Updated. Originally posted 17th Nov. 2017 and 5th December 2017


Original artwork - CLICK for HIGH-RESOLUTION image.

Russia's Pr.955A Borei-II SSBN

NATO: DOLGORUKIY Class
The NATO reporting name “Yankee” has already been coined for the Project 667 ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) which entered service in the late 1960s. The codename was given, it is said, because its strong resemblance to US Navy SSBNs in terms of layout. Since the YANKEE Russian SSBNs have diverged from their Western counterparts in many respects, but the latest type, the Borei-A, is a return to Western features.

Pr.955 Borei Class SSBN. Original series production of new ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) using, in part, components from AKULA Class attack submarines (SSN). 3 built.
Pr. 955A Borei-II Class SSBN (aka Borei-A). Follow-on all-new build improved SSBN (see below).
Pr. 955K Borei-K Class SSGN. Proposed cruise-missile submarine varient, most likely as a rival to HUSKY Class

Original artwork - CLICK for HIGH-RESOLUTION image.

K-549 Knyaz Vladimir (Князь Владимир) is the first of the improved Pr.0955A (aka 09552) Borei-II variant. The Borei Class will form the backbone of Russia's future at-sea nuclear deterrent.

The design incorporates many Western design influences. These include a stern and sail which resemble US Navy submarines. The first three Pr.955 BOREI Class boats were constructed from unfinished hull sections from AKULA Class attack submarines and OSCAR Class cruise missile submarines. The Borei-A is completely new-build however . Overall dimensions are slightly longer. Although the internal layout is probably very similar, the new construction will have allowed some internal redesigns.

There are clear signs that Russian ballistic missile submarines are at sea more extensively than in the recent past, probably re-establishing a continuous at-sea deterrent (CASD). In May 2018 the first BOREI Class boat, Yuri Dolgoruky (K-535), launched a salvo of four RSM-56 Bulava (SS-N-32) SLBMs. This underlines the maturing of the Bulava missile which has been slow to reach operational readiness.

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Photos shared online 29th April 2019 confirm that the Pr.955A Borei-A has a new torpedo tube arrangement (B) with only six (instead of eight) tubes. The decoy tube arrangement (A) is the same as the first three boats which used AKULA Class submarine bow sections.

The BOREI-I / II will replace all older classes of ballistic missile submarines (DELTA-III and DELTA-IV) in both the Northern Fleet and Pacific Fleets

Original artwork - CLICK for HIGH-RESOLUTION image.

The schematic shows the pressure hull diameter remaining at 11m in the missile compartment. This is not how most schematics on the Russian Internet show it. Some analysts do however believe that the pressure hull is the same diameter all the way from the bow to the reactor compartment (@11m diameter, per the AULA and OSCAR Classes). Other analysts believe that the missile compartment might be single-hulled.

The most visible difference from the baseline Pr.0955 is the western-style all-moving vertical rudders with endplates added to the hydroplanes. The towed sonar array tube has been moved from the top of the upper vertical rudder to the starboard side hydroplane. It is possible that there is a second towed array on the port side:

Another update is what appears to be a new flank array sonar running along the length of the missile compartment. This is likely a cylindrical tube buried in the double-hull, and may be part of the MG-541EM (МГ-541ЭМ) Low Frequency Passive system which which would also include the towed array:

Alternative explanations include this being a hangar for the towed array when it is retracted, or some sort of tank.

The ‘turtle back’ covering the missile compartment has been faired in to present a smoother and more angled cross-section. Despite some reports that the missile load would be increased to 20, it appears to remain 16 RSM-56 Bulava SLBMs. This will require much clearer photographs to confirm however:

The RSM-56 Bulava (3M30 Булава, NATO: SS-N-32) missile has a range of 5,800 miles (5,040 nm) and can carry 6 x 150 kt MIRVs (Multiple Independent Reentry Vehicles) plus up to 40 decoys. The test program initially experienced some failures and the future of the missile appeared uncertain, but it has been in operational service since 2013. There is no suggestion that the BOREI-II carries a different missile complex.

BOREI-I with a sonar testing rig on bow and probable camera mast on missile deck.

Note that on at least one of the origial Pr.0955s the missile hatches themselves do not line up exactly with the hatch covers visible on the side of the submarine. There are however 16 tubes in two closely-packed sets of 4x2.

The BOREI Class inherits 6 x 533mm (21") external Special Purpose External Tubes (SPETS) in the bow which are used to house REPS-324 Shlagbaum(Barrier) anti-torpedo defense system. The system launches MG-104 Brosok or MG-114 Beryl mobile Princeermeasures. It's conceivable that they could also deploy the MG-15 anti-torpedo torpedo. This feature was inherited from the three Pr.971U Improved-AKULA (unofficially AKULA-II and AKULA-III) Class attack submarines which were cannibalized for the bow sections of the first three BOREIs. It is not clear whether the new BOREI-II will retain this:

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