Russian shipbuilder scrambles for financing to finish the construction of the fifth Borei nuclear submarine
The United Shipbuilding Corporation or USC, a Russian company engaged in building, repair and maintenance of submarines, is under financial pressure to complete the construction of Knyaz Oleg, the fifth of the Borei-class nuclear-powered missile submarines, USC President Aleksey Rakhmanov said in an interview with RIA Novosti.
“It all depends on whether we will find sufficient funding to fill a gap in the financing. Hopefully, we will stay on the schedule,” Rakhmanov said when asked when Knyaz Oleg was expected to be put afloat. He also said that the submarine’s launch date had already been postponed several times.
The Knyaz Oleg is a last-generation, nuclear-powered, ballistic missile submarine armed with Bulava submarine-launched ballistic missiles. This is the fifth of the Borei- or Borei-A-class submarines. The first three missile carriers were built under the Borei-955 project and had already been fielded by the Russian Navy.
Each nuclear-powered submarine carries sixteen Bulava intercontinental ballistic missiles. The Russian Navy plans to have a total of eight Borei-class submarines.