The R-30 Bulava ( Russian : Булава , lit. " mace ", NATO reporting names SS-N-30 / SS-NX-32 , GRAU index 3M30 , 3K30 ; bilateral arms control designation RSM-56 ) is a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) developed for the Russian Navy and deployed in 2019 on the new Borei class of ballistic missile nuclear submarines . It is intended to serve as a crucial component of Russia's nuclear triad . The weapon takes its name from bulava , a Russian word for mace .
50-649: Designed by Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology , development of the missile was launched in the late 1990s as a replacement for the R-39 Rif solid-fuel SLBM. The Project 955/955A Borei-class submarines carry 16 missiles per vessel. A source in the Russian defense industry told TASS on June 29, 2018, that the D-30 missile system with the R-30 Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile had been accepted for service in
100-488: A submarine to fire them while moving. It has a low flight trajectory, and due to this could be classified as a quasi-ballistic missile . It is rumored to possess advanced missile defense evasion capabilities and can maneuver at its boost stage. Borei-class submarines carrying Bulava missiles are expected to be an integral part of the Russian nuclear triad until 2040. Bulava can be loaded on TEL road mobile launchers, on railway BZhRK trains and other various launchers. In
150-739: A failure in December 2009, further tests were put on hold and a probe was conducted to find out the reasons for the failures. Testing was resumed on 7 October 2010 with a launch from the Typhoon-class submarine Dmitri Donskoi in the White Sea ; the warheads successfully hit their targets at the Kura Test Range in the Russian Far East . Seven launches have been conducted since the probe, all successful. On 28 June 2011,
200-425: A maximum of ten multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle nuclear warheads each. Technically, Typhoons were able to deploy their long-range nuclear missiles while moored at their docks. Typhoon-class submarines featured multiple pressure hulls which simplifies internal design while making the vessel much wider than a normal submarine. In the main body of the sub, two long pressure hulls lie parallel with
250-528: A research institute of rocket propellants based on GTSKB-1. May 15, 1946 order number 114ss of the Minister of Agricultural Engineering created Research Institute № 1 ( NII-1 ) as part of the 6th Main Directorate; NII-1 fulfilled the requirement of establishing a research institute of rocket propellants based on GTSKB-1. May 18, 1946 by order number 118ss, NII-1 (formerly GTSKB 1) was incorporated into
300-420: A third, smaller pressure hull above them (which protrudes just below the sail), and two other pressure hulls for torpedoes and steering gear. This also greatly increases their survivability – even if one pressure hull is breached, the crew members in the other are safe and there is less potential for flooding. Its ballistic missiles were placed between the two main pressure hulls, their launch tubes enclosed only by
350-654: Is a Russian (formerly Soviet) engineering and scientific research institute founded on May 13, 1946. The institute is located in the Otradnoye District in the north of Moscow. Previously, it was primarily focused on developing ballistic missiles and rockets to increase the nation's strategic deterrent capability. Today, it is also involved in civilian projects and has modified some of its intercontinental ballistic missiles into launch vehicles to be used for satellites . The name can also be translated as Moscow Institute of Thermal Equipment . April 19, 1945,
400-685: Is often claimed to be related to the use of the word " typhoon " ("тайфун") by General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev of the Communist Party in a 1974 speech while describing a new type of nuclear ballistic missile submarine, as a reaction to the United States Navy 's new Ohio -class submarine . The Russian Navy cancelled its modernization program in March 2012, stating that modernizing one Typhoon would be as expensive as building two new Borei-class submarines . A total of six boats of
450-523: The Russian defense minister , Anatoliy Serdyukov , has stated that the project will not be abandoned. "We will certainly not give up the Bulava. I think that despite all the failures, the missile will fly," he said in an interview in late December 2009. The Russian military has been adamant that there is no alternative to Bulava. There has been discussions among analysts about the possibility of re-equipping
