MOSCOW, Feb. 8 (Xinhuanet) -- The Russian navy has approved a project to design and build a next-generation submarine with limited displacement, a Defense Ministry official said on Wednesday.

    "A submarine of this class will guarantee the combat reliability of Yury Dolgoruky-class strategic nuclear-powered missile submarines and fulfill other tasks performed by multipurpose nuclear submarines," Anatoly Shlemov, head of the ministry's naval armaments department, was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying.

    The displacement of this class of submarines must be 5,000 to 6,000 tons, the official said.

    Russian Navy Commander Vladimir Masorin said in January that four submarines will form the core of the Russian navy's submarine forces.

    The Borei complex will be the backbone of the strategic submarine forces. A multipurpose nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine is being built. Tests of a diesel-electric submarine are nearing completion and the construction of one more submarine is planned, Masorin said. Enditem