Mobile UPI  |   About UPI  |   UPI en Español  |   UPI Arabic  |   UPIU  |   My Account
Search:
Go

Russia: Ballistic missile test a failure

|
|
 
  
Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missile launchers drive during the annual Victory Day parade in Red Square in Moscow on May 9, 2008. Warplanes screamed over Red Square and missile launchers rumbled past ranks of soldiers on Friday when Russia celebrated victory over Nazi Germany with a show of military might not seen since the collapse of the Soviet Union. (UPI Photo/Anatoli Zhdanov) 
Published: Dec. 10, 2009 at 12:31 PM

MOSCOW, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- Russia's Defense Ministry said Thursday the country's latest test of its Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile was a failure.

The ministry said in a statement the test Wednesday in the White Sea marked the seventh time a test firing of the submarine-launched missile resulted in failure, RIA Novosti reported.

"The first two stages functioned smoothly, but the flight faltered at the third stage. There was a technical failure in the third stage engines rendering them unstable," the ministry said.

The last test of the Bulava missile took place in July and ended with the missile malfunctioning during its first stage and self-destructing.

In the wake of that failure, the next test of the missile was delayed multiple times until finally taking place Wednesday.

The Russian news agency said the Bulava SS-NX-30 missile, which has had five successful tests to date, is capable of carrying 10 multiple independently targetable warheads. The three-stage missile has a maximum range of more than 5,000 miles.

Recommended Stories
© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
  
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
The Tibetan Moniam Festival in China Super Bowl XLVI ticker tape victory parade The making of the Oscars
The Chicago Auto Show The Most Desirable Women of 2012 Tu Bishvat Migron settlement
Additional World News Stories
1 of 21
President Obama Signs Smuggling Prevention Act at White House
View Caption
fark
Man breaks into home, then vacuums and folds laundry (possibly with a menacing scowl on his face)...
It's starting to look as if the roles are now reversed - that Obama is Lucy with the football, and...
You're a female air traveler and there's no female TSA agent to screen you? No problem, there's...
Despite their efforts to convince you otherwise, many "foodies" can't, in a blind taste test, tell...
Photoshop this urban underground dweller
Kim Jong Un Dead. I repeat - Un Dead