Russian shipbuilder Sevmash has launched the Russian Navy's first Borei-A (Project 955-A) nuclear submarine Knyaz Vladimir (Prince Vladimir) at its Severodvinsk shipyard.
The ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) will now undergo tests before entering service. Knyaz Vladimir is expected to be delivered to the Russian Navy in 2018.
The fourth-generation submarines have been developed by the Rubin Central Design Bureau for Marine Engineering in St Petersburg to replace the Project 941 Akula-class subs.
They are 170 metres long, 13.5 metres wide and have a 10-metre draught.
The 107-crew Borei has a depth capacity of 400 metres and can develop a surface speed of 15 knots and submerged speed of 29 knots. It has a sea endurance of 90 days.
Four more SSBNs hulls, to be named Knyaz Oleg, Generalissimus Suvorov, Imperator Alexander III and Knyaz Pozharsky, are under construction at Sevmash.
Compared to the first three Borei boats, Borei-A boats are built with extra missile tubes, making them capable of carrying a total of 20 Bulava (RSM-56) ballistic missiles, improved acoustics and better sensors.
