Russia on Tuesday launched a nuclear-powered attack submarine that took 17 years to build because of funding shortages following the Soviet collapse.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said the Severodvinsk should “increase our military might and our naval potential, and strengthen Russia’s position in the world’s oceans.”
Analysts said the launch of the Severodvinsk, the first in a new class of submarines, was a step in that direction, but cautioned that the vessel is not complete and still faces tests.
PHOTO: AFP
“Putting it in water does not show that it is ready,” said Konstantin Makiyenko, deputy director of the Moscow-based Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies.
Officials at the Sevmash said the submarine is 80 percent complete and that trials are to begin this summer, according to the Itar-Tass news agency.
State-run RIA news agency said the 119m Severodvinsk is the first Yasen/Graney class submarine, and is designed to carry long-range nuclear-capable cruise missiles and other armaments.
RIA and Itar-Tass reported that the Severodvinsk is expected to enter service by next year, but Makiyenko said that was “extremely optimistic.”
He also said it is unclear whether Russia will have the funding to produce several more submarines of the same class if the Severodvinsk is successful.
Construction of the Severodvinsk began in 1993, but Makiyenko said it was effectively frozen for about a decade because of funding shortfalls.
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