Russia's Pacific Fleet receives newest nuclear-powered submarines

Airbus NEO satellite imagery shows the Project 885M Severodvinsk (Yasen)-class SSGN Novosibirsk and Project 955A Dolgorukiy (Borey)-class SSBN Knyaz Oleg at the Pacific Fleet's Rybachiy naval base in Kamchatka Krai, Russia, on 28 September 2022. (©Airbus DS 2022/SkyWatch Space Applications Inc/Tony Roper)

The Russian Navy's Pacific Fleet has received two submarines in one day at the Rybachiy naval base in Kamchatka Krai, Russia.

The Project 885M Severodvinsk (Yasen)-class nuclear-powered guided-missile submarine (SSGN) Novosibirsk and Project 955A Dolgorukiy (Borey)-class nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) Knyaz Oleg both arrived at the naval base on 26 September 2022, having departed the Northern Fleet region around 23 August.

Knyaz Oleg joins two other Project 955s in the Pacific Fleet, Alexander Nevskiy and Vladimir Monomakh , which were commissioned in December 2013 and December 2014, respectively, while Novosibirisk is the first of its class for the fleet.

Both submarines have had a long wait to be sent to their new homebase, having been commissioned on 21 December 2021.

Novosibirisk remained at Severodvinsk in the White Sea until this transfer, while Knyaz Oleg was sent to the Northern Fleet's base at Severomorsk for operational buildup and crew training. This follows the same pattern as Alexander Nevskiy and Vladimir Monomakh , which both carried out crew training at Severomorsk first. Novosibirisk is the first 955A; Alexander Nevskiy and Vladimir Monomakh are both earlier Project 955 boats, which are between 5 m and 10 m shorter than the newer 955As.

While en route to Rybachiy, Novosibirsk