Sevmash launches fifth Borei-A ballistic missile submarine

When visiting Severodvinsk last December, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin promised to increase work to strengthen the country’s naval power.

On Saturday, the giant doors to the large shiphall at Sevmash yard once again opened and a brand new ballistic missile submarine was rolled out, the Defense Ministry’s press service informs. 

The Knyaz Pozharsky is the eighth Borei-class and the fifth upgraded Borei-A, a nuclear-powered submarine carrying 16 Bulava missiles tipped with multiple nuclear warheads.

A total of 12 Borei-class submarines will be built. So far, seven of them have been delivered.

When all are delivered sometime after 2031, they will be the backbone of Russia’s navy nuclear deterrence and replace the outgoing Delta-III subs in the Pacific Fleet and the Delta-IV subs sailing with the Northern Fleet. 

As the latest submarine was rolled out in Severodvinsk on February 3, the captain smashed a bottle of champagne into the hull. Sevmash director Mikhail Budnichenko stated he is “confident that the fleet will receive the latest ship on time to solve the tasks set by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief [Putin].” 

Named after the Russian prince Dmitri Pozarsky who led the Polish-Muscovite war (1611-1612), the new Borei-A submarine now starts sea trials before being commissioned to the Northern Fleet, a year or two from now. 

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During the testing period, the Knyaz Pozharsky will sail from Belomorsk naval base in Severodvinsk with experts from both the Navy and the shipyard. Navigation, diving, propulsion, and weapons will be tested on voyages in the White Sea before the vessel formally will be handed over to the Navy.

The Northern Fleet’s ballistic missile submarines are based at Gadzhiyevo north of Murmansk on the Barents Sea coast of the Kola Peninsula. Nuclear deterrent patrols take place in the northeast Barents Sea and under the Arctic ice cap. 

Powered by one reactor, the 170-meter-long Borei-A class also carries multiple torpedoes and anti-ship missiles. Each submarine reportedly has a crew of 107 men.