Russia, the super submarine Belgorod is ready to go
The Belgorod will be the first Russian submarine to be able to use the fearsome weapon called Poseidon. Giovanni Martinelli's analysis
The Russian war industry has been a prisoner of a sort of "vicious circle" for years now. Alongside still great technological capabilities in some sectors, there are clamorous shortcomings in others. To complete the picture, in negative terms, Defense budgets which do not guarantee an adequate and certain flow of resources over time and, finally, important deficiencies from an organizational point of view on the part of individual companies or industrial groups.
In this context precisely characterized by peaks of excellence but also by major failures, the underwater construction sector stands out; insofar as we distinguish signals on the basis of which Russia seems to have acquired a remarkable pace in the construction of its own new submarines; both those with conventional propulsion and those with nuclear propulsion. The latter then, of different types.
And it is precisely in this last category of boats that we find one with really (very) particular characteristics; to the point of having become a kind of "cult object" among industry analysts. It has been talked about for years now, rigorously shrouded in an aura of mystery because it is one of the most secret platforms in the world. However, the news released by the official Russian agency Tass has brought it back to the fore: Project 09852 Belgorod will enter service next summer and will be assigned to the Pacific Fleet (a detail which is not irrelevant).
But why all this interest in a single submarine? The reason is obvious: as mentioned above, the one in question is a platform with characteristics and capabilities that have no equal in the world. Set up in 1992 as the SSGN (nuclear-powered submarine for launching cruise missiles) of the Project 949A Antey class, its construction in the Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk was conditioned by the end of the Soviet Union and the difficulties that followed. .
The turning point, however, came in 2012 when, now 80% completed, it was decided to transform it into a “submarine for special missions”; after a further series of important modifications, the K-329 Belgorod was finally launched in April 2019. What emerges is thus a kind of "monster": almost 180 meters long (an absolute record!) and with a displacement in immersion around 24,000 tons at least.
Powered by 2 nuclear reactors, it is assumed that it can reach speeds of over 30 knots; with the typical "unlimited" autonomy guaranteed by this type of propulsion system. But the particularities certainly do not end there. Firstly because it will be assigned to the GUGI; an acronym that can be translated into English as “Main Directorate of Deep-Sea Research”. A sort of "second Navy", which aligns numerous special vehicles for the conduct of equally special underwater operations. With the interesting fact that the GUGI responds directly to the Moscow Defense Minister; therefore, a real strategic asset.
But this boat is also distinguished, if not above all, by other 2 peculiar characteristics; the first is that the Belgorod will be the first Russian submarine to be able to use the fearsome weapon called Poseidon. In fact, 6 Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UVVs) will be embarked, ie “underwater drones” with impressive capabilities; 24 meters long and 100 tons heavy, these vehicles also have a nuclear reactor which guarantees them unlimited autonomy. But above all, they have a nuclear warhead of several megatons that could be used (difficult to counter) against coastal ports or cities; hence, the name of "weapon of judgment", due to the devastating effects it could cause.
The second peculiar characteristic of this platform is constituted by the ability to carry other nuclear-powered submarines of smaller dimensions, like a "mother ship"; specially designed in turn to carry out missions at great depths. Which, obviously, certainly cannot be limited to scientific research alone but, rather and for example, to sabotage / listening to submarine communication networks.
In fact, the entry into the era of the so-called “Seabed Warfare”; that is, the war of the seabed. With respect to which, the Belgorod (thanks also to its numerous other capabilities) will represent a sort of pioneer: like Russia itself which, not surprisingly, in the context of the GUGI not only already has similar platforms (and other again) but, in addition, it is proposed to further expand this fleet with such "special" characteristics.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/russia-pronto-a-partire-il-super-sottomarino-belgorod/ on Sat, 29 Jan 2022 07:38:12 +0000.