MOSCOW. July 8 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia will continue to design and build special-purpose nuclear submarines, the Rubin-Sever Design Bureau (a unit of United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) based in Severodvinsk) said in its yearly report.
"Given the division of labor between Rubin Central Design Bureau for Marine Engineering and Rubin-Sever Design Bureau [research and development], the company plans to participate in design and support to the Project 09853 sub under construction at Sevmash and continuation of the Project 'Borei-A' series," the yearly report said in its 'Prospective Projects' section.
Project 09853 has thus been mentioned in the open press for the first time.
A submarine shipbuilding expert told Interfax-AVN that "Project 09853 is analogous to the numbers of special-purpose submarines of Projects 09851 Khabarovsk and 09852 Belgorod, which are currently being built, and that may indicate their similar purpose."
The Khabarovsk and Belgorod nuclear subs were also mentioned in the article 'Special-Purpose Nuclear Giants', which was published by the USC corporate magazine's issue No 2 in 2016. "Large special-purpose nuclear submarines of Projects 09851 and 09852 [Khabarovsk and Belgorod] are being constructed," the article said.
The article's author expressed hope that "the colossal domestic experience of building large special-purpose nuclear submarines will not be lost and the Russian fleet will grow with new submarines performing special missions in the World Ocean."
According to open press reports, the Khabarovsk nuclear submarine may become a carrier of the Status-6 oceanic multirole armament system, a part of which is an unmanned robotic submersible - a giant deep-sea high-speed torpedo with a nuclear warhead.
Sevmash started building the Khabarovsk sub at its 50th workshop in 2014. The submarine was designed by the Rubin Central Naval Design Bureau (which, the same as Rubin-Sever, is also part of USC).
The media said that the submarine was being built for the Russian Defense Ministry's Main Deep-Water Research Department. It was also reported that it could be the prototype for a fifth-generation nuclear submarine.
According to the USC magazine, "the Belgorod submarine, which was initially built as Project 949A, had been reassigned to Project 09852. The construction of its hull was adjusted to the new project in 2012, this time without cruise missile launchers."
Sevmash head Mikhail Budnichenko described the submarine of Project 09851 as 'strategic' in his report about the beginning construction of three nuclear submarines (Prince Oleg of Project 955A Borei-A, Krasnoyarsk of Project 885M and Khabarovsk) by Sevmash delivered to the Russian administration in 2014.