Ulykker i det russiske forsvaret - Tyler Rogoway

The Russian Ministry of Defense has rejected reports of a brief spike in ambient radiation after an explosion and subsequent fire killed at least two individuals at a military test site near the White Sea. This incident follows a massive blast at an ammunition depot in Siberia and ensuring fires injured six people and forced thousands of others nearby to evacuate the area just days ago. It also comes a month after a fire broke out onboard the top-secret Russian spy submarine Losharik, killing 14 sailors.

This latest incident reportedly occurred at a site near the village of Nyonoksa in Russia's northwestern Arkhangelsk region on Aug. 8, 2019, according to Russia's Interfax. Russia's Ministry of Defense said at least seven people had been injured in the accident, including a defense industry employee, and two of them had later died. Other reports say there may be as many as 15 people injured in total.Posted in THE WAR ZONE

Beyond this, many of the details about the accident remain unclear. State-run media outlet TASS, citing anonymous sources, had initially reported that the explosion and fire had occurred on an unspecified ship from the Russian Navy's Northern Fleet at its base in Severodvinsk, to the east of Nyonoksa. Other reports said that the incident might have involved a test ship or unpowered barge. The Russian Ministry of Defense's statement does not specifically identify the location of the incident, describing it only as a "test site."

The specific mention of a "liquid propellant" at all strongly points to a rocket motor given that jet engines almost universally use some form of liquid fuel and that this qualifier would be redundant in that case. There are, however, liquid and solid fuel rocket motors. Nyonoksa is reportedly used to test both cruise missiles, which use jet engines, and rocket-powered ballistic missiles. 

If a liquid fuel rocket motor was the source of the explosion, it is possible that it occurred during a test or other work on an R-29RM Shtil submarine-launched ballistic missile, which the Russian Navy continues to deploy on its Project 667BDRM Delfin class ballistic missiles submarines. No report, so far, has identified the motor, or associated missile, in question.The Russian Ministry of Defense has rejected reports of a brief spike in ambient radiation after an explosion and subsequent fire killed at least two individuals at a military test site near the White Sea. This incident follows a massive blast at an ammunition depot in Siberia and ensuring fires injured six people and forced thousands of others nearby to evacuate the area just days ago. It also comes a month after a fire broke out onboard the top-secret Russian spy submarine Losharik, killing 14 sailors.

This latest incident reportedly occurred at a site near the village of Nyonoksa in Russia's northwestern Arkhangelsk region on Aug. 8, 2019, according to Russia's Interfax. Russia's Ministry of Defense said at least seven people had been injured in the accident, including a defense industry employee, and two of them had later died. Other reports say there may be as many as 15 people injured in total.Beyond this, many of the details about the accident remain unclear. State-run media outlet TASS, citing anonymous sources, had initially reported that the explosion and fire had occurred on an unspecified ship from the Russian Navy's Northern Fleet at its base in Severodvinsk, to the east of Nyonoksa. Other reports said that the incident might have involved a test ship or unpowered barge. The Russian Ministry of Defense's statement does not specifically identify the location of the incident, describing it only as a "test site."

 

If a liquid fuel rocket motor was the source of the explosion, it is possible that it occurred during a test or other work on an R-29RM Shtil submarine-launched ballistic missile, which the Russian Navy continues to deploy on its Project 667BDRM Delfin class ballistic missiles submarines. No report, so far, has identified the motor, or associated missile, in question.