SEVERODVINSK, December 10. /TASS/. The third Borei-class (Project 955 ) ballistic missile nuclear submarine, the Vladimir Monomakh, has been handed over to the Russian Navy, a defense industry source told TASS Wednesday.

A notice of acceptance has been signed at the Sevmash shipyard by a state commission, the source said.

It was earlier reported that the submarine will be officially adopted for service in the Russian Navy on December 19. Only when the Russian Navy Ensign is raised over the vessel will it officially become part of the Navy.

The Borei-class submarines are designed by the St. Petersburg-based Rubin Design Bureau for Marine Engineering. These submarines armed with the Bulava intercontinental ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads are intended to become the backbone of Russia’s naval strategic forces for the coming decades. By 2020 it is planned to build a total of eight Borei-class submarines: 3 subs under Project 955 and 5 - under Project 955A. Each submarine will be armed with 16 Bulava missiles.