Article Posted on : - Oct 06, 2009

The Borey class nuke sub.

MOSCOW (BNS): With a target to build eight Borey class nuclear submarines by 2015, Russia will start construction of fourth such vessel this December, according to an official at the Sevmash shipyard which is working on the project.

The keel-laying ceremony of the yet to be named submarine will coincide with the shipyard’s 70th anniversary on December 22, Sevmash press secretary Anastasia Nikitinskaya told RIA Novosti.

Russia has completed construction of its first Borey class strategic nuke sub, Yury Dolgoruky, which has undergone three sea trials out of the required six, the official said. The vessel has a capability to carry up to 16 ballistic missiles and torpedoes.

Construction of two more such submarines – Alexander Nevsky and Vladimir Monomakh – is at different stages of completion, the report said.

According to Russian Navy officials, fourth-generation Borey class nuclear-powered submarines (Project 955) will form the core of the country’s modern strategic submarine fleet, and will be deployed with Russia's Northern and Pacific fleets.

However, the submarines’ commissioning into the Navy could be delayed due to glitches in the development of the Bulava missile which has suffered several failures in its test trials.