But after more than 20 years of American supremacy, a new rival has risen from the depths of the ocean - the Russian submarine fleet. The author of TNI wondered what would happen if the most powerful nuclear missile carriers of Russia and America joined the battle? The answer will surprise you.
Kyle Mizokami
After the end of the Cold War, the US submarine fleet became the undisputed master of the depths of the sea. The sailors of the nuclear submarine fleet, who are the elite of the Navy, witnessed how the boats of their probable opponent were rusting at the piers, since the newly formed Russian Federation was unable to service and repair them.
But after more than 20 years of American supremacy, a new rival has risen from the depths of the ocean. It is somewhat familiar to American sailors, and its construction took almost two decades. This is a very unusual challenge to US naval superiority, and yet this Yasen Project 885 submarine has a long and formidable pedigree. What does this new, old upstart look like compared to today's backbone of the US submarine fleet, the Virginia—class submarine?
The concept of the Yasen project submarines was developed back in the mid-1980s at the Malakhit Central Design Bureau, which was one of the three main submarine creators in the USSR. The construction of the first boat of this project, Severodvinsk, was started in 1993 in Russia at Sevmash. However, due to lack of funding, the delivery of the boat was delayed for more than 10 years. In 2010, Severodvinsk was finally launched, and in 2013 it became part of the fleet.
The Yasen project boat is 119 meters long and has a displacement of 13,800 tons. Her crew is only 90 people, much less than on similar American submarines. This indicates a high level of automation of systems and mechanisms. In shape, it resembles the older Shchuka-B project 971 boat, but it has a longer length behind the wheelhouse, and there is also a hump in which vertical launchers are placed. According to the authoritative publication Combat Fleets of the World, Severodvinsk is equipped with an OK-650KPM nuclear reactor with a capacity of 200 megawatts, which is enough for the entire life of the boat. It allows Severodvinsk to reach speeds of up to 16 knots on the surface and up to 31 knots underwater. Other sources report that the boat is slightly faster and reaches a speed of 35 knots. At a speed of 20 knots underwater, she can walk silently.
The sonar armament of Severodvinsk is represented by the Irtysh-Amphora acoustic complex with an overall spherical antenna, lateral sonar arrays and a towed antenna for search and detection from behind. The boat has an MRK-50 Albatross navigation and surface search radar, as well as an electronic warfare support system.
The submarine's armament consists of four 533-millimeter torpedo tubes and four 650-millimeter torpedo tubes. They can be used to launch homing and remote-controlled torpedoes, as well as 3M54 Kalibr missiles, which are available in different versions (anti-ship, anti-submarine and to combat ground targets). Additional firepower for the Yasen project boats is provided by 24 vertical rocket launchers located behind the wheelhouse. Each is capable of carrying supersonic P-800 Onyx anti-ship missiles with a ramjet engine.
The Virginia-class submarine was conceived as an affordable replacement for the short-lived Seawolf-class submarine, which, although it had excellent characteristics, was extremely expensive. In this sense, the Virginia proved to be very successful and eventually formed the basis of the American submarine fleet.
With a length of 115 meters, the Virginia is only four meters shorter than the Severodvinsk. But it has half the displacement. The submarine has a crew of 113 people, and the SG9 nuclear reactor manufactured by General Electric is used as a power plant. The boat's propeller in the annular fairing. She has a surface speed of 25 knots, and a submerged speed of 35 knots. At a speed of 25 knots, she is as silent as the Los Angeles standing against the wall.
The Virginia, like the Russian boat, has a main acoustic station with a spherical antenna located in the bow. But starting with the Block III series boats, the BQQ-10 sonar system was replaced with a horseshoe-shaped Large Aperture Bow sonar. Additionally, large-format Light Weight Wide Aperture Array antenna arrays are installed on the port and starboard sides, consisting of two blocks of three fiber-optic acoustic sensors each. These wide-format antenna arrays are designed primarily for detecting diesel-electric submarines. Rear radar detection is provided by a towed TB-29(A) passive antenna array. Finally, the high-frequency sonar installed in the bridge fairing and in the bow allows the Virginia to detect and bypass naval mines.
The Virginia has only four torpedo tubes that launch heavy Mk.48 Advanced Capability (ADCAP) homing torpedoes with improved characteristics used against surface ships and submarines. It also has UGM-84 Sub-Harpoon anti-ship missiles. The first versions of this type of submarine were equipped with 12 Tomahawk missiles for hitting ground targets, which were placed in vertical launchers. In the Block III series, they were replaced with revolver-type launchers with the same number of missiles. In the Block V version, the number of launchers will be increased, and up to 40 Tomahawks will be placed on each boat.
Who will win in a direct clash between the Virginia in the Block III version, which was under construction at the time of Severodvinsk's commissioning, and the Russian submarine? Both submarines are the crowning achievement of the advanced technologies of the two countries, and their strength in a one-on-one fight will be approximately equal. The Severodvinsk is slower, but this boat sinks deeper. The Virginia is faster, but Combat Ships of the World reports that her hull was tested when diving only up to 488 meters. Probably, the Virginia will have an advantage in sonar detection due to the large-aperture sonar.
As for weapons, the forces of the two boats are approximately equal, although Severodvinsk has an anti-submarine version of Kalibr missiles, which allows it to quickly strike enemy submarines using a light torpedo delivered to the target by a missile very similar to the decommissioned American submarine-launched anti-submarine missile UUM-44 SUBROC.
The Virginia-class submarine has better sonar equipment than its Russian opponents, and it is also noisier. In underwater warfare, this is just the perfect combination. She moves and searches in such a way that it gives out the Severodvinsk boat. But one of the important advantages of the Severodvinsk is that this submarine reacts quickly to suddenly appearing targets, armed with supersonic anti-submarine missiles "Caliber". In the short term, the operational suitability of the Virginia sonars is constantly being improved through software upgrades. It seems that Severodvinsk does not have the capacity to modernize the complex of sonar equipment, and it is very difficult to make Russian submarines less noisy. In general, the palm tree should be given to the "Virginia" class.
In the future, underwater uninhabited vehicles and many other latest military equipment may take part in the rivalry between these two submarines. After the end of the cold War, the United States' interest in submarine warfare waned somewhat, and after the events of September 11, they began to pay even less attention to their submarine fleet. But now that the United States is once again focusing on the strategy of war between major powers, and in particular on underwater warfare, American submarines are sure to outperform their Russian competitors once again.
Kyle Mizokami is a specialist in the field of defense and national security. He lives and works in San Francisco, and his articles are published in such publications as The Diplomat, Foreign Policy, War is Boring and the Daily Beast. In 2009, he became one of the creators of the Japan Security Watch blog.
