UNITED24 - Make a charitable donation in support of Ukraine!

Military


Project 636-M / 636.3 Varshavyanka

The Russian Navy had problems developing the new Project 677 Lada diesel-electric submarines, whereas Project 877 Paltus (Kilo class) submarines continued to age rapidly. As a result, the Navy had to order upgraded Project 636-M (Kilo class) submarines once again. In August 2010, the keel of a lead Project 636-M submarine was laid for the Black Sea Fleet.

Project 636.3 diesel electric submarine Novorossiysk was laid down at Admiralteyskie Verfi shipyard (ST. Petersburg) 20 August 2010 at 12 pm. The sub was to be delivered to the Navy in 2013; later on, other two submarines of the project were to be laid down and in 2014 dispatched to south Russia. Vladimir Aleksandrov, Director General of JSC Admiralteyskie Verfi said the submarine laid down represents one of the most successful series. It was designed by Rubin Central Design Bureau for Marine Engineering and has no analogs.

The three Varshavyanka-class submarines were delivered by Admiralty Shipyards to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in 2014. Work on building the first sub, the Novorossiisk, began in August 2010, followed by Rostov-on-Don in November 2011 and Stary Oskol in August 2012.

Vietnam ordered a fleet of six Russian-made submarines in 2009 in a step seen as an effort to counterbalance China’s expanding maritime influence in the region. The contract, which also stipulates the training of Vietnamese submarine crews in Russia, is reportedly worth $2 billion. The submarines were built at the Admiralteiskie Verfi shipyard in St. Petersburg. All six boats were due for delivery by 2016.

"The construction cost is $2.1 billion, but the building of all necessary coastal infrastructure and the delivery of armaments and other equipment may bring the total to $3.2 bln, which makes this deal the largest in the history of Russian exports of naval equipment," the Export of Arms magazine says in an editorial published in its June 2010 issue.

The first of six Varshavyanka class (Project 636M) diesel-electric submarines was delivered to Vietnam in 2013 as scheduled. “The first vessel is undergoing sea trials. It will be delivered to Vietnam this year,” Rubin design bureau general director Igor Vilnit told reporters at the LIMA-2013 arms show in Malaysia 29 March 2013. Vilnit said construction on the craft is going according to the schedule specified in the contract. The first craft in the order was loaded on a stevedore barge on November 11 and towed to Vietnam, where it was officially transferred to the country’s navy. The second vessel was delivered in the beginning of 2014, while the third was also transferred in 2014.

The final Kilo-class Project 636 diesel-electric submarine for the Vietnamese navy under a 2009 contract was laid down 28 May 2014 in St. Petersburg, a defense industry source told RIA Novosti. "Today, we had the ceremony of laying down the sixth submarine for Vietnam. This is the latest submarine in this series," the source said. Under the $2 billion contract, two submarines have already been delivered to Vietnam, the third is undergoing sea trials, a fourth was floated out in late March, and the fifth and sixth are now under construction. "Two submarines have already been transferred to the Vietnamese Navy, the third is to be transferred this year and the remaining three in 2015-2016," according to the source.

The second multipurpose, low-noise and highly maneuverable Varshavyanka-class (Project 636.3) submarine, named after the city of Rostov-on-Don, was launched 25 June 2014. Construction began at the Admiralty Shipyard on November 21, 2011. It is the second Varshavyanka submarine out of six planned for the Black Sea Fleet by the end of 2016. Unlike the fleet’s main forces stationed in Sevastopol in Crimea, these new submarines will use the port of Novorossiysk as their home base. By mid-2014 the prototype Varshavyanka submarine ‘Novorossiysk’ was undergoing tests in the Baltic Sea, and in early 2015 was expected to make a two-month journey around Europe under its own power to its home base.

The second Project 636.3 diesel-electric submarine Rostov-on-Don designed for the Russian Black Sea Fleet was officially taken into naval service 30 December 2014. The St. Andrew naval flag was hoisted on the submarine, from which moment it is considered officially taken into combat service of the domestic Navy. The Russian Navy chief commander’s decree was read out to enrol Rostov-on-Don in the 4th separate brigade of the Black Sea Fleet with a base in southern Russia’s Krasnodar territory the city of Novorossiisk.

The Varshavyanka class is an improved version of the Kilo class submarines, featuring advanced stealth technology, extended combat range and ability to strike land, surface and underwater targets. The Project 636 class boats displace 3,100 tons, reach speeds of 20 knots, can dive to 300 meters and carry crews of 52 people. The submarines, which feature 533-milimeter torpedo tubes and are armed with torpedos, mines, and Kalibr 3M54 (NATO SS-N-27 Sizzler) cruise missiles, are mainly intended for anti-shipping and anti-submarine missions in relatively shallow waters.

Diesel-electric submarine "Krasnodar" - the fourth in a series of modified Project 636 - was launched 25 April 2015 at JSC "Admiralty Shipyards" in St. Petersburg. The ceremony was attended Navy Commander Viktor Chirkov, Vice-Governor of St. Petersburg Sergei Movchan and CEO "Admiralty Shipyards" Alexander Busachi. "It is symbolic that today on the eve of the 70th anniversary of the Great Victory we launches the fourth submarine of this series for the Russian Black Sea Fleet," - said Chirkov. "Ahead, - he said - a lot of work. It is necessary to finish two more boats and more boats will be a new generation - Project 677". The fourth diesel electric submarine of Project 636.3 "Krasnodar" was transferred to the Navy of the Russian Federation on 05 November 2015.

