Borei class nuclear submarine Vladimir Monomah at the “Sevmash” shipyard before its launch in Severodvinsk. (RIA Novosti/A. Petrov)
Posted on 12/30/2012 9:12:48 PM PST by null and void
Borei class nuclear submarine Vladimir Monomah at the “Sevmash” shipyard before its launch in Severodvinsk. (RIA Novosti/A. Petrov)
Super-modern, powerful and almost noiseless Russian nuclear submarine Vladimir Monomakh has been put in water to become the third ship of the Borei project. The cruiser is about to begin sea trials and mooring to become fully operational in 2013.
Vladimir Monomakh was laid down at Russia’s largest shipbuilding complex Sevmash, located on the shores of the White Sea in the town of Severodvinsk in northern Russia on March 19, 2006 – the 100th anniversary of the Russian submarine fleet.
Borei-class submarine
Length: 170 m
Beam: 13.5 m
Draught: 10 m
Test depth: 450 m
Displacement:
14,720 tons surfaced
24,000 tons submerged
Speed: 29 knots (54 km/h)
Complement: 107 (55 officers)
Armament: 16-20 × Bulava SLBMs
6 × 533 mm torpedo tubes
It belongs to a class of missile strategic submarine cruisers with a new generation of nuclear reactor, which allows the submarine to dive to a depth of 480 meters. It can spend up to three months in autonomous navigation and, thanks to the latest achievements in the reduction of noise, it is almost silent compared to previous generations of submarines. The submarine is armed with the new missile system, which has from 16 to 20 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles Bulava (SS-NX-30 by NATO classification). The rocket is able to overcome any prospective missile defense system.
On August 27, 2011, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on a successful test of Bulava to investigate its maximum range. The missile was launched from the White Sea, flew 9,300km in just 33 minutes, and then fell in the specified area in the Pacific Ocean.
All Borei class submarines are equipped with a floating rescue chamber designed to fit in the whole crew.
Nuclear submarine (NS) "Yuri Dolgoruky" undergoing sea trials. (RIA Novosti)
The Borei family
The first and head submarine of Borei class, Yury Dolgoruky, has already completed the test program and is to be officially adopted by the Russian Navy on Sunday. Construction of the missile carrier is approximately estimated at around US$770 million, while other Borei class submarines are believed to cost less.
“The hoisting of the flag and the signing of the acceptance act is to be adopted at the Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk on Sunday, December 30,” the Rubin design bureau that designed the submarine said in a statement on Saturday.
Another missile cruiser of this project, the Aleksandr Nevsky, is undergoing tests, according to Borisov. While a fourth, more advanced submarine, the Knyaz Vladimir, with enhanced technical characteristics and increased ammunition is currently being built.
Over the next eight years Russia plans to have built 10 Borei class submarines altogether, according to the state armaments program of 2011-2020. All Borei class submarines are believed to provide a basis of naval strategic nuclear forces of Russia in the coming decades.
The nuclear submarine (NS) "Yuri Dolgoruky" in the area of the JSC "Sevmash". (RIA Novosti)
Escape pod looks big enough for about half of the officers.
Just gives Putin a little more “flexibility” to match Obama’s post election flexibility.
The photo of the pod is of a different submarine. Look at the photo at the top and compare the size.
And of course, don’t forget the new metallurgical advancement in their Titanium-Putin-Kursk alloy that boasts the most advanced submarine screen doors in naval history.
“We will pass through the American patrols, past their sonar nets, and lay off their largest city, and listen to their rock and roll... while we conduct missile drills.”
Lol, that’s exactly what I was thinking of, except the front half of the Submarine detaches and floats to the top.
Absolutely correct. And that sub has a total complement of 55-60.
Now take a look at the escape pod, count the rungs in the ladder welded on the outside. (I get 10, but a trained photo interpreter may do better.) I estimate 16" spacing which would make the whole thing roughly 15' high. Measure the total height vs diameter at the thick part and I get roughly 11' in diameter. That is 95 sq. ft. Imagine an upper and a lower set of seats, and we get 190 sg. ft. for 60 people. Or about 3 sq. ft. per seat.
It is certainly possible to get 60 men in that space. It is not going to comfortable, but it is not that far below economy class airline seating. Keep in mind that submariners are selected for small stature and it looks very reasonable. Bets the heck out of drowning on the ocean floor.
It depends on how motivated they are to get off a sinking sub.
" Guinness Book of World Records Most People Crammed into Old-Style Volkswagen Beetle (Bug)"
17
BTW, I've been in a Toyota pickup with 28 people (Kenya) and seen them with 35.
[This one is a Peugeot]
HOWEVER, we spend something like 8 times as much money per year as Russia on our military. So while they have built 3 brand new nuke subs very recently, we have built 24 of them.
I looked for articles on all of these 24 subs, and the best that I can find is something that says we’re building at the rate of maybe 1 sub every 4 years. So that tells me that nearly all of the 24 subs are being built in a TOP SECRET LOCATION, one that no one knows about.
It’s sure great that we’re doing all of this, and we must, or people wouldn’t be complaining about our excessive levels of military spending. And they’re right - why do we need to build nuke subs 24 times faster than the Russians? In fact, if we cut our military budget in half, we would still be building nuke subs 12 times faster than Russia!!
So let’s do that, for starters - and balance the budget!!
Not what I see. Look at the two guys in the open hatch wearing some kind of protective gear. Could you put 60 of them in there? I doubt it.
I'm not sure that's an escape pod at all. Why the protective gear? Could it be the nuclear fuel? Notice there is no one else around. Normally there would be guys all over the place when lowering a load like that into a small space.
Or, it could be the warp core and the guys are protected against anti-matter leaks.....
And, every crewman is issued a lead jockstrap...
Me, too. The words "Violent and traumatic decompression" come to mind. I wonder how that works out from the depths these marvels run at?
I'm also hoping the words "pasty goo" aren't included in the manual.
The new mini subs or even some underwater scooters are good alternatives....??
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