Published on 2/10/2023 – The Russian Navy could eventually have a flotilla of at least a dozen Borei-class ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) in the coming years.
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Developed to replace the Cold War-era Project 941 Akula (NATO reporting name “Typhoon) and Project 667B Murena, Project 667BD Murena-M, Project 667BDR Kalmar, Project 667BDRM Delfin, (NATO reporting names Delta I, Delta II, Delta III, Delta IV respectively) submarines, the Project 955 Borei and Project 955A Borei-A (NATO reporting name Dogorukiy) are significantly smaller than those former Russian submarines.
In addition, they operate with a smaller size crew.
However, that smaller size could be deceiving. Despite having half the displacement of the Akula-class, the Russian Borei-class submarines can carry a similar number of missiles.
Meet the Borei-Class
Project 955 nuclear-powered missile-carrying submarines are now currently in operation with the Russian Northern and Pacific Fleets.
These were also the first class of submarines developed by Russia after the Soviet era.
The first of the class, Yury Dolgoruky, was laid down in November 1996 but was delayed due to budget constraints and only launched in February 2008.
The boat officially entered service with the Russian Navy in January 2013.
The fourth-generation class of Russian submarines has been also significantly improved as the Project 995A strategic missile-carrying submarines, which are reported to be quieter and also feature improved maneuvering, and depth and armament control systems over the original base models.
These updated boats are also less detectable to sonar than its predecessors, while other advancements include a pump jet propulsion – and Project 995AS is the first Russian submarine with such a propulsion system.
The lead boat of the improved class, Knyaz Vladimir, entered service with the Russian Navy in June 2020 – while the first serial-produced Borei-A strategic nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, Knyaz Oleg, was floated out the following month.
Well-Armed and Equipped
All of the boats of the Borei-A-class are reported to be equipped with either one or two towed sonar arrays stored in tubes inside the vertical rudders that retract inwards.
There is also a noticeable bulge running alongside the hull for much of its length, which analysts have speculated is likely a ‘flank’ sonar array.
Such an advanced array could allow the Borei-A-class to ‘see’ into the ocean with sonar in both the port and starboard directions.
The submarines are armed with sixteen Bulava ballistic missiles, a three-stage solid-propellant sea-launched variant of the Topol-M, which has a range of over 8,300 kilometers. Each of those submarine-launched missiles can carry six to ten nuclear multiple warheads yielding 100 to 150 kilotons apiece.
The Bulava can be further fitted with 10 to 40 decoy warheads. In addition, the Project 995A submarines are also furnished with 533mm torpedo tubes.
A total of 14 Project 995/Project 995A submarines were planned for service with the Russian Navy. As of this year, seven have been completed and six are now in service while an additional three are reportedly under construction.
The Russian SSBNs will form a core component of the Russian nuclear triad until at least 2040, and likely beyond.
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Author Experience and Expertise
A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
