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rickusn · 03-05-2006, 11:37 AM

The below from this site which also outlines the rest of the Russian nuclear arsenal:

http://www.thebulletin.org/article_n...ofn=ma06norris

"Nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs).

The strategic submarine fleet has shrunk from a Cold War high of 62. Today 12 boats--six Delta IVs and six Delta IIIs--are deployed with two of Russia's four fleets. Of the Delta IVs, the Verkhoturye, Yekaterinburg, and Novomoskovsk are active, and the Tula, Bryansko, and Karelia are undergoing overhauls. Work on the Tula was completed last spring, but by the end of 2005 the boat had not yet returned to service due to a contract dispute. All six are with the Northern Fleet and based in Gadzhiyevo on the Kola Peninsula.

Of the 14 original Delta III subs, six remain: The Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Svyatoy Giorgiy Pobedonosets, Zelenograd, and Podolsk are based at Rybachi on the Kamchatka Peninsula; the Ryazan and Borisoglebsk are based in Gadzhiyevo. The military may be using a seventh nonoperational Delta III, located at Rybachi, as a test platform. Though rumors suggest that Russia might retire the Delta III-class subs during the next few years, this will have to be coordinated with the introduction of new Borey-class SSBNs in order to achieve the planned goal of 208 submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) in 2010. On September 30, the navy test-fired an SS-N-18 M1 SLBM from the Svyatoy Giorgiy Pobedonosets.

Two Borey-class subs are under construction at the Severodvinsk shipyard on the Kola Peninsula--both of them behind schedule. The military has pushed back the service entry of the initial boat, the Yuri Dolgoruki, until 2007, according to the new commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy, Adm. Vladimir Masorin. [14] The navy first flight-tested the SLBM that the sub is to carry, the Bulava (NATO designation SS-NX-30; also called RSM-56 in Russia or Bulava-M for morskoy, "naval"), on September 27, 2005, and fired a second test on December 21. The navy launched the missiles from the Dmitri Donskoi, a Typhoon-class submarine that has been modified to be a test platform for the Bulava. The submerged submarine launched the missiles from the White Sea toward a target at the Kura test range in Kamchatka.

Each Borey-class sub will carry 12 Bulava missiles, which Russia provided new details about as part of the July 2005 START data exchange. The three-stage, solid-fuel SLBM is almost 38 feet long and weighs approximately 81,000 pounds at launch--10 feet shorter and 17,000 pounds lighter than the SS-N-23 SLBM. (The U.S. Trident II D5 weighs 127,000 pounds.) It is unclear how many warheads the Bulava will carry (the December 21 flight-test carried only a single reentry vehicle). Media reports have speculated as many as 10, but more reentry vehicles increase weight and limit range. After the completion of flight-testing, Russia will declare the warhead count under START. (When the treaty expires in 2009, Russia and the United States will no longer be required to declare the warhead count for new ballistic missiles.) Meanwhile, inadequate funding for the Bulava program means "there is little chance the missile can be put into service . . . in 2007" as planned, according to Yuri Solomonov, chief missile designer at the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology. [15]

The keel of the second Borey-class sub Alexander Nevsky was laid down at Severodvinsk in March 2004 with delivery scheduled for 2008 at the earliest. A third boat, tentatively named Vladimir Monomakh, is scheduled to begin construction in March 2006 and to be completed in 2012. The Russian Navy would like to acquire three additional Borey SSBNs for a total of six, but if construction continues at the current pace, the final sub would not be ready until 2026--30 years after the keel was laid on the Yuri Dolgoruki. The future fleet, more than likely, will be about the size of the British or the French SSBN fleets, which have four subs each.

The Russian Navy conducted three SSBN deterrent patrols in 2005, two in 2004, two in 2003, and none in 2002--far from the 61 patrols conducted in 1990. The U.S. Navy, in comparison, continues to operate at near-Cold War levels and conducts more than 40 SSBN patrols per year."

