Russia Launches Nuclear-Powered Submarine Ulyanovsk, Capable of Carrying Kalibr Missiles

The Russian shipyard Sevmash has launched a new nuclear-powered submarine — the Ulyanovsk, a Project 885M (Yasen-M class) cruise missile submarine.

Naval News reported on this.

The ceremony took place on July 28. The submarine was moved from the construction hall to the shipyard’s waterside facility, where final outfitting work will continue at the pier.

After completing sea trials, the submarine is expected to enter service with the Northern Fleet. Its transfer to the Russian Navy is scheduled to be completed by December 2027.

On June 22, it was reported that Sevmash had laid down the Project 885M submarine Murmansk.

This is the ninth submarine in the series. Two more boats — Voronezh and Vladivostok — are currently at earlier stages of construction.

Currently, four Project 885M submarines are in service with the Russian Navy.

The fifth submarine of the series, Perm, is undergoing trials, which are expected to be completed by the end of this year. It is expected to become the first submarine of its class armed with Zircon missiles.

Yasen-M

The Project 885M Yasen-M multipurpose nuclear-powered submarines are 130 meters long and 13 meters wide. Their full submerged displacement is 13,800 tons.

The submarine’s propulsion system is based on a single OK-650V pressurized water nuclear reactor with a capacity of 190 MW. It allows the submarine to reach a maximum submerged speed of up to 31 knots, while its surface speed is 16 knots.

The maximum diving depth of submarines of this class is 600 meters, with an operational depth of 520 meters. The submarine’s endurance is limited to 100 days. The upgraded missile carrier has a crew of 64.

The submarine’s main armament consists of 10 SM-346 vertical launch systems, each capable of carrying up to four Oniks cruise missiles or up to five Kalibr missiles.

The submarine’s torpedo armament consists of 10 533-mm torpedo tubes. They are located in the middle section of the hull behind the command post, as the large Irtysh-Amphora sonar system antenna occupies the entire bow section.

To protect against enemy weapons and provide acoustic countermeasures, the submarine is equipped with launchers for deploying specialized torpedo decoys. The hull is made of low-magnetic steel and covered with a special rubber coating designed to reduce noise.

The Yasen-M project is a further development of the original Project 885, under which only one lead submarine — Severodvinsk — was built.

The upgraded version features a shorter hull, updated onboard electronic systems and, according to Russian claims, a complete replacement of imported components.