16.10.2009
Nuclear-powered strategic missile submarine cruiser K-18 Karelia is preparing to take the sea after overhaul, says press service of Zvezdochka shipyard in Severodvinsk.
Karelia is expected to start sea trials in White Sea early November and will be delivered to the Navy by the end of the year. It will return to polar region later on. Currently the sub is standing at moorage wall ready for mooring trials.
Over 100 innovations have been adapted in the course of modernization since October 2004, including installation of
TVR-671RTM torpedo-missile system and
RSM-54 Sineva missiles.
Service life of upgraded sub will be 10 years, said
Zvezdochka spokesman.
Karelia is a 2nd generation nuclear-powered strategic missile submarine cruiser of
667BRDM Delfin project.
Registration
Home port – Gadzhievo, Northern Fleet.
Construction
The sub was laid down in Feb 1987 in Severodvinsk, put afloat in 1988, commissioned in 1989.
Milestones
The submarine has conducted over 14 missile firings and covered over 14 0000 miles. In Apr 2000 Vladimir Putin shipped out aboard the sub.
Performance
Surface speed: 14 knots
Submerged speed: 24 knots
Operating depth: 320-400 meters
Maximum diving depth: 550-650 meters
Cruising capacity: 90 days
Crew: 135-140 men
Dimensions
Surface displacement: 11740 tonnes
Submerged displacement: 18200 tonnes
Overall length (CWL): 167.4 meters
Extreme hull beam: 11.7 meters
Mean draft (CWL): 8.8 meters
Armament
Submarine is armed with 4 533-mm forward torpedo tubes. Load is 12 torpedoes. Up to 24 mines is possible to be placed instead of torpedoes. Missile armament:
RSM-54 Sineva, torpedo-missile system
TVR-671RTM, MANPADS
9K310 Igla-1/9K38 Igla launcher.
Third generation intercontinental three-stage ballistic missile
RSM-54 Sineva (
Skiff SSN-23 on NATO classification) is in service at
Delfin-class nuclear submarines of Project 667BRDM. It was army-accepted in 1986 and is produced by
Krasnoyarsk Machine-Building Plant. Missile weight is 40.3 tonnes, warhead mass is 2.8 tonnes, length is 14.8 meters, diameter is 1.9 meters. It may be launched from the depth of 55 meters at speed of 6-7 knots. Maximum range is 8 300 km, impact error is 500 meters.
Source: RusNavy.com, photo: NPBMS Karelia (samoupravlenie.ru)
