The first version had the Soviet designation Project 877 Paltus (Russian: Па́лтус, meaning "halibut"), NATO reporting nameKilo.[5] They entered operational service in 1980 and continued being built until the mid-1990s, when production switched to the more advanced Project 636 Varshavyanka variant, also known in the West as the Improved Kilo class.[6][7][8] The design was updated again by the Russian Navy in the mid-2010s, to a variant called Project 636.3, also known as Improved Kilo II.[5]
Role
The Project 877 attack submarines were mainly intended for anti-shipping and anti-submarine operations in relatively shallow waters. Original Project 877 boats are equipped with Rubikon MGK-400 sonar system (with NATO reporting name Shark Gill), which includes a mine detection and avoidance sonar MG-519 Arfa (with NATO reporting name Mouse Roar).
Newer Project 636 boats are equipped with improved MGK-400EM, with MG-519 Arfa also upgraded to MG-519EM. MGK 400E can detect submarines with 0.05 Pa/Hz noisiness in 16km (9.9mi) and surface vessels with 10 Pa/Hz noisiness in 100km (62mi).[9] The improved sonar systems have reduced the number of operators needed by sharing the same console via automation.
Anechoic tiles are fitted on casings and fins to absorb the sound waves of active sonar, which results in a reduction and distortion of the return signal.[10] These tiles also help attenuate sounds that are emitted from the submarine, thus reducing the range at which the submarine may be detected by passive sonar.[11]
Project 636 and 636.3 submarines can launch Kalibr (and their Club export version) cruise missiles. It was reported in September 2022 that they can carry four Kalibr missiles, and can launch them through two of their six torpedo tubes.[12]
History
A single Project 877 submarine, B-871Alrosa, is equipped with pump-jet propulsion, instead of a propeller.[13] It has been retrofitted for the Kalibr missile.[14]
It was planned for Project 636 (Improved Kilo) to be succeeded by the Lada class in Russian Navy service. However, by November 2011 it was apparent that the Lada class would be delayed because Sankt Peterburg (B-585), the lead boat of the class, had shown major deficiencies. On 27 July 2012, the Russian Navy commander-in-chief announced that construction of the Lada-class submarines would resume, having undergone design changes.[citation needed] Series production was reported to be underway in the latter 2010s.[15][needs update]
The Russian Navy also moved forward in the late 2010s, with the construction of Project 636.3, also known as Improved Kilo II. The first-in-class was named Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (PPK) and was launched by the head of Admiralty Shipyard Alexander Buzakov on 28 March 2019, or some thirty months after commission.[1] By November 2019, six units had been built for the Black Sea Fleet and further boats were proposed, but not funded, for the Pacific and Baltic Fleets.[4]
In June 2022, an unconfirmed report from within Russia's defense industry suggested that a further tranche of six additional Project 636.3 vessels might be ordered to start construction in around 2024.[16] The PPK class "is slightly longer in length — the sub's submerged displacement is around 4,000 tons — and features improved engines, an improved combat system, as well as new noise reduction technology; it can fire both torpedoes and cruise missiles, launched from one of six 533-millimeter torpedo tubes."[1] The PPK class has a seven-bladed propeller, instead of the six-bladed propeller of the Project 877 class.[14]
There are several variants of the Kilo class. The information below is the smallest and largest number from the available information for all three main variants of the boat.[17]
Displacement:
2,300–2,350 tons surfaced
3,000–4,000 tons submerged
Dimensions:
Length: 70–74 meters
Beam: 9.9 meters
Draft: 6.2–6.5 meters
Maximum speed
10–12 knots surfaced (18–22km/h)
17–25 knots submerged (31–46km/h)
Propulsion: Diesel-electric 5,900shp (4,400kW)
Maximum depth: 300 meters (240–250 meters operational)
Endurance
400 nautical miles (700km) at 3 knots (6km/h) submerged
6,000 nautical miles (11,000km) at 7 knots (13km/h) snorkeling (7,500 miles for the Improved Kilo class)
Price per unit is US$200–250million (China paid about US$1.5–2billion for 8 Project 636 Kilo-class submarines)[when?][citation needed]
Operational history
Kilo-class attack submarines originally began entering service with the Soviet Navy from 1980.[citation needed]
At the beginning of 2014, the Chinese PLA Navy held an emergency combat readiness test.[18] The captain of the 32nd Submarine Detachment Wang Hongli was ordered to take the Kilo-class submarine Yuanzheng 72 (hull number: 372) on a combat readiness voyage. Submarine 372 suddenly encountered a "cliff" caused by a sudden change in seawater density. Because the seawater density suddenly decreased, the submarine lost its buoyancy and rapidly fell to the seabed more than 3,000 meters deep. The pressure on the submarine increased sharply, and the main engine room pipeline was damaged and water entered. Wang Hongli quickly issued a series of commands, and the commanders and crew accurately completed dozens of operations, successfully surfacing the submarine in 3 minutes, avoiding the tragedy of the submarine being destroyed and people dying. Submarine 372 lost power due to a large amount of water entering the main engine room. Wang Hongli led the officers and soldiers to eliminate the equipment failure. Finally, only one navigation motor was used to power the submarine and it entered the ocean. This voyage created many firsts for the submarines of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy.[19][20] The PLA Navy declared it a miracle in the history of world submarines.[21]
On August 27, 2014, Chairman of the Central Military CommissionXi Jinping signed a general order to award the First Class Merit to Wang Hongli, commander of the 92474th Unit (Military Unit Cover Designator 92474).[22] On September 2, 2014, a celebration meeting was held at submarine detachment of the South China Sea Fleet to award the first-class merit awarded by the Central Military Commission to Wang Hongli and the Navy to Submarine 372. Member of the Central Military Commission and Commander of the Navy Wu Shengli read out the orders of the Central Military Commission and the Navy, and awarded medals and certificates to Wang Hongli and Submarine 372 respectively.[23]
In 2015 five Kilo-class submarines were deployed to the Russian naval facility in Tartus, Syria. At least two of the units reportedly attacked land targets inside Syria with 3M54 Kalibr cruise missiles (NATO designation: SS-N-27A "Sizzler").[4] On 8 December 2015 marked the first time a Kilo-class submarine fired cruise missiles against an enemy. B-237 Rostov-on-Don struck two targets near the ISIS capital of Raqqa by the missile attack.[24] The B-237 Rostov-on-Don transited the Dardanelles on its way back to the Black Sea on 12 February 2022.[25]
The B-871 Alrosa, a pump-jet Kilo class, which derives from the Project 877 hull, participated in the Russo-Ukraine War.
