MOSCOW, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Yasen-M class nuclear submarine Novosibirsk was floated out Wednesday at the Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk city in Russia's northwestern region, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The ministry published footage of the ceremonial withdrawal of the submarine from the boathouse.

The Novosibirsk, which can be equipped with Kalibr and Onyx cruise missile systems, and later with Tsyrkon hypersonic missiles, is expected to join the Russian Navy in 2020, together with another submarine of this class, Kazan.

Four more submarines of the Yasen-M class, Krasnoyarsk, Arkhangelsk, Perm and Ulyanovsk, are currently under construction at the Sevmash shipyard, according to Russian media reports.

The Yasen-M class submarines, also known as Project 885M submarines, are projected to replace the Russian Navy's ageing Soviet-era nuclear attack submarines.