Russia testing new nuclear submarine

Russia is conducting a trial run of a new strategic nuclear submarine, the Navy commander in chief announced on at a time of heightened tensions with the West.

“The newest nuclear-powered strategic missile undersea cruiser Generalissimo Suvorov is being tested,” Admiral Nikolay Yevmenov said, speaking on the 326th anniversary of the Russian Regular Navy’s establishment, RT reports.

The Navy chief said the submarine was built at the Sevmash enterprise, Russia’s largest shipbuilding facility, in the northern city of Severodvinsk.

The "Generalissimo Suvorov" is the sixth vessel of Russia’s 4th generation of ballistic missile submarines and the second mass-produced ship of the upgraded Borei-A class. Each Borei-A vessel can carry up to 16 Bulava-class submarine-launched ballistic missiles, which could be armed with nuclear warheads. The boat was named after the 18th-century general Alexander Suvorov, who is considered one of the greatest military commanders in Russian history.

Yevmenov went on to say that the Russian Navy is being reinforced by other state-of-the-art new ships, including the "Ufa" diesel-electric submarine, which “has successfully passed official testing.” The vessel, which is intended for the Russian Pacific Fleet, is expected to be formally accepted by the Navy next month, he stated. Submarines of this type are armed with "Kalibr" cruise missiles.