MOSCOW, April 9 (UPI) -- A shipbuilding yard in northern Russia was the site for the launch of the country's fourth-generation strategic nuclear submarine.
The 580-foot-long Borey-class sub, called the Yury Dolgoruky, will be equipped with the Bulava ballistic missile in 2008 after undergoing sea trials this year, the Russian news service RIA Novosti reported.
The submarine is capable of carrying up to 16 ballistic missiles.
Two other Borey-class nuclear subs, the Alexander Nevsky and the Vladimir Monomakh, are under construction at the same shipyard in northern Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in March that fourth-generation submarines armed with Bulava missiles would form the core of a fleet of modern submarines, a major component of Russia's defense policy.
