Name St. Petersburg class Preceded by Kilo class Built 1997– present Draft 6.5 m Endurance 1.5 months | Operators Russian Navy Succeeded by Project Kalina Length 67 m Endurance 1.5 months Builder Admiralty Shipyard | |
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Builders Admiralty Shipyard, Saint Petersburg | ||
The Russian Navy's St. Petersburg-class submarine is a class designed by the Russian Rubin Design Bureau. The class is also referred to as the Project 677 Lada-class submarine (Russian: Лада). A program to develop a "fourth generation" diesel-electric submarine, it aimed to produce a highly improved version of the Project 636 Kilo class with much quieter, new combat systems, and possibly air-independent propulsion.
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History
The lead ship of the class, named Sankt Peterburg, was launched in October 2004 and began sea trials in November 2005. The submarine was transferred to the Russian Navy in April 2010. Another two vessels were under construction at the Admiralty Shipyard with plans to launch four to six submarines by 2015. The Russian Navy had set out a requirement for a total of eight St. Petersburg-class submarines.
However, in November 2011 the Russian Navy decided that this class of submarines would not be accepted into service, as the lead boat had fallen far short of requirements during tests. The lead boat was retained as a test vessel to experiment with various systems. The construction of the remaining boats of the class was frozen.
On 27 July 2012, the Russian Navy commander-in-chief announced the resumption of the construction of the St. Petersburg-class submarines, having undergone extensive design changes. In 2013 and 2015, two further boats were re-laid and commissioning was expected in 2017 and 2018.
Indonesia had once indicated its interest in acquiring two St. Petersburg-class submarines, but the deal has fallen through due to financing issues.
Characteristics
The project 677 St. Petersburg is a Russian diesel-electric submarine developed in the late 1990s. The submarine is designed for anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare, defense of naval bases, seashore and sea lanes, as well as for conducting reconnaissance. The class marks the first usage of a mono-hull design by the Russian navy since the 1940s.
Displacement is 25% lower than that of its predecessor, the Kilo-class submarine. Top submerged speed is 21 knots (39 km/h), up from 19 knots for the Kilo class. The class is designed for an endurance of 45 days with a complement of 34.
The submarine is equipped with automated combat control system Litiy, (eng. Lithium).
A variant designated as the project 1650 Amur-class submarine is offered as an export model.