MOSCOW. May 23 (Interfax-AVN) - The Northern Fleet's strategic nuclear missile underwater cruise Yekaterinburg on Friday successfully launched an intercontinental ballistic missile Sineva, Russian Defense Ministry Igor Konashenkov told Interfax-AVN.
"The launch was carried out from the Barents Sea from the nuclear submarine Yekaterinburg from an underwater position. The combat units of the Sineva reached the testing ground Kura in Kamchatka at the projected time," he said.
The purpose of the launch was to test the reliability of the Russian marine strategic nuclear forces, he said.
The previous successful launch of the Sineva took place on April 27, also from the Barents Sea.
RSM-54 'Sineva' (or Skiff, according to NATO classification) is a three-stage liquid-fuel sea-based missile developed by the Makeyev State Rocket Center. It is about 15 meters long, has a diameter of 1.9 meters and a launch weight over 40 tonnes. The missile was commissioned for the Russian armed forces on July 9, 2007.
The missile can be launched from a submarine moving at up to 7 knots at a depth of up to 55 meters.
The Yekaterinburg is a second-generation nuclear submarine, it is 167 meters long and 12 meters wide, with a water displacement of 12,000 tonnes and a maximum diving depth of 400 meters. Its crew includes 140 people, and it is armed with 16 Sineva missiles.
In 2007, the Russian president signed a decree on putting the missile system Sineva in operation in the Russian Navy. According to experts' estimation, this system has a long-term technical potential, which will allow for appropriate reaction to possible military threats to Russia until 2030.
The record launch of the Sineva in terms of length was carried out by the nuclear submarine Tula in October 2008 during the training Stability 2008. The missile, which was launched from the Barents Sea, flew at 11,547 km and hit a target in the equatorial part of the Pacific Ocean.