A test Bulava intercontinental missile launched from a Russian submarine in the White Sea exploded during its flight, in the eighth such failure out of 12 tests Thursday, according to dpa. The Interfax news agency reported the Russian military general staff in Moscow as confirming the malfunction. It marks the eighth malfunction in twelve tests of the Bulava missile, which Russia hopes to make a key part of its future strategy. The explosion of the Bulava, which can be fitted with nuclear warheads, was seen in the sky over Norway, where it was feared to be the explosion of a power plant. The Russian armed forces meanwhile on Thursday successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile of the type PC-12M Topol. The 45-ton missile was fired from Arkhangelsk in northern Russia and reached its destination, a military testing area in Kazakhstan, the Russian defence ministry said.
