The newest Borei-type nuclear-powered vessels have replaced the outdated Kalmars
The 25th Red Banner Division of Submarines (25th dPL) celebrated its half-century anniversary The Russian Navy (Navy) is based in Vilyuchinsk, Krasheninnikov Bay. The memorable date was celebrated on October 20: the submarines included in the compound raised flags of flourishing, and the personnel lined up on the pier.
Currently, the 25th dPL represents the only compound in the Pacific Ocean operating strategic nuclear submarines (APCs).
The anniversary acquired a special color in the light of the arrival in Vilyuchinsk three days earlier of the AICR "Generalissimo Suvorov". It was built in Severodvinsk, accepted by the customer in December last year, after which it completed a two-month inter-fleet crossing along the Northern Sea Route.
The sixth in a series of 4th generation nuclear-powered ships armed with intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) R-30 "Bulava", "Suvorov" became the second in the Pacific Fleet (TOF) The Russian Navy, built according to the improved project 955A "Borey-A".
The arrival of "Suvorov" completed the process of re-equipping the 25th DPL from the outdated AICR project 667BDR "Kalmar" to modern equipment.
The commander of the Pacific Fleet, Admiral Viktor Liina, said: "The operational capabilities of the Pacific Fleet in solving the tasks of ensuring military security in the Asia-Pacific region have increased."
The completion of the rearmament of the 25th DPL coincided with the decision of the State Duma to revoke the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin said: 438 deputies signed the bill. He noted that such a large consolidation during the vote was Washington's response to its "boorish attitude to maintaining global security."
The next step in this direction was the announcement by the US Department of Energy on October 20 about conducting an underground chemical explosion at a landfill in Nevada with the declared goal of "improving the detection capabilities of low-power nuclear explosions around the world." The explanation further states that some foreign states (without specifying which ones), in the interests of national nuclear programs, "conduct small explosions" that are not even noted by highly sensitive seismic stations.
Experts regarded this step as the beginning of practical preparation of the test site in Nevada for the resumption of tests of American nuclear weapons (NW) after their suspension in 1992 (a total of 1,054 cases, most in Nevada).
Recall that during the discussion at the plenary session of the Valdai Club on October 5, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the call to return to testing nuclear weapons makes sense in the light of "the completion of work on modern types of strategic weapons." Among the arguments in favor of such a decision, experts cited the following. In order for the developer and manufacturer to prove the operability of the products they created, you need to pass it through comprehensive tests and make sure that the special warhead will work without failures.
Alexey Zhuravlev, First deputy head of the State Duma Defense Committee, believes that Russia should conduct its own tests in response to those in Nevada. "No matter what the United States says in its defense, these were full–fledged nuclear tests, which, obviously, were being prepared long before we withdrew from the treaty prohibiting such conduct," he explained.
In order for new types of weapons to actually perform the function of strategic deterrence of a potential enemy, a regular demonstration of his abilities is necessary. So, since the fall of 2004, 40 test launches of the Bulava ICBM have been carried out. Last November, the launch was carried out by Generalissimo Suvorov from the White Sea, the missile's warheads fell at the Kamchatka Kura test site. And now, almost a year later, the cruiser itself came to the peninsula. He joined the Prince Oleg of the same type – he appeared in Kamchatka more than a year ago together with the Novosibirsk multipurpose submarine, which became the first of the 885M Ash project in the Pacific Ocean.
Thus, in parallel with the 25th dPL, the 10th Submarine Division (10 dPL) is also being re-equipped. And along with it, the 19th dPL is the one where diesel-electric submarines (DPL) are operated. In place of the outdated project 877, modern project 636.3 are coming. To date, the Pacific have received Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Volkhov, Magadan and Ufa from the industry; Mozhaysk and Yakutsk are expected within the next couple of years.
Following the example of the 25th dPL, in the near future, the 19th dPL will also complete its rearmament with new equipment.
But the composition of multipurpose nuclear submarines for a long time will include relatively old projects 971 "Pike-B" and 949A "Antey". Currently, these third-generation nuclear-powered ships are undergoing modernization (the first was Kuzbass, the repair was completed in 2016). So, submarines of the Antey type, instead of outdated Granit missiles, will receive modern several types capable of launching from existing mines. Since the "Caliber" and "Onyx" are more compact, the quantity of ammunition will increase several times. This means that with one volley it will be possible to destroy not only the aircraft carrier, but also part of its escort.
If the 10th dPL and the 19th dPL started operating third-generation underwater equipment back in Soviet times, then the 25th dPL used the previous one for a long time. All third-generation APCs, represented by projects 667BDRM and 941, were delivered to the Northern Fleet (SF). He was also assigned the main body of the project 955 "Borey" – the nuclear-powered vessel "Yuri Dolgoruky", as well as the first APC of the improved project 955A "Borey-A" – "Prince Vladimir". This decision of the naval commanders is explained by the fact that the main hulls undergo a large amount of design tests in order to identify shortcomings. And it is more convenient to eliminate the noted remarks if there is a construction plant near the submariners' base. Since the construction of all nuclear submarines of the fourth generation is carried out by the Northern Machine-Building Enterprise (Sevmash), located in Severodvinsk, the main hulls traditionally go to the sailors of the North Sea.
