Fourth Generation Conventional Submarines
Russia’s proposal for the Indian Navy
Russia has proposed the Amur 1650 class of submarines to meet the Indian Navy’s requirement, based on the Lada- class, the second of which, the Kronstadt, was launched at the Admiralty shipyards in September 2018.
The second Pr. 677 conventional submarine (improved Lada- class), the Kronstadt, was launched in Russia at the Admiralty Shipyards in St. Petersburg on 20 September 2018, the submarine being a Kalibr cruise missile carrier. The highly accurate and destructive power of this weapon was recently demonstrated by the Russian Navy during “counter-terrorist operations”, and combined the lowest level of hydroacoustic field with high detection ranges for onboard sensors of the carrier.
“It’s hard to overestimate the importance of this event. The submarine began to be built in 2005, and although there have been some pauses in financing and construction halts, this lag however has allowed us to use the experience gained in operating the (lead) submarine (of that class), the St. Petersburg. The Pr. 677 underwater combatant outperforms its predecessor, the Pr. 636 (improved Kilo- class) dieselelectric submarine, in major manner. We believe that the Pr.677 will be future of the (Russian) Navy’s diesel-electric underwater
force and hope for a large series of the submarines (of that class),” stated Admiralty Shipyards CEO Alexander Buzakov during the ceremony.
Kronstadt to fourth generation of the Russian non-nuclear boats. The Pr. 677 and its export derivative Amur 1650 are meant to supersede the Kilo- class. Lada is more
compact: with similar weapons composition (six torpedo tubes with weapons comprising 18 torpedoes and missiles), standard displacement is reduced from 2350 (for Pr. 636) to 1765 tons. Because of increased automation, crew numbers are reduced from 52 to 35 personnel. The Lada is equipped with sonar with quasi-conformal large-area antennae and towed array sonar that considerably surpasses series-produced sonars on the earlier Pr. 636 submarines.
Speaking at the ceremony during launch of the Kronstadt, Russian Admiral Viktor Chirkov said that due to their noise levels, the earlier Kilo- class submarines have been nicknamed ‘ black hole’ by the western military. Trials of the new boats have demonstrated that their noise levels are several times ( four or five, as per calculations of designers) lower than that of the Kilo- class. “Given that stealth of Lada- class submarines, which can be neither seen nor heard by the enemy, has increased, this submarine may be called an invisible creature,” he continued. “The new submarine enables us to make a step forward in developing state- of- the- art underwater fleet of Russia,” Viktor Chirkov summed up.
The Amur 1650 on offer to India has AIP based on fuel cells and the electrochemical generator will covert diesel fuel to produce hydrogen. Rubin Design Bureau CEO Igor Vilnit had earlier expressed his assurance to the Indian Navy, who are anxious to integrate indigenously produced AIP on own ships, would be helped or assistance provided for their development. Lada- class submarines for the Russian Navy are also planned to be equipped with AIP developed by the Rubin Design Bureau.
The Pr. 677 leading ship, St.Petersburg, is now in service with the Russian Northern Fleet and
long-term sea trials conducted since the Russian Navy flag raising in 2010 have shown that submarines of this class are
suitable for operations conditions of heavy traffic in the confined waters of the Baltic, as well as blue waters of the Barents Sea and the White Sea, with access to the North Atlantic. “St.Petersburg has not only proved its characteristics, but even outclassed them”, stated Igor Vilnit during launching ceremony of the Kronstadt.
The Kronstadt is being built as an improved Pr.677 design, the same as the third Lada- class submarine Velikiye Luki which is presently under construction at the Admiralty Shipyards. Kronstadt and Velikiye Luki have radically improved their propulsion, engineering control and navigation systems. Igor Vilnit said: “Kronstadt is superior to previous submarines in all technical parameters. Moreover, we have taken into account all required modifications of the lead submarine. Most of the series production equipment, which has passed all tests and complies with the stated technical characteristics, is now installed onboard the Kronstadt”.
The Kronstadt is planned to be commissioned in 2019 and the Velikiye Luki in 2021. According to the Russian State Armament programme, contracts for two more Pr. 677 submarines are to be issued by the Russian MoD during next year.
As Deputy Chief of the Russian Navy Shipbuilding Department, Captain 1 Rank Mikhail Krasnopeev, remarked: “The entire history of Admiralty Shipyards, starting from time of Peter the Great, testifies that the company is able to build unique ships. And today’s launch is a vivid confirmation of this. For Russian sailors, it is an honour to serve on such modern submarines”. He also emphasised that the Russian Navy would continue to actively develop the non-nuclear component of its submarine force. “We’ll work further to improve and induct new technologies in the construction of non-nuclear submarines, to improve the parameters of stealth and effectiveness of its armament. Special attention is paid to the training of submarines’ crews, as they will be operating the most modern equipment”, he said.