MOSCOW, November 9. /TASS/. The service life of the Pacific Fleet’s Project 949A ‘Antey’ multirole nuclear-powered submarine Irkutsk will be extended by at least ten years after its repairs and upgrade at the Zvezda Ship Repair Plant in Russia’s Far East, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said at the ministry’s conference call on Tuesday.

"The modernization of the [underwater] cruiser will make it possible to extend its service life by at least ten years and expand the Pacific Fleet’s combat potential," the defense chief said.

The nuclear-powered submarine Irkutsk will be outfitted with the latest missile, torpedo and radio-technical armaments and advanced communications systems to boost its combat efficiency, the defense minister said.

The participants in the Defense Ministry’s conference call examined problems in the work to put the submarine into operation, including the timeframe of its trials after repairs and modernization at the Zvezda Ship Repair Plant in the Far East.