If the Bulava missile continues to fail, the whole program is likely to be stopped, and submarines of the new Borey-class will be reconstructed to be armed with the Sineva missile, a source in the rocket-and-space sector told Komsomolskaya Pravda.
Russia has conducted twelve tests with the Bulava missile. Six of the tests have ended in failure, and in July, following two failed tests in a row, the leading engineer behind the development of the missile was dismissed from his job as leader of the Moscow Heat Technology Institute, as BarentsObserver reported.
The failed launch of 15 July was a serious blow to Russian authorities, which have been investing heavily both money and prestige in the project.
“Yury Dolgoruky” was the first submarine in the Borey-class to be launched. It is built at the Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk and is currently undergoing tests in Arctic waters. Two other Borey-class nuclear submarines, the “Alexander Nevsky” and the “Vladimir Monomakh”, are under construction at the Sevmash plant.
