K-266 arriving to base after repair | |
History | |
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→ Soviet Union → Russia | |
Name | Orel |
Namesake | City of Orel |
Builder | Sevmash (Shipyard 402), Severodvinsk |
Laid down | 19 January 1989 |
Launched | 22 May 1992 |
Commissioned | 30 December 1992 [1] |
Homeport | Bolshaya Lopatka, Zaozyorsk |
Status | active, modernized |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Oscar II Modernized class Submarine |
Displacement | 13,400 t, 16,400 t |
Length | 154.0 m |
Beam | 18.2 m |
Draft | 9.0 m |
Propulsion | 2 nuclear reactors OK-650V (HEU <= 45% [2] ), 2 steam turbines, 2/7-bladed propellers |
Speed | 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph) submerged, 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) surfaced |
Test depth | 300 to 1,000 m (980 to 3,280 ft) (by various estimates) |
Complement | 44 officers, 68 enlisted |
Armament | since 2017 72 x P-800 (formerly 24 x P-700), 4 x 533 mm and 2 x 650 mm bow torpedo tubes |
K-266 Orel is a Project 949AM (Antey modernized) nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine (SSGN) (NATO codename Oscar II). She is one of three Oscar II submarines still serving in the Russian Northern Fleet, all assigned to the 11th Submarine Division, berthed at Guba Bolshaya Lopatka (part of Zapadnaya Litsa, also known as Zaozersk), on the Kola Peninsula northwest of Severomorsk.
She was laid down at the Sevmash Shipyard in Severodvinsk on 19 January 1989. From 1991 to 1993 she was known as Severodvinsk, but was renamed Orel on 20 March 1993 or 6 April 1993 and entered service with the Russian Navy that same year. [3] Between May 2004 and September 2007 her commander was Valery Varfolomeyev, an officer who had first joined the submarine as assistant commander in June 1998, and then became senior assistant to the commander from April 2000. [4]
The Russian newspaper Izvestia reported that Orel is to be overhauled in 2013. She is to have her shaft-line changed to correct problems during construction that left her very easily tracked by sonar. Additionally, her P-700 Granit (NATO codename SS-N-19 Shipwreck) anti-ship submarine launched cruise missiles (SLCM) will be replaced by more modern, supersonic, P-800 Oniks (NATO codename SS-N-26) antiship SLCMs. [5] The overhaul was completed and the ship returned to service in 2017. [6]
Whilst in dock at the Zvezdochka shipyard on 7 April 2015, it was reported that a fire broke out "in the ninth section of the sub close to the stern". [7] The fire was caused by insulation materials catching fire during welding. It was reported the submarine did not have nuclear weapons or fuel on board at the time. [8]
First modernized unit, Project 949AM.
In July 2021, while returning to Northern Fleet waters from Navy Day commemorations in St. Petersburg, Orel was reported to have "lost power" while transitting on the surface through the Danish straits. She was reported to have been assisted by other Russian vessels accompanying her through the straits. The submarine was later reported to have restored power and continued her transit north submerged. [9]
The Oscar class, Soviet designations Project 949 Granit and Project 949A Antey, are a series of nuclear-powered cruise missile submarines designed in the Soviet Union for the Soviet Navy. First built in the 1970s, six remain in service with the Russian Navy. Two other vessels were slated to be modernized since at least 2017 as Project 949AM, to extend their service life and increase combat capabilities but it is unclear whether work continues as of 2023.
The Kirov class, Soviet designation Project 1144 Orlan, is a class of nuclear-powered guided-missile heavy cruisers of the Soviet Navy and Russian Navy, the largest and heaviest surface combatant warships in operation in the world. Among modern warships, they are second in size only to large aircraft carriers; they are similar in size to a World War I-era battleship. Defence commentators in the West often refer to these ships as battlecruisers – due to their size and general appearance. The Soviet classification of the ship-type is "heavy nuclear-powered guided-missile cruiser".
A cruise missile submarine is a submarine that carries and launches cruise missiles as its primary armament. Missiles greatly enhance a warship's ability to attack surface combatants and strike land targets; although torpedoes are a more discreet option for submerged submarines, missiles give a much longer stand-off range, shorter time to impact the target, as well as the ability to engage multiple targets on different headings at the same time. Many cruise missile submarines retain the capability to deploy nuclear warheads on their missiles, but they are considered distinct from ballistic missile submarines due to the substantial differences between the two weapons systems' flight characteristics; cruise missiles fly aerodynamically using flight surfaces like wings or fins, while a ballistic missile uses its engine power alone as it may exit the atmosphere.
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A submarine-launched cruise missile (SLCM) is a cruise missile that is launched from a submarine. Current versions are typically standoff weapons known as land-attack cruise missiles (LACMs), which are used to attack predetermined land targets with conventional or nuclear payloads. Anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCMs) are also used, and some submarine-launched cruise missiles have variants for both functions.
Kirov is the lead ship of the Kirov class of nuclear-powered guided missile cruisers. Originally built for the Soviet Navy and passed onto the succeeding Russian Navy, she and her three sister ships are the largest and heaviest surface combatant warships built by them. The Soviet classification of the ship-type is "heavy nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser", nonetheless Kirov's size and weapons complement have earned her the unofficial designation of a battlecruiser throughout much of the world, as her size and displacement is similar to a typical World War I battleship. The appearance of the Kirov class was a significant factor in the U.S. Navy recommissioning the Iowa class. She was named after a Project 26 cruiser.
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The Yasen class, Russian designations Project 885 Yasen and Project 885M Yasen-M, also referred to as the Graney class, are a series of nuclear-powered cruise missile submarines designed by the Malakhit Marine Engineering Bureau and built by Sevmash for the Russian Navy. Design work commenced in earnest in the 1980s with the first submarine built in the 1990s–early 2010s with commissioning in 2013. Two additional boats to an upgraded Yasen-M design were commissioned in 2021 and six more are under construction. Based on the Akula class and Alfa class designs, the Yasen class is projected to replace the Russian Navy's current Soviet-era nuclear attack submarines. The Akula class is optimised for a hunter-killer role, whereas the Yasen class concept uses the platform as a nuclear guided missile submarine (SSGN).
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The K-119 Voronezh is an Oscar-class submarine in the Russian Navy.
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