New Russian nuclear sub up and running
2013-01-10 22:17
Moscow - The Russian navy on Thursday hoisted its flag on
a new nuclear powered submarine intended to form a key part of the country's future
nuclear deterrent.
The Yury Dolgoruky, which carries 16 Bulava
intercontinental ballistic missiles, is the first of a new series of
Borei-class submarines that will replace older Soviet-built ships.
Another submarine of the same type is currently undergoing
sea trials and two others are now under construction.
President Vladimir Putin congratulated the Yuri
Dolgoruky's crew during a conference call on Thursday, hailing the ship as a
"powerful weapon that will guarantee our security”.
"Submarines of that class will become an important
element of sea-based strategic forces, a guarantor of global balance and
security of Russia and its allies," Putin said.
Commissioning of the new submarines is part of an
ambitious arms modernisation programme that envisages spending over $657bn on
new weapons through 2020.
Putin said on Thursday that $132bn of that money will be
spent on commissioning the new submarines and other navy ships.
"Modernisation of the navy is one of the most
important priorities in our work to strengthen the armed forces," he said.
Putin said the navy will commission the total of eight
Borei-class ICBM nuclear submarines and eight nuclear submarines of a different
Yasen class intended to hunt for enemy ships.
The Yuri Dolgoruky's construction started in 1995 but was
slowed down by a post-Soviet economic meltdown and it wasn't until 2009 when it
finally entered sea trials.
The submarine's commissioning was delayed further by
problems with the new Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile intended to arm
it.
The Bulava experienced a string of failures during tests
that dragged on for years, raising doubts about the future of the most
expensive military project in Russia's post-Soviet history.
Recent tests, however, have been successful, allowing the
navy to finally commission the submarine.
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who attended the
commissioning of the new submarine at a shipyard in Severodvinsk, said that the
Bulava is fully combat ready.
Facing questions about Bulava, Putin's chief of staff
Sergei Ivanov also insisted that "the navy has no reason to doubt its
reliability."
A hawkish Russian Cabinet member marked the ceremony with
a tongue-in-cheek comment mimicking the Cold War-era diatribes of Soviet
leaders.
"You bourgeoisie tremble! You are screwed!"
Dmitry Rogozin, deputy prime minister in charge of military industries, wrote
on Twitter.
Rogozin, a nationalist politician in the past, has been
known for his bellicose and sometimes crude statements.
- AP
