The Russian Navy has commissioned its seventh Improved Kilo (Project 636.3) submarine Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in a ceremony in St. Petersburg.
In addition to being the seventh unit in the class, the boat is also the first of a batch of planned six submarines for the Russian Navy’s Pacific Fleet.
The first six boats were built for Russia’s Black Sea fleet.
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky entered service on November 25, after getting underway from the Admiralty Shipyards’ St. Petersburg yard on August 16 for sea trials.
Construction of the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky started in July 2017 under a two-boat contract the Russian defense ministry signed with Admiralty Shipyards and Armur Shipbuilding Plant in September 2016.
According to Admiralty Shipyards, the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky features upgrades to the ship’s systems in order to improve some technical parameters and living conditions for the crew. The submarine has an autonomy of 45 days, a stated diving depth of 240 m and the maximum depth of 300 m.
The boat’s range at a cruising speed of 7 knots is 7,500 nautical miles.
The first batch of Improved Kilos, which are often dubbed as “Black Holes” because of their stealth qualities, are already in service with the Black Sea fleet.
Improved Kilo-class submarines have six torpedo tubes and can carry 18 torpedoes and eight surface-to-air missiles.
