Military and Commercial Technology: "They will not be found": Russia is building new covert missile carriers

Saturday, 27 February 2021

"They will not be found": Russia is building new covert missile carriers

St. Petersburg/Oleg Kuleshov

"Их не найти": Россия строит новые скрытные носители ракетного оружия - РИА Новости, 25.02.2021

08:00 25.02.2021 (updated: 13:47 25.02.2021)

MOSCOW, February 25 - RIA Novosti, Nikolay Protopopov. Promising weapon systems, quietness and high stealth - the first serial diesel-electric submarines of Project 677 "Lada" will be received by the fleet in 2022. It took over 20 years to develop. This chaos can carry precision weapons, and it is extremely difficult to trace its route. About the features of the project - in the material RIA Novosti.

"Difficult child"

The submarines "Kronstadt" and "Velikie Luki" were planned to be handed over to seamen in 2021, however, as explained by the general director of the shipbuilding enterprise "Admiralty Shipyards" Alexander Buzakov, due to problems with counterparties, the deadlines were shifted to the right.

In September, the head of the United Shipbuilding Corporation, Alexei Rakhmanov, announced that two serial ships would be completed with a delay, as one of the equipment suppliers was out of schedule.

Delays have plagued the project from the start. Work started back in the late 1990s - the lead ship Saint Petersburg was laid down. It was launched in 2004 and was supposed to be sent to the Navy in 2006. However, the Northern Fleet accepted the submarine for trial operation only in 2010.

"Ladami" were going to replace the outdated "diesels" of Project 877 "Halibut". The new submarines are smaller, which means they are less visible to sonars. Acoustic stealth is also enhanced by a single-hull design, which is non-standard for domestic shipbuilding. In addition, the Lada are the first Russian submarines to be equipped with an air-independent (anaerobic) power plant in the future.

Perhaps the deadlines were constantly being thwarted precisely because of the many new design solutions and the complexity of their implementation "in hardware". So, during the tests of the lead ship, serious problems were revealed with the hydroacoustic complex, and the insufficient power of the propeller electric motor did not allow the required speed to be developed under water.

But the Navy still expected new diesel-electric submarines, so instead of the Lad, they ordered six time-tested and well-mastered Project 636 Varshavyanka submarines for the Pacific Fleet.

Diesel-electric submarine B-271 "Kolpino"

Dangerous "babies"

According to experts, the Lada are the most modern and promising domestic non-nuclear submarines.

Despite their modest size, they are highly versatile. They are able to resist submarines and surface ships, strike at coastal targets, lay minefields, protect the coast from landing troops, transport subunits or special cargo.

The main advantages are high automation and low noise, mobility and maneuverability, which makes it possible to effectively use them in sabotage and reconnaissance operations. Equipped with a powerful sonar system and three sensitive antennas at once: one in the bow, two on the sides.

The speed of the submarine ship with a displacement of about 1.8 thousand tons reaches 20 knots. The depth is up to 350 meters. At the same time, the number of the crew is only 30 people.

As for the armament, the "Ladas" in standard equipment carry 18 torpedoes with a caliber of 533 mm and about 20 min. Torpedo tubes are also adapted for firing high-speed anti-submarine torpedo missiles "Shkval", accelerating up to 300 kilometers per hour. And of course, Lada, like many modern Russian ships, have Caliber cruise missiles.

The first two serial submarines are being built without an air-independent power plant, since, according to Buzakov, such a one has not yet been created in Russia. But the rest of the family's ships will get it.

Arrival of warships to St. Petersburg to participate in the Day of the Navy

Invisible Guardians

"Lada" is a completely new class of submarines based on previous projects, the chairman of the All-Russian Fleet Support Movement, Captain First Rank Mikhail Nenashev, explains to RIA Novosti. - Over the past 15-20 years, about 150 experimental design works have been mastered at Lada. Not a single project has had that much. It is, in fact, a large underwater laboratory. "

As the expert emphasized, in comparison with previous projects, "Lada" take on board more torpedoes. Thanks to their unique tactical and technical characteristics, they are able to solve problems in all tactical and strategic directions. In addition, the design allows the placement of missile systems.

"The noise of these diesel-electric submarines is comparable to the noise of the sea, and the new hydroacoustics listens to much more space than other ships," says Nenashev. "This is very important, since the Lada will be based in the Arctic. Another plus is the modest size that allows the use of submarines. both in shallow water and at great depths. Nuclear-powered submarines of a potential enemy will not deploy everywhere, but it is very successful to defend territory on such submarines as Lada. "

Russian diesel submarines have long been recognized as the best in their class. Six diesel-electric submarines of project 636.3 serve in the Black Sea Fleet, six more will be transferred to the Pacific in the coming years - two submarines are preparing to move to a permanent duty station. For their quietness and secrecy in NATO, they were called "black holes."

But the Lada is even quieter. Tests of the head "St. Petersburg" showed that the 677th project is an order of magnitude superior to all previous series of "diesel engines" in terms of secrecy.