December 15, 2023

Russian Yasen-class SSGN

Comment: It is interesting what is included and excluded from the HUGE US odin.tradoc database.

On the Yasen the nicely summarized style is useful  see https://odin.tradoc.army.mil/WEG/List/ORIGIN_russia--rus--f8577e&DOM_sea-35e296&DOM_naval-watercraft-e32814

"K-560 Severodvinsk is a Yasen class nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine of the Russian Navy and the lead vessel of the class. The submarine is named after the city of Severodvinsk. The Yasen class, Russian designations Project 885 Yasen and Project 885M Yasen-M (Russian: Ясень, lit. 'ash tree', NATO reporting name: Yasen), also referred to as Graney class, are series of newest nuclear-powered cruise missile submarines designed by Malakhit and being constructed by Sevmash for the Russian Navy. 

Based on the Akula class and Alfa class designs, the Yasen class is projected to replace the Russian Navy's current Soviet-era nuclear attack submarines. The vessel's design is claimed to be state-of-the-art.

The Yasen-class nuclear submarines are presumed to be armed with land-attack cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles, anti-submarine missiles including the P-800 Oniks SLCM, Kalibr family SLCM or 3M51 SLCM. Kalibr-PL has several variants including the 3M54K (terminal-supersonic) and 3M54K1 (subsonic) anti-ship, 91R1 anti-submarine, and the 3M14K land-attack variant. In the future, there will be also an option to install the hypersonic 3M22 Zircon cruise missiles on upgraded 855M boats. Each submarine can carry 32 Kalibr or 24 Oniks (other sources claim 40 Kalibr and 32 Oniks) cruise missiles which are stored in eight (ten for 855M) vertical launchers (additional missiles may be carried in the torpedo room at the expense of torpedoes). It will also have [has] ten 533 mm tubes, as well as mines and anti-submarine missiles such as the RPK-7. 

It is the first Russian submarine class to be equipped with a spherical sonar, designated as MGK-600 Irtysh-Amfora. The device (allegedly the Irtysh/Amfora sonar system) was tested on a modified Yankee-class submarine. The sonar system consists of a spherical bow array, flank arrays, and a towed array. Due to the large size of this spherical array, the torpedo tubes are slanted. In other words, the torpedo tube outer doors are not located in the immediate bow as in the previous Akula class but moved aft. 

The hull is constructed from low-magnetic steel. Unlike previous Russian submarines which have a double hull, Yasen-class submarines mostly have a single hull. 

The Yasen class has a crew of 85 on project 885 and 64 on project 885M, suggesting a high degree of automation in the submarine's different systems. The newest U.S. Virginia-class submarines have a crew of 134 in comparison. 

Yasen-class submarines are the first to be equipped with a fourth-generation nuclear reactor. The reactor, built by Afrikantov OKBM, will allegedly have a 25-30 year core life and will not have to be refueled. Steam turbines are supplied by Kaluga Turbine Works. The inclusion of a new generation KTP-6 reactor on the Yasen-M boats is thought to significantly reduce their noise level: the reactor's primary cooling loop facilitates the natural circulation of water and thus doesn't require continuous operation of the main circulation pumps, which are the key noise factor on a nuclear submarine. The only other submarine classes in service with such reactor design are USN' Ohio and Virginia, employing the S8G and S9G reactors respectively. 

A VSK rescue pod is carried in the sail. According to admiral Foggo, the commander of the US Naval Forces Europe, the Yasen class submarines are "very quiet, which is the most important thing in submarine warfare". It's claimed that Severodvinsk is far quieter than previous Russian SSNs, capable of 20 knots while running quiet, which is equal to the Seawolf-class and inferior only to Virginia (25 knots). Other sources claim that Severodvinsk is capable of even 28 knots in silent mode."
K-560 Severodvinsk is a Yasen class nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine of the Russian Navy and the lead vessel of the class. The submarine is named after the city of Severodvinsk. The Yasen class, Russian designations Project 885 Yasen and Project 885M Yasen-M (Russian: Ясень, lit. 'ash tree', NATO reporting name: Yasen), also referred to as Graney class, are series of newest nuclear-powered cruise missile submarines designed by Malakhit and being constructed by Sevmash for the Russian Navy. Based on the Akula class and Alfa class designs, the Yasen class is projected to replace the Russian Navy's current Soviet-era nuclear attack submarines. The vessel's design is claimed to be state-of-the-art. The Yasen-class nuclear submarines are presumed to be armed with land-attack cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles, anti-submarine missiles including the P-800 Oniks SLCM, Kalibr family SLCM or 3M51 SLCM. Kalibr-PL has several variants including the 3M54K (terminal-supersonic) and 3M54K1 (subsonic) anti-ship, 91R1 anti-submarine, and the 3M14K land-attack variant. In the future, there will be also an option to install the hypersonic 3M22 Zircon cruise missiles on upgraded 855M boats. Each submarine can carry 32 Kalibr or 24 Oniks (other sources claim 40 Kalibr and 32 Oniks) cruise missiles which are stored in eight (ten for 855M) vertical launchers (additional missiles may be carried in the torpedo room at the expense of torpedoes). It will also have ten 533 mm tubes, as well as mines and anti-submarine missiles such as the RPK-7. It is the first Russian submarine class to be equipped with a spherical sonar, designated as MGK-600 Irtysh-Amfora. The device (allegedly the Irtysh/Amfora sonar system) was tested on a modified Yankee-class submarine. The sonar system consists of a spherical bow array, flank arrays, and a towed array. Due to the large size of this spherical array, the torpedo tubes are slanted. In other words, the torpedo tube outer doors are not located in the immediate bow as in the previous Akula class but moved aft. The hull is constructed from low-magnetic steel. Unlike previous Russian submarines which have a double hull, Yasen-class submarines mostly have a single hull. The Yasen class has a crew of 85 on project 885 and 64 on project 885M, suggesting a high degree of automation in the submarine's different systems. The newest U.S. Virginia-class submarines have a crew of 134 in comparison. Yasen-class submarines are the first to be equipped with a fourth-generation nuclear reactor. The reactor, built by Afrikantov OKBM, will allegedly have a 25-30 year core life and will not have to be refueled. Steam turbines are supplied by Kaluga Turbine Works. The inclusion of a new generation KTP-6 reactor on the Yasen-M boats is thought to significantly reduce their noise level: the reactor's primary cooling loop facilitates the natural circulation of water and thus doesn't require continuous operation of the main circulation pumps, which are the key noise factor on a nuclear submarine. The only other submarine classes in service with such reactor design are USN' Ohio and Virginia, employing the S8G and S9G reactors respectively. A VSK rescue pod is carried in the sail. According to admiral Foggo, the commander of the US Naval Forces Europe, the Yasen class submarines are "very quiet, which is the most important thing in submarine warfare". It's claimed that Severodvinsk is far quieter than previous Russian SSNs, capable of 20 knots while running quiet, which is equal to the Seawolf-class and inferior only to Virginia (25 knots). Other sources claim that Severodvinsk is capable of even 28 knots in silent mode

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