Bulava test launch has been postponed again

14.09.2010 Subsequent 13th test launch of SLBM Bulava was postponed again without any explanations, reported Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

According to the newspaper, this decision surprised both the sub's crew and test support services, since SSBN Dmitry Donskoy had already sailed off for tests and was unexpectedly ordered to return back. It was previously reported that "there's no reason to postpone the test again".

However, Russian defense minister Anatoly Serdiukov said on Sept 8 that Bulava launch would be carried out in September, most likely in its second half. "Bulava won't be launched this week, not everything is ready. Most probably, this will happen in September and definitely not in its first half", Serdiukov said.

The test launch was scheduled in Aug, although was postponed "due to wild fires raging in Russia". We recall that only 5 out of 12 test launches of SLBM Bulava were found successful. All of them were carried out by SSBN Dmitry Donskoy. Twelfth launch of Bulava was performed on Dec 9, 2009 and was faulty again. According to the informed source, the failure origin was malfunction of the missile's nozzle. The state panel concluded that it was necessary to continue tests.