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EXPERTS: CRISIS IN NAVY'S NUCLEAR DETERRENT CAN BE ENDED

RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, March 21 (RIA Novosti) - In 2005, the Russian Navy will receive the latest 4th generation Project 955 Borei (Boreas) strategic nuclear submarine (SSBN). The construction of the series' lead ship, the Yuri Dolgoruky, is now being completed in the Severodvinsk Engineering Plant's (Sevmash) docks alongside its twin-brother, the Alexander Nevsky, which was laid down last March. It will leave the shipyard in five to six years. Both vessels, combined in the long term with a third submarine, will become the backbone of the Navy's nuclear deterrent. The submarines will be armed with Bulava-M ballistic missiles, torpedoes and anti-aircraft missiles, writes Gazeta.ru.

The Navy's nuclear deterrent is in deep crisis, but experts believe it can be ended by resuming the construction of strategic nuclear submarines and equipping them with new missiles.

There is little reliable information about the Bulava. Experts say it uses solid fuel and is intercontinental. It can be equipped with several nuclear warheads, including the latest models that can change trajectory on their own. The missile is most likely an upgrade of the celebrated Topol-M. A demonstration of its capabilities took place in 2004 in response to the U.S. government's announcement that it would deploy missile defense systems in Alaska.

There is also little information about the new SSBN. It is to have 12 silos for the new missiles. Rumors claim the latest sonar and navigation systems will be installed on the submarine and the nuclear power plant also will be new.

Rear-Admiral Anatoly Shlemov, the chief of the Navy's shipbuilding department, said the state defense order included over 30 ships and vessels. Shlemov said Sevmash alone had completed all its work under the 2004 defense contracts, 85% of which had been paid for by the state. The Bulava development program was being financed in full.

"This trend is inspiring," Shlemov said, adding that for the first time in years, the state defense order was approaching the level of the state armament program.