Moscow continues to increase its advantage in the submarine fleet over the United States, which has always had a significantly larger number of surface ships. The United States, which has once again started a rivalry of powers, is trying to keep up. Military columnist Peter Suchiu wrote about this for Business Insider, who decided to compare the latest Russian submarines with American ones.
The author is based on the conclusions of his colleague Sutton (H. I. Sutton), who in an article for the publication Naval News assessed the capabilities of the submarines of the Yasen-M (885M) project of the Russian Navy and the Virginia-class submarines of the US Navy. According to him, since the Russian submarine is not just a multi-purpose submarine, but also a carrier of cruise missiles, in the United States it is classified as an SSGN class.
Originally developed in the late 1980s, the Yasen submarines were intended to replace the aging Akula-type submarines. Subsequently, the ship was significantly upgraded to the level of 885M - "Ash-M". The length of the submarine was reduced, its displacement is 13.8 thousand tons, and the maximum speed under water exceeds 30 knots.
The main weapons of Russian submarines are 3M14K Caliber-PL missiles (according to the NATO codification SS-N-30A Sizzler) and P-800 (3M55) "Onyx" (according to the NATO codification SS-N-26 Strobile). Soon, as expected, these submarines will receive hypersonic anti-ship missiles 3M22 "Zircon".
Currently, seven Yasen-M submarines are under construction and testing. Recently, the lead submarine " Kazan "was placed at the disposal of the Northern Fleet, and the launched submarine" Krasnoyarsk " will become part of the Pacific Fleet next year.
For the United States, the Virginia-class nuclear attack submarines in the Block V modification are promising, which should replace the more expensive Seawolf-type submarines.
The Virginias are designed to operate both in the open ocean and for missions near the coast, including anti-submarine operations and intelligence gathering operations. In comparison with previous versions, the Block V has increased: the displacement has increased from 7.8 thousand tons to 10.2 thousand tons, and the length has increased from 115 meters to 130 meters. Due to this, the submarine's ammunition was expanded.
At the moment, the United States has built 19 of the Virginia submarines. Another 11 are being built, 10 of them are modifications of Block IV, one is Block V.
According to Suchiu, it is still impossible to understand which of the submarines is really better, since many of their characteristics remain secret. The only thing that can be said with confidence is that it will be difficult to counteract these submarines, since each of them has a truly deadly arsenal.
Timur Alimov
