Russian Navy Commissions SSBN Yury Dolgoruky

30.12.2012 The Project 955 Borei nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) Yury Dolgoruky was commissioned into Russian Navy on Sunday, Dec 30, reported sources in defense industry.

"Signing of the acceptance certificate was preceded by successful completion of the closing phase of trials, including missiles' guidance command channel. The submarine-launched ballistic missile Bulava was commissioned along with the submarine. In the new year, Yury Dolgoruky will be in experimental service", the insider told Interfax.

As for him, the acceptance certificate was signed at Sevmash shipyard on Sunday in the presence of deputy defense minister Yury Borisov, Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Viktor Chirkov, president of United Shipbuilding Corporation Andrei Diachkov, and Director General of Sevmash shipyard Mikhail Budnichenko.

Deputy defense minister Yury Borisov earlier told reporters that SSBN Yury Dolgoruky would be commissioned at the end of 2012. "I hope that on December 30 we'll take the sub in service. That would be a kind of a stocking-stuffer, I've already planned out my trip to Sevmash", Borisov said then. He pointed out that all defects had been eliminated in accordance with the schedule, including problems of missile guidance channel.

On the same day of Dec 30, another Borei-class submarine SSBN Vladimir Monomakh was launched in Severodvinsk. According to RIA Novosti, the sub was laid down on March 19, 2006 on occasion of the Russian submarine fleet's 100-th jubilee.

Project 955 Borei fourth-generation submarines were developed by the Rubin Central Design Bureau (St. Petersburg). New technologies of shipboard radioelectronics and noise reduction were applied while their construction.

Basic weapon of the Borei-class submarines is ballistic missile system Bulava. Each sub may carry 16 solid-propellant ballistic missiles R-30 Bulava with flight range over 10,000 km equipped with independently targetable reentry vehicles.

Warhead of each Bulava missile consists of six reentry vehicles. Submarines are equipped with surfacing rescue chamber capable to accommodate all crewmembers.

SSBN Yury Dolgoruky was laid down in 1996 at Sevmash shipyard. Two batch subs, Alexander Nevsky and Vladimir Monomakh were keel-laid there in 2004 and 2006 respectively. First of them is undergoing shipyard's trials; the latter one is under construction.

In May 2012, defense ministry and United Shipbuilding Corporation signed three contracts for modernized Project 955A submarines; each of those 5 submarines will be capable to carry 20 Bulava ballistic missiles. The contract for designing of the lead sub under the modernized Borei project bearing working name of Svyatitel Nikolai was tied with Rubin design bureau; for construction of the lead sub - with Sevmash shipyard; for construction of 4-sub batch of upgraded Borei-class submarines – with United Shipbuilding Corporation.

Therefore, eight strategic submarines are to be built and delivered to Russian Navy till 2020 under arms procurement program; three of them are Project 955 Borei four-generation subs with 16 SLBMs Bulava each, and five are Project 955A Borei-A fifth-generation subs with 20 SLBMs Bulava each.