Russian news agencies, referring to a video link from the Arcticportof Murmansk, said Putin launched the vessel, named Perm after a city in the Urals, with the order: “I hereby authorize!”
The Russian agencies, quoting documents associated with the launch, said the Perm is the first nuclear-powered submarine to be equipped with Zircon missiles as a standard feature.
Zircon missiles have a range of 900 km (560 miles) and theirspeed rendersthem very difficult to defend against.
The Perm is the sixth submarine in Russia’s Yasen andYasen-M classes built by the Sevmash shipyard near Murmansk.
The Russian agency reports said the vessel’s construction specifications differed slightly from earlier models in the same class.
The agencies said that while in Murmansk, Putin visiteda submarine named Arkhangelsk, also in the same class, and toured the Atomflot enterprise, which oversees Russia’s icebreaker projects.
