By the end of 2021, the Russian Navy will receive three nuclear submarines, the strategic Prince Oleg (Project 955A, Borey-A), the multipurpose Novosibirsk (Project 885M, Yasen-M) and the ‘Belgorod’ (Project 09852, modified Oscar II), a source in the shipbuilding industry told RIA Novosti.
General Director of Sevmash, Michael Budnichenko had stated on July 30 that the company later this year plans to put three submarines, without specifying which ones.
“By the end of the year, Sevmash will transfer three boats to the Russian Navy: Prince Oleg, Novosibirsk and Belgorod,” the agency’s source said.
As per the source, the Knyaz Oleg nuclear submarine will be handed over to the fleet in September this year, the Yasen-M project submarine Novosibirsk will be commissioned in December.
A source in the military-industrial complex said in April that the experimental Belgorod, the carrier of the Poseidon marine drones, would complete tests by September this year, the boat was undergoing a test phase, and the reactor was launched on it.
The multipurpose nuclear submarine “Belgorod” is an experimental submarine for the Poseidon drones. The boat belongs to the project 949A Antey ( modified Oscar II), which was specially redesigned for the Poseidon system.
The President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin first announced the development of the Poseidon torpedo in his address to the Federal Assembly in 2018. According to him, such drones can be equipped with both conventional and nuclear weapons, which will allow them to hit a wide range of targets, including aircraft carrier groups, coastal fortifications and infrastructure.