Russian Navy Launches New SLBM

Posted by M Pyadushkin at 9/30/2011 2:04 PM CDT

Just two days after the ICBM crash in Plesetsk, another new Russian missile has made a successful test launch. On September 29, Delta IV class Tula submarine of the Russian Northern Fleet fired a ballistic missile called Lainer (Liner) from the Barents Sea. The Defense Ministry reported that the launch was made within the development test program and the missile’s warheads successfully reached the Kura range on the Kamchatka peninsula.

This was the second test launch of Lainer. The missile was for the first time fired in submersible position from Delta IV class Yekaterinburg submarine on May 20, 2011. According to unofficial information, the new SLMB is a further evolution of Sineva (SS-N-23 Skiff) ICBM. Now the Defense Ministry confirmed that Lainer has flight performance “similar to those of submarine-launched Sineva, significant range and more advanced capabilities to penetrate anti-ballistic defense”, but revealed no further details.

The three-stage liquid-propellant Sineva was developed by Makeyev State Rocket Center and is considered a rival to the solid-propellant Bulava (SS-NX-30) by MIT. Sineva was taken into service in 2007 and reportedly weighs 40 ton and has a range of 11,500 km. It was designed to be fired from Delta IV class subs that carry 16 such missiles each.

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	Yorzhik wrote: Thats more like it. I read recently about a reduction in Akula's under New Start. Any information on the accuracy of this and how many may be scrapped? 10/1/2011 6:07 AM CDT Recommend Report Abuse Permalink
	andrei_sh wrote: Three Akulas left of six originally built, two of them mothballed, one recently has been used as a testbed ship for the Bulava SLBM. The rumour about their imminent scrapping has been refuted by the MoD yesterday, but their fate remains uncertain. 10/1/2011 7:21 AM CDT