Global Security Newswire

Russia has reaffirmed plans to start new trial launches in September of its failure-prone Bulava submarine-launched ballistic missile, Voice of America reported yesterday (see GSN, Aug. 23).

Investigators have linked many past Bulava test failures to errors made during production of the experimental missiles, said Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov. He restated Moscow's intention to resume testing the weapon this month (see GSN, July 16).

The Bulava is designed to carry up to 10 nuclear warheads as far as 5,000 miles. The missile has failed in seven of 12 flight tests to date. Russia's military, however, maintains the weapon is an essential element of the nation's future nuclear arsenal (Voice of America, Sept. 8).