Last week the newest Russian Navy Bulava-30 (SS-NX-30) sea-based intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) disintegrated 28 seconds after launch. The latest crash came on top of a long string of unsuccessful test launches that have called into question the future of the Bulava, planned to be the only Russian sea-based ICBM after 2020-25 (Interfax, July 16). Recently, the First Deputy Defense Minister, and Chief of the General Staff, General of the Army Nikolai Makarov told reporters, "All technical problems with the Bulava have been resolved" (RIA Novosti, June 17). This week after the latest test failure, the main designer of the Bulava Yuri Solomonov (63), who also designed Russia's newest land-based ICBM's Topol-M (SS-27) and RS-24, resigned as general director of the Moscow Institute of Teploteckhnika - the main ICBM research and development facility (RIA Novosti, July 22).
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