Sure, but Russia has currently launched like half of the Yasens they ordered. And while surely stuff like the Akulas and Oscars are aging out, it's not like there's much current need for more than the 10-12 (I can't recall which one exactly) Yasen/Yasen-Ms. Especially given that the USN is shifting attention towards the PLAN.
But I get why age could be a factor, but the M version isn't as old yet and obviously submarines can be modernized.
I think my point, which has been a bit muddied I admit, is that I question why the Yasen run should be cut short in favor of a newer model. Is the submarine yard capacity maxed out with the simultaneous production of Yasen-M and Borei-A? If not, couldn't the successor be starting production next to the last orders of Yasen-M?
Furthermore, it's not like there are many submarines out there much more capable or comparable to the Yasen-M, arguably only the Virginias/Seawolfs. I don't see China or Europe catching up to that yet. Although I have to admit I don't know much about the latest Suffren SSN, that may be a comparable system in operation.
Also at what point wouldn't it be just smarter to produce SSGN versions of the Borei instead? Given that the Borei is fairly new and any Yasen successor would need plenty of VLS anyway.
