The missile carrier Generalissimo Suvorov fired a Bulava ballistic missile as part of state testsAt the end of October, the submarine strategic missile carrier Generalissimo Suvorov of Project 955A Borey-A entered the White Sea from Severodvinsk for the third time for sea trials.
This is the third ship of the upgraded series, which in the coming decades will become the basis of the maritime component of Russia's nuclear triad. What is the Borei-A strategic missile carrier, how does it differ from conventional Boreas and what was tested by Generalissimo Suvorov on November 3 — in the Izvestia material.
The third went
Generalissimo Suvorov (factory number 206) became the third nuclear missile submarine of Project 955A "Borey-A". The first two ships of this series — K-549 "Prince Vladimir" and K-552 "Prince Oleg" — were accepted by the Russian navy in 2020 and in 2021. Following the Generalissimo Suvorov, four more boats of the project are being built and two more missile carriers may be laid in the coming months. In total, the Russian Navy in the 2020s may receive nine "strategists" of the Borey-A project, which will complement the three nuclear submarines of the original project 955 Borey already adopted by the fleet. In total, there will be 12 nuclear missile carriers in this family.
Their common name is "Nuclear submarines with ballistic missiles" or SSBMS. In the Russian Navy, they are called RPKSN — "Strategic missile submarines".
Launch of the Bulava rocket
Image source: Photo: RIA Novosti/Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
The main weapons of the Borey family submarines are 16 3M—30 Bulava intercontinental ballistic missiles developed by the Moscow Institute of Thermal Engineering. Today, the Bulava is one of the most highly efficient solid—fuel ballistic missiles in the world. Three marching stages, a stage of combat load dilution and from three to six individual guidance combat units. Each such block is guided by a rocket to its target and carries a thermonuclear charge with a capacity of 150 kilotons.
In order for all the blocks to reach the target without losses, the Mace can carry a set of means to overcome missile defense. These can be light inflatable false targets that mask the combat units on the transatmospheric section of the trajectory. And heavy false targets can also be used, which enter the atmosphere together with combat units and take on the blows of the last line of missile defense.
96 combat units in one salvo can be sent to the target by such a missile submarine. And 12 Boreas can keep up to 1,152 warheads on combat duty in total.
The long road to the sea
The lead boat of the Borey project — K-535 Yuri Dolgoruky — was laid in Severodvinsk on November 2, 1996, 26 years ago. The boat was built for the Makeev SRC missiles from Miass "Bark" until 1998, when it was decided to replace the "Bark" with a Bulava unified with the then newest ICBM "Topol-M".
The Moscow Institute of Thermal Engineering came in at a difficult time "with trump cards" — unification of the missile, combat equipment, economy and high efficiency of new types of solid fuel, multiplied by the vast experience of MIT in the development of compact intercontinental missiles. And the "Borey" began to be remade under the "Mace". Along the way, realizing that there are no resources for the construction of boats from scratch, a decision was made that allowed the release of a series of project 955 submarines — hull parts of unfinished and decommissioned nuclear-powered ships of other projects were used in their design. This compromise made it possible to release the first Boreas into the sea and bring the construction of the series to an end.
The crew of the strategic missile submarine "Yuri Dolgoruky"
Image source: Photo: TASS/Lev Fedoseev
In 2003, the Yuri Dolgoruky was re-mortgaged to the Sevmash software in Severodvinsk, and the fleet received the first three Boreas in 2012, 2013 and 2014. At the same time, the dramatic tests of the "Mace" were successfully completed, which at first went hard — with accidents. But in the end, the fleet received both the Boreas and the Mace.
During the 2000s, work was underway on a new Borey-A project, which Sevmash was supposed to build completely from scratch, only Russian and without any constructive compromises. A more advanced case design, completely new equipment, modern electronics — no borrowings from previous projects.
Visually, the "Borei-A" are noticeably different from the old "Borei" — other contours of the hull, the "wheelhouse" has been changed, the horizontal rudders and keel have been changed, which has become one-piece. "Borey-A" has become even less noisy than the boats of the basic project. More advanced sonar equipment and torpedo armament make it possible not only to defend against enemy submarines, but also to engage in dueling duels almost on equal terms. Of course, the main task of the SSARB is to carry a strategic missile arsenal and accurately use it in a retaliatory or counter—nuclear strike.
The lead "Borey-A" K-549 "Prince Vladimir" is serving in the Northern Fleet. The first production ship of the project — K-552 "Prince Oleg" — in the Pacific Ocean. The second serial and third submarine of the project — Generalissimo Suvorov — was launched in January this year and has been undergoing sea trials in the White Sea since July. In the intervals between test exits, the ship returns to Sevmash to eliminate the identified comments — this is a common practice during the construction of ships. And now, when Generalissimo Suvorov went to sea for the third time, as part of state tests, he successfully fired a Bulava missile at the Kura test site, the Defense Ministry said on November 3.
The crew of the submarine "Yuri Dolgoruky", from which the Bulava missiles are launched at the Kura test site
Image source: Photo: RIA Novosti/Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
The Kura test site in Kamchatka was ready to receive warheads. The flight path of the rocket is also. All the necessary areas in the White Sea and along the highway were cleared of civilian aircraft. Even our overseas "partners" kept their "cobra dane" in the air, which monitored the arrival of warheads on Kura. The launch of the Bulava should complete the tests of the SSB and ensure that the fleet receives the sixth Borei.
The production cycle of a submarine of this class is quite long. The complexity of modern submarines makes itself felt — with the well-coordinated work of hundreds of related enterprises and uninterrupted supplies of components and materials, the production cycle of the SSB is about seven years, from the moment of laying and until the receipt of the nuclear-powered vessel by the fleet. And, of course, nuclear missile submarines remain and will remain one of the most stable components of the strategic nuclear triad — they are difficult to detect and destroy, and they can strike a decisive blow. And this will not change in the coming decades — thanks to Borei-A.
Dmitry Kornev
