“Bulava” Was Left Unsupervised

On December 5th, the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START-1) between Russia and the United States is set to expire. Despite the efforts of officials in both Moscow and Washington to shed as little light as possible on the details of the new Russo-American treaty, some details of the forthcoming agreement are becoming known.

According to information received by Izvestia, one of the most vital aspects of the treaty is the agreement between the U.S. and Russia to terminate the American checkpoint at the Votkinsk Machine Building Plant. Currently, this is where all the latest Russian ballistic missiles are prepared: Topol-M, RS-24 and “Bulava.”

“The Americans have already dismantled all of their equipment in Votkinsk,” a source close to the negotiations told Izvestia. “Only a small residential town is left, where the inspectors resided. But nobody is going to tear that down.”

The appearance of American inspectors in Votkinsk was specified in the Russo-American START-1 treaty, which went into effect in 1994. At that time, the two sides agreed to inform each other of any plans for the development, testing and production of intercontinental ballistic missiles. For example, after conducting a test launch, something both sides knew of for nearly a month, Moscow and Washington exchanged telemetric information obtained from the missile, and an analysis was performed that allowed both sides to be judged not only on the technical characteristics of the manufactured products, but also on the character and particular features of the trials.

Within the framework of transparency in U.S.-Russian relations in this strategic realm, Moscow and Washington each performed constant inspections in places of missile production. This is what led American inspectors to “check-in” in distant Votkinsk. Here, they installed specialized equipment at the entrance to the plant and recorded everything that came out through the gates. Using specialized x-ray cameras, they were able to determine that the new ballistic missile, Topol-M, was actually being assembled at the plant, under such-and-such serial number. After this, within 24 hours, they were able to announce that they were coming to Moscow to inspect the military unit to determine if these “manufactured products” were on active duty.

Russian inspectors had the same opportunities and authority in the U.S. However, after the U.S. suspended the production of the Peacekeeper missile in a plant in Utah, which is analogous to Votkinsk, our inspectors were requested to leave. In the new START-1 treaty, the American checkpoint in Votkinsk is not listed.

The second important feature of the future agreement is the termination of the exchange of data received from the missiles during the test launches. A final decision has not yet been reached on this question. But Moscow has made their position extremely clear: we will conduct trials of the new missiles, RS-24 and “Bulava.” The U.S. only confirms the combat readiness of the “antiquated” Minuteman III. Telemetric data on these is more than sufficient, so the exchange is not of equal value. But this arrangement possibly suits Washington. Since they are creating a target for missile-defense systems based on their own missiles, transmission of specific flight characteristics could reveal to Moscow some nuances of the American anti-missile “umbrella.”