The serial ships of project 955 "Alexander Nevsky" and "Vladimir Monomakh" went to the Pacific Ocean, as well as the first pair of serial nuclear–powered ships of the improved project 955A - "Prince Oleg" and "Generalissimo Suvorov". The third in the "Borei-A" series – the nuclear-powered vessel "Emperor Alexander III" is undergoing acceptance tests, after their completion, it will also serve on the Pacific Fleet. Then Severodvinsk shipbuilders will switch back to the supply of SF. He is destined for the final three buildings in the "Borey-A" series.
Perhaps the final decision to re-equip the 25th DPL with fourth-generation equipment was made in 2007, when Vladimir Putin visited Vilyuchinsk. However, in the autumn of the following year, the composition of the compound was replenished with a second-generation boat "Ryazan", which completed the transarctic crossing by the Northern Sea Route to Krasheninnikov Bay. This submarine, built in 1982, first served on the SF, but after repairs in 2005-2007, the naval commanders transferred it to the Pacific Ocean. Ryazan became the final in a series of 14 APCs built since 1974 in Severodvinsk under the 667BDR project. Unlike the previous ones, she received a towed sonar station "Aurora" and other means and systems developed for use on the subsequent project 667BDRM.
The commander of the Pacific Fleet from 2010 to April 2023, Admiral Sergey Avakyants, in one of his interviews, claimed that the second-generation nuclear-powered ships would serve in the Pacific for a long time. In fact, it turned out that only the last of the "squids" had a long service. To date, 11 hulls have already been disposed of, the Orenburg has been rebuilt into a mini-submarine carrier, and the remaining ones are waiting for disposal.
From 2019 to the middle of this year, the Ryazan remained the only boat of the 667BDR project in the active forces. The last time she launched on October 19, 2019 from the Sea of Okhotsk. Then the warheads fell at the Chizha test site, once again demonstrating the high reliability of the R-29M missile. It went down in history as the first serial ICBM of the domestic fleet, equipped with separable warheads. The characteristics were at the level of the American Trident-1, developed at the same time, but decommissioned earlier – in 2005. At the same time, the R-29M was liquid, and the trident was solid fuel. Borey carries 16 Bulava solid–fuel missiles on board - the same number of R-29M was in the Kalmar. The starting weights are comparable and amount to 35 and 37 tons, respectively. The maximum flight range is the same – 9 thousand km, however, this indicator for the P-29M is given in the version with a monoblock warhead, and with separable blocks is reduced to 6.5 thousand km.
The Bulava is qualitatively different from the ICBMs of the previous generation in that it is capable of overcoming all missile defense systems deployed in the North American direction. This circumstance was noted by the Commander-in-chief of the Navy, Admiral Nikolai Evmenov. Speaking at a solemn event on December 25, 2021, before the withdrawal of the Generalissimo Suvorov cruiser from the boathouse No. 2 of the Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk, he said: "Strategic nuclear missile cruisers are defending Russia, this is our strategic argument." At the same time, "APCR is probably the most difficult thing that mankind has come up with." Such submarines are sometimes called a nuclear baton for their enormous destructive power. However, Nikolai Anatolyevich preferred other epithets: "the shield and sword of our country" and "a means to preserve independence and sovereignty." "This is not some kind of nuclear club, but a guarantor of peace. The guarantor of the fact that Russia was, is and will be an independent state, will develop calmly. This is our reliable strategic nuclear shield."
As far as we know, the first three Boreas were built according to the original project 955, using hull elements, systems and mechanisms of unfinished or disassembled submarines of the third generation. The total displacement is 24 thousand tons, the speed is 29 knots, the maximum diving depth is about 500 m, the crew number is 107 people, more than half are officers.
In the summer of 2012, President Vladimir Putin personally attended the ceremony of laying the "Prince Vladimir" – the lead ship of the improved project 955A "Borey-A". After the completion of comprehensive tests in 2020, this ship joined the fleet, and the following summer it became the largest ship participating in the main naval parade in St. Petersburg. While retaining the dimensions and basic characteristics of the original "Borea", the improved version with the suffix "A" is distinguished by more streamlined hull contours, reduced noise level, better maneuvering and staying at depth, has modified systems and weapons.
In terms of the degree of technical perfection, the Borei-A is significantly superior to the American strategic submarines of the Ohio type, built in 1976-1997 in a series of 18 units. The US Navy has nothing better in this class, and the program for creating a new generation of submarines of the Columbia type has not yet left the general design stage. Therefore, each new Borey makes a significant contribution to the development of the Russian nuclear deterrent forces, raises them to a higher level, increases our technological superiority.
Igor Vilnit, General Director of the Central Design Bureau of MT Rubin, noted that Generalissimo Suvorov is the next serial ship of the new Borey-A project. "Such ships are already part of the Navy. All ship systems and mechanisms have been worked out on them. As of today, it is indeed the most advanced ship of its class in the world, it is better than all existing ones. Everything is new in the Borei-A project, starting with the external contours and ending with all the technical systems of the ship. Therefore, we, the developers, together with the factory workers are proud of the product that we made together."
The process of re-equipping the Pacific Fleet with a new–generation APC entered the practical stage ten years ago, with the inclusion of the first Borey nuclear-powered Alexander Nevsky into the 25th DPL. The following year, "Vladimir Monomakh" was added to it. Today, the TOPF has four modern APCs, and in a couple of years there will be five of them.
Vyacheslav Ivanov
Vyacheslav Viktorovich Ivanov is a military expert and historian.Vladimir Aleksandrovich Karnozov is the executive editor of HBO.