500-780: The State Defense Committee of the USSR issued a decree №8206 ordering the People's Commissar for Armament Boris Vannikov to create a weapons design bureau and a pilot plant for missiles. In accordance with this resolution, in 1945 was created the Central Design Bureau GTSKB 1 under People's Commissariat for Armament (the Commissariat for military ammunition and other such things); the GTSKB-1
550-576: The Typhoon-class submarine Dmitry Donskoy was upgraded to carry Bulavas. Key people involved in the decision to develop Bulava included the institute director and Bulava's chief designer Yury Solomonov; director of the Defense Ministry's Fourth Central Research Institute, Major-General Vladimir Dvorkin ; Navy Commander, Fleet Admiral Vladimir Kuroyedov ; Defense Minister, Marshal Igor Sergeyev ; Economics Minister Yakov Urinson and Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin . The missile completed
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#1732786554889600-535: The U.S. Navy and the Royal Navy ." However, the work needed to redesign and modify the Borei-class submarines to carry Sinevas is regarded as too expensive. After a launch failure in December 2009 caused by a defective engine nozzle and which led to the 2009 Norwegian spiral anomaly , further tests were put on hold and a review of the missile program was initiated. The results of the probe were delivered to
650-553: The dissolution of the Soviet Union . During the time of the Russian Federation, these boats were to be sponsored by either a city or company. The construction order for an additional vessel (hull number TK-210) was cancelled and never completed. In late December 2008, a senior Navy official announced that the two Typhoon-class submarines, Arkhangelsk and Severstal , that were in reserve would not be rearmed with
700-561: The 1990s, Russia had two submarine-launched ICBMs, the solid-fuel R-39 and the liquid-fuel R-29 Vysota family, both developed by the Makeyev Design Bureau . A new missile, designated R-39UTTH Bark was under development to replace the R-39. The Bark was planned to become the only submarine-launched ballistic missile of the Russian nuclear arsenal. However, its development was plagued with problems, and after three test failures
750-562: The Bark programme was canceled in 1998. Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology was now tasked with developing a new advanced missile. The institute promised that it would be able to quickly develop a new naval missile based on its recent Topol-M land-based ICBM. The new missile would be deployed per 16 missiles on the Borei I (Project 955) and Borei II (Project 955A) class submarines. As the new submarines would not be ready in time for flight tests,
800-537: The Borei-class submarines with the more reliable liquid-propellant R-29RMU Sineva missiles. The Sineva is an upgrade of the R-29RM Shtil and entered service in 2007. According to RIA Novosti military analyst Ilya Kramnik, this would have been an attractive option, given that the less advanced Sineva missiles already have "virtually the same impressive specifications as the Trident II (D5) SLBMs wielded by
850-553: The D-30 missile system with the R-30 Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile had been accepted for service in the Russian Navy. Chief designer Solomonov blamed the failures on the poor state of the Russian defense industry and problems in the design-technology-production chain. According to Solomonov, the industry is unable to manufacture 50 of the necessary components for the missile, forcing designers to improvise and look for alternative solutions, which seriously complicates
900-399: The Russian Navy after its successful four-missile salvo launch tests in 2018. The Bulava missile was developed by Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology under the leadership of chief designer Yury Solomonov [ ru ] . Although it utilizes some engineering solutions used for the recent RT-2PM2 Topol-M ICBM, the new missile has been developed virtually from scratch. The Bulava is
950-506: The Russian Navy plan. On 6 February 2023, it was reported she was decommissioned. TK-208 Dmitriy Donskoy (Typhoon #1) TK-17 Arkhangelsk (Typhoon #5) TK-20 Severstal (Typhoon #6) Probably the best-known fictional Typhoon-class submarine is the stealth-equipped Red October ( Красный Oктябрь ), the subject of the Tom Clancy novel The Hunt for Red October and its 1990 movie adaptation , starring Sean Connery as
