Fourth Russian Borei-class Nuclear Submarine Set To Sail In November

The Russian Navy's new Borei-class nuclear-powered sumbarine will be floated out next month, Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Vladimir Korolev said Monday.

Project 955A Borei II-class ballistic missile submarine, Knyaz Vladimir, can carry sixteen Bulava missiles, each fitted with up to 10 independently-targetable nuclear warheads.

"The Knyaz Vladimir nuclear-powered strategic submarine will be moved out from a slipway at the Sevmash enterprise in Severodvinsk in the near future," Korolev told Krasnaya Zvezda (Red Star) newspaper in an interview published on Monday.

Korolev earlier said that the fourth Borei-class boomer was supposed to have been floated out in August.

The Knyaz Vladimir was laid down in 2012 and will become the fourth submarine in the series of eight Borei-class underwater cruisers and the first submarine of the advanced Borei-A Project.

According to senior Navy officer,by 2020, the Russian Navy plans to operate a total of eight Borei-class strategic submarines.

Intended to eventually replace the ageing Delta III and Typhoon Class submarines, the Borei Class have lower displacement levels than the Typhoon Class, which can carry a similar number of missiles. The submarine also carries six of the SS-N-15 missiles. Each SS-N-15 is a 533mm calibre anti-ship missile that has a range of 45km and is capable of being fitted with a 20kt warhead or a type 40 torpedo.