Russia to Start Building 2 Project 677 Diesel-Electric Subs in 2022
- Our Bureau
- 06:25 AM, March 23, 2022
- 2322
Project 677 Lada-class submarine
Keel-laying ceremonies for
two multi-role diesel-electric submarines of Project 677 (Lada series) will be
held this year at the Admiralty Shipyards, an affiliate of the United
Shipbuilding Corporation (USC).
The information was
revealed to government-owned TASS by USC on Tuesday at the
company’s exhibition at the State Duma held for its 15th anniversary.
The lead submarine of the
Lada series, B-585 St. Petersburg joined the Northern Fleet and entered service
in September 2021. A second submarine, B-586 Kronshtadt and third one, B-587
Velikiye Luki are to be handed over to the Navy in 2022.
Project 677 belongs to the
fourth generation of diesel-electric submarines, currently recognized as the
most advanced non-nuclear subs in terms of combat effectiveness and other
tactical and technical parameters. The Admiralty Shipyards is the sole plant
that builds submarines of this class.
Meet
The Lada-Class: Russia's Most Dangerously Quiet Submarine Ever
It may be quieter than a
nuclear-powered submarine.
by Caleb Larson Follow @calebmlarson on TwitterL
The venerable Rubin Design Bureau is the
largest of Russia’s submarine design firms. It’s the oldest too—nearly 120
years old and counting. Design teams there have designed the vast majority of
the nuclear submarines deployed by the Soviet Union—and is now coming up with
something new and potentially revolutionary. Meet the new Lada-class, perhaps one of the quietest submarines in
the world.
Lada
The new Lada-class utilizes an efficient teardrop shape for
the hull, an industry-standard design that is aerodynamically efficient. When a
submarine hull more or less free of protuberances, holes, divots, or other
shapes or markings that can cause turbulence in the water and create detectable
noise, than the hull is considered “clean.”
And the Lada-class
hull appears to be smooth—and quite clean.
What is perhaps most revolutionary about the
design is the propulsion system. In an apparent first for the Russian Navy,
the Lada-class uses a
hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell that generates electricity for the propellers.
This system is not a battery,
like what is typically seen on diesel-electric submarines, where diesel
generators charge batteries, but rather a chemical reaction that generates
electricity, although the Lada-class does carry
diesel generators as well. Importantly, it is considerably quieter than
diesel-electric submarines, as there is no loud, clanking engine that emits
noise, just a calm, quiet chemical reaction.
It may be quieter than a nuclear-powered
submarine as well. While nuclear-powered submarines are not especially loud,
their cooling systems can be. In order to move cooling around the reactor and
then elsewhere when heat can be dissipated, a pump of some kind is needed to
transport the liquid coolant, which naturally would have an acoustic signature
of some kind.
The company website describes some
of the features of the Amur 950, the export version of the Lada-class:
“Acoustic signature of the Amur 950 submarine
is several times less compared to Kilo class submarines which
are currently considered to be the most silent in the world. The submarine is
equipped with electronic warfare systems of new generation based on the recent
hi-tech solutions. The provision is made for the boat to be fitted with an
air-independent propulsion plant with electrochemical generators to
considerably increase submerged endurance and cruising range. The plant with
stock of reagents is located in a special compartment module, which can be
incorporated into the submarine during construction or repair / refit.”
Again, a simple chemical reaction inside a
fuel cell would likely be orders of magnitude quieter than both a purely
diesel-electric or nuclear-powered submarine, a strong advantage in deep water
games of Marco Polo.
Caleb Larson is a Defense Writer with The
National Interest. He holds a Master of Public Policy and covers U.S. and
Russian security, European defense issues, and German politics and culture.
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