The Northern Fleet received the strategic missile carrier Knyaz Vladimir

This event has been waiting for a long time: the laying of the SSBN “Knyaz Vladimir” took place back in 2012, and it was launched in 2017.

Victor Kuzovkov

Since then, the boat was being completed at the pier, undergoing tests, according to the results of which the ship was finalized and brought to its finished appearance.

“Today, on the Day of the Northern Fleet, I approved the acceptance certificate on the successful completion of the tests and the readiness of the United Shipbuilding Corporation, the SEVMASH enterprise to transfer the strategic missile submarine cruiser Knyaz Vladimir to the Navy. In the near future, the date of the solemn ceremony of admission of the submarine to the Navy will be indicated. The strategic underwater missile cruiser Borey-A project "Knyaz Vladimir" will perform tasks as part of the Submarine Forces of the Northern Fleet"- Nikolai Evmenov, Admiral, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy.

At the moment, this is the fourth submarine of project 955A Borey-A, transferred to the Russian fleet. It is important to note that this project belongs to completely new ones, which practically do not use the backlogs and constructive achievements of the Soviet era. It was this approach that made it possible to fully reveal the potential of the fourth generation submarines, providing excellent navigational and combat characteristics while ensuring the highest possible level of stealth.

It must also be said that this boat, despite its constructive novelty, was built according to an already modified and modernized design. According to the military, in terms of stealth, maneuvering and weapon control, Prince Vladimir will surpass his predecessors in the project, the boats Yuri Dolgoruky, Alexander Nevsky and Vladimir Monomakh.

For a better understanding of what happened, we’ll clarify: in this case, it’s not just a nuclear submarine, but a strategic submarine missile carrier, an important part of the so-called “nuclear triad” of Russia. The main weapon of Knyaz Vladimir is Bulava strategic missiles, capable of carrying up to ten nuclear warheads. There are 16 mines in the boat in which these missiles are located and from which they can be launched, if necessary. That is, on the boat of this project there are simultaneously up to 160 nuclear warheads that can directly reach the largest cities of any potential enemy directly from their base.

The very name “strategic submarine missile carrier” indicates how important the appearance of each such ship is for Russia. But, at the same time, this speaks of certain features of the combat use of these ships, which we must definitely remember. And first of all, you need to part with the hope that this boat is another "killer of aircraft carriers".

The fact is that in order to accommodate a sufficiently large number of intercontinental ballistic missiles on the boat, its other weapons are minimized and are not even auxiliary, but purely defensive in nature. In addition to the Intercontinental ballistic missile Bulava, the Strategic missile submarine Knyaz Vladimir has torpedo armaments for protection against submarines, mines and cruise missiles. But you need to keep in mind that cruise missiles do not have their own transport and launch containers or mines, but are launched through torpedo tubes.

However, there are not so many defensive weapons on the boat, so it’s common practice for the Strategic missile submarine to go on combat duty accompanied by a multipurpose submarine, which is much better suited for underwater duels. And this, given the enormous importance of each strategic submarine, is fully justified - protecting it from an enemy underwater "hunter" such as "Virginia" or "Sivulf", let even at the cost of their own destruction, the multipurpose nuclear submarine will give the strategic submarine precious minutes to fulfill its main mission.

It is noteworthy that the acceptance certificate of Strategic missile submarine Knyaz Vladimir was signed on the day of the Northern Fleet. Thus, the command of the Navy paid tribute to several generations of North Sea sailors who defended our country with honor in different historical periods. This was proof that recent promises to replenish the fleet with new ships and weapons are not empty words, but are backed up by real plans and concrete deeds.