The crew was established already in 2005, and has undergone training at navy training facilities outside St. Petersburg, Regnum.ru reports. The crew and their families will live in Severodvinsk until all testing of the submarine is finished.
“Severodvinsk” is the first in the “Graney” class of nuclear powered attack submarine. It is under construction at the Sevmash Shipyard in Severodvinsk, Arkhangelsk Oblast, and will be ready to be delivered to the navy in 2011.
As BarentsObserver earlier reported, a source in the Russian Ministry of Defence told ITAR-TASS that at least six submarines of the “Graney” class will be built within the next eight years. Construction of the second submarine in the series, “Kazan”, started in July 2009.
Vessels of the “Graney” class will be most silent submarines in the world, Regnum writes. According to Wikipedia, they will have a maximum speed of 16 knots surfaced and 31 knots submerged. They will be 119m long, 13,5m wide and 9,4m high. They will be armed with 24 cruice missiles of the type SS-NX-26.
