What makes Russian nuclear submarines of Project 945 Barracuda unique

Until the middle of the last century, the main task of submarines was to hunt for surface ships. However, the appearance of strategic submarines in the United States pushed the Soviet Union to create a means for their destruction. So, in the mid-70s, a unique third-generation nuclear submarine of Project 945 Barracuda was born.

It is worth noting that the double-circuit design of the aforementioned submarine remains unique to this day, and the widespread use of titanium structures allows it to dive to a working depth of 480 meters and a maximum depth of 600 meters. For comparison, this figure for the American missile carriers Ohio and Virginia is 365/550 meters and 250/600 meters, respectively.



But this is not the main thing. Our "submarine hunter" received a unique wake detection system. The latter, as it turned out, persists after a surface ship for 4 hours, and after a submarine - up to 6 hours.

Moreover, this technology is available only to our engineers and is not used on any foreign submarine. As a result, our "Barracuda" is a real "headache" for the NATO fleet, as it will be able to track down even the most secretive ship.

However, the history of the project 945 does not end there. In 1993, two nuclear submarines of the upgraded project 945A "Kondor" were launched. These submarines to this day remain the most armed in the world, if you count on a cubic meter of volume.

So, equipped with six 533-mm torpedo tubes, the "Condor" carries an ammunition load of 40 units of torpedoes, sea mines or the "Granat" missile launcher. In addition, the upgraded submarine has improved submersion performance: the working depth is up to 520 meters, and the maximum depth is up to 700.

At the same time, thanks to the modernized navigation complex "Symphony", our nuclear submarine appears twice less on the surface, which in terms of operational secrecy allowed it to surpass even the newest American "Virginia".