ST.PETERSBURG, August 22. /ITAR-TASS/. The third Borey-class nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarine will be handed over to the Russian Navy by the end of 2014, the president of the United Shipbuilding Corporation said Friday. "The submarine will enter service by the end of this year as planned," Alexei Rakhmanov said.
The construction of the Vladimir Monomakh submarine began at the Sevmash shipyard in 2006. The first two Borey-class submarines, the Alexander Nevsky and Yuri Dolgoruky, were commissioned in 2013.
The Borey-class ballistic-missile submarines are to become the backbone of the Navy's strategic nuclear deterrent.
The submarines displace 24,000 tons, reach speeds of 29 knots (some 54 km per hour), can dive to 450 meters and carry crews of 107 people. The vessels will be armed with up to 16 Bulava submarine-launched ballistic missiles, which have range of over 8,000 kilometers.
A total of eight Borey-class boats are to be built for the Russian Navy by 2020.