Russian Nuclear Submarine Test Fires Two Bulava Missiles

Russian submarine Yuri Dolgoruky has test launched two Bulava intercontinental ballistic missiles from the White Sea today.

"Both missiles were fired from the submarine’s silos in a routine regime. The first missile’s warhead completed the entire cycle of the flight program and successfully hit the designated targets at the firing range. The second missile self-liquidated after the first stage of the flight program," the Russian Defense Ministry was quoted as saying by TASS Wednesday. The missiles were fired from the submerged submarine. 

The lead Borei-class submarine of Project 955 - Yuri Dolgoruky - was delivered to the Russian Navy in January 2013, however, the boat was commissioned with the Navy combat forces only in 2014.

The Yuri Dolgoruky submarine is in service with the Northern Fleet. The Yuri Dolgoruky is 160 meters long and 13 meters wide, with a displacement of 24,000 tonnes.

The Project 955 nuclear-powered submarine is armed with the advanced R-30 Bulava missile system with a flight range of more than 8,000 kilometers (4,971 miles). The system is furnished with multiple individually-targeted reentry vehicles.

Each Project 955 nuclear-powered submarine can carry 16 solid-propellant intercontinental ballistic missiles.

A multiple launch of two Bulava intercontinental ballistic missiles was last performed by the nuclear-powered submarine Vladimir Monomakh on November 14, 2015.