Two Borey-Class Submarines Enters Service

The two newest Borey-class ballistic missile submarines arrived on Monday to begin active service with the Russia's Northern Fleet, according to RIA Novosti. 

The Borey-class submarine, Yury Dolgoruky, was commissioned in January while the second of the type, the Alexander Nevsky, entered service on December 23.

Both submarines will operate from the Northern Fleet’s main nuclear submarine base at Gadzhiyevo, Murmansk Region, the ministry was quoted as saying in the report.

The Borey is Russia’s first post-Soviet ballistic missile submarine class and will form the mainstay of the strategic submarine fleet, replacing aging Typhoon, Delta-3 and Delta-4 class boats. Russia ultimately expects eight Borey-class submarines to enter service by 2020.

The third vessel in the class, the Vladimir Monomakh, is awaiting manufacturer’s acceptance trials.

The new Borey-class boats, with a length of nearly two football fields, can carry sixteen Bulava missiles, each fitted with up to ten independently-targetable nuclear warheads.

Bulava, however, is yet to be declared fully operational, following a problem with a test-firing earlier this year, a Defense Ministry was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti in November. The Borey class boats are likely to be restricted to carrying out secondary roles until the weapon is declared ready.

Ballistic missile submarines comprise one leg of Russia’s strategic nuclear triad along with land-based ICBMs and the bomber force.