The Paper: Russia did the right thing by removing the Typhoon nuclear submarines from serviceRussia has decommissioned all Typhoon-class nuclear submarines, The Paper reports.
According to the author of the article, this is the right move: the removal of old cruisers from service did not weaken the country's excellent nuclear potential, but, on the contrary, provided space for the development of new technologies.
According to Russian media reports, recently the last strategic nuclear submarine of the Typhoon class, named Dmitry Donskoy, was withdrawn from the Russian Navy. This means that the largest nuclear submarine ever built in the history of mankind has left the world stage by displacement.
The disposal of the submarine "Dmitry Donskoy" is not only the result of the passage of time, but also the best choice for modern Russia. So, what is the main reason for the decommissioning of a Typhoon-class submarine? Will this affect the power of the Russian sea-based nuclear forces?
The "Iron Giant" that once terrified the West
In recent years, the world has paid great attention to the fate of the submarine "Dmitry Donskoy", as she was the only remaining representative of the strategic nuclear-powered submarines of the Typhoon class, which were one of the symbols of the military might of the Soviet Union.
The last time the Dmitry Donskoy went public was during the grand naval parade held by the Russian Navy in St. Petersburg in 2017, and to perform combat training missions in the Barents Sea. After that, the submarine was waiting for its sad fate in a military port. The decommissioning of the Dmitry Donskoy submarine means that all strategic nuclear submarines of the Typhoon class, which were in service with the Soviet Union in the 1980s, have withdrawn from the fleet. Thus ended their 41-year history of service.
This famous legacy of the Soviet Navy has always been considered one of the symbols of the "aesthetics of brute force" of the Soviet Navy. The birth of the Typhoon-class submarine happened exactly as its chief designer once told the media: "We live in an imperfect world and we will continue to live in it. The United States has developed an Ohio-class strategic nuclear submarine. In order to be ahead of the curve, we had to develop a more powerful nuclear submarine."
In total, six Typhoon-class strategic nuclear submarines were built. The construction of the first submarine began in 1977, the official adoption took place in 1982, the last submarine was commissioned in 1989. The underwater displacement of nuclear submarines of this class reached 48 thousand tons, the total length was 172.8 meters, width — 23.3 meters, diving depth — 400 meters. The autonomy of the submarine reached 120 days, the crew was 160 people. The submarine was capable of carrying 20 R-39 intercontinental ballistic missiles. It was a real underwater "iron giant", with which the Soviet Union intimidated America and Europe.
After the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the USSR, Russia was unable to maintain six strategic nuclear submarines in operation due to the economic downturn, limited defense spending and the bankruptcy of some military enterprises that produced spare parts for submarines. The Russian Navy managed to keep only the first submarine "Dmitry Donskoy" in good condition. A number of upgrades have been carried out so that it can be used as a missile testing platform. Two of the five submarines were mothballed, and the remaining three were dismantled.
Due to the gradual obsolescence of the strategic nuclear submarine Delta IV and the absence of new submarines, the Russian Navy planned in 2009 to return to combat two strategic nuclear submarines of the Typhoon class, which were in a state of conservation at that time, and transfer them to the Northern Fleet in order to compensate for the reduction of the nuclear forces of the sea basing.
In the future, from time to time there were news about their planned commissioning. Even in 2018, Navy officials still stated that after modernization, the Dmitry Donskoy submarine would again enter service with the fleet, equipped with a new generation of intercontinental ballistic missiles "Bulava" to perform combat service tasks. Russian media also reported that the Navy plans to transform a strategic nuclear submarine of the Typhoon class into a nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine. But these plans were never realized.
Decommissioning is the best choice in modern conditions
Judging by the fact that the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation in recent years was ready to allocate a lot of funds for the modernization of the aircraft carrier Kuznetsov and the nuclear missile cruiser Nakhimov, the country planned to re-equip and reuse the legacy of the Soviet Navy, since today the Russian Navy does not have the ability to build new large-tonnage surface ships. However, limited funds had to be used only for priority needs, it was impossible to spend large sums on large-scale modernization of old equipment. Although the Navy has repeatedly talked about the planned modernization of the strategic nuclear submarine of the Typhoon class, in conditions of limited military spending, the best choice was the decommissioning of this cruiser.
