The Soviet-era Akula-class submarine reportedly “shocked” Western intelligence when it was introduced.
Russia has been fully embroiled in its invasion of Ukraine for more than three years, but the Kremlin’s naval goals have not been put on the back burner. Although Moscow’s Black Sea fleet has taken some major hits at the hands of Kyiv’s Western-delivered weapons arsenal, its submarine capabilities continue to take center stage. In March, Russia launched its first nuclear attack submarine specifically developed to carry the Zircon hypersonic missile. When the Perm debuted, it became the sixth submarine in the Yasen-class Project 885/885M family and is expected to reach operational capacity sometime next year. The Yasen vessels, along with Russia’s Akula and Oscar-class submarines, make up Moscow’s underwater fleet.
The Yasen-class
While the Yasen submarines were technically conceptualized during the Cold War by the Soviet Union, the vessels in this class were not constructed until 1993 following the collapse of the USSR. Budgetary constraints ultimately hindered the submarines’ development until the late 2000s, when Russian officials opted to relaunch the class under a new “Yasen-M” designation. With displacements of 13,800 tons and the ability to reach speeds in excess of 35 knots underwater, these Russian submarines are superior in capability to their predecessors. In terms of armament power, this class is quite lethal. The Yasen-M submarines are capable of carrying thirty-two vertical tubes which can accommodate three missile types like the Oniks and Kalibr-PL cruise missiles. The Zircon series, which Russian sources claim can reach a top speed of Mach 9, can also allegedly be launched by the Yasen-M submarines. More concerning, the Zircon is expected to be carried by all future Russian submarines.
The Akula-class
The Soviet-era Akula-class reportedly “shocked” Western intelligence when these submarines were first introduced just prior to the fall of the USSR. Notably, the Akulas are among the quietest submarines in the world, making them a stealthy danger to their adversaries. The Akulas were designed to be able to counter their American counterparts and could notably dive deeper than their Los Angeles-class rivals. When it comes to firepower, the Akula vessels are equipped with S-10 (designated by NATO as SS-N-21 Sampson) cruise attack missiles, which are comparable to the U.S.-made Tomahawk series. Over the years, Russia has upgraded its Akula submarines in order for the platform to retain an edge in a modern threat climate. The newest Akulas can fire the Kalibr missiles, making them more lethal than preceding variants.
The Oscar-class
Designed to be able to go up against U.S. carrier strike groups, the Oscar-class submarines (Project 949 Antey) were built with firepower in mind. As detailed by Naval Technology, “The submarine is equipped with 24 SS-N-19 Granit (NATO codename “Shipwreck”) cruise missiles with a range of 550km. The missile has a length of 10.5m and weighs 6.9t with a warhead weighing 1000kg. Its speed is Mach 1.5. Under the START treaty, nuclear warheads for these missiles have been replaced with high-explosive warheads.” In order to lug all these armaments, the Oscar submarines are quite hefty. In fact, they represent the fourth-largest submarine type ever produced. These submarines can sail at thirty-seven miles per hour when submerged, but they are considered slow to dive and lack the maneuverability available in newer platforms.
About the Author: Maya Carlin
Maya Carlin, National Security Writer with The National Interest, is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has by-lines in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin. Carlin has over 1,000 articles published over the last several years on various defense issues.
Image: By Alex omen, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.
