MOSCOW, January 14 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s Sevmash shipyard will lay down in 2013 two upgraded Borey class nuclear-powered strategic submarines, capable of carrying 20 ballistic missiles each, Rossiiskaya Gazeta newspaper said on Monday citing defense industry sources.
The construction of the Alexander Suvorov, the fifth in the series and second of the improved Project 955A (Borey-A) class, will begin on July 28, when Russia celebrates Navy Day, while the sixth submarine, the Mikhail Kutuzov, will be laid down in November.
The metal cutting works for the hulls of these vessels have been carried out since 2011, the paper said.
Russia’s first Borey class submarine, the Yury Dolgoruky, officially entered service with the Russian Navy on January 10. It has been assigned to the 31st submarine division of the Northern Fleet.
The second vessel of the Borey class, the Alexander Nevsky, is undergoing sea trials while the third, the Vladimir Monomakh, was floated out on December 30.
The first three vessels in the Borey series are capable of carrying 16 new multiple-warhead Bulava ballistic missiles.
The first submarine of the improved Borey-A class, the Knyaz Vladimir, was laid down in July 2012.
The Borei class submarines are set to become the mainstay of the Russian Navy's strategic nuclear deterrent fleet, replacing the ageing Project 941 (NATO Typhoon class) and Project 667 class (Delta-3 and Delta-4) boats.
Russia is planning to have three Borey class and five Borey-A class submarines by 2020.
The improved vessels will be equipped with advanced sonar, navigation, communications and fire-control systems and will be more “stealthy,” Rossiiskaya Gazeta said.
