Russia to have balanced nuclear missile navy by 2050 - navy chief

26.07.2009 Source: en.rian.ru

The Russian Navy is developing a concept of building a balanced nuclear missile force by 2050, the Russian Navy commander said on Sunday.

"In our understanding, it is important to know exactly what the Navy should be by the year 2050, proceeding from two things: it must be a balanced nuclear missile force and, secondly, it must comply with the state's national interests and economic possibilities," Adm. Vladimir Vysotsky said on the occasion of Russia's Navy Day being celebrated on Sunday.

Vysotsky said the Russian Navy should develop harmoniously without any preference given to the construction of surface ships or submarines.

"We will be building combat systems in addition to warships. I call this the construction of the Navy with open architecture, which will feature combat systems, complexes, ships, aircraft, anti-missile defense, outer space and the submarine environment," he said.

Vysotsky said that failures with the tests of Russia's new Bulava sea-launched intercontinental ballistic missile manifested a crisis in the development of technologies in Russia.

The missile, which is being developed by the Moscow-based Institute of Thermal Technology (MITT), has had six failures in 11 tests, and the general director of the institute resigned on Tuesday over what is believed to be a serious setback in the development of Russia's nuclear deterrent.

At the same time, the Navy chief said that Russia's modern Project 955 Borey nuclear-powered strategic submarines were not intended to be equipped with Sineva ballistic missiles instead of Bulava.

Under the Russian State Arms Procurement Program for 2007-2015, the Navy is expected to receive at least five Project 955 Borey nuclear-powered strategic submarines equipped with new Bulava ballistic missiles and two Project 885 Yasen nuclear multipurpose attack submarines.

The RSM-54 Sineva (SS-N-23 Skiff) is a third-generation liquid-propellant submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) that entered service with the Russian Navy in July 2007. It can carry four or 10 nuclear warheads, depending on the modification, and has a maximum range of over 11,500 kilometers (about 7,100 miles).

The Bulava/ (SS-NX-30) submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) carries up to 10 MIRV warheads and has an estimated range of over 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles).