The first Borei-A-class nuclear submarine cruiser will enter into the Russian Navy's service in 2018, Rubin shipbuilder General Director Igor Vilnit said Friday.
"The first cruiser from the Borei-A project we plan to hand over to the Navy in two years, in 2018," Vilnit said during a ceremony on the beginning of the construction of the Imperator Alexander III nuclear submarine in Severodvinsk.
Navy Deputy Commander Vice Adm. Viktor Bursuk said during the ceremony that Borei-A-class submarines would significantly strengthen both the Russian Navy on the whole, and its Pacific Fleet in particular.
Bursuk added that, judging by the pace at which the Borei was being manufactured, it was possible to predict that a total of eight Borei-class nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarines would be put into the service of the Russian Navy by 2020, as previously planned.
++ Russia Modernizing Fourth-Generation Borei-Class Nuclear Subs
Russia's state-run submarine designer Rubin is working to modernize the fourth-generation nuclear ballistic missile submarines of the Borei class, the company's head said Friday.
The work was done "based on the vessels' exploitation cycle," Vilnit told journalists. He added the company also planned to revamp non-nuclear Lada submarines.
"With a Borei-A project under construction, the design bureau is working on the next series. We are working closely with the Navy's scientific institutes," Rubin CEO Igor Vilnit said.
Borei-class nuclear-powered subs are to become the mainstay of the naval component of the country's strategic nuclear deterrent.
By 2020, the Russian Navy plans to operate a total of eight submarines of this type. It has three Borei submarines in operation and three more under construction.
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Russia's Sevmash to Begin Construction of Two Nuclear Submarines in 2016
Russia's shipbuilding company Sevmash will begin the construction of two nuclear submarines, one Borei-class (project 955) and a Yasen-class (project 885) in 2016, the company's general director said Friday.
"We have two construction projects planned for next year, which are the nuclear submarines from the Borei and Yasen projects," Mikhail Budnichenko said.
The Russian Navy is currently equipped with one Yasen-class submarine, the Severodvinsk, with four more subs of its class under construction.
According to Russia's Naval Doctrine, Yasen-class submarines will become the main multipurpose nuclear-powered subs in the Russian Navy.
By 2020, the Russian Navy also plans to operate a total of eight Borei-class nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarines, which will become the mainstay of the naval component of the country's strategic nuclear deterrent.
