Russia urged to scrap Bulava ICBM and bet on Sineva

The Russian military plans to resume tests of the Bulava missile at the end of this year, a navy headquarters officer said.

The new submarine-launched ballistic missile is expected to enter service in 2009 along with the new submarine designed to carry this missile, the Borei-class Project 955 nuclear-powered undersea cruiser Yury Dolgoruky.

It is nevertheless clear that the Bulava, also known as R-30 in the Russian navy, 3M30 in the Main Missile/Artillery Directorate of the Defense Ministry, RSM-56 on the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty --START -- SS-NX-30 NATO designation -- hasn't met expectations so far, with four of the seven test launches failing and the last one "partly successful," according to official reports.

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