The national defense program envisions the deployment of the Bulava on nuclear submarines beginning in 2007. The missiles are expected to become the mainstay of the Russian Navy's strategic nuclear forces in decades to come. However, the missile tests failed late last year, despite previous successful launches.
"I believe the new missile tests will be held not earlier than July," Deputy Defense Minister Aleksei Moskovsky said.
The R-30 Bulava (SS-NX-30) ballistic missile was developed at the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology. It can carry up to 10 nuclear warheads and has a range of 8,000 kilometers (about 5,000 miles).
"We do not dramatize the situation. We need to remove purely technological faults in the missile's first stage," the deputy defense minister said.
