Naval Component of Nuclear Force of Russia Is Not Necessary, Probably

"Paroxysm of delight overgone by the Russian mass-media after start of a rocket "Bulava" on September, 18 is based on avaricious messages of representatives of Ministry of Defence, - Victor Mjasnikov, an observer of "Independent Military Review" writes. - Nobody found time to get a grasp of them. The following passage deserves special attention: "At 7.05 p.m. of Moscow time educational blocks reached purpose in the area of a fighting field of a firing range Kura". A question arises at once: if start was a test, what did they need educational blocks for? What does it mean? It means that rocket "Bulava" carried something which was not even a breadboard model of its regular warhead. This something has not got into 800 thousand ha of the firing range Kura on Kamchatka. It missed having appeared only in "area of a fighting field".

We are talking not simply about a rocket but about unique, as a matter of fact, hope for a naval component of Strategic nuclear force of Russia. A new line of nuclear underwater cruisers is under construction precisely for this rocket, which doesn't exist for the time.

While the rocket - is a hokey-pokey even on parameters incorporated in it under the technical project.

The weight "Bulava" can carry - 1,15 tons. It is the most important parameter of the rocket describing its fighting efficiency. Both the weight of warheads, the weight of the final rocket stage carrying out their disengagement, a control system and the fuel taken. What weight remains for warheads?

Thus it's affirmed that the rocket would carry to the orbit up to 10 warheads. Whence, if it is forbidden by SALT? Besides "Bulava" is, as a matter of fact, a variant of "Topol-M" of sea basing and the head part of "Topol" today carries only 1 warhead and the variant with a divided head part is only on paper and thus has only 3 warheads.

The rocket "Sineva" being for the present on arms with carries the weight of 2,15 tons can carry four average fighting blocks or 10 easy ones. Here you are what is necessary to take into consideration as no miniblocks have been invented yet for "Bulava". 12 pieces of "Bulava" of underwater rocket carrier such as "Jury Dolgoruky" have the general weight of 13,8 tons, that is in 4,9 times less, than the American submarine "Ohio" with solid-fuel rocket "Тreider-2".

Thus probable opponent has such submarines as "Ohio" 17 pieces, at that with a deadline of service from 2024 till 2039, while we have one "Jury Dolgoruky" which is not fully equipped. Well, one can't talk about parity. The nearest years hardly more than 2 pieces of PLA of this type will leave from building berths

That's all - not taking into account the rockets.

In November, 2007 "Bulava" finished the previous test flight on the 23-rd second due to the let-down of the first stage. Then it was declared that 12-14 more test starts would be required to finish the rocket and to pass into service.

For the time it became possible to achieve that "Bulava" did not blown up right after the start but it's too early to speak about readiness of the rocket, there are bases in general to doubt that it would pass into service.

In 1998 the project of intercontinental rocket "Bark" of Miass Rocket Center was closed. It was made not because of a good life - there are no industrial capacities in Miass any more to finish works. The long-term manufacturer of rockets of sea basing ceased to exist. The task for creation of a new sea rocket was transferred to the Moscow Institute of Heat Engineering (MIHE) which had no experience of creation of similar systems.

It was promised that in 2005 new rocket "Bulava" would pass into service. It was, actually, a critical term - a backlog for ever followed. The result is known. Earlier than in two years, if to hope for the best, it will be possible to install "Bulava" on PLA. At existing rates of bringing into action of ballistic missiles - 5-7 pieces in a year - we have another two years. It turns out that in 10 years we shall have on arms of Naval strategic forces 3 pieces of PLA with ballistic missiles onboard.

What president Medvedev meant when he spoke about batch production of some submarines armed with cruise missiles, probably, is such military secret which nobody would ever learn...

If to speak about importance of naval component of Strategic Nuclear Force, its importance consists in that this part of strategic nuclear force cannot be destroyed completely in case of drawing preventive nuclear attack even if there is no early warning system about rocket attack. But it is possible when there are not one - two but a lot of submarines in various parts of World's water on a fighting watch.

Nothing of the kind is being expected...

А.B.

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