Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, watches the launch of the 'Molniya M ' booster rocket with a military satellite in Plesetsk cosmodrome, Russia, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2004. Behind Putin is Anatoli Bashlakov, commander of Plesetsk. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel)
Russian Missile Fails to Launch Again
Wed Feb 18,10:12 AM ET
By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV, Associated Press Writer
MOSCOW - A Russian ballistic missile self-destructed moments after taking off from a submarine Wednesday, the second failed test launch in two days of maneuvers meant to display the country's military might.
President Vladimir Putin didn't mention the failure, but said Russia would soon get new strategic weapons that would protect the country for years to come. He also said the Moscow might develop a missile defense system.
Putin didn't offer specifics about the new weapons — presumably a new generation of missiles — but said they will be "capable of hitting targets continents away with hypersonic speed, high precision and the ability of wide maneuver."
The massive exercises have been described as the largest in more than 20 years, and come less than a month before a presidential election Putin is expected to win. They are broadly seen as part of campaign efforts aimed at playing up Putin's image as a leader determined to restore Russia's military power and global clout.
But two launch failures in as many days were an embarrassment for Putin and further tarnish the image of the Russian military, which has been plagued by chronic funding shortages, low morale and frequent crashes and accidents.
The missile launched from the Karelia submarine on Wednesday veered from its flight path less than two minutes after take-off, triggering its self-destruct system, Russian Navy spokesman Capt. Igor Dygalo told The Associated Press.
No one was hurt, he said in a telephone interview.
That came a day after a missile failed to launch from the Novomoskovsk submarine. Russian officials and media had conflicting statements about the reason for the failure. The naval chief, Adm. Vladimir Kuroyedov, ended up saying Tuesday that the navy had never planned a real launch and successfully conducted what he described as an imitation "electronic" one.
Many Russian newspapers assailed what they described as a clumsy cover-up of Tuesday's failed launch, saying that Kuroyedov's statement resembled official lies about the August 2000 sinking of the Kursk nuclear submarine in the Barents Sea, which killed all 118 aboard and hurt the navy's prestige.
"Apparently they decided not to smear President Vladimir Putin's participation in the exercise with negative information," the Kommersant newspaper said.
Putin had gone to the Barents Sea on board the giant Arkhangelsk submarine Monday to observe maneuvers set to involve numerous missile launches and flights of strategic bombers.
Putin, who donned naval officer's garb complete with white scarf and gloves for his two-day submarine cruise, changed into the green uniform of an officer of the Strategic Missile Forces on his visit Wednesday to the Plesetsk launch pad in northern Russia.
In Plesetsk, Putin watched the successful launch of the Molniya-M booster rocket, which carried a Kosmos military satellite into orbit. Via video hookup, he also watched the trouble-free liftoff of an RS-18 ballistic missile from the Baikonur cosmodrome, which Russia leases from the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan.
Russian state-run television channels, which are lavishly covering the daily activities of Putin, ran footage of the president watching the launches and congratulating officers in Plesetsk, but said nothing about the failed launches.
Russian television stations broadcast Putin's statements Wednesday in which he promised that the nation's strategic forces would soon receive new potent weapons. Putin said their development wasn't aimed against the United States.
"Modern Russia has no imperial ambitions or hegemonist strivings," he said.
He said that he had informed President Bush about Russia's latest military achievements, and added that the Russian military would provide more information to its American counterparts.
Putin also said that Russia would continue to research defenses against ballistic missiles and might build a missile shield in the future, the Interfax and ITAR-Tass news agencies reported.
Those moves are a response to U.S. efforts to develop an deploy missile defenses that would protect against attack from ballistic missiles armed with weapons of mass destruction.