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Putin visits submarine building centre

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin went to the city of Severodvinsk on Wednesday, where he visited the Sevmash works

MOSCOW, November 10 (Itar-Tass) —— Prime Minister Vladimir Putin went to the city of Severodvinsk on Wednesday, where he visited the Sevmash works. Sevmash produces the biggest nuclear-powered strategic submarines of 955 and 955A projects, Borey class, which are fitted with sea-launched intercontinental missiles RCM-56 (Bulava-30), as well as general-purpose (missile-torpedo) submarine cruisers of 855M project, Yasen class. Putin held talks with officials from the Russian Defence Ministry and representatives of the United Shipbuilding Corporation, as a result of which contracts worth 280 billion roubles were signed.

Severodvinsk is Russia’s centre of the building of nuclear-powered submarines, Rossiskaya Gazeta writes. Sevmash has built 128 submarines. At present it is the only shipyard in Russia, capable of building nuclear-powered submarines for the Russian Navy. Putin visited the Alexander Nevsky NPS. This is the second vessel of the Borey project. Its building was started in 2004, and in December 2010 it was launched. Borey submarines carry sea-launched Bulava missiles. A total of eight Borey submarines are to be built.

Seven contracts were signed in the presence of Putin, Moskovsky Komosomolets writes. Four of them were signed by the Defence Ministry, including for the designing of a nuclear-powered submarine cruiser of 855M project, Yasen series – with the Malachite design office of St.Petersburg, and for its building – with Sevmash. Contracts were also signed for the designing of a new nuclear-powered submarine cruiser of 955A project (Borey series) with the Rubin naval design office, and for the building of a rescue boat of the 21300 project – with Admiralty Shipyards.

According to the information of the government press service, 4,700 billion roubles will be allocated in the federal budget in the period of 2011-2020 for the building of nuclear-powered submarines and frigates, ship repair and maintenance, Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes. In 2011 alone 85 billion roubles were allocated for that purpose in the federal budget, and the figure for 2012 exceeds 93 billion roubles.

According to the State Defence Order for 2011-2020, the Russian Navy will receive eight Borey submarines with 162 strategic missiles on board. They will be fitted with six to ten multiple individually targeted warheads with a capacity of 750 kilotons each, the newspaper continues. This will make some 35 per cent of the whole of the strategic nuclear potential, which Russia may have after the fulfilment of the Prague treaty with the United States (START-30). It may also have ten more submarines of the Yasen class, which could also be fitted with cruise missiles having nuclear warheads. They are not regarded as strategic submarines and are not mentioned in START.

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