The Russian daily Kommersant said Tuesday that a test launch of the Bulava failed Sunday for a third time in the past four months, putting in jeopardy the national nuclear re-armament plan.
Anatoly Perminov, head of the Federal Space Agency, said describing the latest test: "The first stage performed well, the second stage performed well, but the third stage, not so well."
The national defense program envisions the deployment of the Bulava on nuclear submarines beginning in 2007. The missiles are expected to become the mainstay of the Russian Navy's strategic nuclear forces in decades to come, Kommersant said.
Perminov said the Bulava had undergone a total of five test launches in the past two years.
The R-30 Bulava (SS-NX-30) ballistic missile was developed at the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology. It can carry up to 10 nuclear warheads and has a range of 8,000 kilometers (about 5,000 miles).
The two previous unsuccessful launches occurred September 7 and October 25 from a ballistic missile submarine in the White Sea. The first missile failed to reach its target, and the second self-destructed after deviating from its trajectory.
