MOSCOW, April 21. /TASS/. The Sevmash shipbuilding company based in Severodvinsk, a port city on Russia’s White Sea, has boosted manufacturing of submarines to the level of the best Soviet years, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said on Tuesday.
"We are building submarines at Sevmash shipyard beyond the Polar circle at a rate like during the best Soviet years," Rogozin told members of the eighth youth Arctic expedition.
The Sevmash shipyard builds nuclear submarines of two series - the strategic Borei class and multipurpose Yasen class boats. In recent years, three Borei class submarines and one Yasen class submarine have been commissioned with the Russian Navy.
The Borei-class subs are 170 metres long, can dive to 450 metres and travel at speeds of up to 29 knots (54 kilometres per hour) when submerged. In addition to the ballistic missile launchers the subs are equipped with 533-millimetre torpedo tubes and carry RPK-2 Viyuga anti-submarine missile systems. Each vessel has a crew of 107 sailors and officers, and is fitted with a floating rescue chamber to evacuate all personnel in an emergency.
The Borei class submarines are to form the basis of Russia’s strategic nuclear forces until the 2030s. Each boat carries 16 Bulava ICBMs with a range exceeding 10,000 km. Each Bulava missile is equipped with six MIRV warheads and antimissile defence penetration aids.
Under the Russian naval doctrine, Yasen class submarines will make the backbone of Russia’s multipurpose nuclear submarine fleet. The Sevmash shipyard will built eight Yasen class nuclear submarines fitted out with cruise missiles in accordance with Russia’s state armaments programme until 2020.
The enterprise is currently engaged in the building of three Borei-A class strategic submarines under the advanced Project 955A, and also three multipurpose Yasen-M boats under Project 855M.