The final series of "Novgorod" and "Kolpino" are built in various stages of readiness. Works are conducted strictly in construction schedule. All six ships of the series named after the city, bearing the honorary title of "City of Military Glory." Fifth and sixth submarine - "Veliky Novgorod" and "Kolpino" - to be transferred to the Navy in November 2016. In total, the Black Sea Fleet must get six submarines of Project 636.3 (code "Warszawianka").

The last of six Varshavyanka-class (NATO reporting name Improved Kilo-class) diesel-electric powered submarines for the Russian Black Sea Fleet was launched at the Admiralty Shipyards in St. Petersburg on 31 May 2016. Deputy Navy Commander-in-Chief Vice Adm. Alexander Fedotenkov, President of United Shipbuilding Corporation Alexei Rakhmanov and governor of St. Petersburg Georgy Poltavchenko were present at the ceremony.

The Russian Navy has made a final decision to order the construction of six Varshavyanka-class (NATO reporting name Improved Kilo-class) diesel-electic powered submarines for the Pacific Fleet, Deputy Navy Commander-in-Chief Vice Adm. Alexander Fedotenkov said 31 May 2016.

The first submarine of the project 636.3 for the Pacific Fleet "Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky" was launched in St. Petersburg. The representative of the Department of Information and Mass Communications of the Ministry of Defense for the Navy, Captain 1st Rank Igor Dygalo, told reporters. "The first modern diesel-electric submarine of the project 636.3 for the Pacific Fleet Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky will be launched on March 28 at the Admiralty Shipyards in St. Petersburg," said Admiral Vladimir Korolyov, Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, after a working meeting on submarine construction, which passed in the admiralty ", - said in a statement 25 March 2019.

The Russian Navy will receive two "Lada" diesel submarines in the framework of the state contract concluded at the International Military-Technical Forum "Army-2019". This was announced 28 June 2019 on the TV channel "Star" by the Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov.

Two diesel-electric submarines of project 636.3 Ufa and Magadan were simultaneously laid down at the Admiralty Shipyards on November 1. This was announced by the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral Nikolai Evmenov. “Two diesel-electric submarines of project 636.3 Ufa and Magadan will be simultaneously laid down on the same day on November 1, 2019 at the Admiralty Shipyards in St. Petersburg,” he said at a workshop in the Admiralty, where issues were discussed the construction of a series of submarines of project 636.3 for the Pacific Fleet.

The Commander-in-Chief also heard reports by the heads of specialized departments and departments on readiness for laying Ufa and Magadan, and also discussed with representatives of the Navy's shipbuilding department the issues of using technologies in the construction of these boats that will take into account the peculiarities of their operation in the Far East. In turn, the Director General of the Admiralty Shipyards, Alexander Buzakov, reported to the Commander-in-Chief on the state and development of the production capacities of the enterprise. “The laying of two submarines at once is a unique event for shipbuilders and military sailors. This illustrates the capabilities of the plant and the smoothly running process of serial construction of nuclear submarines,” he emphasized.

The submarine of the project 636.3 Volkhov entered the Navy on 24 October 2020. "The solemn ceremony of raising the Andreevsky flag on the submarine and its inclusion in the Navy took place," said a spokeswoman of the press service of the Admiralty Shipyards. The Volkhov submarine is the second in a series of six ships being built at the Admiralty Shipyards for the Russian Pacific Fleet, by order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. The Volkhov submarine was laid down in July 2017 and launched in December 2019. The first ship of the series, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, was delivered to the customer in December 2019. Now in the shops of "Admiralty shipyards" construction of two more submarines for the Pacific Fleet is underway - "Magadan" and "Ufa".

On 27 June 2021 the newest diesel-electric submarine of project 636.3 "Magadan" entered the factory sea trials in the Baltic Sea. The large diesel-electric submarine of Project 636.3 Magadan left St. Petersburg for the Baltic Sea for factory sea trials. The submarine crew is testing systems and equipment together with the acceptance team of the Admiralty Shipyards (part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation). It is planned that the factory sea trials of the Magadan diesel-electric submarine will last 20 days. The readiness for the beginning of the factory sea trials on the eve of the submarine's departure to the sea was reported to the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral Nikolai Evmenov.

Earlier, during the stage of mooring tests, specialists from subdivisions and contractors checked most of the ship's navigation system, communications complex, general ship systems, hydroacoustic complex, control systems, torpedo-missile systems. Magadan is the third submarine of the series being built at the Admiralty Shipyards for the Russian Pacific Fleet, launched on March 26, 2021 in a high, 91%, degree of readiness. At present, the docking of hull sections of the fourth submarine of the Pacific series "Ufa" is being carried out, and a solid hull is being welded.

The construction of a series of submarines for the Pacific Fleet is proceeding in accordance with contractual obligations. The third submarine of the Magadan series will be transferred to the Russian Navy in November of this year; by the end of 2021, it is planned to launch the fourth Ufa submarine. The contract for the construction of the series was signed in September 2016. The first submarine "Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky" was handed over to the Russian Navy on November 25, 2019. The Volkhov submarine, the second in the series, entered the Pacific Fleet on October 24, 2020.



NEWSLETTER
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list