A submarine participating in the country's largest strategic war game in more than 20 years failed to launch a ballistic missile as planned Tuesday in what could possibly be a major embarrassment to the military and President Vladimir Putin.
Putin was on board a nuclear submarine observing Northern Fleet maneuvers in the Barents Sea when the crew of another submarine tried and failed to launch at least one RSM-54 ballistic missile, news agencies reported Tuesday afternoon, citing sources in the fleet's command.
The same agencies later ran reports denying the failure, and top military brass weighed in on Tuesday night to say the war game had proceeded exactly as planned.
State-run Channel One and Rossia television made no mention of the failed launch in lengthy accounts of the naval maneuvers Tuesday evening.
Putin was participating in the war game in a clear attempt to strengthen his undisputed lead in the March 14 presidential election by reaching out to the military and nationalist vote.
Putin arrived at the Northern Fleet headquarters in Severomorsk on Monday to take a firsthand look at the naval part of the military exercises -- a massive show of force that involves all branches of the military and has been under way since late January.
State television channels aired lengthy reports about the commander-in-chief's arrival and subsequent boarding of the Arkhangelsk submarine Monday evening for an overnight trip. The channels showed Putin, wearing a naval uniform and white gloves, touring the submarine and eating with the crew.
Putin was on board the Arkhangelsk on Tuesday morning when the Novomoskovsk nuclear submarine was to have fired two sea-launched ballistic missiles, state-controlled news agencies reported Tuesday afternoon. The Novomoskovsk was to have fired one RSM-54 at 10:15 a.m. and another one at 10:22, but neither took off because the launch command was blocked by a satellite, Itar-Tass quoted a source in the Northern Fleet as saying. RIA-Novosti also reported that two ballistic missiles failed to take off.
Gazeta.ru, however, said that only one missile was to have been launched from the submerged Novomoskovsk and that it disintegrated right after emerging from the water.
And a government source told The Associated Press that the launch of the one missile failed after it was blocked by the submarine's automatic safety system. The source did not elaborate.
After reporting two failures, RIA-Novosti dropped any mention of them and started relaying reports in which the Northern Fleet's press service said the exercises were going "normally." The press service told Interfax that "no unforeseen situations appeared in the course of the exercises."
The commander of the war game, General Anatoly Kvashnin of the military's General Staff, also insisted that the exercises were proceeding as planned.
"As for the naval component ... the assigned mission has been fulfilled overall," Kvashnin told Putin in a teleconference between Moscow and Severomorsk, Interfax reported.
Kvashnin also shed some light on the scenario of the war game, saying it called for the armed forces to repeal an aggression aimed at undermining Russia's military potential, disrupting command and control and gaining air superiority.
Calls to the Northern Fleet press service and the Navy press service went unanswered Tuesday. The Defense Ministry refused to comment, referring all questions to the presidential press service.
A presidential spokesman would only say that "the war game is proceeding normally" and that "the president is on board a nuclear submarine."
State-connected NTV television reported that the Novomoskovsk was supposed to have launched one ballistic missile but failed to do so.
But Navy chief Admiral Vladimir Kuroyedov insisted on the same broadcast that no actual launches had been planned -- only simulations -- and, as such, no failure could have occurred.
Kuroyedov's statement contradicts the Defense Ministry's Red Star daily, which reported Tuesday that an RSM-54 ballistic missile was to have been launched from the Novomoskovsk and fly across Russia to the Kamchatka Peninsula on Tuesday morning. It also said a practice target was to have been launched from a submarine to test the air defense system of the Northern Fleet's flagship, the Peter the Great cruiser.
Retired Captain Igor Kurdin, who served as the Novomoskovsk's commander from 1993 to 1995, said the launch incident might have been caused by a technical failure or a crew mistake.
"It's very annoying that it happened in front of the commander-in-chief," Kurdin told the AP.
In addition to the naval component, the ongoing war game features exercises for the Air Force and ground forces. Long-range bombers fired cruise missiles over northern Russia that were then destroyed by missiles fired from MiG-31 interceptors on Tuesday, Interfax reported. Also Tu-160 strategic bombers were to fly over the Atlantic Ocean, according to the government's Rossiiskaya Gazeta.
