This vessel will transport Northern Fleet weapons
The ”Akademik Kovelyov” is officially handed over to the Northern Fleet. It will provide transportation of weaponry, including the Bulava inter-continental ballistic missile.
The special-purpose ship this week leaves the Zvezdochka yard in Severodvinsk and sets course for its new home port of Severomorsk in the Kola Peninsula. The vessel is designed for transportation of Russian armaments, including up to eight Bulava missiles, RIA Novosti reports.
The ”Akademik Kovalyov” is the second ship of the class project 20180TB built at the Zvezdochka. It is now formally handed over to the Northern Fleet. The construction of the ship started in December 2011, the yard informs.
The ship is able to transport armaments to any place on the world seas, Navy spokesperson Andrey Luzik says to the news agency. It will engage in its assigned tasks as soon as it arrives in Severomorsk, he confirms.
An additional two project 20180 are currently under construction at the Zvezdochka. The ships have special ice-protected hulls enabling them to operate also in icy waters. The first vessel of the kind, the ”Zvezdochka” was handed over to the Northern Fleet in 2010.
The Bulava missiles are Russia’s new and lethal ballistic missile. It can carry up to 10 hypersonic, maneuverable warheads with a yield of 100–150 kt each. It is designed for the country’s fourth generation strategic submarines, the Borey-class vessels.