On 13 September 2023, B-237 Rostov-on-Don was severely damaged by a Ukrainian Storm Shadow missile strike while it was drydocked in Sevastopol.[28][29][30] According to satellite images taken in June 2024, the submarine was moved to a lesser used dry dock within the port. Camouflage nets were thrown up to disguise its presence and to make observation more challenging. According to reports, the submarine is under repair.[31]
On 2 August 2024, Ukrainian Forces launched a strike against a Russian submarine and an S-400 air defense system in Crimea. Ukrainian sources claimed that the submarine B-237 Rostov-on-Don was "sunk on the spot" in the attack.[32][33][34][35][36] Other sources claim that the submarine was only hit and not sunk.[37] Satellite images showed the that camouflage nets were burned out by the strike.[38]
Operators
The first submarine entered service in the Soviet Navy in 1980, and the class remains in use with the Russian Navy today; around 11 original Kilo-class vessels believed to still be in active service with the Russian Navy (as of 2023), while new Improved Kilo–class subs are being delivered through the 2020s to replace them. About forty vessels have been exported to several countries:
Russia: 10–11 original Kilo (Project 877), 11 Improved Kilo (Project 636.3)[52] and 1 additional Improved Kilo on order (636.3) for Pacific Fleet to be delivered in 2024.[53] One further Improved Kilo ordered in August 2020, during the International Military-Technical Forum "ARMY-2020";[54][55] up to six additional boats of the class intended to replace Project 877 units; first three ordered in 2023.[56]
The government of Venezuela expressed interest since 2005 in acquiring nine AIP-powered conventional submarines, either the German U214 or later the Amur 1650. There was a Russian counteroffer due to technical issues at the shipyards back then, for five Project 636 Kilo-class and four Amur 1650, but it hasn't gone through yet.[60]
In 2017, the Philippine Navy showed interest in the Kilo-class submarine as part of its modernization program. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the country was evaluating a Russian offer.[61]
Failed bids
The Indonesian Navy was interested in purchasing two used Kilo-class submarines, but the Chief of Staff of the Indonesian NavyLaksamanaMarsetio cancelled the plans in 2014 after inspecting the two submarines in Russia with an Indonesian Navy team. He said, "The submarines look good on the outside, but the inside is filled with broken equipment, and the two submarines have been in storage for two years." Indonesia instead bought six Improved Jang Bogo-class submarines, later known as Nagapasa-class submarine, including a transfer of technology, where Indonesia will eventually build four of six of the submarines with South Korea.[62] Actually, the bid for Kilo Russian submarines fell apart due to the lapse of the financing term of the Russian Federation.
1 2 "АПЛ Проекта 636.3"[Project 636.3 Nuclear Submarine]. pp.userapi.com (in Russian). Archived from the original on 30 August 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
↑ Anechoic tiles are fitted on casings and fins to absorb the sonar sound waves of active sonar, which results in a reduction and distortion of the return signal.
↑ Delivery of unit 6 for Pacific Fleet projected by 2024 with full operational capability projected by 2025. "Project 636.3 Volkhov Commissioned". Seawaves.com. 27 October 2020.
Darman, Peter, ed. (2004). Twenty-first Century Submarines and Warships. Military Handbooks. Rochester: Grange Books. ISBN1-84013-678-2.
Gardiner, Robert; Chumbley, Stephen; Budzbon, Przemysław, eds. (1995). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN1-55750-132-7.
Further reading
Breemer, Jan S. (1989). Soviet Submarines: Design, Development and Tactics. Coulsdon, Surrey: Jane's Information Group. ISBN0710605269.
Miller, David; Jordan, John (1987). Modern Submarine Warfare. New York: Military Press. ISBN0-517-64647-1.
Miller, David (1989). Modern Submarines. Combat Arms. New York: Prentice Hall Press. ISBN0-13-589102-7.
Polmar, Norman; Moore, Kenneth J. (2004). Cold War Submarines: The Design and Construction of U.S. and Soviet Submarines. Washington, D.C.: Potomac Books. ISBN978-1-57488-594-1.
Polmar, Norman; Noot, Jurrien S. (1991). Submarines of the Russian and Soviet Navies, 1718-1990. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN0-87021-570-1.
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