Russia has launched its second Project 677 Lada-class diesel-electric attack submarine,
named Kronstadt, at the St. Petersburg-based Admiralty Shipyards.
This comes 13 years after the vessel was laid down.
Admiralty Shipyard CEO, Alexander Buzakov, was quoted as saying during the launch ceremony,
“The importance of this event is hard to overestimate.
The submarine began to be built in 2005.
There have been some pauses in construction work and in financing, but the launch day
has come at last.
The delay in construction work allowed for using the experience gained in building and
operating the submarine The St. Petersburg.
By all parameters, this submarine surpasses its predecessor – Project 636 (improved Kilo-class).
We are certain that the future of non-nuclear submarine force of the Russian Navy should
be pinned on project 677.
There will be a large series”.
In this video, Defense Updates analyzes why Kronstadt the 2nd Lada-class submarine will
be a major headache for U.S & NATO?
Let's get started.
Project 677 Lada class diesel-electric attack submarines are designed by the Russian Rubin Design Bureau.
The submarines of this class are primarily designed for coastal defense against enemy
submarines and surface combatants apart from surveillance and reconnaissance.
The Russian Ministry of Defense initially planned to field 3 Lada-class submarines by 2018.
But there has been massive delays in the program.
The lead ship of the class, named Sankt Peterburg, was launched in October 2004 and began sea
trials in November 2005.
The submarine was handed over to the Russian Navy in April 2010.
However, in November 2011 the Russian Navy decided not to accept the submarine as it
had couldn’t pass the tests and failed to meet certain requirements.
The lead boat was retained as a test vessel and was utilized to perform experiments with
various components and subsystems.
The construction of the remaining boats of the class was stopped.
On 27 July 2012, the Russian Navy commander-in-chief announced the resumption of the construction
of the St. Petersburg-class submarines, having undergone extensive design changes.
In 2013 and 2015, two further submarines were re-laid, the first of which is the Kronstadt
and second is named Velikiye Luki.
The Lada-class is designed to be smaller than Russia’s mainstay diesel-electric attack
submarines of Kilo class.
Kronstadt has a length of 72 m and displaces 2,700 tonnes when submerged.
Importantly, Kronstadt uses large-scale automation to reduce crew requirements and increase efficiency.
The vessel can move to battle with only 35 personnel manning it.
The Lada class currently doesn't have Air Independent Propulsion but as per reports
Rubin Design Bureau is working on it and is expected to be developed by 2021.
The ship has an inertial navigation system and much-improved sensors.
It has bow, flank arrays and towed array sonars.
It also has multiple countermeasure suits including electronic support measures (ESM)
system and radar warning receiver.
Lada-class subs have a very low acoustic signature because of a special anti-sonar coating called
Molniya (Lightning).
This coating coupled with the small physical profile will make them very hard to detect.
The vessel can move to depths of 300 m, has a surface speed of 10kt and a submerged speed of 21kt.
Because of this many military analysts have called this vessel “Mini-Red October class”.
Though small in size, the Lada class packs a deadly punch.
The submarine is equipped with automated combat control system Litiy
The submarine has six 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes.
It can accommodate a combination of torpedoes or surface to surface missiles totaling to 18.
For torpedoes, the vessel will have many options like the Type 65.
Type 65 has a range of 50 km at 93 km/h and 100 km at 56 km/h
For surface to surface missile option, it can accommodate anti-ship or anti-submarine
or land attack variant of Kalibr missile.
The anti-ship and anti-submarine variants have a range of range up to 600 km and speed
up to Mach 2.9.
The land attack variant has a range of 2500 km with a max speed of Mach 0.8.
There are several instances where single lonely wolf submarines have been able to knock down
formidable opponents during military exercises.
In 2005 as part of a joint exercise, USS Ronald Reagan carrier task force including multiple
antisubmarine escorts was pitted against HSMS Gotland, a tiny Swedish diesel-powered submarine
displacing just 1,600 tons.
HSMS Gotland was able to execute several simulated attacks and was never detected by the task force.
In March 2015, an exercise was organized by U.S & France.
In the exercise, French nuclear submarine Saphir along with few supporting assets squared
off against USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group.
According to the reports, Saphir was able to penetrate the Carrier Strike Group which
consisted of several Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruisers, Arleigh Burke class destroyers,
and a Los Angeles -class nuclear attack submarine along with the supercarrier.
In simulated firing runs, it was able to score torpedo hits on the supercarrier as well some
cruisers and destroyers.
In October 2015, a Russian made Indian Kilo-class submarine INS Sindhudhvaj (S56) allegedly
took out a U.S. Navy Los Angeles class attack submarine USS City of Corpus Christi (SSN
705) in a simulated torpedo attack during a exercise Malabar, which is held annually
between India, Japan, and the United States.
Lada class submarines bring this kind of challenge to not only U.S Carrier Task Force but also
to America’s nuclear powered ballistic missile submarines.
Viewers must note that, the nuclear powered ballistic missile submarines of Ohia class
forms the most important part America’s nuclear deterrent since the 14 Ohio class
submarines together carry approximately 50% of the total US active stockpile of strategic
thermonuclear warheads deployed through Trident Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile.