SEVERODVINSK (Russia) (Sputnik) — Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy Adm. Vladimir Korolev said on Friday that Russia's Project 955A Borei II-class ballistic missile submarine, the Knyaz Vladimir, will be commission to the Russian Navy in 2018.
"We are planning to receive the vessel in 2018, I think, Sevmash [shipyard] will confirm this," Korolev told reporters.
Knyaz Vladimir is the fourth Borei II-class submarine, developed by Russia's Rubin Design Bureau. The Borei-class nuclear-powered subs are to become the mainstay of the naval component of the Russia's strategic nuclear deterrent. The new vessels, with a length of nearly two football fields, can carry sixteen Bulava missiles, each fitted with up to 10 independently-targetable nuclear warheads.
#Russia Launched the First Project 955A Borei-A #SSBN #Submarine Knyaz Vladimir https://t.co/sk9Mfz2YCT pic.twitter.com/OsZh1WYoPA
— NavyRecognition (@NavyRecognition) 17 ноября 2017 г.
By 2020, the Russian Navy plans to operate a total of eight Borei-class strategic submarines.