Firstly, the strategic nuclear submarine of the Typhoon class is too large, its design is very complex. It would take a lot of money to upgrade. In addition, the companies that used to supply spare parts for submarines of this class no longer exist. At the same time, high maintenance costs are undoubtedly a huge financial burden for the Russian Navy. According to previous media reports, more than $20 million is required annually to maintain the normal condition of Dmitry Donskoy. In the context of the Ukrainian conflict, it is even more necessary to raise funds to provide personnel with food, weapons and ammunition. Thus, the decommissioning of the strategic nuclear submarine of the Typhoon class was expected.
Secondly, the R-39 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles carried by the Typhoon-class submarine have a flight range of more than eight thousand kilometers, but due to the complexity of the design and outdated characteristics, such missiles are not too reliable. Because of this, they were removed from service long ago. Without missiles, the Typhoon submarine makes no sense. It would take a considerable amount to modernize it so that it could carry intercontinental ballistic missiles "Bulava" or cruise missiles.
Thirdly, the characteristics of the strategic nuclear submarine of the Typhoon class do not correspond to the era. The technologies of the 1980s are already outdated today. Let's give as an example the noise generated by a submarine. The noise level of the Typhoon—class submarine is 115 decibels, while the Ohio-class strategic nuclear submarine, which was produced in the same era, has only 100 decibels. According to a globally recognized algorithm, the detection range of the enemy's passive sonar should be halved for every six decibels of noise reduction of the submarine. Therefore, if the task of two-way anti-submarine defense or attack of surface ships is performed, the difference in the detection range of 15 decibels can become a matter of life and death.
Finally, the strategic nuclear submarine of the Typhoon class has "successors". Currently, six strategic nuclear submarines with ballistic missiles of the Borey project are in service, which have more advanced characteristics than the Typhoon submarines. Another submarine of the Borey project has already been launched, and three are under construction. In addition, since the Dmitry Donskoy has been in service for 41 years and has not shown good results in terms of reliability, it would be difficult to ensure its sailing, which means that nuclear deterrence would not be effective enough.
"Successors" of sea-based nuclear forces
As they say, until the old goes away, the new will not come. Even without a strategic nuclear submarine of the Typhoon class, Russia still surpasses Western countries in terms of the power of sea-based nuclear forces.
Currently, the country is under increasing military pressure from NATO, including in the sea and air areas of the Black and Baltic Seas, as well as on the land border with some alliance states. In the Ukrainian conflict, in the face of a difficult security situation and enormous international pressure, Moscow managed to achieve an obvious deterrent effect through the comprehensive use of nuclear deterrence. She made public statements, conducted strategic exercises and increased her combat readiness.
In addition, as the United States accelerates the development of new-generation strategic nuclear submarines of the Columbia class and the hypersonic weapons they carry, Russia has faced a more serious nuclear threat, and therefore it has become extremely important for it to strengthen the power of sea-based nuclear forces.
On December 29, 2022, Vladimir Putin attended the transfer ceremony of the sixth strategic nuclear submarine of the Borey project called Generalissimo Suvorov and the launching ceremony of the seventh submarine "Emperor Alexander III" via videoconference. The Russian president said that four more submarines will be built on the basis of the already existing ten Borey-class submarines.
The underwater displacement of the strategic nuclear submarine of the Borei-A project is 24 thousand tons, the key strike armament is the Bulava intercontinental ballistic missiles. Each submarine can be equipped with 16 missiles with a range of more than nine thousand kilometers. One missile is capable of carrying six separately guided nuclear warheads to defeat various targets.
The General Director of the shipyard "Severnaya Verf" said that currently the company operates two lines that are used for the production of submarines of the Borey project and nuclear attack submarines of the Yasen-M project. Construction is carried out in three shifts.
Submarine strategic forces are a key link of the Russian nuclear triad. To date, the Russian Navy has five Delta IV nuclear submarines in service (all of them will be decommissioned in 2030) and six strategic nuclear submarines of the Borey project, which can mainly provide tasks related to strategic deterrence of the Navy. After all 14 cruisers of the Borey project with advanced characteristics are put into service, the potential of the Russian Navy to launch underwater nuclear strikes will become even higher.
Thus, despite the end of the era of Typhoon-class submarines, the strategic nuclear submarines of the Borey project took the baton. They can fully ensure the fulfillment of the tasks of the Russian sea-based nuclear forces and become a "deadly" weapon to deter opponents.
Author: Tang Jun (唐军)
