Russia’s new Alexander Nevsky submarine to arrive in Kamchatka by yearend

Russia’s new nuclear submarine Alexander Nevsky will arrive at its base in Kamchatka before the end of the year to begin combat training, Eastern Military District Commander, Colonel-General Sergei Surovikin said on Thursday.

 

Surovikin is inspecting the construction of infrastructure facilities for the fourth-generation submarines in Vilyuchinsk, Kamchatka.

 

“The commander inspected the construction of the pier, including mooring areas and support facilities, to ensure that work was proceeding according to the schedule approved by the ministry of defense,” Eastern Military District spokesperson Alexander Gordeyev told ITAR-TASS.

 

The general demanded strict compliance with the construction schedule and technical specifications approved by the Defense Ministry and the Navy, which require improved seismic resistance and the use of high anti-corrosion technologies.

 

The Alexander Nevsky is the second Borei-class submarine and the first serial Project 955 ship of the Borei Class. It was laid down on March 19, 2004. This is a fourth generation strategic underwater missile cruiser.

 

The leading submarine of the series, Yuri Dolgoruky, went into service in January 2013. It was the 129th nuclear-powered submarine built by the Sevmash shipyard and the first one in the past 12 years. Prior to that, in December 2001, the shipyard handed over the multirole submarine Gepard (carrying no ballistic missiles) to the Navy.

The Alexander Nevsky is the first serial strategic rocket carrier of the Borei class. It is 170 metres long, 13.5 metres wide, maximum operating depth is 450 metres, underwater speed is 29 knots, and a crew of 17 sailors.

 

Borei class submarines are designed to serve as the basis of Russia's strategic nuclear capabilities for the decades to come. They are designed by the St. Petersburg-based Naval Design Bureau Rubin.

 

Each submarine can be armed with 12 ICBMs with MIRVs. They will also have an escape capsule for all crewmembers.

 

The Borei claims to be a state-of-the-art submarine, featuring characteristics superior to any submarine currently in service, such as the ability to cruise silently and be less detectable to sonar.

 

Advances include a compact and integrated hydrodynamically efficient hull for reduced broadband noise and the first ever use of pump-jet propulsion on a Russian nuclear submarine.

 

The submarines will be armed with Bulava missiles. The Bulava carries the NATO reporting name SS-NX-30 and has been assigned the GRAU index 3M30. In international treaties, the common designation RSM-56 is used.

 

The Russian Defense Ministry plans to build at least eight new Borei-class submarines that should become the main naval component of Russia’s strategic nuclear forces.

Russia’s Sevmash shipyards lays down three new submarines

Three new submarines - the Knyaz Oleg (Borei project), the Krasnoyarsk (Yasen project) and the Khabarovsk - were laid down on Sunday at Russia’s Sevmash shipyards, Sevmash director general Mikhail Budnichenko told Russian President Vladimir Putin from Severodvinsk
 

 

“Today, under the state arms programme endorsed by you and in compliance with the schedule set by the Russian ministry of defence, Sevmash laid down three new atomic submarines - the Knyaz Oleg, which is the fifth Borei, the Khabarovsk and one more Yasen, the modernized project 885M,” Budnichenko said during a videoconference session with the president who was onboard the Admiral Kuznetsov heavy aircraft carrier cruiser in Severomork.

A representative from the Russian defence ministry told Putin, who is Russia’s Supreme Commander-in-Chief, that the projects were properly financed. “So, let us wait for Sevmash to do its job in strict compliance with the contract terms,” he said.

 

Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, also present at Sevmash, said that the governmental military industry commission was working in collaboration with directors of sectoral enterprises to solve various problems, including social. “Because what matters most is people, their wellbeing, opportunities for self realization. Everything is normal in general,” he said.
 

 

On Sunday, the Russian Navy Day, President Putin visited the home base of Russia’s Northern Fleet in the city of Severomorsk in Russia’s northern Murmansk region, where he laid a wreath to the monument to Severomorsk heroes, inspected a lineup of warships and reviewed a parade and a theatrical show.

 

In his congratulatory message, the president reassured that the state would spare no effort to further develop Russia’s Navy, including the Black Sea Fleet. “Our special priorities include the strengthening of the combat might of the Black Sea Fleet. We will renew its ships, create a state-of-the-art military and social infrastructure,” he vowed.

