MOSCOW - Russia successfully carried out a new test of an intercontinental missile on Friday that Moscow hopes to make the cornerstone of its nuclear missile programme. The military said the 12-metre long Bulava, or Mace, fired from a submarine near Russia’s border with Finland, successfully hit its target some 6,000 km (3,370 miles) away in the peninsula of Kamchatka in Russia’s far east.“Today at 5:10 a.m. (the missile) was launched from the submarine Dmitry Donskoi,” said Igor Konoshenkov, press officer of the Defence Ministry. “The launch, from an underwater location, was carried out normally and everything was up to standard,” he told Reuters by telephone.
Military analysts saw FridayÂ’s test of the Bulava, which had failed seven of 13 previous trials, as a crucial hurdle in proving the reliability of the missile as a mainstay of the Russian army.
In some previous tests the missile self-destructed, causing concerns over the reliability of the missile itself. Further failures of the missile were expected to prompt fundamental changes to the costly project.
The Bulava missiles, which weigh 36.8 tonnes and can travel a distance of 8,000 km, are designed to be fitted on the Russian Borei class of submarines. One missile can hold 6-10 nuclear warheads.
Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov told RIA news agency six more successful tests of the rocket were needed before it would be ready for use in the navy.
The next test of the ballistic missile is expected to be carried out at the beginning of December, a high-ranking source in RussiaÂ’s military industry commission told state-news agency Itar-Tass.