A Russian State-owned TV channel recently aired a segment which may give the first glimpse of a new Russian submarine design. In the corner of one scene (@ 2.48 minutes into the recording) it showed an official model of a new submarine together with previously known types. The Laika Class sub has until now been shrouded in secrecy. It is generally analogous to the Virginia Class attack submarine in service with the U.S. Navy.


Such a 'leak' was probably deliberate, something that Russia has been suspected of before. On November 9, 2015, Russian TV station NTV revealed the Poseidon Intercontinental Nuclear-Powered Nuclear-Armed Autonomous Torpedo to the world. Then called ‘Status-6,’ it was seen over the shoulder of an officer in a partially televised meeting with President Putin.
The new sub will primarily be a hunter-killer, meaning that it is designed to counter western nuclear-powered submarines. But it will also carry a range of cruise missiles, including the hypersonic Zircon.
The current backbone of the Russian Navy's hunter-killer force is the Akula Class. These are regarded as potent adversaries. But they were designed during the Cold War and are increasingly aged relative to the latest Virginia Class. The same goes for the Royal Navy’s Astute Class. So Laika may keep the Russian Navy in the game.
Parallels to the American Virginia Class work on several levels. Laika is intended as a lower-cost complement to the expensive Severodvinsk class, which is itself analogous to the U.S. Navy's Seawolf Class. Only 3 Seawolf class boats were built before production switched to the comparatively inexpensive Virginia Class. Russia is expected to build 9 Severodvinsk class boats, but that will not be enough to replace the current generation of attack submarines. So the Laika is to Severodvinsk what Virginia is to Seawolf.