 

Last year, he said, Russian ships had performed 43 missions, including to protect Russian civil vessels from pirates. The strength and glory of the Russian Navy “will only grow,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday, reviewing a parade on the occasion of the Russian Navy Day onboard the Admiral Kuznetsov heavy aircraft carrying cruiser.
 

“The Navy’s combat readiness and mobility will grow, its material and technical facilities will be built up, the coastal infrastructure will be modernized. New ships will be built,” Putin pledged. He noted that last year, as many as 26 warships had been floated out and seven ships had been transferred to the Navy, including the Yuri Dolgoruky and Alexander Nevsky strategic nuclear submarines. Apart from that, the Severodvinsk nuclear submarine with cruise missiles, which has already passed builder’s tests, will soon take up combat duty. Sixty more ships, boats and support vessels are under construction. Eleven vessels have recently been laid down.
 

 

The Knyaz Oleg strategic missile cruiser will be the fifth 995A Borei class submarine, while the multipurpose nuclear submarine Krasnoyarsk will be the fourth 885M Yasen class vessel.
 

The Sevmash shipyard has already handed over two Borei-class nuclear submarines to the Russian Navy: the Yuri Dolgorukiy and Alexander Nevsky. The third sub of this type - the Vladimir Monomakh - is expected to come into service with the Russian Navy in 2014.

 

The Yuri Dolgorukiy nuclear submarine, the first modernized Borei class ship, is still under construction. It was laid down in Severodvinsk in July 2012 in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
 

 

The Russian Navy was adopted the Severodvinsk Yasen-class multi-purpose nuclear attack submarine for reliability field testing in late 2013. The second 885M Yasen-class submarine Kazan was laid down in 2009. The third submarine Novosibirsk was laid down in 2013.

Russia’s Newest Diesel Sub to Continue Barents Sea Trials

A Russian fourth-generation diesel-electric Sankt Peterburg submarine arrived Thursday at a Northern Fleet base to continue sea trials, a spokesman for the Western Military District said.

 

The boat will undergo a series of comprehensive trials, including deep water tests in the Barents Sea, Captain First Rank Vadim Serga said.

 

Construction of the Sankt Peterburg, the lead ship of the Project 677 Lada-class of submarines, began in December 1997. It was introduced into the Navy for trial operations in April 2010.

 

Russian daily Izvestia in November 2011 cited navy commanders saying the navy rejected the craft for service after finding fault with various aspects of the boat, including the sonar, the command and control system, and the torpedo. Construction of the class was frozen pending a major redesign.

 

The navy announced last July that construction of the Lada class was set to resume. It also said work would commence on two further Lada-class craft: Kronshtadt and Sevastopol.

 

The submarine, which carries six 533-mm torpedo launchers and can fire cruise missiles, is designed to defend naval bases, coastal waters and sea communication lines. It can be effectively employed against both surface ships and submarines.

 

Russia reportedly plans to complete four to six Lada-class submarines by 2015 and eventually build up a fleet of eight.

 

 

 

Sunken nuclear sub allegedly leaking radioactivity

The underwater film shows several large holes in the outer hull of the submarine laying on the seabed just northeast of the outlet of the Kola bay. This is one of the most important fishing grounds for cod in the Barents Sea. Given to the French-German TV channel ARTE, the film is the first made publicly available of K-159 after it sank on August 30, 2003. 

 

A Moscow-based anonymous military informant provided the film to the reporters saying it was recorded during the Russian-British expedition to the sunken submarine back in 2007. The source further claims worrying increased levels of radioactivity are measured leaking from the hull of the wreaked submarine. Nothing is said about the levels of radioactivity. 

The film shows a large hole in the bow of the submarine; open door to the sail; cables are visible through holes and the submarines outer hull is very rusty. The film also shows how an ROW takes measurements of radioactivity through the air-pressure holes on the deck of K-159. A lot of fish is swimming around the wreaked submarine. The Barents Sea is one of the most productive marine biological oceans in the world.

 

The two reactors onboard hold some 800 kilos of spent uranium fuel, estimated to count for some 20 petabecquerels of radioactivity.

 

Norwegian radiation protection authorities (NRPA) consider K-159 to represent the biggest potential source of radioactive releases in the Arctic waters.

