The salvo launch of four R-30 Bulava-30 ballistic missiles at once, produced on December 12 by the K-551 Vladimir Monomakh strategic submarine missile cruiser of Project 955 Borey of the Russian Navy, looks like a “preview of the end of civilization “, Writes Popular Mechanics.
“It's good that it was just a test,” the American magazine notes, adding that “the missiles flew over almost all of Russia, from a location north of Japan to a location near Finland.”
In the publication, the R-30 Bulava-30 is called an analogue of the weapon – the American UGM-133A Trident II D5 missile.
On December 14, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that the launch of the R-30 Bulava-30 from the K-551 Vladimir Monomakh took place in the normal mode from a submerged position in the Sea of Okhotsk at the Chizha training ground (Arkhangelsk region).
In February, Deputy President of the Russian Academy of Missile and Artillery Sciences for Information Policy, Doctor of Military Sciences Konstantin Sivkov said that the modern R-30 Bulava-30 “cannot be considered a particularly breakthrough” development, since the missile is comparable in firing range and circular probable deviation with the UGM-133A Trident II D5, which was put into service back in 1990, but is 2.5 times inferior to it in throw weight.
In June 2019, the American magazine The National Interest wrote that the accuracy of the R-30 Bulava-30 missiles, intended for deployment on Russian submarines of Project 955 Borey, is not sufficient to use weapons in the framework of the “first strike” scenario, which assumes in particular, the destruction of American LGM-30 Minuteman silo launchers.
The laying of K-549 “Prince Vladimir” at Sevmash (Severodvinsk) took place in March 2006. The strategic submarine, developed by Rubin, carries 16 R-30 Bulava-30 missiles. The submarine is distinguished by its low noise, increased maneuverability and an improved weapon control system. At present, the Russian Navy has three Project 955 submarines (K-535 “Yuri Dolgoruky”, K-550 “Alexander Nevsky” and K-551 “Vladimir Monomakh”) and one submarine of Project 955A (K-549 “Prince Vladimir”). Four more submarines of Project 995A are under construction. Two such submarines are being prepared for laying.
