Russia plans to expand its fleet of strategically armed nuclear submarines, President Vladimir Putin said on Monday while observing the commissioning of two new subs in Severodvinsk in northern Russia.
The flag of the Russian navy was hoisted for the first time on the Imperator Aleksander III and the Krasnoyarsk. Putin said the two new vessels would join Russia's Pacific Fleet in the Far East, the Interfax news agency reported.
Over the years ahead, the Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk is to build three more strategic nuclear submarines of the Borei class. The Imperator Aleksander III is of this class, which measures 140 metres in length and is capable of launching intercontinental ballistic missiles of type SS-N-32 Bulava.
The Krasnoyarsk, which measures 130 metres, is of the smaller Yasen class and is equipped with Oniks anti-ship missiles and Kalibr cruise missiles.
Sevmash lies near Archangelsk on the White Sea, around 1,000 kilometres north of Moscow.
According to the Global Firepower website, Russia with 70 submarines operates the world's second-largest submarine fleet after China.
