Russian missile test fails

MOSCOW, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Russia's test launch of a nuclear-capable intercontinental missile has failed, provoking hundreds of reports of UFO sightings over Norway.

The submarine-based Bulava ballistic missile was fired from the White Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The White Sea, close to Norway's arctic region, is Russia's preferred staging ground for test launches of this type.

The Russians said problems emerged when the missile deployed its third stage engine and went off course and out of control.

Within seconds an eerie transparent white light formed a giant spiral that cover Norway's skies before a turquoise beam of light shot out from its center -- lasting for about 10 minutes and fanning reports ranging from a meteor, northern lights, a failed missile or even an unidentified flying object.

The Bulava can carry up to 10 individually targeted nuclear warheads and has a maximum range of 5,000 miles. It is a sea-based version of Russia's land-based ballistic missile, the Topol-M, which the military has been using since 2006.

Bent on bolstering its deterrent force, the failed test was an embarrassment for the Russians.

"Such lights and clouds appear from time to time when a missile fails in the upper layers of the atmosphere and have been reported there," Russian defense analyst Pavel Felgenhauer was quoted as saying in a DefenseNews report.

"At least this failed test made some nice fireworks for the Norwegians," he quipped.

The Norwegian Meteorological Institute is said to have received a deluge of calls from confused and concerned members of the public.

This was the 12th test launch of the Bulava and the seventh time the firing proved far from a success.

The missile is a key part of Russia's designs to rebuild it aging arsenal. But persistent problems with the Bulava have become what analysts call an agonizing issued for Moscow.

"The Defense Ministry has ploughed a large proportion of its procurement budget into ensuring that the missile becomes the key element of its rocket forces," DefenseNews reported.

The previous failure, on July 16, precipitated the resignation of Yury Solomonov, director of Moscow's Institute of Thermal Technology, responsible for developing the missile.

The missile's repeated problems have also cast a pall on U.S.-Russian negotiations in which the two Cold War enemies are now trying to revise the parameters of a new arms reduction treaty to replace the 1991 START accord.

Should the missile fail to operate new Borei Submarines developed to launch Bulavas will prove useless.