160 Nukes Onboard: Russian Navy Commissions New Borei-A Class Strategic Submarine
Eastern Europe and Central Asia , Naval
The Russian Navy has inducted a new Borei-A Class nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine into service, with the flag-raising ceremony having been attended by President Vladimir Putin at a time of increased focus on the service’s modernisation. The warship Knyaz Pozharsky is the eighth Borei Class ship to have been built, and the fifth of the improved Borei-A Class. It reportedly benefits from significant incremental upgrades that have improved its stealth and survivability over preceding ships of the class. As the world’s largest operational submarine class, the massive 24,000 ton vessels each carry 16 RSM-56 intercontinental range ballistic missiles (ICBM), each of which can delivery up to ten nuclear warheads against separate targets using multiple independent reentry vehicles. The class’ capabilities are significantly more advanced that Cold War era strategic submarines relied on by the Soviet Navy, with their service entry having significantly enhanced Russia’s second stage nuclear deterrent.
The Russian Navy commissioned its first Borei-A Class submarine in the final week of May 2020, with the improved variant benefitting from carriage of 16 rather than 12 ICBMs, and having significantly superior stealth capabilities. Although the Navy was previously expected to procure ten Borei Class submarines, the possibility of significantly expanding production further was first raised in 2021, with Vladimir Pospelov from the Russian Military-Industrial Commission having stated at the time that "the series could be continued" as "the project has shown itself to be successful and has good prospects for modernisation." A decision was subsequently confirmed to increase the fleet to 14 ships, of which eight have been completed and three more are currently under construction. As the seventh vessel, the Knyaz Pozharsky’s service entry thus stands in the middle of the class’ production run.
All Russian nuclear submarines operate under the Northern and Pacific fleets, with the Knyaz Pozharsky expected to operate under the former patrolling the Arctic and Atlantic regions. During the commissioning, President Putin announced that six further nuclear powered submarines will be commissioned by 2030, including two further Borei-A Class ships intended for the Northern Fleet, as well as Yasen Class attack submarines. The Borei-A Class is expected to be supported in its role by the commissioning of the first nuclear submarines equipped with Poseidon nuclear-powered, nuclear-armed long range torpedoes, which are designed for nuclear detonations under water making their attacks nearly impossible to intercept. Russia has sustained high levels of investment in its strategic nuclear forces despite neglect for many parts of its conventional forces, with its strategic nuclear deterrent in many respects remaining the world’s most formidable despite post-Soviet decline. Investments in modernisation of the Russian Navy’s ocean-going conventional fleet have also been disproportionately focused on its attack submarine capabilities due to their perceived asymmetric value.
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