A failed Russian submarine-launched missile spotted over Norway recently hinted at Russia’s advanced anti-missile capabilities, according to space analyst James Oberg.
A U.S. military official confirmed that the unusual spinning light seen in the night sky over Norway was in fact a failed Buluva submarine-launched ballistic missile.
Oberg said a spiraling light spotted in the sky over Norway last week was likely the spinning third stage of a test missile.
The spinning, he told NBC News, was not abnormal and may be the result of gyroscopic stability, decoy deployment and a possible defense against a future U.S. airborne laser fired from an aircraft or a Aegis-equipped warships, or from a spaced based satellite weapon. The spinning may be designed as a radar-evading stealth characteristic, as well he said.
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A U.S. military official confirmed that the unusual spinning light seen in the night sky over Norway was in fact a failed Buluva submarine-launched ballistic missile.
“I suspect that this sighting and these detailed images are being excitedly studied within US intelligence circles to assess the vaunted ABM-countermeasures that the Russians have advertised the missile incorporates,” Oberg said.
Russia’s key anti-missile defense missile system is a hypersonic vehicle-warhead that is launched into space and then maneuvers back into the upper atmosphere en route to its target.
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed Dec. 10 that the missile failed. The ministry said the missile fired Dec. 9 from the Dmitry Donskoy submarine "the first two stages of the rocket worked but in the final and third stage there was a technical failure.”
The failure was due to instability in the engine for the third stage.
