RFS Yury Dolgoruky
Encyclopedia
K-535 Yuriy Dolgorukiy is the first SSBN
Ballistic missile submarine
A ballistic missile submarine is a submarine equipped to launch ballistic missiles .-Description:Ballistic missile submarines are larger than any other type of submarine, in order to accommodate SLBMs such as the Russian R-29 or the American Trident...
submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
of the Borei class
Borei class submarine
The Borei class is a class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine produced and operated by the Russian Navy. The class is intended to replace the Delta III, Delta IV and Typhoon classes now in Russian Navy service...
of the Project 955 that is being built for the Russian Navy. Named after the founder of Moscow Yuri Dolgoruki
Yuri Dolgoruki
Prince Yuri I Dolgorukiy , also known as George I of Rus, was the founder of Moscow and a key figure in the transition of political power from Kiev to Vladimir-Suzdal following the death of his elder brother Mstislav the Great...
, it was laid down on 2 November 1996 and was first planned to enter service in 2001.
However, the SS-N-28
R-39M
R-39UTTH "Bark", NATO reporting name of SS-N-28, was a Russian submarine-launched ballistic missile. The missile was an upgraded version of the R-39 missile that was designed for the Typhoon class. The new missile was to be carried by the new Russian nuclear submarines of the Borei class...
missile that the Borei class was supposed to carry was abandoned after several failed tests, and the submarine was redesigned for the Bulava
Bulava (missile)
The Bulava |mace]]"; designation RSM-56, NATO reporting name SS-NX-30, GRAU index 3M30) is a submarine-launched ballistic missile under development for the Russian Navy and to be deployed on the new Borei class of ballistic missile nuclear submarines...
missile. Bulava missile is smaller than the original SS-N-28, and in the 2007 START
START I
START was a bilateral treaty between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms. The treaty was signed on 31 July 1991 and entered into force on 5 December 1994...
treaty data exchange it was reported that all Borei-class submarines would carry 16 missiles instead of 12, as originally intended.
Deployment
The submarine was rolled out of its construction hall into a launch dock on 15 April 2007 in SeverodvinskSeverodvinsk
Severodvinsk is a city in the north of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located in the delta of the Northern Dvina River, west of Arkhangelsk. Administratively, it is incorporated as a town of oblast significance . Municipally, it is incorporated as Severodvinsk Urban Okrug. The city was founded as...
, when it was about 82% complete. The Russian Government has allocated nearly 5 billion ruble
Ruble
The ruble or rouble is a unit of currency. Currently, the currency units of Belarus, Russia, Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transnistria, and, in the past, the currency units of several other countries, notably countries influenced by Russia and the Soviet Union, are named rubles, though they all are...
s, or 40% of the Navy's 2007 weapons budget, for the completion of the submarine.
Some doubts about the conditions in which the boat was launched were expressed to the Russian press by workers and managers at the Sevmash plant, where the construction was taking place. Specifically, workers noted that welding of the submarine's outer hull was in some places unfinished. There was some speculation that Yuriy Dolgorukiy would be rushed through the rest of its production and testing phases in order to be ready for the 2008 Russian presidential elections. Much of the ship's equipment remains as yet uninstalled and untested, a process that would normally take over a year to complete.
On 13 February 2008 Yuriy Dolgorukiy was finally launched from its floating dock in Severodvinsk
Severodvinsk
Severodvinsk is a city in the north of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located in the delta of the Northern Dvina River, west of Arkhangelsk. Administratively, it is incorporated as a town of oblast significance . Municipally, it is incorporated as Severodvinsk Urban Okrug. The city was founded as...
where the final outfitting took place http://www.interfax.com/3/364364/news.aspx. The submarine's reactor was first activated on 21 November 2008. and the submarine began its sea trials on 19 June 2009.
Sea Trials
In July 2010 ship passed one of company sea trial, in which navigation systems, buoyancy control system, and some other characteristics were tested at sea. Ship completed all company tests in end of September 2010 and now is preparing for state trials.Initially was planned conduct the first torpedo launches during the ongoing state trials in December 2010 and then in same month conduct the first launch of the main weapon system, R-30 (RSM-56) Bulava
Bulava (missile)
The Bulava |mace]]"; designation RSM-56, NATO reporting name SS-NX-30, GRAU index 3M30) is a submarine-launched ballistic missile under development for the Russian Navy and to be deployed on the new Borei class of ballistic missile nuclear submarines...
missile. The plan was then postponed to mid-summer 2011 due to ice conditions in White Sea
It was expected to be commissioned to Russian Pacific Fleet
Pacific Fleet (Russia)
The Pacific Fleet is the part of the Russian Navy that is stationed in the Pacific Ocean, which formerly secured the Far Eastern borders of the Soviet Union. The fleet headquarters is located at Vladivostok and a number of fleet bases are located in the Vladivostok area...
in the first half of 2011, but in December 2010 it was announched that the submarine had technical defects and would be laid up for repairs. The work will take at least six months, and after this the submarine would continue the Bulava missile tests and could be ready for active duty by the later half of 2011.
On 7 June 2011 the submarine left the Sevmash shipyard to continue sea trials and on 28 June the first SLBM (RSM-56 Bulava) was successfully launched.