However, the commissioning of both of those submarines depends on the success of the Bulava test launch. The spokesman did not elaborate on how the failure would affect the schedule.

The three-stage Bulava carries up to 10 MIRV warheads, has a range of over 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles) and is designed for deployment on Borey-class nuclear submarines.

With Friday’s failure, eight of 19 or 20 test launches of the troubled Bulava have been officially declared unsuccessful. However, some analysts suggest that in reality the number of failures is considerably higher.

Despite several previous failures officially blamed on manufacturing faults, the Russian military has insisted that there is no alternative to the Bulava.

MOSCOU, 7 septembre - RIA Novosti

La Russie a suspendu les tests d'homologation de deux sous-marins nucléaires, Alexandre Nevski et Vladimir Monomakh, suite à l'échec d'un tir d'essai du missile Boulava, a annoncé samedi le ministère russe de la Défense.

"Le sous-marin nucléaire russe Alexandre Nevski, qui passe des tests d'homologation en mer Blanche, a tiré vendredi un missile balistique intercontinental Boulava qui devait détruire une cible sur le polygone de Koura, au Kamtchatka. Le missile a quitté son conteneur sans problème, mais son système de bord est tombé en panne à la 2e minute du vol. Le ministre russe de la Défense Sergueï Choïgou a décidé de suspendre les tests d'homologation des sous-marins Alexandre Nevski et Vladimir Monomakh pour effectuer cinq tirs supplémentaires du missile Boulava et tester les paramètres techniques et tactiques du missile", a indiqué un porte-parole du ministère devant les journalistes.

"Une commission dirigée par le commandant en chef de la Marine Victor Tchirkov a lancé une enquête sur l'échec du tir de Boulava", a-t-il ajouté.

Selon les informations précédentes, Alexandre Nevski devait être livré à l'armée à la mi-novembre et Vladimir Monomakh en décembre 2013, à l'issue de tests d'homologation.

Capables de tirer des missiles balistiques intercontinentaux Boulava, les sous-marins nucléaires lanceurs d'engins (SNLE) Alexandre Nevski et Vladimir Monomakh (projet 955 Boreï) constitueront la base des Forces navales stratégiques russes après la mise au rebut des sous-marins de classes Akoula (Typhoon selon le code de l'OTAN), Kalmar et Mourena (Delta-3 et Delta-4 selon l'OTAN) en 2018. Le premier sous-marin de la série, Iouri Dolgorouki, a été remis à la Marine russe en janvier dernier.

Le missile R30 3M30 Boulava-30 (code OTAN SS-NX-30, dénomination internationale RSM-56) doit devenir l'arme principale des forces stratégiques navales russes. Le Boulava est un missile à trois étages à propergol solide destiné à équiper les sous-marins. D'une portée de 8.000 km, il peut être équipé de dix ogives nucléaires hypersoniques de 100 à 150 kt et à trajectoire indépendante.