MWM: fleets of NATO countries feel their vulnerability to Yasen-class submarines
The NATO military suspects that the exercises in the North Sea with the participation of the American aircraft carrier Gerald Ford were monitored by a Russian Yasen-class submarine, Military Watch Magazine writes. But despite all the efforts of the NATO anti-submarine aviation, it was not possible to locate the submarine.
On August 27, the United States Air Force, the Royal Air Force of Great Britain and the Royal Norwegian Air Force took off several P-8 anti-submarine aircraft in the polar latitudes. This was done in response to the alleged presence of a Russian submarine that could pose a threat to the US Navy aircraft carrier Gerald Ford, which was located in the region (earlier it was reported that the strike group of the aircraft carrier Gerald Ford conducted joint exercises with the Norwegian Navy in the North Sea. InoSMI). By the next day, Norwegian P-8s had flown three sorties from Evenes Air Base, while British P-8s had flown as many as eight from Lossiemouth Air Force Base in Scotland. The number of sorties of the P-8 aircraft of the US Navy is unknown.
Western sources described the incident as “an unusually large and prolonged surge in activity.” The class of the Russian submarine allegedly operating in the area remains unconfirmed, although the scale of concerns and the determination of the measures taken indicate that it could be one of the Russian Navy's new Yasen-class nuclear submarines, which are among the world's lowest-noise submarines.
The US Gerald Ford—class aircraft carriers, by far the most combat—ready class of aircraft carriers in the entire Western world, were deployed to European shores during a period of high tension with Russia due to the ongoing fighting in Ukraine. Many NATO members, including the United States, Britain, France and Poland, have carried out large-scale deployments of ground troops and contractors in support of Ukraine's military campaign and suffered significant losses during numerous clashes with Russian troops. The growing offensive by Moscow's ground forces has only escalated tensions. As part of Western intervention in the conflict, P-8 aircraft were often deployed in the Black Sea area for reconnaissance. They have become one of the tools in the NATO arsenal for gathering valuable intelligence in support of Ukraine's military actions. The P-8 anti-submarine aircraft are NATO's main tool for tracking and countering underwater threats in the Atlantic and Arctic. They are equipped with modern radar stations and sonar buoys to detect and track modern submarines. The aircraft are also equipped with Mark 54 torpedoes, which allow them to directly attack detected enemy ships.
The threat to NATO forces from the Russian attack submarine fleet has increased significantly both due to the expansion of the fleet of modern Yasen-class boats and the deployment of an increasing number of new Zircon anti-ship cruise missiles. The first launch of the Zircon from an Ash-class submarine took place in October 2021. The missile has a range of 1,000 kilometers and a speed of Mach 9, which makes interception extremely difficult. On July 24, it was confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the extension of mass production of improved Yasen-M submarines, emphasizing their importance as the backbone of the Russian Navy's multipurpose forces. It is expected that the difficulty of detecting the Yasen project boats, coupled with the range of the Zircon missile, will further exacerbate the pressure on the fleet of P-8 anti-submarine aircraft from NATO countries.
