New Russian Submarine Base

(Moscow) According to Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, a new modernized submarine base for the Russian Pacific Fleet is under construction at Viliuchinsk on the Kamchatka Peninsula. Also under construction is a class of new-generation nuclear submarines designed to deploy with new-generation missiles.

From Xinhuanet.com:

The government will invest heavily for the completion the infrastructure of the base and it will be built into one of the most modernized in one and a half year.

Ivanov also revealed that Russia's new-generation strategic nuclear submarine Iuri Dolgorygiy, which is still under construction, will be launched in 2006. The submarine will be equipped with the new-generation "Bulava" missile which can carry 10 nuclear warheads.

Another missile nuclear submarine Alexander Nevsky will be launched in 2007. After that, Russia will continue to construct other nuclear submarines, said the defense minister.

It appears that this information contradicts conventional opinion about the capabilities of the Russian submarine forces, if not their entire navy. I regularly see news and documentary programs referring to the rusting remnants of the Russian Navy. This applies to the submarine bases on the Barents Sea and Kamchatka and also the major naval facility in the Black Sea. I'm told that vessels are idle and poorly maintained, if at all.

On the other hand, the Bulava, or SS-NX-30, missile has been in the news. The SS-NX-30 is the submarine version of the SS-NX-27, considered to be the pinnacle of ballistic missile technology. Both are intercontinental, solid propellant weapons exclusively Russian in design, developed after the fall of the Soviet Union.

From MissileThreat.com:

The SS-27 can currently strike any target within the continental United States and the placement of SS-NX-30 missiles would enable worldwide deployment. The placement of such advanced missiles on modern submarines would make it nearly impossible to successfully prevent a missile launch, while current ABM technology is insufficient to prevent its successful impact. As a solid propellant design, it can be maintained on alert for prolonged periods of time and can launch within minutes of being given the order. Its confirmed single 550 kT warhead is sufficient for the depopulation of cities, which combined with its survivability, makes it an ideal retaliatory weapon.

Sounds like the arms race of the 60s, 70s, and 80s.