Space forces are to launch a satellite from the northern Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Putin's presence on Wednesday, NTV reported.
Putin was on board a nuclear submarine observing Northern Fleet maneuvers in the Barents Sea when the crew of another submarine tried and failed to launch at least one RSM-54 ballistic missile, news agencies reported Tuesday afternoon, citing sources in the fleet's command.
The same agencies later ran reports denying the failure, and top military brass weighed in on Tuesday night to say the war game had proceeded exactly as planned.
State-run Channel One and Rossia television made no mention of the failed launch in lengthy accounts of the naval maneuvers Tuesday evening.
Putin was participating in the war game in a clear attempt to strengthen his undisputed lead in the March 14 presidential election by reaching out to the military and nationalist vote.
Putin arrived at the Northern Fleet headquarters in Severomorsk on Monday to take a firsthand look at the naval part of the military exercises -- a massive show of force that involves all branches of the military and has been under way since late January.
State television channels aired lengthy reports about the commander-in-chief's arrival and subsequent boarding of the Arkhangelsk submarine Monday evening for an overnight trip. The channels showed Putin, wearing a naval uniform and white gloves, touring the submarine and eating with the crew.
Putin was on board the Arkhangelsk on Tuesday morning when the Novomoskovsk nuclear submarine was to have fired two sea-launched ballistic missiles, state-controlled news agencies reported Tuesday afternoon. The Novomoskovsk was to have fired one RSM-54 at 10:15 a.m. and another one at 10:22, but neither took off because the launch command was blocked by a satellite, Itar-Tass quoted a source in the Northern Fleet as saying. RIA-Novosti also reported that two ballistic missiles failed to take off.
Gazeta.ru, however, said that only one missile was to have been launched from the submerged Novomoskovsk and that it disintegrated right after emerging from the water.
And a government source told The Associated Press that the launch of the one missile failed after it was blocked by the submarine's automatic safety system. The source did not elaborate.
After reporting two failures, RIA-Novosti dropped any mention of them and started relaying reports in which the Northern Fleet's press service said the exercises were going "normally." The press service told Interfax that "no unforeseen situations appeared in the course of the exercises."
The commander of the war game, General Anatoly Kvashnin of the military's General Staff, also insisted that the exercises were proceeding as planned.
"As for the naval component ... the assigned mission has been fulfilled overall," Kvashnin told Putin in a teleconference between Moscow and Severomorsk, Interfax reported.
Kvashnin also shed some light on the scenario of the war game, saying it called for the armed forces to repeal an aggression aimed at undermining Russia's military potential, disrupting command and control and gaining air superiority.
Calls to the Northern Fleet press service and the Navy press service went unanswered Tuesday. The Defense Ministry refused to comment, referring all questions to the presidential press service.
A presidential spokesman would only say that "the war game is proceeding normally" and that "the president is on board a nuclear submarine."
State-connected NTV television reported that the Novomoskovsk was supposed to have launched one ballistic missile but failed to do so.
But Navy chief Admiral Vladimir Kuroyedov insisted on the same broadcast that no actual launches had been planned -- only simulations -- and, as such, no failure could have occurred.
Kuroyedov's statement contradicts the Defense Ministry's Red Star daily, which reported Tuesday that an RSM-54 ballistic missile was to have been launched from the Novomoskovsk and fly across Russia to the Kamchatka Peninsula on Tuesday morning. It also said a practice target was to have been launched from a submarine to test the air defense system of the Northern Fleet's flagship, the Peter the Great cruiser.
Retired Captain Igor Kurdin, who served as the Novomoskovsk's commander from 1993 to 1995, said the launch incident might have been caused by a technical failure or a crew mistake.
"It's very annoying that it happened in front of the commander-in-chief," Kurdin told the AP.
In addition to the naval component, the ongoing war game features exercises for the Air Force and ground forces. Long-range bombers fired cruise missiles over northern Russia that were then destroyed by missiles fired from MiG-31 interceptors on Tuesday, Interfax reported. Also Tu-160 strategic bombers were to fly over the Atlantic Ocean, according to the government's Rossiiskaya Gazeta.
Space forces are to launch a satellite from the northern Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Putin's presence on Wednesday, NTV reported.
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