Borei-class

Russia’s premier nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarine, the sea-based arm of its strategic nuclear triad, designed to conduct long-range deterrent patrols beneath the Arctic ice with up to 16 Bulava SLBMs.

Overview

The Borei class (Project 955) and its improved successor the Borei-A (Project 955A) are the Russian Navy’s fourth-generation ballistic-missile submarines, replacing the Cold-war-era Delta III/IV and the retired Typhoon class. Each boat carries 16 RSM-56 Bulava intercontinental ballistic missiles, giving Russia a survivable second-strike capability. The class is built solely for the Russian Navy at the Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk, and as of 2025 eight boats are in service, with additional hulls under construction.

Development

The lead boat, K-535 Yuri Dolgorukiy, was laid down in 1996 and commissioned into the Northern Fleet in 2013 after a protracted development and test programme that included repeated delays in maturing the Bulava missile. According to Wikipedia, the original design used mothballed components from unfinished Akula-class attack submarines, but the improved Borei-A variant introduced a redesigned, hydrodynamically cleaner hull built entirely from new steel. GlobalSecurity.org notes that the Borei was the first Russian SSBN to be designed in the post-Soviet era, and that the programme survived the 1990s funding crisis only by gradually shifting resources from the troubled Bulava missile development to the submarine platform itself.

By 2025 the fleet consisted of three baseline Project 955 boats and five Project 955A boats, with the final Borei-A, Knyaz Pozharsky, commissioned in July 2025. Further hulls are planned, and the shipyard continues to build the class at a steady pace.

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