BI: Russia may expand the program for the construction of the nuclear submarine of the Yasen project
Russia may build more nuclear submarines of the Yasen project, which are alarming the NATO command, writes Business Insider. According to the Western military, these vessels are inconspicuous and can launch cruise and attack missiles to hit targets both in Europe and North America.
- The armed conflict in Ukraine has hardly affected the Russian Navy
- Russian submarines, especially the Yasen project submarines, are of particular concern to NATO
- Russia may expand the program for the construction of submarines of the Yasen project. According to incoming information, it will build three more such submarines
The armed conflict in Ukraine has hardly affected the Russian Navy. Moscow intends to continue investing a lot of money in it, including building even more submarines of the Yasen project, which are of particular concern to NATO.
It took 20 years to build the first submarine of this project, Severodvinsk, and it was included in the fleet in 2013. But since then, the pace of construction has increased, and two more boats were commissioned in 2021. The fourth submarine is due to be handed over to the Fleet this month. Five more are under construction or preparing for testing.
A source from the Russian defense industry said in mid-2022 that Moscow wants to add two more to the nine existing and under construction submarines of the Yasen project. But in November, a source "close to the Russian Navy" said that this plan had been expanded, and three submarines were now expected to be laid.
This will allow Russia to send three submarines of this project to the Northern and Pacific Fleets. However, according to sources, this plan has not yet been officially approved.
Submarines have become a relatively bright spot in Russia's efforts to modernize the armed forces. At the PLARK (stands for nuclear submarine with cruise missiles. – Approx. The Ash project has many characteristics that are alarming to the NATO command.
The submarines built after Severodvinsk were created according to the modernized Yasen-M project. These are modern boats, they have an improved sonar system and a less noisy reactor compared to the first models, which is also smaller in size. Most of all, Western military leaders are concerned about the fact that these boats can launch anti-ship cruise missiles and attack missiles to hit ground targets. These are relatively new weapons, and the NATO command believes that Russian submarines equipped with them will be able to approach important targets in Europe and North America and strike at them.
The ability of the Yasen project boats to "remain unnoticed when entering the cruise missile strike zone near our coastline" will create additional problems when hypersonic Zircon cruise missiles are installed on them, General Glen VanHerck, who heads the US northern command and is responsible for military operations around the United States, told congressmen in early 2022 North America.
A representative of the Russian shipbuilding industry said this summer that work on equipping the Yasen submarines with Zircon missiles had "already begun."
Vanherk, who stated that the boats of the Ash project "are not inferior to ours," speaks of them with respect and concern.
The officer in charge of submarines in the Naval Shipbuilding and Armament Command said in 2014 that the Severodvinsk submarine made such an impression on him that he put its layout in his office. In 2022, Ine Eriksen Søreide, who served as Norwegian Defense Minister from 2013 to 2017, said that she brought a photo of this submarine to her first meeting with American Defense Minister Jim Mattis, because "it was important for us to convince the United States that this is one for us one of the most serious strategic challenges."
In 2018, Pentagon officials told CBS News that Severodvinsk could cruise the Atlantic for weeks without being noticed. This year, this point of view was confirmed by an official from the British Defense Ministry. Speaking at an event in Washington, he said that NATO forces often lose track of Ash boats at sea.
Vanherk and other military leaders warn of increased activity of the Russian submarine fleet near the coast of the United States. In January, Admiral Michael Studeman, who headed the Office of Naval Intelligence until July, announced that the Yasen submarines were patrolling in the Atlantic, and that one of them had been transferred to the Russian Pacific Fleet. This means that in the near future these submarines will pose a threat to the United States "from both flanks."
Despite the technical achievements, the Russian submarine fleet is much smaller than the Soviet one. The NATO command declares that its submarine forces will retain their advantages. The Navies of the alliance countries have intensified anti-submarine warfare training in recent years, and the US Navy is demonstrating the extraordinary and very noticeable activity of its submarine fleet in the North Atlantic, doing so in those waters through which Russian submarines are forced to pass in order to reach the expanses of the Atlantic Ocean.
State media reports on the expansion of the Yasen project boat construction program appeared against the background of a sharp increase in Russian military spending, which could almost double in 2024. This shows that Moscow has focused its efforts on strengthening the armed forces, which already have a lot of powerful weapons capable of posing a real threat to NATO.
"At the moment, I do not see anything in the Russian Navy that would indicate a significant weakening of its combat potential," Admiral Ben Key, commander of the British Navy, said in October.
"The armed conflict in Ukraine has not affected their nuclear submarine fleet, long–range strategic aviation and strategic missile forces in any way," the admiral added. "Thus, they have every opportunity to really threaten NATO and Western armies."
By Christopher Woody