R-29RMU Sineva

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R-29RMU Sineva
Sineva ballistic missile launched from Verkhoturye submarine.jpg
Sineva launched on 12 December 2015
Type SLBM
Place of origin Russia
Service history
In service 2007�present
Used by Russian Navy
Production history
Designer Makeyev Rocket Design Bureau
Manufacturer ZMZ/KMZ
Specifications
Mass 40.3 tonnes
Length 14.8 meters
Diameter 1.9 m
Warhead 4 MIRV with a yield of 500 kiloton each or 10 MIRV with 100 kiloton
yield[1][2]
Engine Three-stage liquid-propellant rocket[3]
Operational
range
8,300 km (max range),[4] longest distance ever reached with least payload is 11,547
km (7,174 miles) [5]
Guidance
system
Astroinertial, GLONASS
Accuracy 250-500 meters [6][7]
The R-29RMU Sineva (Russian: ??????, lit. "blueness"), code RSM-54, is a Russian
liquid-fueled submarine-launched ballistic missile with GRAU index 3M27,
designation SS-N-23A Skiff.[8] It can carry four warheads and is designed to be
launched from Delta IV class submarines, which are armed with 16 missiles each. As
of 2017, there are 96 launchers deployed on the submarines.[9]

The first full-range test was reportedly conducted on October 11, 2008; the
reported range was 11,547 kilometers (7,174 miles). The R-29RMU entered service in
2007 and is expected to remain in service until at least 2030.[8][10][11]

Current plans call for the construction of approximately 100 such missiles.[12]

The Sineva missile has reportedly been modified into R-29RMU2 Layner missile as of
2012.[13]

Contents
1 Background
2 Testing
2.1 Initial launch failures
2.2 Successful launches
3 Operators
4 See also
5 References
6 External sources
7 External links
Background
At its height in 1984, the Soviet Navy conducted over 100 SSBN patrols.[14] The
Russian Navy declined during the 1990s, with no SSBN patrols carried out in
2001�2002.[14] The development of the Sineva is part of a program tasked with
"preventing the weakening of Russia's nuclear deterrent."[15]

The R-29RMU Sineva is seen as a rival to the solid propellant Bulava SLBM.
Originally, the Russian Navy was slated to receive the Sineva missile in 2002, but
the first test was conducted only in 2004. The missile was eventually commissioned
in 2007.[11] The missile was reported to carry new nuclear warheads.[16]

Testing
Initial launch failures
Failed Sineva test launches took place during the strategic command exercise
�Security-2004� (held 10�18 February 2004), which also included the launch of a
Molniya communication satellite and an R-36 missile. The launch failures involving
nuclear submarines Novomoskovsk and Karelia may have been caused by a military
satellite blocking the launch signal; this incident did not lead to any serious
consequences for the K-407 Novomoskovsk strategic nuclear submarine. March 1, 2004
saw then Russian president Vladimir Putin instructing the acting defence minister
to carry out an investigation in order to determine the reason of the launch
failures of the three RSM-54 missiles in mid-February.

Successful launches
17 March 2004 saw Novomoskovsk nuclear submarine of the Russian Northern Fleet
perform a successful launch of the RSM-54 Sineva. The missile�s two warheads
reportedly hit their targets. President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergei
Ivanov observed a successful test launch of the Sineva missile from the SSBN
Yekaterinburg.

Further successful launches were conducted by K-84 Yekaterinburg on 8 September

2006. The missile was launched from an ice-covered polar region toward the Chizha
test site at the Kanin Peninsula. The three warheads were reported to have
successfully reached their targets.

Another successful launch was performed on 4 March 2010 from the Barents Sea. This
was followed by more launches on 6 August 2010, when a K-114 Tula fired two
missiles towards the Kura Test Range. Two more launches were carried out on 20 May
2011 and 27 July 2011, both successful.[17][18]

On 8 May 2014, Sineva has been successfully tested during a large nuclear exercise
personally supervised by President Vladimir Putin.[19]

On 5 November 2014, Tula submarine hit targets at the Kura Test Range firing from
the Barents Sea.[20]

The 27th underwater launch occurred on 12 December 2015; the Russian Ministry of
Defence shared video on official YouTube site,[21] and major Russian news channels.
[22]

Another successful launch was conducted on 12 October 2016 and one more on 24
August 2019.[23] 2 more launches took place on 17.10.2019 and 09.12.2020.[24]