The RSM-56 Bulava is a Russian submarine-launched ballistic missile designed by the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology for the Borei/Project 955 SSBN family. CSIS identifies it as an intercontinental-range SLBM with an 8,300 km range estimate, MIRV payload, and operational status; RussianSpaceWeb ties the program to the abandoned R-39 Bark replacement path and Votkinsk serial production. This page stays relationship-only because public sources document strategic service, tests, and launch-platform relationships rather than independent use in a named armed conflict.
Bulava naming mixes missile, treaty/reporting, industrial, and missile-system indexes: R-30 Bulava is the Russian missile name, 3M30 is the industrial designation, RSM-56 is the treaty name, and D-30 is used for the missile system.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
| R-30 Bulava / 3M30 | Missile and industrial designation | RussianSpaceWeb maps R-30 Bulava to the 3M30 industrial name and RSM-56 treaty name for the same submarine-launched missile. |
| SS-N-32 / SS-NX-30 | NATO and U.S. reporting names | CSIS uses NATO SS-N-32 for the current Missile Threat entry; RussianSpaceWeb's designation table lists SS-NX-30 as the U.S. name. Sources: RSM-56 Bulava (SS-N-32), Bulava Submarine-Based Ballistic Missile |
| D-30 missile system | System-level designation | TASS describes the D-30 missile system as including the R-30 Bulava missile and being designed as armament for Borei/Borei-A strategic submarines. Sources: Russian News Reports Bulava Service Ready, Sea-launched Bulava ICBM accepted for service in Russian Armed Forces |
Open sources document Bulava as the SLBM carried and test-launched by Borei-class ballistic-missile submarines, while earlier trials used the modified Dmitry Donskoy as a test platform.
| Launcher | Launcher type | Launch evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | Ballistic-missile submarine | CSIS describes Bulava as designed for Borey/Project 955 SSBNs; Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces documents submerged four-missile Bulava salvos by Yuri Dolgorukiy in 2018 and Vladimir Monomakh in 2020. Sources: RSM-56 Bulava (SS-N-32), Four-Missile Bulava Salvo, First Bulava Launches From The Pacific |
RussianSpaceWeb says the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology was assigned the submarine-based R-30 Bulava after the R-39 Bark program, moving a design bureau known for land-based mobile ICBMs into the SLBM role.
Sources: Bulava Submarine-Based Ballistic Missile
RussianSpaceWeb records a September 2005 Bulava launch from the Dmitry Donskoy test submarine toward the Kura impact range in Kamchatka.
Sources: Bulava Submarine-Based Ballistic Missile
RussianSpaceWeb identifies the December 2005 Dmitry Donskoy firing as Bulava's first launch from a submerged vessel.
Sources: Bulava Submarine-Based Ballistic Missile
Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces reported that Project 955 submarine Yuri Dolgorukiy launched four Bulava missiles while submerged in the White Sea, with warheads reaching Kura.
Sources: Four-Missile Bulava Salvo
CSIS reported TASS's statement that the D-30 system with R-30 Bulava had been accepted for Russian Navy service after the 2018 tests.
Sources: Russian News Reports Bulava Service Ready
Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces reported that Vladimir Monomakh conducted a four-missile Bulava salvo from the Sea of Okhotsk toward the Chizha test range, the first Bulava launch by a Pacific Fleet-based submarine.
Sources: First Bulava Launches From The Pacific
TASS quoted MIT chief designer Yury Solomonov saying a May 7, 2024 decree accepted the Bulava missile system for service in the Russian Armed Forces.
Sources: Sea-launched Bulava ICBM accepted for service in Russian Armed Forces
