The fourth-generation Yury Dolgoruky was built at the Sevmash plant in northern Russia and was taken out of dry dock in April 2007. It will be equipped with sea-based Bulava ballistic missiles, although they have not entered service and are due to undergo further testing this year.
"The ice floe conditions in the White Sea at present are still not favorable for navigation. The submarine's crew and a team of Sevmash specialists continue to ready the vessel for the trials," Adm. Vladimir Vysotsky said.
Sevmash and Northern Fleet specialists conducted successful testing of the submarine's nuclear reactor on December 16 and since then the reactor has been working normally, the admiral said.
The Yury Dolgoruky submarine is 170 meters (580 feet) long, has a hull diameter of 13 meters (42 feet), a crew of 107, including 55 officers, a maximum depth of 450 meters (about 1,500 feet) and a submerged speed of about 29 knots. It can carry up to 16 ballistic missiles and torpedoes.
Two other Borey-class nuclear submarines, the Alexander Nevsky and the Vladimir Monomakh, are currently under construction at the Sevmash shipyard and are expected to be completed in 2009 and 2011.
Under the Russian State Armaments Program for 2007-2015, the Navy will receive several dozen surface ships and submarines, including five Project 955 Borey-class submarines, two Project 885 Yasen nuclear-powered attack submarines, and six Project 677 Lada diesel-electric submarines.
