"Bulava" (rocket): characteristics. Intercontinental ballistic missile "Bulava"

"Bulava" is one of the newest developments of Russian rocket engineering. Till now pass tests on the given object. Some of them were unsuccessful, which caused a lot of criticism from experts. One can say with certainty that the Bulava is a missile, the characteristics of which are really unique, and what exactly you will learn in this article. It is worthwhile to draw your attention to the fact that this solid-propellant ballistic missile is intended for deployment on nuclear submarines (such as the "Shark").

History of creation

In 1998, it was decided in favor of developing a ballistic missile "Bulava". At that time, Vladimir Kuroyedov was at the post of the Russian Navy, who was developing the Bark gun for strategic purposes. The complex was ready only for 70%, and its tests were unsuccessful. After that, the Russian Federation Council decided to transfer the development of the newest intercontinental missile to the capital heating institute, despite the fact that the latter had no experience of creating such weapons. In June 2009, the first test of the Bulava missile was carried out, which proved to be successful. After that, it was decided to launch the most developed parts and components into mass production. So, by the end of 2012, Anatoly Serdyukov said that these missiles will be supplied to the Russian army in October 2012. As of January 2014, about 46 missiles were manufactured, about 14 of which were launched during the tests.

Conducted tests

To date, about 20 trials have been completed, only 55% have been successful. The first launch of the Bulava missile (mass-dimensional layout) was carried out on September 23, 2004. The second, which can be called the first present, was fulfilled on September 25, 2005. Then the intercontinental missile Bulava successfully reached its goal and struck it. The third launch from underwater position from the nuclear submarine Dmitry Donskoy was carried out in October 2005. The target at the Kura test site, which is on Kamchatka, was successfully hit. Several of the following tests were unsuccessful. That refused the engine of the last liquid stage of the rocket, then it deviated from the course and fell, it simply banally self-destructed. The only good news is that during the unsuccessful tests, the relevant conclusions were drawn and certain nodes were finalized. As a result, 9 of the last 10 tests proved successful, and this is a very good result. Now let's look at another interesting point.

The Bulava: characteristics

This complex boasts the following characteristics:

• The range is 8 thousand kilometers.
• Weight (starting) - 36.8 tons.
• The throwable (resettable) weight is 1,150 kilograms.
• The length / diameter of the launch container is 12.1 / 2.1 meters.
• The diameter of the first stage is 2.0 meters.

The Bulava missile, the characteristics of which you just learned, has three stages. The first two are solid-fueled, and the latter - liquid. The mass of the motor of the first stage is about 18.5 tons with a length of 3.6 meters. To date, data on the second stage have not been disclosed. Until early 2014, it was not known how the third stage was performed. Today we can say with confidence that it is liquid. This is necessary in order to ensure maximum maneuvering of the object in the final stages of flight. This missile in its composition can carry about 10 nuclear units, each of which is controlled. This is almost all the data that is known to date.

Recent changes in the complex

It became known that the complex will have a special system for overcoming missile defense. But what this will be for the system, is not explained yet. Perhaps these are false targets or a special coating that will make the unit invisible to radar. These are top secret data that will not be disclosed. Separately, a few words need to be said about the fact that the Bulava missile, the characteristics of which we have already considered, has been somewhat modernized in recent years of development. In particular, the principle of nuclear block breeding was changed. If the rocket used to remove blocks above the target, then discarded them, now the principle of "grape bunch", or "school bus" - in US terminology is used. Since Topol-M and Bulava were developed on the same base (Moscow Institute of Heat Engineering), and the accuracy of the first complex is very high, it can be said with great certainty about the high efficiency of the Bulava intercontinental missile. But, since there are various modifications - "Bulava-30", "Bulava-M", it is difficult to say something about the accuracy and other characteristics of a single complex.

The speed of the Bulava missile

The ballistic missile is practically uncontrollable almost all the time of its flight. On-board electronics contains a special program that sets the speed and flight path even at an active stage of flight. After the engine is turned off, the rocket moves along a ballistic trajectory and is not controlled from the outside. It can be said that the speed of a medium- and short-range ballistic missile is practically the same. But since we are dealing with an intercontinental ballistic missile, in this case the speed is somewhat higher and is about 5-6 kilometers per hour. Exact data can not be named, since they are currently unknown. However, we can say that during the tests it was noted that the missile flew for 5 minutes 5,5 thousand kilometers. From this we can draw a simple conclusion that in a second the missile flies about 6-7 kilometers. It can be said that the speed of the Bulava missile is quite impressive, however, according to many data, American such complexes are somewhat faster.

A bit of criticism

As noted above, due to the low percentage of successful tests, the Bulava ballistic missile suffered a lot of criticism, not only from domestic scientists. So, the Americans say that this complex is almost one hundred percent similar to their Poseidon-S3 missile. True, the latter has already been disarmed as morally obsolete. But this is due to the fact that there are only two solid-fuel systems, and the maximum range is only five and a half thousand kilometers. It should be noted that many experts say that substitution of liquid sea-based missiles for such analogs as "Bulava" will only reduce the potential for nuclear deterrence. But, according to Solomonov (the general designer), the reduction in the payload is due to the increased survival of the rocket.

Some test scores

Many experts criticized this complex very often. This was due to the fact that the launch of the Bulava missile in 45% of the cases was unsuccessful. Although this is rather controversial information, as several tests were partially successful, although they had deviations. Moreover, approximately 90% of unsuccessful launches were carried out at the stage of active development. But when the rocket was finalized, only one of the 10 launches was unsuccessful. Such indicators speak just the opposite - that the ballistic missile "Bulava" is very reliable, if I may say so. Yuri Solomonov commented on the large number of failures during the tests. He said that they can not be predicted. The fact is that all processes leading to deviation pass in fractions of a second. And to clarify their nature, MIT conducted dozens of expensive tests, which ultimately led to a positive trend.

A little about the features of the complex

As it was mentioned above, the Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile is unique in its kind. First of all, this is due to the fact that under the conditions of combat operations the missile is capable of withstanding the fire of laser weapons. It is noteworthy that an inclined start allows launching on the "go", that is, during the movement of an atomic submarine. This will increase the maneuverability of the complex as a whole. By the way, it should be noted that after a series of unsuccessful tests Solomonov resigned from the post of general director of MIT, but at the same time remained the general designer of the complex. And now let's talk about what objects will be used intercontinental ballistic missile "Bulava"

Accommodation complex

Since this rocket was designed as a missile ship complex, it is quite logical to assume that the main place of deployment is nuclear submarines. The submarine cruisers of the strategic purpose of the improved Shark project, for example, Dmitry Donskoy and Arkhangelsk, already have this complex in their arsenal. By the way, in our article there are pictures where the complex starts with the submarine, at this moment the "Bulava" looks pretty impressive (photo). The missile is also installed on the objects of the Borey project. Among them are "Yuri Dolgoruky", "Alexander Nevsky" and others. By the end of 2020, it is planned to build about 8 submarines, 3 of which are for the Shark project and 5 for the Borey project. Each pipeline will have 16 Bulava missiles.

Conclusion

So we discussed with you the key features of the "Bulava" complex (photo), the rocket as you see, looks very impressive, and the latest tests speak of its high efficiency. Nevertheless, it is rather difficult to call it ideal. But it will be able to strengthen the underwater potential of the Russian Federation. In addition, the reduced power of the complex is due to increased accuracy. Many critics did not take into account the survivability of the rocket in comparison with analogues. Resistance to striking factors plays almost a key role during the conduct of hostilities.