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Russian Military stunned by missile falures
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 2009-07-20 |
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