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War in Ukraine

Will Russia’s Latest Nuclear-Powered Submarine Be Another Sinking Defeat for Moscow?

Will Russia’s Latest Nuclear-Powered Submarine Be Another Sinking Defeat for Moscow?

Russia’s navy flaunts their latest nuclear-powered submarine with hypersonic missile capability, but Moscow's vessels have been hit hard by Ukraine during Russia’s full-scale invasion. How will their latest submarine measure compared to Ukraine and their Western weapon systems?

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Jessica_daly
Jess Daly
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Russia’s latest nuclear-powered submarine, the Arkhangelsk, entered service with the Russian navy on Friday 27th December 2024. 

The new nuclear-powered guided missile submarine (SSGN) is of Russia’s newest Yasen-M class series of submarines. It’s part of Project 885M which has already launched the Severodvinsk, Kazan, Novosibirsk and Krasnoyarsk nuclear-powered submarines within the Russian Navy.

Russia’s Project 885M plans to “shortly” roll out another four multipurpose nuclear-powered submarines: the Perm, the Ulyanovsk, the Voronezh and the Vladivostok, Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Alexander Moiseyev confirmed. 

Arkhangelsk can carry and deploy a range of weaponry striking both sea and coastal targets. It has a variety of capabilities from missile armament, seaborne weapons, technical and radio-electronic systems and main propulsion units. 

The Russian navy has one of the largest submarine fleets in the world.  Edward Geist of the RAND research corporation referred to the Yasen-M class of submarines as "the crown jewel of the contemporary Russian navy and perhaps the pinnacle of present-day Russian military technology."

Challenges of fighting Russia’s submarine fleet

The Yasen-M class of submarines, which have been referred to as “Russia’s prize”, are not just cruise missile platforms, they’re general-purpose attack boats, intelligence gatherers, and can be used as special mission platforms. 

They are thought to represent a “challenge” for Western naval vessels, as their advanced sonar and stealth technology make them difficult to detect and track, according to Mark Grove, a senior lecturer at the University of Lincoln's Maritime Studies Center at the Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth, U.K. 

In 2018, Russia’s advanced Severodvinsk Yasen-M submarine slipped into the Atlantic, untraceable by the US Navy for several weeks due to its stealth technology, according to reports. 

Russia is putting efforts into their new submarine production with over 400 different companies and organizations across Russia contributing to the Arkhangelsk’s construction. 

Their base is located in Nerpitcha, a submarine base in the Russian Arctic just 60km from Norway and its NATO coastline, which could be perceived as provocation to Ukraine’s allies.

What can the Arkhangelsk submarine do?

The Arkhangelsk can launch Kalibr and Oniks missiles and has the potential to launch Zircon hypersonic missiles, though it is not yet confirmed as to whether the Arkhangelsk has tested the Zircon on its vessel. 

Russia claims to have successfully trialled test launches of the Zircon hypersonic missiles from the Severdovinsk Project 885M / Yasen-M submarine on the White Sea, October 4, 2022. The hypersonic missile will enter service in 2026, Russian state media reported. 

Zircon

Zircon is a hypersonic missile that travels through the Earth's atmosphere at speeds greater than five times the speed of sound. Zircon has a 400kg warhead, travelling at speeds of 11,000km/ph with a range of up to 1000km. 

The Zircon was considered Russia’s newest and most secretive weapon. At the start of the full-scale invasion, Moscow persistently boasted that the Zircon was impossible to intercept, but Ukraine’s forces have successfully shot down the Zircon missiles with their Patriot Air Defense. 

In March 2024 Russia attacked Kyiv with the Zircon missile, but Ukraine successfully intercepted two of them. 

Oniks

Oniks is a supersonic missile with a 200-300kg warhead, travelling at speeds of 2700km/ph with a range of up to 800 km.

Kalibr

Kalibr are sea-launched cruise missiles with a 250-400kg warhead, travelling at speeds of up to 970km/ph with a range of up to 2600 km.

Russia’s hypersonic missile arms race

Russia and the US have recently been in a missile arms race. The US Navy and US Army in December 2024 successfully tested a new hypersonic missile. 

Russia has several hypersonic weapons programs that can carry nuclear warheads. Moscow began attacking Ukraine with hypersonic missiles such as the Zircon when the full-scale invasion began. 

Recently, Moscow has been provoking Kyiv and the West with their latest Oreshnik ballistic missile  in response to restrictions lifted by the US, UK and France to strike inside Russian territory with long-range missiles. 

The Oreshnik attack on Dnipro was the first time that a ballistic missile with multiple independently guided warheads was used against a country in war time. In response, US allies are working with Kyiv to supply Ukraine with a THAAD defense system, capable of shooting down missiles like the Oreshnik. 

Putin also suggested a technical duel between Russia and Western weapons. “Let them (Ukraine) determine some object to be hit for example in Kyiv, concentrate all their air and missile defenses there and we will strike with the Oreshnik. And we’ll see what happens.”

“People are dying, and he thinks it’s “interesting”... Dumbass,” President Zelenskyy responded via X.


Ukraine and the West versus Russia’s sea fleet

"While each Yasen-class SSGN is individually impressive, Russia cannot build enough of them to cancel out the fact that the United States has a larger number of submarines that are, on average, considerably better than their Russian counterparts," Edward Geist of the RAND research corporation said.

Russia is flaunting their Project 885M Yasen-M series of submarines due to their hypersonic missile capabilities. However Ukraine has proven that missiles such as the Zircon, are not invincible to Ukraine’s air defense. 

The Russian Navy has been one of the hardest hit of the Russian military since their invasion of Ukraine in 2022 began. Russia began with 80 vessels, and Ukraine has destroyed nearly 30 of them, and another 15 are in repair. 

In August 2024, Ukraine struck Russia's Rostov-on-Don, a Kilo-class attack submarine with a missile, on the Crimean port city of Sevastopol. In March 2024, Ukraine hit two Russian landing ships and a patrol vessel. After numerous successful strikes on Ukraine, Russia withdrew all of its naval assets from the Sea of Azov.

"The destruction of Rostov-on-Don once again proves that there is no safe place for the Russian fleet in the Ukrainian territorial waters of the Black Sea," Ukraine’s general staff said. 

Submarines are not safe from strikes by Ukraine. Russia seems to be flaunting their new fleet of Yasen-M submarines amid growing tensions in Ukraine in an attempt to deter Western allies from supporting Ukraine. 

Moscow has said many times that supporting Ukraine with Western arsenal would escalate tensions with NATO, dragging NATO directly into war with Russia. The Kremlin’s threats, however, have become weak and NATO allies are no longer taking these threats seriously.

Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on September 18, 2024, that he was doubting Putin's threats. "There have been many red lines declared by (Putin) before, and he has not escalated, meaning also involving NATO allies directly in the conflict. He has not done so, because he realizes that NATO is the strongest military alliance in the world.”

Thus far, their Arkhangelsk Yasen-M predecessors have made little impact in their war against Ukraine. Moscow’s pride in their submarine's hypersonic missile capabilities may be short lived, as Ukraine with their Western arsenal, continues to eliminate them from their skies.  

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