Russia’s ‘New’ Lada-Class Submarine Has Just 1 Mission

Key Points – Russia’s Lada-class (Project 677) conventional attack submarines, including the recently launched B-586 Kronstadt, has one clear mission: a successful, modernized design intended to replace older Kilo-class boats for operations primarily in enclosed seas like the Baltic.

-While incorporating innovations such as a single hull, advanced anechoic coatings, the Lira sonar system, and the Litiy combat management system, the program has faced a protracted and troubled development.

-Critically, its planned Air-Independent Propulsion (AIP) system has not been successfully implemented per original specifications.

-Recent reports also suggest Lada-class subs may be equipped with torpedo tube-launched drones, though the program’s overall future remains uncertain.

Russia’s Newest Lada-Class Submarine

The Russian Lada-class submarine design has recently undergone a redesign to produce a brand-new, modernized variant, the B-586 “Kronstadt.” The launch of this model took place slightly more than a year ago in St. Petersburg.

The new Lada-class are conventional multipurpose submarines built by the Admiralty Shipyards according to a plan for a modified Project 677 Lada-class. Kronstadt is the first unit produced after the prototype B-585 St. Petersburg. Following its launch, Kronstadt was assigned to the 161st Submarine Brigade of the Kolsk Flotilla based in Polyarnyy as a part of the Northern Fleet.

Project 677 Lada was initially developed by the Central Design Bureau of Maritime Technology “Rubin” in St. Petersburg, one of the oldest and most well-known Russian submarine design centers. Rubin is not only Russia’s leading developer of strategic nuclear submarines, such as Project 955 Borei, but also non-nuclear multipurpose submarines, like Project 636 Varshavyanka, in addition to Project 677 Lada.

These new boats are to replace older submarine designs, specifically the Project 613, 641, and 877 series.

These subs were built to be operated in the “enclosed” seas of Russia (and formerly the USSR), specifically the Baltic and Black Seas. They were not designed for operation on blue-water missions.

Plans were originally to serially produce 20 Lada-class submarines for the Russian Naval Fleet (VMF). The designers and shipyards also hoped for a sizable export market for these boats.

Design Heritage

The Lada design was seen as a revolutionary innovation when it was first developed, compared to previous-generation submarines. It was the first time, according to a profile written in January 2024, that a submarine “was designed with a single-hull, combined with a pressure hull made of a new AB-2 industrial classification strength steel, a new Molniya hull anechoic covering to absorb sonar signals, and a new SED-1 synchronous electric motor with permanent magnetic excitation.”

Additionally, reads the same report, the sub featured “the Lira sonar system (this was the first time a Russian bow sonar had been equipped with a conformal antenna), the Litiy automated combat management system, the Parus-98 optronic mast, the Distantsiya integrated communications system” and other on-board new-age systems.

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The Lada class was initially intended to replace aging Kilo-class submarines but ran into numerous developmental bottlenecks. Most serious among all of these was the design and integration of an Air-Independent Propulsion (AIP) system, which was never fully realized per the original design requirements.

The first submarine in the class, the Sankt-Peterburg (B-585), was launched in 2004 but encountered numerous significant technical difficulties during sea trials, resulting in multiple delays in its introduction into service and ultimately leading to a temporary halt in the program’s production schedule.

Drone Missions

What is also unusual about this submarine design is that according to reports from August of last year, these latest non-nuclear submarines of the Project 677 Lada class could soon be equipped with both maritime and aerial drones.

The Lada class, as well as other submarines, could be modified to launch aerial drones for use on reconnaissance missions, as well as autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) that can be employed for mine detection or even hunting for other submarines.

The drones, whether airborne or underwater, would be compatible with the dimensions of the submarine’s torpedo tubes. According to other reports, they would be fired from the tubes either as standalone vehicles or housed within specialized launch containers.

This kind of deployment method would have to be used, as the torpedo tubes are the only launch systems on these submarines with large enough dimensions to deploy these devices.

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The third submarine in the Lada-class, the Velikie Luki (B-587), was launched in late 2022. Construction for additional models in the series is ongoing, and the overall plan is to complete eight of this model submarine.  However, technical issues still hang over the program.

Whether all eight will be produced or whether they will have to be re-fitted remains undecided. The primary issue is that there is still no finished and functional AIP system, as the original design called for.  Competition from other submarine designs, both domestic and international, is also calling this program’s future into question as there are more advanced and better-design subs with functional AIP systems now on the market as well.

About the Author:

Reuben F. Johnson is a survivor of the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and is an Expert on Foreign Military Affairs with the Fundacja im. Kazimierza Pułaskiego in Warsaw.  He has been a consultant to the Pentagon, several NATO governments, and the Australian government in the fields of defense technology and weapon systems design.  Over the past 30 years he has resided in and reported from Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Brazil, the People’s Republic of China and Australia.

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