April 03, 2006

Russian shipyard begins building new nuclear sub

MOSCOW — A northern Russian shipyard has begun construction of a new nuclear submarine, part of an ambitious navy modernization effort, the nation’s navy chief said March 18.

Adm. Vladimir Masorin, who attended the keel-laying ceremony for the new Vladimir Monomakh submarine at the Arctic Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk, said in televised remarks that it was one of the new Borei-class submarines designed to carry Bulava intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Construction has already begun on two other submarines of the same type; the first of them is expected to be commissioned by the navy in 2008, Masorin said, according to the ITAR-Tass and RIA Novosti news agencies.

He said that the navy hadn’t yet determined how many Borei-class submarines would be built, but added there would be “more than four or six.”

“There will be as many of them as necessary to fully modernize the sea-based strategic forces,” Masorin was quoted as saying.

The post-Soviet money crunch has hurt the once-formidable navy, prompting it to abandon a large number of big ships and submarines and keep most others docked for years because of shortages of fuel and spare parts. Thanks to booming oil prices, however, Russia’s armed forces have seen a slow revival and increased budgets.

Masorin said the navy will conduct several test launches of the Bulava missile this year and in 2007 before it enters duty, RIA Novosti and ITAR-Tass reported.

Russian media reports said earlier that each new Borei-class submarine will be equipped with 12 Bulava missiles, which have a range of 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles).

Masorin emphasized that the Bulava will be built entirely by Russian plants, unlike its predecessors, which were manufactured in cooperation with other ex-Soviet republics.

“Ballistic missiles previously had been built in several ex-Soviet republics, which now are behaving in an unpredictable way,” Masorin was quoted as saying.

Ukraine hosts a major Soviet-era missile plant. Russian officials have said that the Ukrainian authorities’ intention to join NATO would end the bilateral defense cooperation.

— The Associated Press


info link:
www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/russia/935.htm





Third nuclear submarine of the fourth generation laid down in Severodvinsk

The construction of the third atomic missile submarine of the fourth generation has begun at Northern Machine Building Enterprise, or Sevmash, in Severodvinsk on March 19.

2006-03-23 17:35

Two similar submarines are already being built at the plant to be put into operation in 2010 and 2011, respectively.

Russian Deputy Defense Minister General Alexey Moskovsky and Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Masorin attended the keel-laying ceremony for the Vladimir Monomakh, one of the submarines to be built under the Borey project, in Severodvinsk on March 19.

The Vladimir Monomakh is the third submarine of the Borey project. The construction of the first vessel began some ten years ago and has cost the state 1 billion rubles. The 955 Borey submarine is developed at the St. Petersburg-based Rubin Design Bureau. The submarine is 170 meter long and of 24,000 tons displacement. The speed is up to 29 knots and the dip is 450 meter. The vessel can work 100 days in an autonomous regime with the crew of 107 people. The submarine is armed with the D-19M missile complex with twelve R-30 intercontinental Bulava missiles. The Vladimir Monomakh is set to be built by 2011.

The Russian Navy currently has 50 atomic submarines in its arsenal, compared to 170 vessels in 1991. Only 26 of them are in operation now. The Navy plans to reduce the number to 20 submarines, 10 missile submarines of the strategic purpose and 10 multi-purpose atomic vessels, under unofficial reports, Kommersant reported.

One question, if they had to abandon ships because of a shortage of fuel, how are booming oil prices good for them? I know Russia is a major producer of oil, so how in the world did they have a fuel shortage in the first place?

“Ballistic missiles previously had been built in several ex-Soviet republics, which now are behaving in an unpredictable way,” Masorin was quoted as saying.

What, pray tell, does that statement mean?

Quoted: “Ballistic missiles previously had been built in several ex-Soviet republics, which now are behaving in an unpredictable way,” Masorin was quoted as saying. What, pray tell, does that statement mean?

Mean they are embracing the west and telling the Russians to go fuck themselves.

Quoted: The Vladimir Monomakh is the third submarine of the Borey project. The construction of the first vessel began some ten years ago and has cost the state 1 billion rubles. .

Taking 10 years to build a sub doesn't bode well for being able to promptly replace a sub once you start incurring wartime losses.