MOSCOW, August 26 (RIA Novosti) - The improvement of the Bulava sea-based missile system is the most promising direction for the development of the Russian Strategic Missile Force, Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said Friday.
"The development of Russia's Strategic Missile Force is linked with the development of the Bulava unified missile system, including with multiple warheads," Ivanov said after attending the first Russian-Chinese military exercises on the Shandong Peninsula in the Yellow Sea.
Ivanov also said the Soviet-era Voyevoda heavy missiles (whose NATO reporting name is Satan) could remain in service for a long time.
"What we launch today are missiles with an expired service life," Ivanov said. In this way, the Defense Ministry can check the condition of missiles with an expired service life and save large amount of money on their disposal," Ivanov said.
The Bulava solid propellant ballistic missile is deployed on strategic submarines like the Project 955. Russia is currently building two such submarines called Yuri Dolgoruky and Alexander Nevsky, named for two heroes in Russian history.
