Russia's Northern and Pacific Fleets - SSBN Program 3

Click here to vastly enlarge map. Note blue Northern sea route - handy for inter-fleet transfer of submarines between Murmansk naval region in nouthwest Russia and the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia's (Siberia's) Far East. (Map courtesy SOUTH FRONT Analysis Intelligence 2015)
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Role of SSNs

For Russia's Northern and Pacific Fleet SSBNs SSNs may defend SSBNs at times of high tension and particularly if enemy SSNs are on the SSBN's tail. But Russia's current (Akula, Sierra, Victor and Yasen class) SSNs would not be in the vicinity of friendly SSBNs on routine patrols as the presence of SSNs may act as pointers to SSBNs nearby.

Enemy SSNs are a great threat to SSBNs. SSNs waiting outside of SSBN bases for SSBNs to enter or (especially) leave on patrol may be normal (eg. Russian SSNs outside Faslane, UK SSBN Base).

A Russian SSN may in future, or currently, launch one of its developing UUVs/AUVs on the approaches to Faslane to act as an extra picket.

Seabed Sensors

Lines of offensive and protective seabed sensors (with acoustic/SOSUS, wake motion, light etc) may be strung by Russia:

- from Kamchatka Peninsula down Kuril Islands chain to Japan

- Kamchatka Peninsula to Aleutian Island chain

- Kamchatka Peninsula to Sakhalin Island

- across the Bering Strait

- many narrows in the Arctic Ocean as well as Barents Sea

- across the northern Atlantic (Norwegian Sea and Denmark Strait, etc)

Some other issues

As the ice retreats with global warming, secure year-round ice-free access to both the Atlantic and North Pacific from Arctic bases will also be a priority for the Russian Navy.

Submarines are also useful in protecting economic interests. "China isn’t an Arctic littoral state, but it has exhibited a growing interest in the Arctic, consonant with a growing strategic relationship with Russia and economic interests in Russia’s control of the more promising Northern Sea Route to Europe and of Arctic resources." 

Russian nuclear sites. Naval bases have blue balls.

Russia has two main SSBN bases:

NORTHERN FLEET

SSBNs are at Gadzhiyevo (see Strategic Fleet entry)  (Yagelnaya Bay, Sayda Inlet) near Severomorsk within greater Murmansk area (see blue ball collection in northwest Russia). The Northern Fleet's base location gives it access to the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans.

Northern Fleet nuclear submarine Order of Battle (SSBNs, SSNs, no SSGNs) includes:

SSBNs

·       Delta IV-class SSBN Verkhoturye (K-51)

·       Delta IV-class SSBN Tula (K-114) currently undergoing overhaul

·       Delta IV-class SSBN Bryansk (K-117)

·       Delta IV-class SSBN Kareliya (K-18)

·       Delta IV-class SSBN Novomoskovsk (K-407)

·       Delta IV-class SSBN Ekaterinburg (K-84) (maybe permantly inactive after a huge fire in 2011).

·       Borey class SSBN K-535 Yuriy Dolgorukiy^[15]

4 Victor class SSNs including:

·       B-388 Petrozavodsk - commissioned November 1988

·       B-138 Obninsk - commissioned May 1990^[7]

·       B-414 Daniil Moskovskiy - commissioned December 1990.

·       B-448 Tambov - commissioned September 1992

3 Sierra class SSNs are reportedly active including:

·       Sierra I-class SSN Kostroma

·       Sierra II-class SSN Nizhniy Novgorod^[14]

·       Sierra II-class SSN Pskov (K-336)

6 Akula class SSNs

·       Akula I-class SSN Pantera (K-317)

·       Akula I-class SSN Volk (K-461)

·       Akula I-class SSN Leopard (K-328)

·       Akula I-class SSN Tigr (K-154) ^[14]

·       Akula II-class SSN Vepr (K-157)

·       Akula II-class SSN Gepard (K-335)

PACIFIC FLEET

SSBNs, SSNs and SSGNs are at Vilyuchinsk (see Strategic Fleet entry)  – on Kamchatka Peninsula, giving Russia's (see blue ball collection in farthest East Russia/Siberia). The Pacific Fleet's base location gives it access to the Arctic and Pacific Oceans.

Meanwhile the Pacific Fleet HQ (with most surface vessels) is located at Vladivostok strategically landlocked in the Sea of Japan. The closed (to foreigners and the unauthorised) town/base of Vilyuchinsk (wiki entry) is just 20km from the open city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (Kamchatka Peninsula). Vilyuchinsk has the advantage of being just south of arctic ice protection allowing its nuclear submarines to travel via the Arctic Ocean (often under the Arctic ice) to/from the Northern Fleet base. This is known by the Russian Navy as an inter-fleet transfer. 

The first Borei SSBN (Alexander Nevskiy) arrived in Vilyuchinsk on September 30, 2015. Borei Vladimir Monomakh arrived in September 2016. See the Pacific Fleet nuclear subs below.

  

Active Nuclear Submarines of the Russian Pacific Fleet
#	Type	Name	Class	Year Comm -issioned
K-551	SSBN	Vladimir Monomakh	Borei	2014
K-550	SSBN	Alexander Nevsky	Borei	2013
K-44	SSBN	Ryazan	Delta III	1979
K-223	SSBN	Podolsk	Delta III	1980
K-433	SSBN	Svyatoy Georgiy Pobedonosets	Delta III	1981
K-150	SSGN	Tomsk	Oscar II	1991
K-456	SSGN	Tver	Oscar II	1991
K-442	SSGN	Chelyabinsk	Oscar II	1990
K-132	SSGN	Irkutsk	Oscar II	1988
K-186	SSGN	Omsk	Oscar II	1993
K-331	SSN	Magadan	Akula I	1990
K-419	SSN	Kuzbass	Akula I	1992
K-322	SSN	Kashalot	Akula I	1988
K-391	SSN	Bratsk	Akula I	1987
K-295	SSN	Samara	Akula II	1995

Pete