The project 955A nuclear submarine Prince Vladimir and the project 885M Yasen-M nuclear-powered underwater cruiser Kazan will be floated out in 2017, Russia’s Navy Deputy Commander-in-Chief Vice-Admiral Viktor Bursuk said on December 23, 2016. “In 2017, the first improved project 955-A submarine and the Yasen-M will be floated out,” he said. The Russian Navy expects to receive these submarines “within the time limits set out in the contract,” the Vice-Admiral added.

The Prince Vladimir submarine was laid down in 2012 and will become the fourth submarine in the series of the eight Borey-class underwater cruisers and the first submarine of the improved Borey-A project.

The Severodvinsk Shipyard in the north of Russia has commenced the production of the eighth Borey-class submarine named after Prince Pozharsky. Three submarines of this class have already been delivered to the navy. In 2014, two submarines, the Prince Oleg and the Generalissimus Suvorov, were laid down. In 2015, the submarine Emperor Alexander III was laid down. Each such submarine carries 16 Bulava intercontinental ballistic missiles. The Kazan submarine was laid down in 2009. It is being built within the framework of project

885-M Yasen-M. It will be the second representative of the Yasen project: the first submarine Severodvinsk was delivered to the Russian Navy in 2014. Overall, seven submarines of this class will be constructed. A source in the Russian defense sector said that the Prince Vladimir and the Kazan would enter into service in 2018, a year later than planned.

The series of project 955A Borey-A nuclear submarines will be completed with the construction of the eighth submarine Prince Pozharsky, the Vice-Admiral said. The development of the fifth-generation nuclear-powered submarines is already underway in Russia, the head of the Rubin Central Design Bureau of Marine Engineering Igor Vilnit said. The Rubin Design Bureau is the developer of project 955 Borey-class submarines. As the head of the Rubin Design Bureau said, the fifth-generation submarines will differ from the fourth generation in their armaments. The Russian Navy currently operates three Borey-class submarines: the Yuri Dolgoruky operates in the Northern Fleet, while the Vladimir Monomakh and the Alexander Nevsky are part of the Pacific Fleet.