Losharik's Intentional Flooding and Functions

Many readers would be aware that on July 1, 2019, 14 of Losharik’s estimated 19 crew were killed in a fire (burns, blast, smoke inhalation) as Losharik was in the process of docking in Orenburg’s belly (“moon well” floodable chamber). Some of the following links are in French or Russian - which may translate to English automatically after 15 seconds or right-click mouse, then "Translate to English".

Few may be aware that it has been reported that Orenburg’s crew intentionally “flooded” Losharik to prevent the fire/explosions spreading to Orenburg. So some of Losharik’s crew may have been sacrificed to save Orenburg's crew.

The details below mainly drawing from excellent articles by:

Igor Delanoë (working in Moscow) “Losharik: drama in the depths” July 10, 2019,

http://www.rusnavyintelligence.com/2019/07/losharik-drame-dans-les-profondeurs.html

and also

Pavel Felgenhauer (also in Moscow) "‘Losharik’ Submersible Disaster Handicaps Russian Naval Operations” July 11, 2019, Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 16 Issue: 99, The Jamestown Foundation. https://jamestown.org/program/losharik-submersible-disaster-handicaps-russian-naval-operations/ in square [...] bracket’s :

Losharik (bottom) and above it Orenburg "mother sub" (a "Delta III Stretch BS-136). (Diagram courtesy TechnologyNewsWorld July 2, 2019).
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First described as nuclear submarine “AS-12”  Losharik turned out to be the AS-31, deep diving special operations submarine which operates from the belly of the much larger “mother sub”
BS-136 Orenburg  (modified from Delta III class SSBN K-129 in 1994).

What is Losharik used for? 

Using her underwater mechanical hands/manipulators and floodlights, Losharik is designed to carry out many sensitive, often risky missions:

Seizing and destroying submarine cables and tapping the cables with listening devices are 2 of the functions of Losharik. For example...in March 2016, the French press reported the presence of a Russian SSBN sitting on the bottom of the Bay of Biscay.  In fact of SSBN could well have been the Losharik-Orenburg combination spotted in an area where many vulnerable submarine cables are on the seafloor.

[Losharik can reportedly sabotage the US’ SOSUS [seafloor listening device arrays] in the Atlantic [Pete addition: Pacific, Arctic and Indian] Oceans. Atlantic sabotages would allow Russian submarines to break out of their Severomorsk base into the open Atlantic undetected (RBC, July 9).] [Just before the fire Losharik’s][...crew may have been searching for intelligence-gathering equipment potentially planted by the US military on the seafloor to monitor activities in the North Sea.]

Losharik also recovers Russian warheads, other weapons systems and sensors lost (or broken) at sea. For example, if new torpedo or UAV trials fail they need to be retrieved by Losharik before they fall into the hands of a foreign power [Pete addition: probably US, UK or China]. [Just before Losharik’s fire][...the Russian navy itself had lost something during exercises. Another possibility is that this was a mission to test some new equipment, which may explain the presence of a defense industry civilian specialist on board Losharik (RBC, July 9, 2019).]

Losharik can also recover the remains of foreign warheads and other weapons systems lost at sea [[Possible targets for Losharik or other Russian retrieval submersibles could be the] US RQ-4 Global Hawk drone...shot down by the Iranians in the Strait of Hormuz in June 2019. The Iranians gathered some floating debris, but there is surely a treasure trove left scattered on the seabed. In April 2019, a Japanese US-made F-35A crashed in the Pacific. Again, some floating debris was recovered, but more valuable technology could still be found underneath (Interfax, April 15).

 Losharik's many mechanical hands/manipulators, floodlights and additional helper submersibles are evident. (Artwork courtesy TechnologyNewsWorld July 2, 2019)

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Technical Details for Losharik include:

Displacement: 1600 tonnes (surfaced), 2100 tonnes (submerged)

Length:            60 m or 70 m (unconfirmed)

Propulsion:      1 nuclear reactor E-17 [details eg. kW or MW, unknown]

Complement:  19 to 25

Estimates Diving Depth:  6,000 metres.

See Submarine Matters' earlier Losharik reporting here.

Pete (with thanks to Starshiy for spotting some references).