According to a report by ITAR on the 16th, the American magazine Popular Mechanics called Russia’s test-fire of the “Blava” intercontinental ballistic missile last week as a “preview of the end of civilization.”
Earlier, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced on the 12th that the Russian “Beifeng”-class nuclear submarine “Vladimir Monomakh” traveled from the Okhotsk waters to the Arkhangelsk Oblast in northwestern Russia. Four “Blava” intercontinental ballistic missiles were launched in succession at the Chiza training ground, and the missiles accurately hit the target, flying a distance of more than 5,500 kilometers.
The American “Popular Mechanic” magazine pointed out that this test is the first consecutive launch of multiple ballistic missiles by a Russian nuclear submarine in two years. In 2018, the Russian Northern Fleet “Yuri Dolgoruky” nuclear submarine (the first boat of the “Beifeng” class nuclear submarine) successfully tested 4 “Blava” missiles from the White Sea to the Russian Far East Target launch at the Kula training ground on the Kamchatka Peninsula.
According to US media, the “Vladimir Monomach” is the third strategic nuclear submarine of the “Beifeng” class to be commissioned by the Russian Navy.
This class of nuclear submarine can carry 16 “Blava” intercontinental missiles. Each “Blava” missile can carry 4-6 nuclear warheads with an equivalent of 100,000 to 150,000 tons. In contrast, when the United States bombed Hiroshima, Japan, the atomic bomb equivalent was only 15,000 tons.
“Popular Mechanics” magazine stated that the “Blava” missile launched from the Sea of Okhotsk can reach most of the United States west of the Mississippi, while the missile launched from the White Sea can reach the US territory east of the Mississippi.
The magazine believes that the performance of the Russian “Blava” missile is equivalent to that of the US “Trident” D-5 missile, but the development of the “Blava” missile has not been very smooth. There were 12 test launches between 2003 and 2009. Half of them ended in failure. But since 2018, all 10 missiles tested have been successful.
It is worth mentioning that the short-term launch of submarine-launched missiles is not a Russian patent. In February 2017, the United States had previously launched 4 Trident 2-D5 intercontinental missiles within 3 days.
