The missile failed in another test launch Dec. 23, leading to calls to scrap the program, the Novosti news agency reported. The failure was the fifth in 10 launches.

"The missile will be a success," said Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, a deputy chief of the General Staff. "We see what we started from and at which stage of development it is now. This is a big contrast."

The Bulava (SS-NX-30), which carries as many as 10 nuclear warheads and has a range of 5,000 miles, was to be deployed this summer. That has been postponed pending more tests.