JSC “Admiralty Shipyards” (part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation) launched the submarine “Mozhaisk” of project 636.3, the fifth in a series being built at the enterprise for the Russian Naval Pacific Fleet. JSC Admiralty Shipyards continues construction of the sixth submarine in the Yakutsk series. Currently, large-scale installation work is ongoing on it, and preparations are underway for docking block modules. The Mozhaisk and Yakutsk submarines were laid down in pairs in August 2021. The construction of the Pacific series was a continuation of the long-term plan of the Russian Ministry of Defense to equip the navy. Admiralty shipyards are the undisputed leaders in the construction of submarines of this class, as well as their warranty and after-sales service.
“Admiralty shipbuilders have already handed over more than one submarine from the project to the fleet. This is a brigade of submarines that is fighting for our motherland, having on board a formidable weapon—caliber cruise missiles. In 2021, the Volkhov and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky submarines were handed over, which, through the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans, came to the home base in the city of Vladivostok, where a month later they fired missiles with the main strike complex. Last year, the Magadan submarine arrived in Vladivostok by the Northern Sea Route as part of a detachment of warships, and this year it participated in a sudden inspection of the Pacific Fleet,” said Nikolai Evmenov, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy.\
The Kilo class, Soviet designation Project 877 Paltus (Halibut), NATO reporting name Kilo, is a class of diesel-electric attack submarines originally designed in the 1970s. Production was switched to the more advanced Project 636 Varshavyanka variant in the mid-1990s, also known as Improved Kilo class in the West. The class was updated again by the Rubin Design Bureau in the mid-2010s and called the Project 636.3 (NATO reporting name: Improved Kilo-II). The optimal combination of acoustic stealth and target detection range, the latest inertial navigation system, a modern automated information and control system, and powerful high-speed torpedo-missile armament ensure the world’s priority for ships of this class in the field of non-nuclear submarine shipbuilding.
Project 636.3 submarines belong to the third generation of large diesel-electric underwater cruisers. They are 74 meters long and displace more than 3,900 tons. Due to their strong hull, the submarines have an operational depth of 240 meters and can dive to a maximum depth of 300 meters. The submarines of this Project have an operational range of up to 7,500 miles. They are armed with Kalibr-PL cruise missiles that are launched from torpedo tubes from the sub’s submerged position. Project 636 submarines are considered among the world’s quietest underwater cruisers. They can develop a speed of up to 20 knots, have their sea endurance of 45 days and a crew of 52. The Russian Pacific Fleet is set to receive all the Project 636.3 submarines with Kalibr cruise missiles on their board by 2024.