MOSCOW, Dec 14 - RIA Novosti. The Chelyabinsk nuclear submarine of the project 949A (cipher "Antey") will be converted into a carrier of Onyx and Zircon cruise missiles under the project 949AM, work on the ship will begin after the modernization of the Irkutsk submarine of the same type is completed, a source in the shipbuilding industry told RIA Novosti.
The source added that "work on Chelyabinsk was planned to start earlier, but they were postponed to a later date due to insufficient funding."
In 2019, when visiting the DVZ, Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Alexey Krivoruchko said that the Irkutsk nuclear submarine missile cruiser, after modernization, will be able to use hypersonic Zircon missiles. Plans to modernize Chelyabinsk to the level of 949AM, involving the replacement of the missile system, have not been officially reported before.
Chelyabinsk was laid down in 1987 under Project 949A and launched in 1990. It is part of the Pacific Fleet.
The 949A "Antey" submarines were developed at the Central Design Bureau of Marine Technology "Rubin". In 1985-1996, 11 submarines of this class were built. The submarines have an underwater displacement of about 24 thousand tons, their maximum length is 155 meters. The main armament of the boats of the project 949A - 24 supersonic anti-ship missiles "Granite".
The Zircon is the world's first hypersonic cruise missile capable of sustained aerodynamic flight with maneuvering in the atmosphere using the thrust of its own engine. Its maximum speed reaches M = 9 (nine times the speed of sound, more than ten thousand kilometers per hour), the maximum firing range is a thousand kilometers. "Zircons" want to arm surface and underwater ships — both promising and under construction.
