History
Yasen class submarines were designed by the SKB-18 design bureau. Work on the (initial) design began in 1977 and was completed in 1985.
Construction on the first submarine started on 21 December 1993. The submarine was slated for launch in 1998 but was delayed due to problems in financing the project. In 1996 work on the submarine appeared to have stopped completely. Some reports suggested that as of 1999 the submarine was less than 10 percent completed. In 2003 the project received additional funding and the work of finishing the submarine continued.
In 2004 it was reported that the work on the submarine was moving forward, but due to the priority given to the new SSBN Borei-class submarine, Severodvinsk, the lead unit of the Yasen class would not be ready before 2010. In July 2006 the deputy chairman of the Military-Industrial Commission, Vladislav Putilin, stated that two Yasen-class submarines were to join the Russian Navy before 2015.
On 24 July 2009 the work on a second Yasen submarine, named Kazan, was started. On 26 July the Russian navy command announced that one multipurpose submarine would be laid down every year, not necessarily of this class, starting in 2011.
An August 2009 report from the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence estimates the Yasen-class submarines as the quietest, or least detectable, of contemporaneous Russian and Chinese nuclear submarines.
In April 2010 it was reported that the 7 May launch of the first boat had been postponed due to 'Technical Reasons'.
The launch of the first ship of this class and the beginning of sea trials was reported in September 2011.
A third submarine is expected to be laid down by the end of 2011. K-329 Severodvinsk went on her first voyage in September 2011 in order to conduct sea trials.
On November 9, 2011 Russia signed a contract for 4 Yasen class submarines to be delivered by 2016.
Read more about this topic: Yasen Class Submarine
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