Borei class submarine

Class overview
Name:	Borei (Борей) - Russian designation; also Dolgorukiy - NATO designation[citation needed]
Builders:	Sevmash, designed by Rubin
Operators:	Russian Navy
Preceded by:	Delta IV class
Built:	15 April 2007
Building:	2
Planned:	5
Completed:	1 in trials
General characteristics
Type:	Ballistic missile submarine
Displacement:	14,720 t (14,488 long tons) surfaced 24,000 t (23,621 long tons) submerged
Length:	170 m (557 ft 9 in)
Beam:	13.5 m (44 ft 3 in)
Draught:	10 m (32 ft 10 in)
Propulsion:	1 × ОК-650В nuclear reactor 1 × AEU steam turbine 1 × shaft and propeller
Speed:	29 knots (33 mph; 54 km/h)[1]
Range:	Unlimited except by food stores
Test depth:	planned 450m
Complement:	107 officers and men
Armament:	16 × Bulava SLBMs 6 × 533 mm torpedo tubes

The Borei class (Russian: Борей; sometimes transliterated as Borey), also known as the Dolgorukiy class, is a ship class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine produced and operated by Russian Navy. The class is intended to replace the Delta III and Typhoon classes now in Russian Navy service. The class is named after Boreas, the North wind.

History and description

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 R-39UTTH "Bark". However, the work on this missile was abandoned, and a new missile called the Bulava was designed. The submarine needed to be redesigned to accommodate the new missile, and the project name was changed to Project 955. The vessels are being built at the Northern Machinebuilding Enterprise (Sevmash) in Severodvinsk, and were designed by the Rubin Marine Equipment Design Bureau (Rubin). Because of the repeated failures during Bulava test launches, some experts have suggested that the Borei submarine could instead be armed with R-29RMU Sineva missiles.^[2] The Sineva is already in active duty on the Delta IV class submarine.

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. Advances include a compact and integrated hydrodynamically efficient hull for reduced broadband noise and the first ever use of pump-jet propulsion on a Russian nuclear submarine.^[3] Costing some $890 million USD,^[4] Borei is approximately 170 metres (560 ft) long, 13 metres (43 ft) in diameter, and has a maximum submerged speed of at least 46 kilometres per hour (25 kn; 29 mph). Smaller than the Typhoon class, the Borei was initially slated to carry 12 missiles but due to the missile change was able to carry 4 more missiles due to the decrease in mass of the 45-ton Bulava SLBM (a modified version of the Topol-M ICBM) over the originally proposed R-39UTTH Bark.

Deployment

The launch of the first submarine of the class, the Yuriy Dolgorukiy, was scheduled for 2002 but was delayed because of budget constraints. The vessel was eventually rolled out of its construction hall on 15 April 2007 in a ceremony attended by many senior military and industrial personnel.^[5][6] The Yuriy Dolgorukiy was the first strategic missile submarine to be launched in seventeen years since the end of the Soviet era; in fact, it was the first Russian (rather than Soviet) vessel. Currently, there are two more Borei class submarines under construction, named Aleksandr Nevskiy and Vladimir Monomakh. The next submarine in the series, Svyatitel Nikolay is to be laid down on 22 December 2009, the anniversary of the establishment of the Sevmash Shipyard. The planned contingent of eight strategic submarines is expected to be commissioned within the next decade (five Project 955 are planned for purchase through 2015^[7]).

Although the Yuriy Dolgorukiy was officially rolled out of its construction hall on 15 April 2007 the submarine was not put into the water until February 2008. By July 2009 it had yet to be armed with Bulava missiles and is therefore not fully operational, although ready for sea trials on 24 October 2008.^[8] On November 21, 2008 the reactor on the Yuriy Dolgorukiy was activated^[9] and on 19 June 2009 began its sea trials in the White Sea. The submarine will undergo up to six trials before being commissioned and the problem with the Bulava missile could delay it even more.^[10]

On December 15 a defense Ministry official announched that the construction of the fourth Borei class submarine had been postponed from December to the first quarter of 2010. The reason for the delay was said to be "organizational and technical reasons".^[11]

Ships

^† As of August 2009^[update] no Bulava missiles have been produced for the Yuriy Dolgorukiy^{[citation needed]}

References

External links

• Yuriy Dolgorukiy picture gallery
• Photo of Yuriy Dolgorukiy on sea trials June 2009
• Yuriy Dolgorukiy in dry dock, Sevmash,Severodvinsk (satellite photo)
• Yuriy Dolgorukiy will carry 16 ballistic missiles
• New pictures of the Yuriy Dolgorukiy
• Borei has officially been launched.
• Announcement that the first boat will be launched in April 2007
• Announcement (in Russian) that first boat would not be ready until 2007.
• Project 935 / Project 955 Borei
• Image gallery:Yuriy Dolgorukiy, a Borei-class nuclear missile submarine
• Borei-class missile complement
• Movie of the official launch of Yuriy Dolgorukiy, YouTube

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