Career Laid down: November 2, 1996
Launched: April 15, 2007
Commissioned: N/A
General Characteristics Length: 170 metres
Beam: 13.5 metres
Draft: 10 metres
Displacement: Surfaced: 14,720 tonnes
Submerged: 24,000 tonnes
Propulsion:
1Ãâ€â€ÂÞÃÅ¡-650Ã’ nuclear reactor
1Ãâ€â€ÂAEU steam turbine
1Ãâ€â€Âshaft and propeller
Complement: 130 officers and men
Armament:
12Ã Bulava (Yury Dolgoruky only) SLBMs
16Ã Bulava (other ships of class) SLBMs
6Ãâ€â€ÂSS-N-15 (533mm torpedo tubes)
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The Borei class (or Borey; Russian: Ñþрõù, named after Boreas) is a nuclear-powered ballistic missile-carrying submarine (SSBN) currently in development by Russia. It is intended to replace the Delta III & Typhoon class in the Russian Navy.
Work on the first unit of the Borei class (officially designated Project 935) started in 1996. A new submarine-launched ballistic missile was developed in parallel, called the SS-N-28. However, the work on the SS-N-28 was abandoned, and a new missile called the SS-NX-30 Bulava was designed. The submarine needed to be redesigned to accommodate the new missile, and the project name was changed to Project 955. They are being built in Sevmash by Rubin Design Bureau.
The Borei is claimed to represent the state of the art in submarine design, incorporating characteristics that make it superior to any submarine currently in service, such as the ability to cruise silently and be less detectable to sonar. Advancements include a compact and Integrated hydrodynamically efficient hull for reduced broad band noise the first ever use of pump jet propulsion on a Russian nuclear submarine. Costing some $890 million USD, Borei is approximately 170 metres long, 10 metres in diameter, and has a maximum submerged speed of at least 46 kilometers per hour (25 knots). Smaller than the Typhoon class, the Borei was initially slated to carry the same number of missiles, 20, but has been forced to sacrifice 8 missiles due to the increase in mass of the 45 ton Bulava SLBM (a modified version of the new Topol-M ICBM) over the proposed SS-N-28. The boats following Yury Dolgoruky will be longer and will carry 16, rather than 12, Bulava missiles.
As of late 2005 there are three Borei class submarines under construction, the first submarine of the class, Yury Dolgoruky was scheduled to be launched in 2002 but the production of the vessel suffered severe delays due to financial problems . The Yury Dolgoruky was launched on April 15, 2007 in a great ceremony attended by many senior military and industrial personnel. The Yury Dolgoruky is the first strategic missile submarine to be launched in 17 years since the Soviet era and the actual first Russian vessel, it's considered a milestone in the development of the Russian navy after suffering extreme depression since the collapse of the Soviet union in 1991. The others are named Alexander Nevsky and Vladimir Monomakh. The planned contingent of 12 strategic submarines is expected to be commissioned within the next decade (5 "project 955" are planned for purchase to 2015
