Is Russia's Submarine Fleet Ready for a Comeback?

The Russian Navy is ending 2024 with a new Project 885 (also known as the Yasen-M) nuclear-powered submarine in its fleet. The Arkhangelsk officially entered service on Friday as Captain First Rank Alexander Gladkov received the St. Andrew's naval flag.

"An official ceremony took place at the Sevmash Shipyard to deliver the Yasen-M-class fourth-generation nuclear-powered submarine Arkhangelsk to the Russian Navy. The ceremony was held under the direction of Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Alexander Moiseyev," the Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement to Tass.

The latest Project 885 submarine is named for the northern Russian city of Arkhangelsk, also known as "Archangel" in English.

"The Arkhangelsk is the third serial-built sub in the family of Yasen-M-class multi-purpose nuclear-powered submarines," Tass added. "A ceremony of rolling out the submarine from the Shipyard's slipway took place on November 29, 2023. The Arkhangelsk has become the 141st nuclear-powered submarine constructed for the Russian Navy at the Sevmash Shipyard. The project was designed by the St. Petersburg-based Malakhit Design Bureau of Marine Engineering."

Slow But Steady Progress on Russia's Nuclear-Powered Boats

Development of Project 885 boats began at the end of the Cold War, initiated by the Leningrad-based (now St. Petersburg-based) Malakhit Design Bureau. It intended to replace the aging Akula-class nuclear-powered attack submarines in service with the Soviet Navy.

However, the program only progressed slowly following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

The baseline Project 885 lead nuclear-powered underwater cruiser Severodvinsk was laid down in 1993, but due to funding issues as a result of the post-Cold War Russian financial crisis, the project languished for more than a decade. Only in the late 2000s was Moscow able to return to the project—Severodvinsk was finally launched in June 2010, and subsequently commissioned in late December 2013. The submarine entered service with the Russian Navy in 2014.

The delay meant that the submarines were on the verge of obsolescence, resulting in the program's modernization.

The second boat, the upgraded Project 885M lead submarine Kazan, also saw delays, yet it was built in eight years—half the time of the Severodvinsk.

Capable Submarines

Despite the turmoil involved in the program's development and construction, the Yasen class should be seen as capable vessels. Each has a submerged displacement of 13,800 tons and can reach a maximum speed of up to thirty-five knots.

The Yasen-M revision further offered revamped onboard electronics, a slightly reduced overall length, and reportedly a new KTP-6 rector that is believed to reduce the submarine's noise levels significantly. The upgraded Project 885 submarines are also noted for utilizing new technological developments that emerged since Severodvinsk started construction in 1993.

Unlike older attack submarines built in the late Soviet period, the Project 885/885M boats were developed as multipurpose vessels that could carry different weapons, including the new, long-range Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missiles. There are ten silos for vertically launched cruise missiles, and according to reports, the submarines can also be equipped with Kalibr-PL and Oniks cruise missiles as their basic strike weapons. The Kazan is also equipped with the UKSK (3P-14B) vertical launch system comprised of 8SM-346 modules.

"This enables Yasen-M-class submarines [to] remain an effective and advanced weapon. Thanks to this, they make their invaluable contribution to maintaining global and regional security in peacetime," Commander-in-Chief Admiral Alexander Moiseyev told Tass.

Four additional Project 885M submarines are now under construction at Russia's Sevmash Shipyard in Severodvinsk on the White Sea. Named for Russian cities, these include the Perm, the Ulyanovsk, the Vladivostok, and the Voronezh. Those submarines will be based either with the Northern Fleet on the coast of the Barents Sea or with the Pacific Fleet in the Far East.

"The construction of a series of submarines of this Project will continue," Moiseyev continued. "You shoulder high responsibility: you make the necessary, complex and serious weapons for our country. The ships built by the Sevmash Shipyard are our pride, strength and mightiness and Russia’s reliable shield."

Author Experience and Expertise: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.
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