MOSCOW, January 10. /TASS/. The return of the Irkutsk nuclear submarine to the Navy after an overhaul and upgrade has again been postponed. The return is now expected in 2025, a source close to the military-industrial complex told TASS.

"The upgraded Irkutsk nuclear submarine with increased firepower will likely return to the Pacific fleet in late 2025," the source said. The Irkutsk had to rejoin the Navy in 2017. The deadline was then postponed to 2019, 2022 and 2023.

TASS has no official confirmation of the report.

The submarine arrived for an overhaul at Zvezda Shipyard in the Far East in 2001. The overhaul began only in 2019.

A shipbuilding source earlier told TASS the upgrade would at least double the combat capabilities of the submarine. She will carry 48 Onyx and/or Kalibr-PL missiles and will test fire them before joining the Navy. The missiles will allow the Irkutsk to strike at coastal targets.

The Irkutsk was built by Sevmash Shipyard and joined the Navy on December 30, 1988. In 1990, she sailed to the Pacific fleet. The submarine has been in reserve since 1997.