Russian shipbuilder Sevmash expects to start work on an additional two Borei-A (Project 955A) nuclear-powered submarines this year after receiving a contract in late December 2020.
The two submarines, which will be named Dmitry Donskoy and Knyaz Potyomkin, are the ninth and tenth boats in their class. The class consists of an initial three Project 955 and and follow-on, improved, Project 955A ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs).
Sevmash says it currently has four submarines in the class on the building blocks in various stages of construction. The shipbuilder is currently also working on two Yasen-M attack submarines, after laying their keels in July last year.
The first Borei-A submarine, Knyaz Vladimir, was delivered to the Russian Navy in May 2020, after being launched in 2017. The second improved Borei SSBN, Knyaz Oleg, was launched in July 2020.
Sevmash general director Mikhail Budnichenko also revealed that work on the first Khabarovsk-class (Project 09851), a new class of subs based on the Borei, continues, without providing details on when it could be launched. It had initially been scheduled for launch in 2020.
Borei-A SSBNs measure 170 meters and displace around 24,000 tons when fully submerged. The Borei-A carry 16 of the next-generation Bulava submarine-launched ballistic missiles that were first fielded in 2013.