03-05-2006, 11:37 AM	#1 (permalink)
rickusn *Military Professional* Join Date: 08-09-03 Posts: 1,317	Russian SSBN Analysis The below from this site which also outlines the rest of the Russian nuclear arsenal: http://www.thebulletin.org/article_n...ofn=ma06norris "Nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs). The strategic submarine fleet has shrunk from a Cold War high of 62. Today 12 boats--six Delta IVs and six Delta IIIs--are deployed with two of Russia's four fleets. Of the Delta IVs, the Verkhoturye, Yekaterinburg, and Novomoskovsk are active, and the Tula, Bryansko, and Karelia are undergoing overhauls. Work on the Tula was completed last spring, but by the end of 2005 the boat had not yet returned to service due to a contract dispute. All six are with the Northern Fleet and based in Gadzhiyevo on the Kola Peninsula. Of the 14 original Delta III subs, six remain: The Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Svyatoy Giorgiy Pobedonosets, Zelenograd, and Podolsk are based at Rybachi on the Kamchatka Peninsula; the Ryazan and Borisoglebsk are based in Gadzhiyevo. The military may be using a seventh nonoperational Delta III, located at Rybachi, as a test platform. Though rumors suggest that Russia might retire the Delta III-class subs during the next few years, this will have to be coordinated with the introduction of new Borey-class SSBNs in order to achieve the planned goal of 208 submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) in 2010. On September 30, the navy test-fired an SS-N-18 M1 SLBM from the Svyatoy Giorgiy Pobedonosets. Two Borey-class subs are under construction at the Severodvinsk shipyard on the Kola Peninsula--both of them behind schedule. The military has pushed back the service entry of the initial boat, the Yuri Dolgoruki, until 2007, according to the new commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy, Adm. Vladimir Masorin. [14] The navy first flight-tested the SLBM that the sub is to carry, the Bulava (NATO designation SS-NX-30; also called RSM-56 in Russia or Bulava-M for morskoy, "naval"), on September 27, 2005, and fired a second test on December 21. The navy launched the missiles from the Dmitri Donskoi, a Typhoon-class submarine that has been modified to be a test platform for the Bulava. The submerged submarine launched the missiles from the White Sea toward a target at the Kura test range in Kamchatka. Each Borey-class sub will carry 12 Bulava missiles, which Russia provided new details about as part of the July 2005 START data exchange. The three-stage, solid-fuel SLBM is almost 38 feet long and weighs approximately 81,000 pounds at launch--10 feet shorter and 17,000 pounds lighter than the SS-N-23 SLBM. (The U.S. Trident II D5 weighs 127,000 pounds.) It is unclear how many warheads the Bulava will carry (the December 21 flight-test carried only a single reentry vehicle). Media reports have speculated as many as 10, but more reentry vehicles increase weight and limit range. After the completion of flight-testing, Russia will declare the warhead count under START. (When the treaty expires in 2009, Russia and the United States will no longer be required to declare the warhead count for new ballistic missiles.) Meanwhile, inadequate funding for the Bulava program means "there is little chance the missile can be put into service . . . in 2007" as planned, according to Yuri Solomonov, chief missile designer at the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology. [15] The keel of the second Borey-class sub Alexander Nevsky was laid down at Severodvinsk in March 2004 with delivery scheduled for 2008 at the earliest. A third boat, tentatively named Vladimir Monomakh, is scheduled to begin construction in March 2006 and to be completed in 2012. The Russian Navy would like to acquire three additional Borey SSBNs for a total of six, but if construction continues at the current pace, the final sub would not be ready until 2026--30 years after the keel was laid on the Yuri Dolgoruki. The future fleet, more than likely, will be about the size of the British or the French SSBN fleets, which have four subs each. The Russian Navy conducted three SSBN deterrent patrols in 2005, two in 2004, two in 2003, and none in 2002--far from the 61 patrols conducted in 1990. The U.S. Navy, in comparison, continues to operate at near-Cold War levels and conducts more than 40 SSBN patrols per year."