1000-580: The Russian government in May 2010. Testing was resumed for the first time after the probe on 7 October 2010. The missile was launched from the submerged Dmitry Donskoy , in the White Sea , and the warheads successfully hit their targets at the Kura testing range , 380 kilometres (240 mi) to the north of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in the Russian Far East . The launch reportedly took place at 07:15 UTC. The missile travelled over 6,000 kilometres (3,700 mi), and
1050-699: The Topol-M. The missile's flight test programme was problematic. Until 2009, there were 6 failures in 13 flight tests and one failure during ground test, blamed mostly on substandard components. This led to the missile's chief designer, Yury Solomonov resigning from his post in July 2009. Aleksandr Sukhodolskiy was appointed as the new general designer of sea-based ballistic missiles at the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology; Solomonov however retained his post of general designer of land-based missiles. After
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#17327865548891100-459: The Typhoon class featured six torpedo tubes designed to handle RPK-2 (SS-N-15) missiles or Type 53 torpedoes . A Typhoon-class submarine could stay submerged for 120 days in normal conditions, and potentially more if deemed necessary (e.g., in the case of a nuclear war ). Their primary weapons system was composed of 20 R-39 (NATO: SS-N-20) submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with
1150-506: The Typhoon class had been built and a seventh was started but never finished. Three boats were decommissioned in the 1990s and were scrapped in the 2000s, another two were decommissioned during the 2000s and are currently inactive. With the announcement that Russia has eliminated the last R-39 Rif (SS-N-20 "Sturgeon") submarine-launched ballistic missiles in September 2012, only one Typhoon remained in service, Dmitriy Donskoi , which
1200-612: The Typhoon-class vessels are the restrictions imposed on Russia by the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty and successful trials of the new Borei-class submarine . Despite being a replacement for many types of submarines, the Borei-class submarines are slightly shorter than the Typhoon class (170 m (560 ft) as opposed to 175 m (574 ft)), and have a smaller crew (107 people as opposed to 160). These changes were in part designed to reduce
1250-473: The considerable engineering required to develop technologies to transfer oil from drilling platforms to the submarines, and later, to the waiting tankers – would then deliver their cargo world-wide. Six Typhoon-class submarines were built between 1976 and 1985. Originally, the submarines were designated by hull numbers only. Names were later assigned to the four vessels retained by the Russian Navy after
1300-588: The cost to build and maintain the submarines. In addition, the United States and Canada provided 80% of funds for scrapping the older Typhoon-class submarines, making it much more economical to build a new submarine. In 2013, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency announced that the Navy would scrap two Typhoons, beginning in 2018. They were the Arkhangelsk and Severstal . As of 2017, the decision about
1350-466: The early 1990s, there were also proposals to refit some of the Typhoon-class submarines to submarine cargo vessels for shipping oil, gas and cargo under polar ice to Russia's far flung northern territories. The submarines could take up to 10,000 tonnes (9,800 long tons; 11,000 short tons) of cargo on-board and ship it under the polar ice to tankers waiting in the Barents Sea . These ships – after
1400-511: The fictional Captain Marko Ramius. Another fictional Typhoon-class submarine is the "Mayflower", which is featured prominently in the Sam's Story DLC for the 2019 video game Metro Exodus. The 2001 documentary Mission Invisible about the Russian submarine Severstal was produced by Corona Films for Discovery Channel with the participation of ZED, France 5 , ZDF , RTBF , TV5 Monde and
1450-414: The first stage launch-tests at the end of 2004. Although it was initially planned to base the Bulava design on the Topol-M, the first tests showed that the new missile was completely different in terms of appearance, dimensions and warhead lay-out. It was later acknowledged that the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology had developed Bulava virtually from scratch, reusing only a few engineering solutions from
1500-428: The flight test programme. The missile was officially approved for service on 27 December 2011, and was reported to be commissioned aboard Yuri Dolgorukiy on 10 January 2013. The missile did however continue to fail in the summer of 2013 and was not operational as of November 2013. The Bulava became operational aboard Yury Dolgorukiy as of October 2015. However, recent developments put this in question. In November 2015,
