New missile for Northern Fleet
The Russian Ministry of Defence approves serial production of the Layner ballistic submarine missile.
A Russian inter-ministerial commission last week recommended the formal start of serial production of the Layner, the Russian Navy’s latest submarine missile. The Layner, a modified version of the Sineva missile, successfully underwent testing in 2011, and will soon be included in the Northern Fleet’s weapon arsenal. It is the project 667 Delta-4 subs, which will carry the new weaponry, Rossiiskaya Gazeta reports.
While the Sineva missile can carry only four warheads, the Layner can carry ten.
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The new missile will help uphold the capacities of the fleet while waiting for the new generation 955 Borey class subs and the Bulava missile, an unnamed representative of the Russian Navy told Izvestia.
The Bulava, which has been under development for a number of years, in 2011 successfully underwent several test launches. The missile, which is tailored for the Borey subs, is likely to be formally included in the Navy in the near future.
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Russia´s Sevmash yard in Severodvinsk, northern Russia, is currently developing several strategic 955 Borey class subs. The first of them, the “Yuri Dolgoruki”, is expected to be officially included in the Navy in June 2012.
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