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The Borei- and Yasen-class boats endured a tortuous development cycle as money dried up after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Even though the keel of the Yury Dolgoruky, the lead boat of the Borei class, was laid down in 1996, the nearly two-football-field-long sub wouldn’t join the Russian fleet until 2013.

Likewise, the initial Yasen-class vessel, the Severodvinsk, first underwent construction in 1993 only to earn its commission 20 years later.

Though two other Borei-class submarines have entered service following the commissioning of the Dolgoruky, the Prince Vladimir will be the first of four more advanced Borei-type subs, known as the Borei-A class, that will enter the Russian fleet. Construction began on the Vladimir in 2012, and in the coming years, eight Borei-class submarines – five A-types and the three current variants – will be at sea. On Friday, the keel of the eighth and likely final Borei-A class, the Prince Pozharsky, was laid down.

A 2013 article written by a U.S. naval officer for Proceedings magazine discussed the importance of the Borei- and Yasen-class submarines. Lt. Cmdr. Tom Spahn argued that the Borei and Yasen classes would become the backbone of the Russian sub fleet as the Russian navy sought to consolidate the capabilities of its different classes of submarines into two types.

The Borei – which means North Wind – costs roughly US$890 million, according to Spahn and has a silent propulsion technology much like the new U.S. Virginia attack-class nuclear submarines. The Borei is also capable of carrying 16 ballistic missiles, while the Borei-A class is rumored to carry 20.