Russian Navy expects commissioning of first Borey-A class submarine

Russia's newest strategic nuclear submarine, Prince Vladimir, has completed its final acceptance tests. After an almost ten-day test phase, the unit returned to its Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk on May 21st. Russian media unanimously report that the acceptance certificates should be issued by the end of May. They expect it to be put into service by the end of June at the latest.

“Prince Vladimir” is building number 1 of project 955A – “Borey-A”. She differs from her three sister ships of the Project 955 by comparatively slimmer-looking contours - the missile silos were integrated 'beadlessly' into the outer hull, the turret lost its front overhang -, a different configuration of the rudder and depth control elements, reduced noise generation and through improved communication and positioning systems. According to media reports, the water jet drive as well as the drive screws have been optimized. It can therefore be assumed that both the acoustic signature and the handling and maneuverability of the 170 meter long, almost 25,000 ton displacing units have improved.

The hull of the Borey-A has a hydroacoustic coating consisting of 10,000 rubber tiles weighing 80 kilograms each. The equipment also includes a rescue capsule with which the entire crew can be evacuated.

The submarine can reach speeds of up to 30 knots underwater. The maximum diving depth should be 450 meters. The boat is said to be able to remain submerged for up to 90 days (source: Sevmash).

While other media put the crew at 107 people, including 55 officers, a shipyard brochure states a capacity of 130, suggesting that the Borey-A can accommodate additional personnel. A sauna is available to the crews on every boat.

The submarines, which were named after the Greek god Boreas, who is responsible for northern winds, were designed in the 1990s. The keel of the first boat “Yury Dolgorukiy” was laid in November 1996, but it was not put into service until January 2013. Construction numbers 2 and 3, launched in 2004 and 2006 respectively, were commissioned into the navy in 2013 as “Alexander Nevsky” and in 2014 as “Wladimir Monomakh”. introduced.

Construction of the “Prince Vladimir” began at the end of July 2012. There is an anecdote surrounding her christening that the name, which was originally supposed to be “Swjatitle Nikolai”, was briefly changed to “Prince Vladimir” when President Putin was present at the laying of the keel . Their delivery to the Navy was expected last year. The delays were blamed on problems in the ICBM fire control system. Four more sister units of the Borey-A class (Project 955A) are under construction at Sevmash: “Prince Oleg” (keel laid in 2014), “Generalissimo Suvorov” (keel laid in 2014), “Kaiser Alexander III” (keel laid in 2015) and “Prince Pozharsky “ (Kiel laying 2016). According to unconfirmed reports, construction of the “Marshal Zhukov” and “Marshal Rokossovsky” has already begun. Information is currently circulating that two more Borey-A are to be ordered. This would bring the flotilla of these fourth-generation strategic submarines to twelve.

They are considered to be quieter than other Russian strategic submarines. Jet propulsion contributes to this - a novelty for Russian nuclear submarines. While the previous generation was considered quiet at speeds between five and ten knots, the Borey are said to be quiet at twenty knots.

According to Russian sources, the cost of the first boat of Project 955 is said to be 23 billion rubles, while construction numbers two and three will cost 23.2 billion rubles each (the latter is equivalent to 296.5 million euros). This data is from 2012. No prices are given for Borey-A boats (Project 955A).

For comparison: The cost of building the US Navy's Columbia class boat is estimated at 6.2 billion US dollars (6 billion euros) (2010 prices). A total of 31 billion British pounds is estimated for the Royal Navy's four new strategic submarines, which means that a Dreadnought class boat costs the equivalent of 8.625 billion euros.

Notable: strategic implications

Borey submarines have 16 Bulava SLBMs (Russian 'Bulava': morning star, battle axe) each with six multiple warheads (MIRV) with an explosive force of 150 kilotons each. The range is given as 8,000 kilometers. The Russian media is discussing replacing the Bulava with more powerful short-haul systems in the near future. The RSM-56 Bulava (also: 3K30 or 3M30, NATO: SS-N-32) is the navalized version of the Topol-M (NATO: SS-27).

With the arrival of the new strategic submarine, the margins within the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) in force between the USA and Russia are changing. As of the last data exchange (published by the US State Department on March 1, 2020), the USA had 1,373 warheads and Russia had 1,326 warheads. The 96 “Prince Vladimir” who have now been added shift the pendulum in Russia’s favor.

There is varying information regarding deployment. Some sources provide for a balanced distribution of Borey submarines (four each) between the Northern and Pacific fleets. According to others (e.g. Izvestia from March 23, 2020), the Pacific Fleet should be preferred. In addition to the “Ryazan”, a strategic nuclear submarine of the Delta III class, two Borey submarines of the first batch (Project 955), “Alexander Nevsky” and “Vladimir Monomakh”, are stationed there. Delta III boats can also carry sixteen ICBMs. One of the possible armament versions is the RSM-50 R-29R Vysota with a triple multiple warhead. This means that at least 240 multiple warheads are available in the Russian Pacific Fleet.

The arrival of the Borey class not only marks a generational change in strategic nuclear submarines in the Russian Navy. The increase in the range of modern ballistic weapons in connection with the technological possibilities in shipbuilding make it possible to shift the patrol areas of the strategic submarine fleet to the seas near Russian territory and to the Arctic. Russia's strategic submarine component no longer needs to face an immediate threat from NATO's anti-submarine forces. Infiltration into the central Atlantic through the bottleneck of the GIUK gap is a thing of the past. Not only foreign observers expect older boats to be decommissioned, including the Typhoon class (Russian Akula class, known from 'The Hunt for Red October'), one of which is still in active service.

Hans Uwe Mergener

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