 

“Based on the information we have it is only measured levels within background variations in the near vicinity of the submarine,” says Ingar Amundsen, head of section for international nuclear safety with the NRPA

 

The Norwegian expert is aware of the expedition that made measurements in the area in 2007. “The main focus was to study the condition of the submarine and possibilities to lift it,” says Amundsen. He assures that the Russians say the submarine is in “satisfactory condition”, meaning there is no urgent threat of leakages. 

 

“However, K-159 represents the biggest potential for emission, considering the levels of radioactivity in the reactors, compared with other dumped or sunken objects in the Kara Sea with spent nuclear fuel or radioactive waste,” says Ingar Amundsen to BarentsObserver after being shown the underwater video.

 

Nils Bøhmer is nuclear physicist with the Bellona Foundation, a Norwegian environmental group that for two decades have been studying nuclear safety issues in northwest-Russia. Bøhmer says to BarentsObserver that he wants to see K-159 lifted from the seabed.

 

“If the information about leakages of radioactivity from K-159 is correct, it is of most importance that this information is made publicly available. It must be prepared a risk assessment plan for possible lifting of K-159. Russian authorities must also find financial means to an eventual lifting,” says Nils Bøhmer.

 

Commissioned in 1963, the K-159 was one of the Soviet Union’s first nuclear powered submarines. After a operation period with several accidents involving the reactors, she was finally taken out of operation in 1989 and was laid-up at the remote located naval base of Gremikha.

 

Rusting at pier for 14 years, K-159 was in late August 2003 finally put on tow towards the naval yard Shkval in Polyarny. The submarine never made it to the yard. In stormy weather, one of the pontoons keeping the submarine afloat was ripped away and a few hours later K-159 sank to the seabed 238 meters down.   

 

Nine of the ten sailors onboard died.

Russian submarines heading to waters near NZ

The Russians are coming, again, in submarines to waters near New Zealand. 

The state-run Itar-Tass agency says Russia will send submarines armed with nuclear ballistic missiles to the South Pacific and the Southern Ocean. 

"The revival of nuclear-submarine patrols will allow us to fulfil the tasks of strategic deterrence not only across the North Pole but also the South Pole," an unnamed official in the military General Staff was quoted as saying. 

Given that the South Pole is 1500 kilometres from the sea, it suggests the new Borei-class submarines, with 16 long-range nuclear missiles, might end up in the Ross Sea. 

"As the Russian Navy receive the Borei-class missile submarines, they will not only continue to patrol the Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, but will resume execution of combat missions in those regions of the world's ocean, where in the late 90s of the last century used to be the Soviet Navy, and where they have ceased to appear following the collapse of the Soviet Union," the report said. 

It echoes the Soviet days and in 1982, when a Russian submarine was photographed by the Royal New Zealand Air Force east of New Zealand. 

The air force still has submarine-hunting capacity in the form of its six P3 Orions, but it seldom practises finding them now. 

In 1972, the navy was ordered to sea as intelligence suggested a Soviet submarine was near New Zealand. 

Several ships and the air force were well out to sea when they heard, on what was then the NZBC, that a Soviet hydrographic submarine had docked in Suva that morning. 

Just before Christmas in 1982, the diesel-powered Soviet Foxtrot submarine Regul was spotted on the surface near Tahiti sailing with a research vessel. 

It continued towards the South Island and was last seen near the Chatham Islands. The Soviets said they were doing oceanographic work.

Three years later, there were headlines and claims that the French submarine Rubis was in the Waitemata Harbour, supporting the agents bombing the Rainbow Warrior. It was never proved.

German and Japanese submarines operated near New Zealand during World War II. 

U862 captain Heinrich Timm claimed later that while they were off Hawke's Bay, crew landed to get fresh milk from the dairy herd they saw. 

In the 1870s, New Zealand built 17 harbour forts around the country, fearing that Tsarist Russia, in the wake of the Crimean War, might invade. It was never clear why it wanted Auckland.

Capability of Russia’s Ballistic Missile Submarine Force Questioned

The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) recently obtained information from the U.S. Navy suggesting that, though Russia is undergoing a much-publicized push to modernize its ballistic missile submarine force, the actual patrol rate amongst vessels in service remains extremely low. 

Figures suggest that the entire fleet of nine operational nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBN) made just five deterrent patrols in all of 2012, according to the organization.

FAS analysts noted that this was likely not sufficient to sustain a constant deterrent presence, and the overall tempo of patrols has continued to decline since the end of the Cold War, when the SSBN fleet reached a record of 102 patrols in 1984.

