Latest Borei-Class Ballistic Missile Submarine

[Winston]

Borei-Class Ballistic Missile Submarine

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borei-class_submarine

Planned: 10
Building: 4
Completed: 4
Active: 3
Speed:
Submerged: 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)[2]
Surfaced: 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Range: Unlimited; (1yr+) endurance restricted by food stores
Test depth: planned 450m (1,400+ft)
Complement: 107 total crew
Armament:
16 (Project 955 and 955A)[3][4] × RSM-56 Bulava SLBMs with 6-10 MIRVed warheads[5]
6 × 533 mm torpedo tubes
RPK-2 Viyuga cruise missiles

The first design work started in the mid-1980s, and the construction of the first unit of the Borei class (officially designated "Project 955") started in 1996. (A short-lived, smaller parallel design appeared in the mid-1980s designated Project 935 Borei II) A new submarine-launched ballistic missile was developed in parallel, called the R-39UTTH "Bark". However, the work on this missile was abandoned, and a new missile called the Bulava was designed. The submarine needed to be redesigned to accommodate the new missile, and the design name was changed to Project 955. The vessels are being built at the Northern Machinebuilding Enterprise (Sevmash) in Severodvinsk, and were designed by the Rubin Marine Equipment Design Bureau (Rubin). Because of the repeated failures during Bulava test launches, some experts suggested that the Borei submarine could instead be armed with R-29RMU Sineva missiles. The Sineva is already in active duty on the Delta IV-class submarine.

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 noise level is to be five times lower when compared to the third-generation nuclear-powered Akula-class submarines and two times lower than that of the U.S. Virginia-class submarines. The Borei submarines are approximately 170 metres (560 ft) long, 13 metres (43 ft) in diameter, and have a maximum submerged speed of at least 46 kilometres per hour (25 kn; 29 mph). They are equipped with a floating rescue chamber designed to fit in the whole crew.

Smaller than the Typhoon class, the Boreis were reportedly initially slated to carry 12 missiles but are able to carry four more due to the decrease in mass of the 36-ton Bulava SLBM (a modified version of the Topol-M ICBM) over the originally proposed R-39UTTH Bark. Cost is some USD$890 million, in comparison the cost of an Ohio-class SSBN was around USD$2 billion per boat (1997 prices).

A fifth generation successor/supplement is already in development.

[Its OK-650] pressurized water reactor (PWR) uses 20-45% enriched uranium-235 fuel to produce 190 MW of power. Developed during the 1970s, these reactors were designed with the aim of minimizing accidents and malfunctions. Monitoring subsystems, designed for rapid detection of leaks, were included, along with newer-generation emergency cooling systems for the main reactor core.