Home Europe Russian Navy takes delivery of eighth Improved Kilo-class submarine Volkhov

Russian Navy takes delivery of eighth Improved Kilo-class submarine Volkhov

Russian Navy Improved Kilo-class submarine Volkhov
Project 636.3 submarine Volkhov. Photo: Admiralty Shipyard

The Russian Navy officially received its eighth Improved Kilo-class submarine from shipbuilder Admiralty Shipyards in a ceremony in Saint Petersburg.

The delivery took place on October 24, eight months after the boat started trials in March and a little over a year after its launch.

Volkhov, as the submarine is named, is the second in a series of six Project 636.3 diesel-electric submarines that are being built for the country’s Pacific Fleet. The six boats that were built for the Black Sea fleet all entered service by 2016, while the first unit for the Pacific Fleet was commissioned in late 2019.

The third of the second batch of submarines – Magadan – is being prepared for launch in the first quarter of 2021 and the fourth – Ufa – is in the process of having different sections joined into a single hull. The keel-laying of the fifth submarine of the series is planned by the end of this year.

Russian Navy chief, Admiral Nikolay Evmenov, says that Volkhov – and the follow-on submarines that will be built – have “improved tactical and technical characteristics,” allowing them to be “even more perfect, even quieter and more secretive” than the Black Sea Fleet units.

Improved Kilo-class submarines displace between 3,000 and 4,000 tons while submerged and have a range of 7,500 nautical miles at a cruising speed of 7 knots. They feature six torpedo tubes and can carry 18 torpedoes and surface-to-air missiles.

Photo: Admiralty Shipyard