Is the health of Russia’s submarine fleet improving?
The Lada-class submarine Kronstadt at Admiralty Shipyards. The Lada-class are 67m-long displacing some 2,100 tonnes dived. Crewed by just 37 personnel, Kronstadt has a capacity for 18 torpedoes, the capability to dive up to 300m and achieve a maximum speed of 21kt with an endurance of 45 days. (Photo: Admiralty Shipyards)
The Russian Federation Navy submarine service has struggled to modernise in recent years, but progress on two main acquisition programmes could mean that it has turned a corner.
On 31 January 2024, Admiralty Shipyards announced that the second Project 677 (Lada-class) diesel-electric submarine (SSK), named Kronstadt (B-586), had been commissioned for service in the Russian Federation Navy’s
(RFN’s) Northern Fleet.
Meanwhile, the fifth modified Project 955A Yuri Dolgorukiy-class (Borei A) ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), Knyaz Pozharsky (K-555), was launched at Sevmash Shipyard in early February. But does this indicate a change in fortunes for Russia’s submarines?
Kronstadt is the second Lada-class SSK to be delivered but is the first operational boat built to a modernised design. The first-of-class, Sankt Petersburg (B-585), was used as a trial platform entering service
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