Russia’s Next-Gen Submarines To Be Fitted With Advanced Ultra-Quiet Propulsion System

Russia’s naval commander today said that the country’s latest generation attack submarine, will be fitted with an advanced ultra-quiet propulsion system within the next three years.

According to a Ria Novosti report, Admiral Viktor Chirkov said that the first Lada-class attack submarine will be equipped with the air-independent system by 2016, to increase both its range and stealth.

The only operational Lada-class submarine, the Sankt Peterburg, entered into service four years ago after more than a decade of construction and sea trials.  The navy briefly suspended production of the vessels in 2012, pending design changes.

The new propulsion system is being developed at the northern Sevmash shipyard, the country’s largest, the report said.

Chirkov said that in the long-term Russia would move towards building submarines in modular fashion to produce a variety of sizes from standard parts, a common practice in the construction of surface ships.

Air-independent power plants offer significant advantages over diesel-electric submarines, which must surface regularly to recharge their batteries, and nuclear submarines, which must continually run noisy pumps to cool their reactors, the report added.