The Russian Oscar-II class nuclear guided-missile submarine Orel had a breakdown.
As per reports, during its transit through Danish waters in the Baltic Sea on 30th July,
a propulsion system issue cropped up.
Orel was sailing alongside the Udaloy class anti-submarine missile destroyer Vice-Admiral
Kulakov from St. Petersberg to the Kola Peninsula when the problem occurred.
The situation was so dire that the Russian Navy was preparing to tow the vessel
The crew of the Orel was seen on the forward deck while the Russian Northern Fleet’s
tug Altai approached with ropes.
Luckily it eventually resumed operation.
Viewers may note that Orel is of the same class as Kursk which was lost in a horrific
incident on 12 August 2000 that resulted in the death of all 118 personnel on board.
In this video Defense Updates analyzes how the Russian Orel nuclear guided-missile submarine
managed to embarrass President Putin? Let's get into the details.
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There is no way in or out of the Baltic Sea that doesn’t cross through Danish or Swedish
territorial waters. All foreign warships are typically escorted
by navies of these counties when transiting through the area.
The foreign ships are generally allowed to make such transits under international rules
of innocent passage, so long as they meet the norm established by Article 19 of the
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Danish Navy’s Third Squadron wrote in a Facebook post, regarding this incident“will
go down in history as both dramatic and exciting as the nuclear-powered submarine Orel of the
Oscar-II class had problems with propulsion and lay dead in the water at Sejerø, where
it drifted at 1.5 knots towards the island.” The post adds that the Danish Navy offered
assistance to the submarine, which was “politely but not surprisingly declined.”
Once the issue with the submarine’s propulsion had been patched, it started moving.
Orel then sailed north into Skagerak, the waters between Denmark and Norway.
Norway’s Joint Headquarters said that the submarine resumed its transit first on the
surface, but is now once again submerged.
Orel is an Oscar-class submarine. The Oscar class, Soviet designations Project
949 Granit and Project 949A Antey, (NATO reporting names Oscar I and Oscar II respectively),
are a series of nuclear-powered cruise missile submarines designed in the Soviet Union for
the Soviet Navy.
They are currently in service with the Russian Navy with some of the vessels planned to be
modernized as Project 949AM, to extend their service life and increase combat capabilities.
The Oscar submarines were the largest cruise missile submarines in service until four Ohio-class
ballistic missile submarines were converted to carry cruise missiles in 2007.
They are the fourth largest class of submarines in displacement and length. Only the Soviet
Typhoon-class, Russian Borei-class and American Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines are
larger.
Orel has a length of 154 m and displaces 16,5000 tonnes when submerged.
Orel is powered by two OK-650 pressurized water nuclear reactors, powering two steam
turbines, the same reactors were used on Typhoon class submarines. Because of nuclear power,
sea endurance is limited only by food supplies.
These Oscar class boats are slow to dive and to maneuver, however they have a submerged
speed of about 55 kph or 34.5 mph, which is sufficient to keep pace with their targets.
Also, these boats are noisy and can be detected rather easily.
In 2017 Orel was refitted with new missiles. Its P-700 Granit anti-ship missiles were replaced
with newer and more capable P-800 Oniks missiles.
Orel is also refitted with Kalibr missiles that can engage ships and land targets.
Some more upgrades are also planned to accommodate the Zircon hypersonic anti-ship missiles that
can travel with speed of around Mach 9
Orel fitted with two 650 mm and four 533 mm torpedo tubes, capable of launching both torpedoes
and anti-ship missiles. These can be used to deploy RPK-6 Vodopad anti-ship missiles,
carrying torpedoes, nuclear warheads or nuclear depth charges for use against surface ships
or submarines.
The details of the event aren’t exactly clear.
It is to be noted that Russian submarines have had some issues in recent years.
In July 2019, a fire broke out on the Russian spy submarine Losharik, leaving 14 sailors
dead and generating concerns over a potential nuclear fallout.
That same month, the 30-year-old wreck of the Soviet nuclear submarine Komsomolets was
found to be leaking radiation into the Barents Sea near Norway’s Bear Island.
Norway Joint Headquarters spokesperson Major Elisabeth Eikeland told The Barents Observer.
“It is always worrying when a vessel of this type has problems with propulsion”
The Kursk disaster was one of the most difficult moments for Russia and President Putin.
Incidents involving nuclear submarines, particularly ones operated by Russia have long been a cause
of potential international concern due to their sketchy safety record and the latest
incident is bound to consolidate the fears.
It is also a setback for the Russian Navy as well as President Putin who is personally
overseeing the modernization of Russian armed forces.