Russian Subs to Become Indistinguishable From Whales

Russia’s Borei, Yasen nuclear missile submarines and Varshavyanka-class diesel-electric subs will be equipped with noise-dumping plates to make them indistinguishable from whales and orcas, Rossiiskaya Gazeta reported.

“Due to its specific design, they effectively absorb noise of different frequencies and at different depths, thus making it difficult for the submarine to be detected," Alexander Livshits, the CEO of the noise-absorbing plates’ developer, the Cheboksary Production Association, told the newspaper.

The press service of arms maker Techmash, which is part of Rostec Corporation, said that in keeping with a state order, it will be busy producing the state-of-the-art submarine rubber coating for Borei, Yasen and Varshavyanka-class submarines for the next five years.

The recently-floated Kazan nuclear-powered submarine is the first multirole nuclear submarine of the upgraded Project 885M Yasen-M.

It boasts a more streamlined hull and an advanced electronic warfare system that enables the sub to “hear” enemy ships at a distance far exceeding the “listening” range of conventional Yasen subs.

The unique architecture of the Yasen-class submarines makes them stand out from anything Russia had before.

A battery of slanted 533 mm torpedo tubes are not located in the immediate bow as in the previous Akula-class subs, but is moved aft, in close vicinity of eight vertical launchers for Kalibr and Oniks cruise missiles.

A combination of torpedoes and missiles enables the sub to effectively engage a wide range of targets from submarines and stationary land facilities to all types of surface ships. Before very long, the Yasen submarines will also be armed with heat-seeking torpedoes.

Yasen-class submarines will be the first Russian SSNs/SSGNs equipped with a fourth generation nuclear reactor. The reactor has a 25-30-year core life and will not have to be refueled.

Currently under construction at Sevmash shipyards are Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Arkhangelsk and Perm Yasen-class multirole nuclear submarines.