Intercontinental ballistic missile Bulava RSM-56 will equip Russian armed forces in 2012 2103122

"The firing tests of intercontinental Bulava RSM-56 3M30 missiles have been completed successfully. The missile must be adopted by the Russian Armed Forces in October 2012," said the minister. A series of test launches for the Bulava intercontinental missile are planned for the summer, a source at the Russian Navy said on Tuesday, March 21, 2012. Russia successfully test launched two Bulava missiles on December 23, 2011.

The Bulava (SS-NX-30) SLBM, developed by the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology (since 1998), carries up to 10 MIRV warheads and has a range of over 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles). The three-stage ballistic missile is designed for deployment on Borey-class nuclear submarines.

The missile can carry six to ten independently targeted hypersonic maneuvering nuclear warheads, which can change their flight trajectory's altitude and direction.