1550-478: The missile could be commissioned. In August 2012 a high-ranking official of Russia's United Shipbuilding Corporation said in 2012 Russia will test fire its Bulava missile only once, in November, specifically from the nuclear-powered submarine Alexander Nevsky . Bulava was finally commissioned with its lead carrier Yuri Dolgorukiy on 10 January 2013. The official ceremony of raising the Russian Navy colors on
RSM-56 Bulava - Misplaced Pages Continue
1600-448: The missile officially entered service on 7 May. Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology 55°51′20″N 37°36′11″E / 55.8555555656°N 37.6030555656°E / 55.8555555656; 37.6030555656 Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology ( MITT ; Russian : Акционерное общество «Корпорация Московский институт теплотехники» , lit. 'JSC Corporation "Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology"')
1650-415: The missile was launched for the first time from its standard carrier, Borei-class submarine Yury Dolgorukiy , and on 27 August 2011 the first full-range (over 9,000 km (5,600 mi)) flight test was conducted. After this successful launch, the start of serial production of Bulava missiles in the same configuration was announced on 28 June 2011. A successful salvo launch on 23 December 2011 concluded
1700-603: The new Bulava SLBM missile system. They could potentially yet be modified to carry cruise missiles or to lay mines , or could be used in special operations. In late June 2009, the Navy Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Vladimir Vysotskiy , told reporters that the two submarines would be reserved for possible future repairs and modernisation. In September 2011, the Russian defense ministry decided to write off all Project 941 Akula nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines until 2014. The reasons for decommissioning
1750-583: The newly formed General Directorate for Jet Technology ministry. In 1947, the order № 126 of the Minister approved the Regulations on the institute NII-1 (the organization of the same name existed in many sectors, which was considered an additional condition of secrecy work). In 1966 the institute was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Defense Industry . In March 1966 NII-1
1800-527: The outer, "light" hull. The Typhoon was capable of traveling at 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph) submerged. The Typhoon class was developed under Project 941 as the Soviet Akula class ( Акула ), meaning shark . It is sometimes confused with other submarines, as Akula is the name NATO uses to designate the Russian Project 971 Shchuka-B ( Щука-Б )-class attack submarines. The project
1850-419: The poor quality of missile components provided by a large number of sub-contractors and the absence of military representatives at manufacturing plants. The 2009 Norwegian spiral anomalies , a temporary strange light phenomenon over vast areas of northern Norway have been explained with a failed stage of a Bulava missile test. According to a spokesman, "The missile's first two stages worked as normal, but there
1900-655: The rocket's trajectory was within the normal parameters, according to a Navy official. The second test launch in 2010 from Dmitry Donskoy was set to 29 October and was successful. The next test to be performed from Yuriy Dolgorukiy was initially planned to December 2010, but was postponed to mid-summer 2011 due to ice conditions in White Sea. According to the Russian Vice Premier Sergei Ivanov another six successful launches (one planned in 2010, other five in 2011) will be required before
1950-401: The scrapping of Archangelsk and Severstal was still not firm. On 20 July 2022, it was reported that Dmitriy Donskoi was withdrawn from the Russian Navy. This was an earlier-than-expected decommission date, as it was stated in 2021 that the submarine was expected to remain in service until 2026 as a weapons test platform. However, sources suggested in 2022 that the 2026 date was not in
2000-497: The submarine Vladimir Monomakh fired two missiles while submerged. One of the missiles self-destructed during the boost phase and the other failed to deliver its warheads to the specified target. After being sent back to the manufacturer, it was determined that the missiles failed due to manufacturing defects. After two successful tests in June 2017 and May 2018, a source in the Russian defense industry told TASS on June 29, 2018, that
