Russia's Borei Submarines Could Destroy Cities Even Without Other Nuclear Forces - Reports

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd September, 2019) Russia's missiles installed on Borei nuclear-powered submarines are capable of destroying dozens of cities, even if other nuclear forces of the country were destroyed, US media reported.

According to The National Interest, each of the submarine's R-30 Bulava missiles typically carries six 150-kiloton nuclear warheads, which can split apart and hit different targets. Thus, one such submarine can be armed with 72 nuclear warheads, which are 10 times more destructive than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. A Borei submarine is capable of hitting dozens of cities or military bases at the distance of over 5,800 miles.

The publication notes that during the Cold War era, Soviet submarines were noisier than its Western analogues, and thus vulnerable to being attacked by enemies.

By the 1980s the Soviet Union managed to import technologies from Japan and Norway to create the Akula-class attack submarine with the acoustic stealth matching to US submarines.

The modern equipment allows the Borei-class submarine to be more silent and remain invisible at higher speeds compared for instance to the Ohio-class submarine.

Borei-class nuclear-powered submarines are to become the mainstay of the naval component of Russia's strategic nuclear deterrent. Each vessel is nearly two football pitches long and can carry 16 Bulava missiles, each fitted with up to 10 independently targetable nuclear warheads.

By 2020, the Russian Navy plans to operate a total of eight Borei-class submarines.