MOSCOW. June 8 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia's strategic missile carrying nuclear submarine Yury Dolgoruky has entered the final phase of its state-commissioned sea trials, United Shipbuilding Corporation spokesman Alexei Kravchenko told Interfax-AVN on Friday.
"Factory trials of the aircraft carrier Vikramaditya (formerly known as the Admiral Gorshkov), which is being built by Sevmash for the Indian Navy, started last night. A few hours before the aircraft carrier, the Project 955 Borei strategic nuclear submarine Yury Dolgoruky set out on the same itinerary. The Yury Dolgoruky is Russia's first fourth generation flagship nuclear submarine that has entered the final phase of the state-commissioned sea trials," he said.
The Yury Dolgoruky is expected to join the Russian Navy at a ceremony on July 29, which is marked as Navy Day in Russia.
Russian First Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Sukhorukov explained the delay in putting Project 955 Borei nuclear submarines into operation by the need to conduct more trials.
The strategic missile carrying nuclear submarine Yury Dolgoruky, which was launched in March 2007, will be equipped with Bulava strategic missile systems.
The Sevmash Shipyards built another Project 955 Borei submarine, the Alexander Nevsky, which is similar to the Yury Dolgoruky. The submarine Vladimir Monomakh is currently under construction as part of this project. The construction of the fourth submarine of this project, the Svyatitel Nikolai (St. Nicholas), is also planned. A total of eight Project 955 Borei submarines should be built in Russia by 2017. Bulava missiles will be installed on board the Project 955 submarines.
The Bulava missile (RSM-56 in international treaties, and SS-NX-30 by NATO classification) is Russia's most advanced three-stage solid fuel missile.
One Bulava missile is capable of carrying up to 10 hypersonic individually targeted nuclear warheads that can change their flight trajectory and hit targets within a radius up to 8,000 kilometers.
Bulava missiles are supposed to form the core of Russia's strategic nuclear forces in the period up to 2040-2045.