The first serial missile carrier project 995A ("Borey-A") "Prince Oleg" launched. This was reported on the website of the vessel’s manufacturer - PO Sevmash (part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC).

“Today, July 16, JSC“ PO “Sevmash” held a solemn ceremony for the removal of the boarding missile submarine strategic cruiser “Borey-A” project “Prince Oleg”, the report says.

According to the old tradition, the crew commander of the nuclear submarine Prince Oleg, captain of the 2nd rank, Igor Golubev, smashed a bottle of champagne on board the submarine.

Now, the “Prince Oleg” agro-industrial complex is awaiting factory and state tests, which will be provided by the Sevmash delivery team.

“The withdrawal of the ship from the Sevmash boathouse is the completion of a significant stage in the construction of nuclear submarines. The serial nuclear submarine cruiser “Prince Oleg” was built according to the improved Borey-A project and belongs to the fourth generation of nuclear-powered submarines designed for the Russian Navy, ”the shipyard said in a statement.

The ceremony was attended by representatives of the General Staff of the Navy, the United Shipbuilding Corporation, the Sevmash plant, the developer of the ship JSC TsKB MT Rubin, as well as the authorities of the Arkhangelsk region.  

  • The launch ceremony of the submarine "Prince Oleg"
  • © Press Service of JSC PO Sevmash

The general director of Sevmash Mikhail Budnichenko pointed out the great importance of this project for the Russian fleet.

“These ships will determine the look of the Russian Navy in the 21st century,” he said. “I sincerely want to express my gratitude to everyone who hand in hand with us all these years painstakingly built this ship every day.”

Earlier in an interview with TASS, Budnichenko said that it was planned to transfer the Prince Oleg nuclear submarine to the customer in 2020.

“In 2020, we must transfer four nuclear submarines to the fleet: the Belgorod nuclear submarine, the Prince Oleg strategic project missile submarine Project 955A, and the Kazan and Novosibirsk multi-purpose nuclear submarines of Project 885M,” he said in December 2019, summing up the company's activities for the year.

In general, as the head of Sevmash noted last summer, it is planned to complete the implementation of the program for the construction of submarines of the Borey and Borey-A classes by 2023.

Terrible and silent

The history of the Northwind project dates back to the 1980s. Submarines of this type should replace obsolete third-generation nuclear powered submarines of projects 667BDR Kalmar, 667BDRM Dolphin and 941 Shark.

The first "Borey" replenished the Navy in 2013 - it became the K-535 missile carrier "Yuri Dolgoruky." The ship was laid back in 1996, but its construction was delayed due to lack of funding in the 1990s and technical difficulties in developing the latest intercontinental ballistic missiles R-30 Bulava, intended for launches from such nuclear submarines.

In the future, the time from bookmarking to the transfer to the Navy of serial nuclear submarines was reduced to about eight years.

After Yuri Dolgoruky, at the end of the same 2013, the fleet received the K-550 Alexander Nevsky nuclear submarine, and in 2014 the K-551 Vladimir Monomakh nuclear submarine.

At the same time, the Central Design Bureau of MT Rubin was engaged in the modernization of the project, the new version of which was called Borey-A or 955A. Its lead ship was the K-549 “Prince Vladimir” nuclear submarine, which was transferred to the Navy in June this year. The ceremony of laying the first production ship - the nuclear submarine "Prince Oleg" - took place on July 27, 2014.

In addition to “Prince Vladimir” and “Prince Oleg”, the nuclear submarines “Generalissimus Suvorov”, “Emperor Alexander III” and “Prince Pozharsky” will be built as part of the project. All of them have already been laid at Sevmash.

The ships of both projects are equipped with 16 Bulava missiles, which can carry from six to ten individually guided nuclear units. The range of the P-30 is, according to various sources, from 8 to 10 thousand km, and a circular probable deviation of 250-300 m. Such ICBMs can overcome any existing air defense system of a potential enemy.

Another advantage of nuclear powered ships is their low visibility, which is ensured by a reduced noise level. Which, in turn, is achieved through the use of sound-absorbing materials.

“They are low-noise: it is almost impossible to find them in the ocean. At the same time, they can strike not only from under the water in the ocean, but also directly from their places of basing, ”military expert Viktor Litovkin said in an interview with RT.

The editor-in-chief of the magazine Arsenal of the Fatherland Viktor Murakhovsky, in an interview with RT, also highlighted the similar advantages of these submarines.

“Submarines are good because they have a great depth of immersion, low noise of the underwater course, are equipped with all the necessary elements of hydroacoustic equipment, which allows them to see the enemy at a time when the enemy does not see them,” he said.

  • Strategic submarine "Prince Vladimir" after arriving at the main submarine base of the Northern Fleet in Gadzhievo
  • © Pavel Lvov / RIA News

Moreover, there are practically no publicly available information on the differences between the Borey-A project and the original version of the information. Previously, a number of media outlets suggested that the improvements most likely affected the acoustic and magnetic “visibility” of the ships. In addition, experts admitted that the controls, communications and hydroacoustics, as well as the living conditions of the crew, underwent improvement.

According to analysts, now class 955A ships are the most advanced submarine nuclear missile carriers in the world. They surpass their American counterparts in their characteristics, in particular, Ohio-class submarines - one of the main elements of the US nuclear deterrence forces. So, “Prince Vladimir” has a working immersion depth of more than 400 m versus 365 m at “Ohio”. Above it, and underwater speed: 30 knots against 25.

In addition, the engineers of the Central Design Bureau “Rubin” managed to achieve a reduction in the number of crew needed to operate the vessel. At “Prince Vladimir” serve no more than 107 people, while the submarine “Ohio” this figure is 155 people.

As for plans for the further development of the project, back in 2017, the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Valery Gerasimov said that design work was underway to create submarines of the Borey-B series. However, there are currently no details about this project in open sources.

A project is also being developed to create fifth-generation nuclear powered ships. This was announced in 2018 by the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral Vladimir Korolev.

“Unavailable for intelligence tools”

Experts emphasize that the main objective of the Borey and Borey-A submarines is nuclear deterrence.

“They have one strategic task, like the entire nuclear triad of Russia, is to deter a likely enemy. So that he knows that in the event of an attack he will inevitably receive a retaliatory nuclear strike. For this, there are 16 Bulava missiles on the Boriai, ”says Litovkin.

In turn, Victor Murakhovsky noted that, if necessary, such nuclear submarines can hit other types of targets.

“This is the naval component of Russia's strategic nuclear forces. Their main mission is to be carriers of modern strategic nuclear weapons systems, that is, intercontinental ballistic missiles of high reliability and great reach. The performance of the Mace was previously confirmed during successful launches. In addition, Project 955 submarines can fight submarines and surface ships, ”the analyst said.

According to Murakhovsky, the main advantage of such nuclear submarines over other components of the nuclear triad is their mobility and secrecy.

“Submarines, unlike ground-based systems of intercontinental ballistic missiles, are hidden from the enemy. Located in areas of operational deployment, they are virtually inaccessible to its intelligence. This is their main advantage. Thus, the Russian Federation provided itself with reliable protection against a possible attack, ”the expert concluded.