There was a slight resurgence 2008 with ten patrols (up from 3 in 2007), but these again declined, despite Russian pronouncements that they were ready to maintain a constant at-sea deterrent. The overall number of patrols also suggests that there are long periods in which boats go without extended deployments, meaning SSBN crews lack hands-on training, according to FAS.

Russian Navy planners are currently working to replace the currently in-service Soviet-era Delta III and IVs with Borei-class vessels, which are expected to be fully operational by the mid-to-late 2020s.

Russia’s Mediterranean Task Force to Include Nuclear Subs – Navy Chief

Russia’s Mediterranean task force will comprise 5-6 warships and may be enlarged to include nuclear submarines, Navy Commander Adm. Viktor Chirkov said on Sunday.

“Overall, already from this year, we plan to have 5-6 warships and support vessels [in the Mediterranean Sea], which will be replaced on a rotating basis from each of the fleets – the Black Sea, Baltic, Northern and, in some cases, even the Pacific Fleet. Depending on the scope of assignments and their complexity, the number of warships in the task force may be increased,” Chirkov told RIA Novosti.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu earlier said a decision to deploy a permanent task force in the Mediterranean to defend Russia’s interests in the area had been made.

The Russian navy commander also said nuclear submarines could be deployed in the Mediterranean, if necessary.

“Possibly. In a perspective. They [submarines] were present there during the existence of the 5th squadron. There were both nuclear and diesel submarines there. Everything will depend on the situation,” he said.

The Soviet Union maintained its 5th Mediterranean Squadron in that sea from 1967 until 1992. It was formed to counter the US Navy 6th Fleet during the Cold War, and consisted of 30-50 warships and auxiliary vessels at different times.

Russia also plans to use its Mediterranean task force for missions in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, the country’s Navy chief said.

“No doubt, if necessary, when some tasks arise in other nearby regions, in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, the task force may be used,” Chirkov said.

Now the Russian Navy is training officers who will perform their duties at sea on a permanent basis, he said.

“These persons must be comprehensively trained to solve tasks not only in the Mediterranean but also in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans,” he said.

The headquarters of Russia’s Mediterranean taskforce will be set up already in the summer of 2013, he said.

“The headquarters will be established in the summer of this year and its officers will stay aboard one of the flagships in the Mediterranean Sea,” he said.

Captain and engineer acquitted in Nerpa submarine accident retrial

The Russian Pacific Fleet’s Military Court has acquitted Captain Dmitry Lavrentyev and Engineer Dmitry Grobov on trial for causing death of 20 by negligence on the Nerpa nuclear submarine in 2008. The ruling is based on the jury’s not guilty verdict that was passed last Friday.

On November 8, 2008, the Akula II class nuclear attack submarine Nerpa was running sea trials in the Sea of Japan in the western Pacific when its freon-based fire extinguishing system malfunctioned, killing 20 of the 208 people on board and injuring 21.

Lavrentyev was charged with abuse of power and Grobov was accused of causing death by negligence. The jury acquitted both men on September 14, 2011. The Supreme Court's Military Board overturned the verdict in May 2012 and ordered a retrial.

On April 26, the new jury ruled that both men were innocent of all charges brought against them by the prosecutor's office.  The prosecution has ten working days to file an appeal against the acquittal.

Defense lawyer Sergei Bondar told RIA Novosti that they hope the prosecution would not appeal against the decision or demand a retrial.

A military prosecutor told RIA Novosti earlier that they do not agree with the jury’s decision. He said that the jury did not understand all the details of the case clearly and were misled by the defense. The prosecution has said it will appeal against the ruling. They have until May 15 to do so.

 

Russian subs aim for 'quiet spying' - New hydrogen-fueled propulsion system being installed

Using what can be termed a new, old submarine technology, the Russians have developed a hydrogen-fueled power plant for submarines that not only could be a substitute for nuclear-powered energy sources, but will give emerging countries such as Iran a submarine capable of remaining submerged for longer periods and extend its blue water capability, according to a reports.

The new Russian submarine is called the B-90 Sarov, which is really a test sub using a hydrogen-fueled power plant which would be similar to German submarines U-212 and U-214.

The advantage to this technology is that some of Russia’s traditional diesel-electric subs use batteries to supply the electric motor. When the battery needs to be recharged, the submarine must surface and start diesel engines to recharge the batteries. This makes the submarine vulnerable. With hydrogen-fueled engines, the electric motors are supplied by hydrogen fuel cells.

