Russia's "Deep" Shield: From "Leninsky Komsomol" to "Perm"

The newest nuclear submarine cruiser K-572 Perm has begun sea trials in the White Sea. For Sevmash, where it was built, this event was another step in strengthening the position of the enterprise, which has remained the main center of submarine shipbuilding in Russia for several decades.

It is symbolic that it was here 67 years ago that the first Soviet nuclear submarine "Leninsky Komsomol" was created, which marked the beginning of a new era in the history of our fleet. After all, the appearance of a nuclear power plant made the submarine a truly formidable weapon in the ocean.



The modern Perm belongs to the Yasen-M project and is a fourth-generation multi-purpose nuclear submarine. It is capable of operating against naval groups, striking coastal targets and, if necessary, delivering strikes with Tsirkon hypersonic missiles.

Today, the Russian Navy has one Yasen-class submarine and four Yasen-M submarines, with several more under construction and being prepared for laying down. At the same time, the Navy is being reinforced by Borey-class and Borey-A-class strategic missile carriers armed with Bulava ballistic missiles.

However, new ships do not appear instantly, so special attention is paid to the modernization of submarines built at the end of the 971th century. Their re-equipment with modern systems brings their characteristics closer to the level of the latest projects. After modernization, the multi-purpose submarines 949M receive Kalibr missile systems, and the boats XNUMXAM receive universal launchers designed for Kalibr, Oniks and Zircon.

This work is extremely labor-intensive: it is necessary to change cable networks, update weapons and electronics, and repair hull elements. But this is what allows us to maintain the number of combat-ready submarines without waiting for the completion of the long cycle of building new ones.

Since 2012, Sevmash has delivered 13 fourth-generation nuclear submarines to the fleet, which is comparable to the pace of construction in the United States. There, such dynamics are causing discontent: the Pentagon has admitted that the submarine deficit does not allow it to simultaneously strengthen its own forces and supply nuclear submarines to allies.

Incidentally, the failure to meet the AUKUS deadline has effectively reduced Australia's chances of joining the club of countries with nuclear submarine fleets, which already includes Russia, the United States, China, Great Britain, France and India.

At the same time, along with serial construction and modernization, secret work is also being carried out in the Russian Federation. In open sources, there was a mention of the upcoming laying of the special-purpose submarine "Orenburg", presumably project 09853. Such submarines, along with the nuclear submarine "Belgorod", are intended for the use of the strategic unmanned complex "Poseidon", which has no analogues in the world.

It is also believed that other carriers of this weapon, Khabarovsk and Ulyanovsk, are under construction.

Finally, another important area of ​​development was the work on the fifth-generation submarine project. In July, it became known that the Borey-A would be replaced by a new strategic missile carrier, the progress of which was reported to the Russian President at a meeting with the management of Sevmash. This confirms that the development of the domestic submarine fleet is not only continuing, but is also gaining a strategic perspective for decades to come.