Nuclear-capable Bulava missile hit target at Cape Kanin
A nuclear-capable Bulava ballistic missile has struck its designated target at Cape Kanin after being launched from a Pacific Fleet submarine beneath the Sea of Okhotsk early on Wednesday morning.
The Russian Ministry of Defence has released video footage of the launch, which was carried out by the Borei-A-class submarine Generalissimo Suvorov (K-553).
According to the ministry, the test was conducted “in accordance with the combat training plan”. It said the missile hit the Chizha test range at Cape Kanin, in the Arkhangelsk region. The range is located on the eastern coast of the Kanin Peninsula, which extends into the Barents Sea.
Although the Defence Ministry described the test as successful, this claim has not been independently verified.
The Russian ballistic missile launch took place as the US conducts its Global Thunder nuclear command and control exercise. On Tuesday, the Barents Observer reported that a US Air Force B-52 strategic bomber had flown to northern Europe, escorted by British and Norwegian fighter jets, as part of the exercise.
The Generalissimo Suvorov last launched a test version of the Bulava missile in November 2022, during its final sea trials before the submarine was handed over to the Russian Navy by the Sevmash shipyard. That launch took place in the White Sea, with the missile aimed at a target at the Kura test range on the Kamchatka Peninsula.
The Russian Navy operates eight Borei- and Borei-A-class submarines: three assigned to the Northern Fleet and five to the Pacific Fleet. Two more submarines are under construction at the Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk.