This new Russian engine is what is referred to as “air-independent propulsion,” which increases the submarine’s submersible time, is quieter and could compete with the German diesel submarines, some of which Israel possesses.

Fuel cells are electrochemical conversion devices that combine hydrogen and oxygen to produce water, electricity and heat. They’re already in use in some automotive and space applications.

While slow, AIP submarines will be useful for their long-endurance and quietness. They will not become the primary form of propulsion to either diesel or nuclear power. Yet, they will be good for coastal defense and littoral regions, especially in smaller submarines.

Dr. Edward C. Whitman, science editor of Undersea Warfare Magazine, sees fuel cells possibly doubling or tripling their capabilities in the next few years, which will give greater tactical flexibility due to their small size and inherent stealth nature.

“The novel operational paradigms (that) AIP submarines introduce to undersea warfare will make these new boats a dangerous threat to submariners accustomed to nuclear – or conventionally diesel-powered adversaries,” Whitman said. “The submarine force needs to understand this threat – where it’s been, where it’s going, what it means, and how to counter it.”

Smaller navies are expected to stay with diesel-electric submarines for their coastal defenses and AIP technologies used to power those submarines will become more popular as their technologies improve.

Report: Russian Nuclear Attack Submarine Detected Near US

A Russian nuclear-powered attack submarine was detected within 200 miles of the East Coast last month — the first time that particular class of submarine had been detected near a U.S. coast, defense officials told Submariners World.

While I can’t talk about how we detected it, I can tell you that things worked the way they were supposed to,” one defense official told the Beacon, stating that the Russian submarine “poses no threat whatsoever.”

The defense officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of anti-submarine warfare efforts.


Identified by its NATO designation as a Russian Seirra-2 class submarine, the vessel is believed to be based with Russia’s Northern Fleet.

The submarine was believed to have been conducting anti-submarine warfare efforts against U.S. ballistic and cruise missile submarines based at Kings Bay, Ga., one official told SW.

But a second official told SW that the submarine did not sail close to Kings Bay and also did not threaten a U.S. aircraft carrier strike group that was conducting exercises in the eastern Atlantic.

Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base is just north of Jacksonville, Fla. It is the base for two guided missile submarines and six nuclear missile submarines.

The submarines are known to be a target of Russian attack submarines, the report said.

“A Russian AGI and an SSN in the same geographic area as one of the largest U.S. ballistic missile submarine bases — Kings Bay — is reminiscent of Cold War activities of the Soviet navy tracking the movements of our SSBN’s,” yet another U.S. official told the publication, referring to the designation for ballistic missile submarines, SSBN.


Naval analysts told the publication that the Russian attack submarine was outfitted with SS-N-21 anti-submarine warfare missiles, as well as SS-N-16 anti-submarine warfare missiles. It also is equipped with torpedoes.

The U.S. Navy deploys underwater sonar sensors set up at strategic locations near the United States that detected the submarine late last month, according to the report.

Russian navy conducts missile drills in Pacific

The Russian navy has completed its exercises in the Northern Pacific with missile launches, Russia's Pacific Fleet said Thursday.

The nuclear submarines Tver and St. George the Conqueror launched cruise missiles and inter-continental ballistic missiles to the targets planted in the Barents and Okhotsk seas, navy spokesman Roman Martov told reporters.

Two small missile ships, Inei and Razliv, also launched missiles to remote targets, he said.

In October, St. George the Conqueror along with other warships participated in another drill in the Far East. The navy then carried out over 15 artillery and missile firings against sea-based targets.

According to the commander of the Pacific Fleet submarine forces, Nikolai Yevmenov, Russia would hold drills involving underwater missile launches from two submarines in 2013.

Successful R-29R SLBM launch from the Sea of Okhotsk

On 19 October 2012, the K-433 Sv. Georgiy Pobedonosets Project 667BDR/Delta III-class submarine of the Pacific Fleet launched an R-29R/SS-N-18 missile from the Sea of Okhotsk toward the Chizha test range on the Kanin Peninsula. A source in the military was quoted as saying that "the missile warhead successfully reached its target."

Previous launch of a R-29R missile - also from the Sv. Georgiy Pobedonosets submarine - was performed in October 2010.