Current checks and future development: SSBN "Generalissimo Suvorov" on factory tests
Bookmark "Generalissimo Suvorov", December 26, 2014
Serial construction of strategic missile submarines pr. 955A "Borey" continues, and new successes are reported. A few days ago, another ship of this type, the Generalissimo Suvorov, went on sea trials. These activities should take several months, and at the end of the year the submarine can be handed over to the customer.
Plans and actions
The Generalissimo Suvorov nuclear submarine was laid down on December 26, 2014. The construction proceeded in accordance with the plans and without a serious deviation from them. On December 25, 2021, the ship was taken out of the slipway, carried out the necessary preparations and launched on January 11. Then preparations for mooring and sea trials began.
Soon after the withdrawal from the boathouse, the first information about the following work appeared. Thus, the TASS agency learned from its sources in the military-industrial complex that testing and other activities will take the whole of 2022 and part of 2023. Accordingly, the transfer of the Generalissimo Suvorov to the customer will take place in the first half of 2023.
In mid-March, the Northern Machine-Building Enterprise reported that all work on preparing the new SSBN for testing was going according to schedule. It was planned to start testing the ship after the opening of navigation. Shortly thereafter, the United Shipbuilding Corporation revealed optimistic plans. So, the tests of the "Generalissimo Suvorov" are planned to be completed this year. By the beginning of 2023, the submarine will be handed over to the Navy.
Boathouse exit ceremony, December 25, 2021
On July 20, the TASS agency, citing its source in the shipbuilding industry, wrote that the new submarine went to sea for the first time. He will have to demonstrate his running, maneuvering and operational characteristics, as well as confirm compliance with the design parameters. How long the first stage of testing will last is not reported.
After completion of the factory tests, the submarine will undergo the necessary training and begin state tests. A TASS source recalls that at this stage the entire range of weapons will be tested with practical firing and launches. The result of state tests will be the decision to accept the new nuclear submarine into the Navy. Then an acceptance certificate will be signed - this document should appear at the end of this year.
In foreseeable future
thanks news Lately it has become clear what will happen over the next few months. So, until the end of autumn or the beginning of winter, the Generalissimo Suvorov will undergo the necessary checks. Its real characteristics will be determined, the operation of systems and weapons will be checked.
Then the ship will be handed over to the customer, and the flag of the Navy will be raised on it. Apparently, the act of acceptance will traditionally be signed in the last days of the year. The transfer of delivery to the first months of 2023 is unlikely. This requires reasons in the form of certain serious difficulties, but project 955A has already managed to get rid of "childhood diseases".
As you know, the SSBN "Generalissimo Suvorov" is intended for the Pacific fleet. The inter-fleet transition to a permanent duty station will take place as early as next year, after the required preparations have been made and navigation has been opened. In the spring or summer of 2023, the submarine will arrive at the designated base and begin preparations for full-fledged service and combat duty.
In the fleet
The Generalissimo Suvorov is the sixth Borey-class submarine. In addition, this is the third (second serial) ship built according to the improved project 955A. In total, the construction of 12 Boreevs is planned, and the transfer of the Generalissimo Suvorov to the customer will become the “equator” of this program.
The new SSBN will go to serve in the Pacific Ocean. As part of the KTOF, it will become the fourth ship of its type and will complement the three already available. So, in 2014-15. the Alexander Nevsky and Vladimir Monomakh began their service, and a few months ago the inter-naval transition was made by the new cruiser Prince Oleg. It should be noted that two older submarines are made according to the original project 955, and the next ones are being built according to the modernized project 955A.
Right now, Sevmash is building the next Borea, named Emperor Alexander III. It is planned to be taken out of the boathouse and launched at the end of this or early next year. Then the submarine will undergo the necessary training and a full cycle of tests, and at the end of 2023 an acceptance certificate should appear. Already in 2024, "Emperor Alexander III" will go to the Pacific Ocean and become the fifth "Borey" in the KTOF.
It is easy to see that the construction of the Boreev is currently being carried out mainly in the interests of the Pacific Fleet. Three new ships are intended for him at once, being built one after another. The reason for this is quite simple: the KTOF still has an obsolete SSBN. The delivery of new submarines, project 955(A), will allow updating this component of the fleet, while maintaining or improving the corresponding potential.
Achievements and trends
The news of recent months about the work on the Generalissimo Suvorov shows the current achievements of Russian shipbuilding, and also demonstrates the presence of important trends. In addition, they are a reason for optimism and allow you to make positive forecasts.
"Generalissimo Suvorov" confirms that "Sevmash" and related enterprises overcame all difficulties and managed to establish the production process. All work is carried out rhythmically and in accordance with the established schedule. From the laying to the delivery of one ship, it still takes about eight years, but this corresponds to the potential of the industry and the capabilities of the customer. In addition, at such a pace, it is possible to transfer one SSBN to the fleet every year.
The sixth Borey has already been tested. This means that the program for the construction of the nuclear submarine project 955 (A) is confidently acquiring not only qualitative, but also quantitative significance for our submarine forces. In the near future, the number of Borei combatants will equal the number of strategic cruisers of previous types. Then the situation will turn around, and the ships of the new construction will become the basis of the naval component of the strategic nuclear forces.
"Alexander Nevsky" - the first SSBN pr. 955 as part of the KTOF
These processes are best seen on the example of KTOF. Until recently, it included several SSBNs pr. 667BDR "Kalmar", obsolete morally and physically. In recent years, in parallel with the receipt of new Boreys, the old Kalmars were decommissioned. To date, only one such ship remains in the fleet, but it will soon be sent to the sludge. It will be replaced by the new Generalissimo Suvorov, and the process of abandoning obsolete ships will be completed.
Planned development
Thus, work and activities to develop submarine forces and their strategic component continue and pass through new stages. Recently, the construction of another SSBN of a modern project was completed and the following preparatory activities were carried out. Now the "Generalissimo Suvorov" has entered the factory tests, which will be followed by new stages of testing - and then acceptance into the fleet.
In recent years, news of this kind began to appear with the desired regularity. They show that all the main problems of submarine shipbuilding have been solved, and the implementation of plans has reached the required pace. The results of such a systematic development of the Navy are already well known and noticeable. And in the future, new ones are expected, and the first of them will be the acceptance of the Generalissimo Suvorov into combat strength.
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