Russia carried out test launches of two Sineva intercontinental ballistic missiles (IBMs) from two Delta IV class nuclear-powered submarines, located near the North Pole, July 13-14.
“The American radars certainly detected the missile launches but their location took them by surprise,” the source said.
The first missile, flying a ballistic path, hit its designated target at the Kura testing grounds on the Kamchatka Peninsula, while the second, fired with a flat trajectory, destroyed a target at the Chizha testing site on the White Sea.
The source said that the launch area, covered by floating ice sheets, was heavily patrolled by Russian attack submarines and the Americans were unable to detect the arrival of two strategic submarines before the launch.
“At the same time, US reconnaissance satellites are unable to detect submarines under thick ice floe in the Arctic,” he said.
The region around the North Pole is a perfect place for launches of ballistic missiles because it allows the submarines to arrive in a designated area undetected and to shorten the missile flight time to the target.
The RSM-54 Sineva (NATO designation SS-N-23 Skiff) is a third-generation liquid-propellant IBM that entered service with the Russian Navy in July 2007. It can carry four or 10 nuclear warheads, depending on the modification.
Russia plans to equip its Delta IV class submarines with at least 100 Sineva missiles.
–RIA Novosti
Rian.Ru | Russian submarine successfully test-launches strategic missile
22:0113/07/2009
"The target was hit and the pieces of the missile landed in the designated area," the president said at a meeting with Navy personnel in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi.
The president said the test occurred on Monday, but did not specify the type of missile or the name of the submarine.
Last month Adm. Vladimir Vysotsky, the Russian Navy commander, said Russia would carry out the next test of a Bulava sea-launched ballistic missile in late July, one of a total of four or five launches this year.
Despite five failures in 10 trials, the last unsuccessful trial being in December 2008, Russia's Defense Ministry is planning to complete Bulava tests and put the ICBM into service by the end of 2009.
The Russian military says the Bulava, along with Topol-M ballistic missiles, will become the backbone of Russia's nuclear triad.
The triad comprises land-based ballistic missile systems, nuclear-powered submarines armed with sea-launched ballistic missiles, and strategic bombers carrying nuclear bombs and nuclear-capable cruise missiles.
