Russia builds new nuclear sub equipped with Bulava-M quasi-ballistic missiles
Pastor Dale Morgan
Russia builds new nuclear sub equipped with Bulava-M quasi-ballistic
missiles*
Source: pravda.
29.04.2007
Russian Navy got a new leader. On April, 15 the head project 955
submarine Yuri Dolgoruky left the slipway of the Sevmash shipyard in the
White Sea. The ceremony was attended by the First Vice-Premier Sergey
Ivanov, the Commander of the Navy Vladimir Masorin, Deputy Minister of
Defense and Chief of Arms of the MoD General Alexey Msokovksy, the Mayor
Moscow Yuri Luzhkov, General Director of Sevmash Vladimir Pastuhov, the
Governor of Arkhangelsk region Nikolay Kiselyov as well as by the heads
of other shipbuilding enterprises.
Boreis (955 project) are to remain the core of the naval nuclear
deterrence till the middle of this century. The new subs will replace
the subs of the project 667BDR and BDRM now on duty. According to the
specialists the new sub will have no matches in the foreseeable future.
"Yuri Dolgoruky" with 14,7/24 thousand tons (surface/underwater)
displacement carries strategic rocket complex Bulava-M consisting of 12
so called quasi-ballistic missiles with ten nuclear warheads of
individual aiming. The range of the missile that for the first time in
the world’s history has changeable trajectory and can reach hypersonic
speed is 8000km. However, sailing tests will start this year without the
missile, which is being finalized by the designer. The crew of the sub
will be formed only with officers and NCOs.
Before 2015 State Arms Program provides for building 7 project 955 subs.
In the next two years the eighth will be constructed under a new Arms
Program. Alexander Nevsky (the second sub) will be ready by 2009 and
Vladimir Monomah – by 2011. The best Russian nuclear subs will be
deployed in the Far East. The Commander of the Pacific Fleet of the
Russian Navy Admiral Victor Fedorov publicly confirmed that the two
newest strategic submarines ("Alexander Nevsky" and "Vladimir Monomah")
will be commissioned with the Pacific Fleet. "Yuri Dolgoruki” is to stay
with the Northern Fleet.
Earlier during his visit to the Far East First Vice-Premier Sergey
Ivanov said that the Pacific Fleet is the priority of the Navy.
According to him all nuclear arsenal, such as new sub Yuri Dolgoruky,
will be in Kamchatka, although the main base of the surface fleet will
remain in Vladivostok.
However, the development of the Russian submarine Navy does not stop
with the new project. Sevmash continues construction of the multi-role
nuclear project 855 submarine Yasen, which will surpass its foreign
matches in most characteristics. "Severodvinsk", the head sub of the 855
project, is far more complicated than even project 955. It has both more
diverse arms and more diverse tactics. (Project 855, NATO reporting name
GRANAY: displacement - 8600/13800 tons, dimensions - 119х13,5х9,4m, max
depth - 600м, speed of - 16/31 knots. Crew – 90 persons (32 officers).
It won’t take long to hear about this sub. At the same time t he c
ommand of the Russian Navy considers it necessary to begin the
development of the principally new project of a multi-purpose nuclear
submarine of smaller displacement, according to the Commander of the
Navy Masorin. Once he said that "s o far it is only in our plans , but
we precisely know , that such submarines are needed. It should be the
submarine of smaller displacement in comparison with the existing today.
It will be an underwater hunter". This should take some more time, about
10 years according to the assessments of the Admiral.
Meanwhile the designers of Bulava left less hopes for skeptics. The next
launch is planned for this June, according to the Commander of the
Russian Navy Admiral Vladimir Masorin. "Dmitry Donskoi", the test sub,
will launch the missile from underwater position. Once again it has been
officially confirmed that the previous unsuccessful tests of 2006 had no
influence on the program in general. The Commander said that the Moscow
based Institute of Teplotechnika, the designer of the missile, found out
the bottle necks which were in the technological sphere, and “cured the
disease”.
Yuri Seleznyov