The latest test launch of the Bulava intercontinental missile, the 15th in total and the first not from a submarine specifically remodeled to carry the missile, will take place Dec. 17, a Navy General Staff source told Interfax on Thursday.
The nuclear submarine Yury Dolgoruky will launch the Bulava from the White Sea, the source said. Previous launches were handled by the Dmitry Donskoi submarine.
Of the 14 Bulava launches since 2004, six have failed. The two most recent ones, both conducted in October, were successful, and a source in the military industrial complex told Interfax earlier this week that the missile would pass into service by the end of 2011, provided that the next two launches will be successful.
(MT)