2050-581: The submarine version of the Topol-M, and is both lighter and thinner than the Volna. The two missiles are expected to have comparable ranges, and similar CEP and warhead configurations. Bulava has a declared START throw weight of 1150 kg to 9,500 kilometers. The missile has three stages; the first and second stages use solid fuel propellant, while the third stage uses a liquid fuel to allow high maneuverability during warhead separation. The missile can be launched from an inclined position, allowing
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2100-430: The submarine was led by Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu . After another failed launch in September, Shoigu announced a pause in the state trials of the next two submarines and five more test launches. The entire production run of the missiles was then recalled for factory inspections. In October 2010 it was reported that 150-170 operational missiles would be built (124 active + reserve for training and tests). After
2150-437: The successful launch on 27 June 2011, the Russian government announced the start of serial production of Bulava missiles. On 10 January 2013, Bulava was adopted into experimental service with its lead carrier submarine Yuri Dolgorukiy . It was reported in June 2018 that the missile has been accepted for service by the Russian Navy after its successful test firings conducted in 2018. Russian state media reported on 14 May 2024 that
2200-553: The testing process. Solomonov further said that despite the failures, there was no need for changes in the design. Sergei Kovalyov, the designer of three generations of Russian strategic submarines said that due to lack of funding, the developers had been unable to conduct test launches from a floating pad to test the underwater segment of the missile's trajectory. He also said that there were insufficient funds to conduct ground-based test launches. Both types of testing had been standard procedure during Soviet times. Kovalyov also criticised
2250-655: Was a class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines designed and built by the Soviet Union for the Soviet Navy . With a submerged displacement of 48,000 t (47,000 long tons ), the Typhoons were the largest submarines ever built, able to accommodate comfortable living facilities for the crew of 160 when submerged for several months. The source of the NATO reporting name remains unclear, although it
2300-513: Was a technical malfunction at the next, third, stage of the trajectory". Due to the delays in Bulava's development, the launch of the fourth Borei-class submarine, Svyatitel Nikolay , was pushed back. Russia was planning to build eight Borei-class submarines by 2015. Only one Typhoon-class submarine, Dmitry Donskoy , was modified to launch Bulavas. The Bulava program is the most expensive weapons project in Russia. Despite continued test failures,
2350-675: Was actively engaged in collecting materials from the German rocket technology. During the post-war reorganization of the Soviet economy in early 1946 the People's Commissariat for Armament was transformed into the Ministry of Agricultural Engineering of the USSR. A decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR №1017-419ss from May 13, 1946 ordered the Ministry of Agricultural Engineering to create
2400-650: Was developed with the objective to match the SLBM armament of Ohio -class submarines, capable of carrying 192 nuclear warheads, 100 kt each, but with significantly longer range. To accommodate this increase in range, Soviet SLBMs were substantially larger and heavier than their American adversaries (the R-39s is more than twice as heavy as the UGM-96 Trident I; it remains the heaviest SLBM to have been in service worldwide). The submarine had to be scaled accordingly. In
2450-542: Was given its current name. Aleksandr Nadiradze was chief designer of the institute from 1967 to 1987. In July 2009 the institute's General Director and Chief designer Yuri Solomonov resigned after the July 15, 2009 test launch failure of Bulava naval-based ICBM designed by MITT. Companies included in JSC MITT: Typhoon-class submarine The Project 941 Akula ( Russian : Акула , meaning ' shark ', NATO reporting name Typhoon ),
2500-681: Was refitted with the more modern RSM-56 Bulava SLBM for testing. She continued to serve until February 2023, when she was decommissioned. Soviet – subsequently Russian – nuclear submarines are identified by the letter "K" followed by a number (for example, the lead boat of the Yasen class , the Severodvinsk , is K-560). K stands for Cruiser : ( Крейсер ). The sheer displacement of the Typhoon-class boats, comparable to several aircraft carrier classes, led to their classification as Heavy Cruisers ( Тяжелый Крейсер ). Besides their missile armament,
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