Russia to scrap four more strategic submarines
Russia continues to dismantle its nuclear submarines fleet, which was build half a century ago allowing the Soviet Union to achieve nuclear parity with the United States.
According to the Izvestia newspaper's source in the Main Command of the Russian Navy, four more submarines were declared unsuitable for modernization and will be cut for scrap in the next three years.
These are the three strategic submarines of the 667BDR Kalmar (Squid) project, each carrying 16 R-29R intercontinental liquid-fueled ballistic missiles: K-221 Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, K-433 Svyatoy Georgiy Pobedonosets (St. George the Victorious) and K-232 Podolsk.
Russia will also dispose of the Shchuka (Pike) class submarine B-414 Daniil Moskovsky, nicknamed by the NATO the ‘Black Prince’, which was the main multipurpose submarine of the Russian Navy in the 1980-1990s.
Two heavy nuclear-powered 1144 Orland class missile submarines, the Admiral Ushakov, which was launched in the 1980s, and the Admiral Lazarev, which was suspended already in the 1990s, will also be cut into metal scrap.
They share the fate of two of the world's largest Akula (Shark) class strategic nuclear submarines of the Project 941 (the NATO classification –Typhoon) Severstal and Arkhangelsk, which were decided to be disposed of in January 2018 due to the unprofitability of their operation.
All these submarines are planned to be replaced by the Borei class strategic nuclear submarines. At the moment, Russia has three such vessels in the fleet and four more are being built.
On April 17, the head of the Central Design Bureau for Marine Engineering Rubin, Igor Vilnit, announced that the new Borei-A submarines will no longer be built as the nature of the challenges and tasks that they are expected to solve has changed.