MOSCOW, August 21. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia’s new nuclear submarine Alexander Nevsky will arrive at its base in Kamchatka before the end of the year to begin combat training, Eastern Military District Commander, Colonel-General Sergei Surovikin said on Thursday.

Surovikin is inspecting the construction of infrastructure facilities for the fourth-generation submarines in Vilyuchinsk, Kamchatka.

“The commander inspected the construction of the pier, including mooring areas and support facilities, to ensure that work was proceeding according to the schedule approved by the ministry of defense,” Eastern Military District spokesperson Alexander Gordeyev told ITAR-TASS.

The general demanded strict compliance with the construction schedule and technical specifications approved by the Defense Ministry and the Navy, which require improved seismic resistance and the use of high anti-corrosion technologies.

The Alexander Nevsky is the second Borei-class submarine and the first serial Project 955 ship of the Borei Class. It was laid down on March 19, 2004. This is a fourth generation strategic underwater missile cruiser.

The leading submarine of the series, Yuri Dolgoruky, went into service in January 2013. It was the 129th nuclear-powered submarine built by the Sevmash shipyard and the first one in the past 12 years. Prior to that, in December 2001, the shipyard handed over the multirole submarine Gepard (carrying no ballistic missiles) to the Navy.

The Alexander Nevsky is the first serial strategic rocket carrier of the Borei class. It is 170 metres long, 13.5 metres wide, maximum operating depth is 450 metres, underwater speed is 29 knots, and a crew of 17 sailors.

Borei class submarines are designed to serve as the basis of Russia's strategic nuclear capabilities for the decades to come. They are designed by the St. Petersburg-based Naval Design Bureau Rubin. Each submarine can be armed with 12 ICBMs with MIRVs. They will also have an escape capsule for all crewmembers.

The Borei claims to be a state-of-the-art submarine, featuring characteristics superior to any submarine currently in service, such as the ability to cruise silently and be less detectable to sonar. Advances include a compact and integrated hydrodynamically efficient hull for reduced broadband noise and the first ever use of pump-jet propulsion on a Russian nuclear submarine.

The submarines will be armed with Bulava missiles. The Bulava carries the NATO reporting name SS-NX-30 and has been assigned the GRAU index 3M30. In international treaties, the common designation RSM-56 is used.

The Russian Defense Ministry plans to build at least eight new Borei-class submarines that should become the main naval component of Russia’s strategic nuclear forces.