Russia's Massive New "Arctic Research" Submarine

[Winston]

Fascinating article about a huge Russian sub for espionage, submarine cable tapping or cutting, special forces mini-sub launching, "Kanyon" nuclear-tipped, very long-range super torpedo launching "arctic research sub" made from a severely modified Oscar II class of nuclear-powered guided missile sub, lengthened from 505 feet to roughly 604 feet. The huge Russian Typhoon subs have a length of 574 feet.

Russia's Massive Arctic "Research" Submarine Will Be The World's Longest
The highly modified Oscar II class nuclear guided missile sub will have a bunch of new tricks up her sleeve, and a very sensitive and challenging mission set to use them on.
MAY 3, 2017

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zo...research-submarine-will-be-the-worlds-longest

 

[Winston]

As an aside, here's the modern Russian cruise missile familiy ALL of the Oscar II subs are being reconfigured to carry. Frankly, this family looks far more capable than our Tomahawk. It is recognixed by the DOD as HUGE threat.

3M-54 Kalibr/Klub

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3M-54_Klub

The Russian 3M-54 (Kalibr) and 3M-14 ?????? (Biryuza, Turqoise) (NATO codename SS-N-27 Sizzler) are Russian surface ship and submarine-launched anti-ship and coastal anti ship (AShM) and land attack cruise missiles (LACM) developed by the Novator Design Bureau (OKB-8). Derived export versions are the 3M-54E and the 3M-54E1. The 3M-54, 3M-54E, 3M-54TE and 3M-54AE have a second stage that performs a supersonic sprint in the terminal approach to the target, reducing the time that target's defense systems have to react. The 3M-54E1 only travels at subsonic speeds during its entire flight, though range is longer than that of the supersonic versions accordingly (2500 km).

The missile is a modular system with five versions: two anti-shipping types, one for land attack and two anti-submarine types. The missile is designed to share common parts between the surface and submarine-launched variants but each missile consists of different components, for example, the booster. The missile can be launched from a surface ship using a Vertical Launch System (VLS). It has a booster with thrust vectoring capability. The missile launched from a submarine torpedo tube has no need for such an addition but has a conventional booster instead. The air launched version is held in a container that is dropped and the missile launches, detaching from the container.

SS-N-27 “Sizzler” variant

https://missilethreat.csis.org/missile/ss-n-27-sizzler/

Sizzler Cruise Missile

The missile, known in the West as the "Sizzler," has been deployed by China and may have been purchased by Iran.

The Defense Departments weapons-testing office judges the threat so serious that its director, Charles McQueary, warned the Pentagons chief weapons-buyer in a memo that he would move to stall production of multibillion-dollar ship and missile programs until the issue was addressed.

"This is a carrier-destroying weapon, said Orville Hanson, who evaluated weapons systems for 38 years with the Navy. "Thats its purpose.

"Take out the carriers" and China "can walk into Taiwan, he said. China bought the missiles in 2002 along with eight diesel submarines designed to fire it," according to Office of Naval Intelligence spokesman Robert Althage.

A Pentagon official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Russia also offered the missile to Iran, although theres no evidence a sale has gone through. In Iranian hands, the Sizzler could challenge the ability of the U.S. Navy to keep open the Strait of Hormuz, through which an estimated 25 percent of the worlds oil traffic flows.

Fast and Low-Flying

"This is a very low-flying, fast missile, said retired Rear Admiral Eric McVadon, a former U.S. naval attache in Beijing." "It wont be visible until its quite close. By the time you detect it to the time it hits you is very short. You'd want to know your capabilities to handle this sort of missile."

The Navys ship-borne Aegis system, deployed on cruisers and destroyers starting in the early 1980s, is designed to protect aircraft-carrier battle groups from missile attacks. But current and former officials say the Navy has no assurance Aegis, built by Lockheed Martin Corp., is capable of detecting, tracking and intercepting the Sizzler.

"The Navy recognized this was a major issue, and over the years, I had continued promises they were going to fully fund development and production of missiles that could replicate the Sizzler to help develop a defense against it," Christie said. "They havent."

The effect is that in a conflict, the U.S. "would send a billion-dollar platform loaded with equipment and crew into harms way without some sort of confidence that we could defeat what is apparently a threat very near on the horizon," Christie said.

The Navy considered developing a program to test against the Sizzler "but has no plans in the immediate future to initiate such a developmental effort," Naval Air Systems Command spokesman Rob Koon said in an e-mail.

Charts prepared by the Navy for a February 2005 briefing for defense contractors said the Sizzler, which is also called the SS-N-27B, starts out flying at subsonic speeds. Within 10 nautical miles of its target, a rocket-propelled warhead separates and accelerates to three times the speed of sound, flying no more than 10 meters (33 feet) above sea level.

Final Approach

On final approach, the missile "has the potential to perform very high defensive maneuvers, including sharp-angled dodges, the Office of Naval Intelligence said in a manual on worldwide maritime threats.

The Sizzler is "unique, the Defense Science Board, an independent agency within the Pentagon that provides assessments of major defense issues," said in an October 2005 report. Most anti-ship cruise missiles fly below the speed of sound and on a straight path, making them easier to track and target.

The Sizzlers Russian maker, state-run Novator Design Bureau in Yekaterinburg, is "aggressively marketing the weapon at international arms shows," said Steve Zaloga, a missile analyst with the Teal Group, a Fairfax, Virginia-based defense research organization. Among other venues, the missile was pitched at last months IDEX 2007, the Middle Easts largest weapons exposition, he said.

 

[modeltrains]

Fascinating article about a huge Russian sub for espionage, submarine cable tapping or cutting, special forces mini-sub launching, "Kanyon" nuclear-tipped, very long-range super torpedo launching "arctic research sub" made from a severely modified Oscar II class of nuclear-powered guided missile sub, lengthened from 505 feet to roughly 604 feet. The huge Russian Typhoon subs have a length of 574 feet.

Fixing to head out to do errands so just skimmed over article right quick, cool. Just as with rockets, spaceships, submarines are fun and interesting though I wouldn't want to live on one.

 

[XolveJohn]

Those things are about as good as the N1 moon rocket exploding thing! :roll:

And obsolete. Our USA super-power solid state industrial turned military parallel laser bank weapon units mounted on

ships will send them to Davey Jones locker!