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Yuri Dolgorukiy, Bulava pass into service through Gen Staff command

Within the state programme till 2020 eight strategic submarine cruisers have to be built and given to the Navy

MOSCOW, August 6 (Itar-Tass) — The Yuri Dolgorukiy submarine and the Bulava missile will be put into service after the missile launch through the General Staff command, an official of the Russian defence-industrial complex told journalists on Monday.

Earlier, during the previous launches within the state flight development tests, the Bulava missile got off in manual operation, i.e. by direct command from the submarine. Before the submarine and the missile are passed into service it is necessary the command from the General Staff to be directly given to the launching pad of the missile from submerged locations, the official said.

“In other words, the Bulava missile launch from the Yuri Dolgorukiy submarine should be made in the normal mode of operation like as in the real situation by carrying out combat patrol in the world ocean,” he explained.

“The Alexander Nevsky strategic nuclear submarine missile cruiser, which is currently going through sea trials, should also launch the Bulava missile. If the launch is successful, the submarine will come operational in the Navy,” the official added.

The 955 class Borei is designed at the Rubin bureau in St Petersburg. New achievements, including electronic navigation and noise reduction, were used while building the Borei submarines. The Bulava missile system is the main arms of the combat ships. Each submarine can carry 16 R-30 inter-continental ballistic solid-fuelled missiles with the flight range of over 10,000 kilometres. The missiles are equipped with dividing independently targetable rocket heads. The head of each missile has six live units. The submarines are equipped with a rescue chamber. The length of the Borei missiles are 170 metres, the width is 13.5 metres, the submerged depth is 450 metres. The crew includes 107 people.

The Yuri Dolgorukiy ship was laid at the Sevmash shipyard in 1996. Later, in 2004 and 2006 the series ships, Alexander Nevsky and Vladimir Monomakh, were laid. The first ship went through test trials due to come operational this year. The second ship is under construction.

At the end of May the Russian Defence Ministry and enterprises of the defence and industrial complex signed three contracts on modernised strategic underwater missile carriers – the Borei 955A Class with reinforced missile nuclear armament. Each submarine will carry 20 Bulava missiles. A contract was signed with the Rubin factory for designing of the modernised Borei – Prince Vladimir. The Sevmash shipyard will build the missile. A contract was signed with the United Shipbuilding Corporation to construct the Borei modernised four series missiles. The missile cruiser head, Prince Vladimir, was laid at the Sevmash shipyard on July 30 in the presence of President Vladimir Putin.

Thus, within the state programme till 2020 eight strategic submarine cruisers, i.e. three Borei 955 with the 16 Bulava missiles and five Borei-A 955A with the 20 Bulava missiles have to be built and given to the Navy.

First deputy chairman of the military-industrial commission Yuri Borisov told journalists in May that the nuclear submarines of 955/955A Borei Class and the nuclear submarines of 885/885M Yasen Class are 10 percent better than the submarines of previous generation. “Such submarine [Borei] can fire in any weather and from any point of the world ocean,” he stressed.