MOSCOW, December 2 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will conduct the second in-flight test of the sea-based Bulava-M strategic ballistic missile, one of the missile's chief designers said Friday at a news conference.
"We will conduct the second launch in December and commence the final test stage in 2006," said Yury Solomonov, director of the Moscow Institute of Thermotechnics.
Russia successfully conducted the first in-flight test of the Bulava missile in a White Sea trial in September 2005.
The Bulava (SS-NX-30) is the submarine-launched version of Russia's most advanced missile, the Topol-M (SS-27) solid fuel ICBM.
Solomonov said Russia's design bureaus had been working on increasing the so-called "survivability" of missiles, citing an example of the Topol-M ballistic missile that can penetrate existing air defenses.
"This missile has a very short active flight phase, which makes it practically impossible to intercept during the active phase," the chief designer said.
