RSM-56 Bulava

This article is about the Russian ballistic missile. For the ceremonial mace of the same name, see Bulawa.
R-30 Bulava[1]
Bulava launched from submarine Yuri Dolgoruky on 28 October 2011
TypeSLBM
Place of originRussia
Service history
In service2018–present[2]
Used byRussian Navy
Production history
DesignerMoscow Institute of Thermal Technology
ManufacturerVotkinsk Plant State Production Association
Unit cost$32.2 million (2012)[3]
Produced2011
Specifications
Mass36.8 t (36.2 long tons; 40.6 short tons)
Length11.5 m (38 ft) (without warhead)
12.1 m (40 ft) (launch container)
Diameter2 m (6 ft 7 in) (missile)
2.1 m (6 ft 11 in) (launch container)
Warhead6-10 × 100-150 kt MIRVs[4][5][6]
EngineThree stage solid and liquid head stage
Payload capacity1150 kg
PropellantSolid propellant and liquid fuel
Operational
range
8,300 km[7] ≥ 9,300,[8] 15,000km[9][better source needed]
Guidance
system
Inertial guidance, possibly with Astro-inertial guidance and/or GLONASS update
Launch
platform
Borei-class submarines
Typhoon-class submarine Dmitri Donskoi (as a testbed)[10]

The R-30 Bulava (Russian: Булава, lit. "mace", NATO reporting names SS-N-30 / SS-NX-32,[11] GRAU index 3M30, 3K30; bilateral arms control designation RSM-56) is a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) developed for the Russian Navy and deployed in 2019 on the new Borei class of ballistic missile nuclear submarines. It is intended to serve as a crucial component of Russia's nuclear triad.[12] The weapon takes its name from bulava, a Russian word for mace.[13]

Designed by Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology, development of the missile was launched in the late 1990s as a replacement for the R-39 Rif solid-fuel SLBM.[14] The Project 955/955A Borei-class submarines carry 16 missiles per vessel.

A source in the Russian defense industry told TASS on June 29, 2018, that the D-30 missile system with the R-30 Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile had been accepted for service in the Russian Navy after its successful four-missile salvo launch tests in 2018.[15]

  1. ^ "Next launch of SLBM Bulava to be held in Oct". Rusnavy.com. 11 October 2010. Retrieved 2011-12-29.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference tass was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ ""Mace" is over". www.gazeta.ru. 10 August 2012.
  4. ^ Ballistic and Cruise Missile Threat (Report). Defense Intelligence Ballistic Missile Analysis Committee. June 2017. p. 33. NASIC-1031-0985-17. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
  5. ^ Kristensen, Hans M.; Korda, Matt (4 March 2019). "Russian nuclear forces, 2019". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. 75 (2): 73–84. Bibcode:2019BuAtS..75b..73K. doi:10.1080/00963402.2019.1580891.
  6. ^ "Названа дата 14-го запуска "Булавы"" (in Russian). Flot.com. 26 October 2010. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  7. ^ "Bulava (SS-NX-30) submarine-based ballistic missile". www.russianspaceweb.com.
  8. ^ "Russia to Upgrade its Bulava R-30 SLBM Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile". 27 November 2015.
  9. ^ Allen, John R.; Hodges, Frederick Ben; Lindley-French, Julian (2021). Future War and the Defence of Europe. Oxford University Press. p. 232. ISBN 978-0-19-885583-5.
  10. ^ "Here comes Russia's giant Typhoon sub". thebarentsobserver.com. 5 August 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  11. ^ "SS-N-30 Bulava – Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance". Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  12. ^ "Russian military successfully tests new missile". Fox News. 2010-10-07. Retrieved 2012-11-05.
  13. ^ russianforces.org. Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces http://russianforces.org/blog/2006/04/bulava_has_ten_warheads.shtml. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)[dead link‍]
  14. ^ "SS-27 Topol-M / SS-NX-30 Bulava ("Mace")". warfare.ru. 2007. Retrieved 2010-04-07.
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference inservice was invoked but never defined (see the help page).