Only 5 of the 12 Bulava launches have been officially reported as successful and late last month the commission sent the government the results of its investigation into the latest failure: a launch from the Dmitry Donskoy cruiser in the White Sea in early December 2009.

"The state commission, which had been set up to investigate the failed launches of the Bulava, completed its work in June and concluded that the tests should continue," Vladimir Popovkin said at the international Engineering Technologies-2010 forum.

The Russian Navy is planning to resume the Bulava tests as early as November this year.

The Bulava (SS-NX-30) is a three-stage liquid and solid-propellant submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). It carries up to 10 MIRV warheads and has a range of over 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles).

The future development of Bulava has been questioned by some lawmakers and defense industry officials who suggest that the Russian Navy should keep using the more reliable Sineva SLBM.

Russia hopes the Bulava will be a key element of its nuclear forces. The missile has been specifically designed for Russia's new Borey class nuclear submarines, the first of which, the Yury Dolgoruky, is currently undergoing sea trials.

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