Russian submarine Knyaz Vladimir

Laying down ceremony for Knyaz Vladimir, July 2012
Career (Russia)
Name:	Knyaz Vladimir
Namesake:	Prince Vladimir
Builder:	Sevmash
Laid down:	30 July 2012
Status:	Under construction
General characteristics
Class and type:	Borei-class submarine
Displacement:	14,720 t (14,488 long tons) surfaced 24,000 t (23,621 long tons) submerged
Length:	170 m (557 ft 9 in)
Beam:	13.5 m (44 ft 3 in)
Draught:	10 m (32 ft 10 in)
Propulsion:	1 × OK-650B nuclear reactor 1 × AEU steam turbine 1 shaft
Speed:	25 knots (29 mph; 46 km/h)
Complement:	130 officers and men
Armament:	20 × R-30 Bulava SLBMs 6 × (21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes) to fire a variety of appropriately sized weapons

Knyaz Vladimir (Russian: АПЛ Knyaz Vladimir - Prince Vladimir, previously expected - Svyatitel Nikolai) is a Russian ballistic missile submarine and lead ship of the fifth generation Project 955A Borei II class (sometimes marked as Project 955U) based on fourth generation Project 955 Borei-class submarines.

The project was developed by the Rubin Design Bureau, and the chief designer was Sergey Kovalev. The keel was expected to have been laid down sometime in 2010 but this was delayed until July 2012 because of a price dispute between the Russian MOD and the United Shipbuilding Corporation.^[1] The submarine will have several modifications from the previous members of the class. These modifications will include major structural changes and the installation of 4 more (20 total) launch tubes, among other changes.^[2] If these reports are true, the fourth ship may be the lead ship of a new Borei II class, though this has not been officially stated. The submarine will be armed with the newest submarine-launched ballistic missile developed in Russia, the R-30 (RSM-56) Bulava (NATO designation SS-NX-32). Knyaz Vladimir and its sister ships will replace the Delta and Typhoon-class submarines in the Russian Navy.

References