Russian Nuclear Fleets Developments
Northern Fleet Developments
Pacific Fleet Developments

Following the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia's post-Cold War naval forces faced severe funding problems, inadequate resources for decommissioning and dismantlement, as well as international pressure to comply with disarmament treaties and environmentally safe procedures. Today, although numbers vary, Russia's nuclear naval forces include 16 SSBNs and approximately 42 tactical nuclear submarines. [1] This represents a considerable decrease from the 245 vessels that were produced between the late 1950s and 1994.[2] In keeping with tradition, the Northern Fleet continues to operate the larger fleet with 11 SSBNs compared to the five that are currently in service with the Pacific Fleet.

As downsizing continues, the role of the Northern Fleet has taken on increased significance. While the Pacific Fleet remains operational with participation in ballistic missile test launches and SSN Pacific Ocean patrols, it has been stripped of any new construction responsibilities. New construction projects now take place solely at the Northern Fleet's Sevmash facility in Severodvinsk. Although the task of decommissioning and dismantlement was overwhelming the Russian Navy in the 1990s, much progress has now been made and only 25 submarines — down from the 198 that were originally decommissioned — continue to await dismantlement. Progress in decommissioning and dismantlement has been greatly aided by international assistance from countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Norway and Japan. However, there is still a significant amount of work that needs to be done towards the storage and dispensation of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste.

As part of the modernization process of the Russian armed forces the navy is to be equipped with a new fleet of SSBNs known as the 'Borey' class. The first of the new class, the Yuri Dolgurikiy, is currently undergoing sea trials with the Northern Fleet. An additional two Borey submarines, the Aleksandr Nevskiy and Vladimir Monomakh, were laid down in 2006 and will join the Pacific Fleet. Tests of the new Bulava SLBM, which will be fitted to the Borey submarines, are ongoing but serious technical problems have been encountered which has placed the operational reliability of this particular weapons system in doubt.

RUSSIA'S OPERATIONAL NUCLEAR-POWERED SUBMARINES AS OF DECEMBER 2009

	Northern Fleet	Pacific Fleet	Total
SSBNs	11	5	16
SSGNs	3	6	9
SSNs	13	7	20
Total	27	18	45

Sources:
[1] The Military Balance 2009, International Institute of Strategic Studies, Routledge, 2009, p. 216.
[2] Oleg Bukharin and Joshua Handler, "Russian Nuclear-Powered Submarine Decommissioning," Science and Global Security, vol. 5, 1995, p. 246.

Updated December 2009

For more recent developments, see the Northern Fleet, Pacific Fleet, and development sections under individual fleet facility files.

Comments or questions? Contact Cristina Hansell at MIIS CNS: CHansellATmiis.edu

This material is produced independently for NTI by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, agents. Copyright © 2010 by MIIS.

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