Russia Prepares to Launch Nuclear Missile
A satellite image has been released showing Russia’s preparations for launching its R-30 “Bulava” nuclear missile. This is unusual because such activities are usually not shown in public.
The Russian media were the first to report on this, claiming that it exposed operations by a government agency responsible for nuclear weapons. Satellite images of Russia’s missile preparation activities, especially those involving nuclear missiles, have never been made public before.
The image shows several support vehicles positioned near a transport-launcher container with the R-30 “Bulava” missile. It appears to be located on a Project 955 Borei nuclear submarine.
Russia is openly preparing its missile for launch and intends to load it onto a nuclear submarine. This has been described as a form of “mutual transparency“, where Western countries can monitor Russia’s nuclear arsenal via satellites, while Russia conducts such operations in an open manner.
This may also be seen as a psychological posturing by Russia, showing that they are not hiding their preparations for launching a nuclear missile. It is likely that similar activities at Russian strategic aviation airfields will be closely monitored by Western satellites.