MOSCOW, May 24. /TASS/. Thirteen submarines, including seven Borei-class underwater cruisers armed with the advanced Bulava missile systems, will enter service with the Russian Navy by 2021, Defense Minister Army General Sergei Shoigu said on Wednesday.
"By 2021 <…> the naval strategic nuclear forces are expected to have 13 submarines in their combat structure, including seven promising Borei-class submarines with new Bulava missile systems," Shoigu said in the upper house of Russia’s parliament.
Three Borei-class submarines have already been delivered to the Russian Navy.
In 2014, two submarines, the Prince Oleg and the Generalissimus Suvorov, were laid down.
In 2015, the submarine Emperor Alexander III was laid down and in 2016 the keel of the submarine Prince Pozharsky was laid. Each such submarine carries 16 Bulava intercontinental ballistic missiles.
A source in the Russian defense industry earlier told TASS that the Prince Vladimir would enter service with the Russian Navy a year later than scheduled, i.e. in 2018. The submarine was earlier expected to become operational in 2017.