MOSCOW, October 28 (RIA Novosti) - Russia"s...
"The sub left the base in Severodvinsk on Monday to test the readiness of the equipment for future launches of the Bulava missile," a Severodvinsk administration official said, without specifying the date for the next test of the missile.
The Typhoon-class submarine, based at a naval facility in northern Russia"s Severodvinsk, is the only vessel in service with the Russian Navy capable of testing the new Bulava submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM).
The Russian military expects the Bulava, along with Topol-M land-based ballistic missiles, to become the core of Russia"s nuclear triad.
However, the Bulava"s development has been dogged by a series of setbacks, which has officially suffered six failures in 11 tests.
The latest Bulava failure during the launch from Dmitry Donskoy in the North Sea on July 15 was caused by a defective steering system in its first stage, a defense industry source said on Monday.