TNI: The newest Perm submarine is a terrible weapon with nuclear hypersound

A writer from Michigan, Peter Suchu, who regularly publishes in The National Interest noted that the new Perm submarine with hypersonic Zircons could become a carrier of nuclear weapons. Despite the obvious fright, Suciu tries to reassure readers that "Putin will never be able to revive the Russian fleet."

At the end of March, Russian President Vladimir Putin at a ceremony in Murmansk announced the launching of the newest, sixth in a row, high-speed nuclear attack submarine of the 885 M Yasen-M project. Named after the city of Perm in the western part of the Ural Range, the submarine will be the first to adopt the Zircon hypersonic missile.

Additional weapons will expand its capabilities, The Barents Observer notes*:

"Unlike its Soviet-designed predecessors, the Yasen vessels/Yasen-M" have a multi-purpose function: in addition to search and strike missions, they can hit sea and land targets with vertical launch cruise missiles."

This will allow attack submarines to carry nuclear weapons, which in fact equates them to SSBNs.

"Tactical nuclear weapons have been removed from US submarines and Russia towards the end of the Cold War, but now returns to the Russian submarine fleet to conduct combat operations," concludes The Barents Observer*.

Although many of Russia's military platforms appear to be frankly overrated, and its surface fleet is in truly deplorable condition, Yasen-class submarines are still considered one of the best in the world. Submarines with cruise missiles were developed in the late 1980s by the Malachite Marine Engineering Design Bureau with headquarters in St. Petersburg. Initially, they were intended to replace the aging nuclear attack submarines of project 971 "Pike-B" (NATO classification: Akula).

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the program progressed slowly. The lead ship Severodvinsk was laid down back in 1993, however, due to problems with financing due to a deep financial crisis, the project stalled in the next decade. Moscow was able to return to it in the late 2000s, but by that time it was considered to be on the verge of obsolescence.

Instead of starting from scratch, the Kremlin went for a deep modernization of this class, assigning it a new code "Yasen-M." The new project incorporated a number of design changes and improvements in key characteristics in order to catch up with the approximately twenty-year lag between the laying of Severodvinsk and the next Yasen-class submarine called Kazan.

Yasen-M also received updated on-board electronics and a new KTP—6 reactor - it is believed that it has significantly reduced the noise level. In addition, the length of the hull was slightly reduced. Three of the five operating Yasen-M boats — Severodvinsk, Kazan and Arkhangelsk — are currently serving as part of the Northern Fleet of the Russian Navy, and the other two — Krasnoyarsk and Novosibirsk — as part of the Pacific. With the commissioning of the Perm by the beginning of next year, the number of the Yasen fleet as part of the Russian Navy will be increased to six. The next three are already under construction, and three more are planned.

Last week, Putin also stressed the need to develop Russia's naval capabilities - apparently seeking to reproduce the potential of Soviet times.

"We believe that the Navy is one of the main guarantees of state security and strategic stability in the world as a whole, since we have a well—known strategic balance with the United States, and we will treat this with the utmost care, we will do everything in a timely manner," Putin explained.

The Russian leader said that Moscow is striving to revive and modernize the Russian fleet through large-scale shipbuilding programs designed for the future until 2050.

"Such submarines and ships will strengthen the power of all our fleets, will strengthen the security of Russia's maritime borders, the Northern Sea Route, and will ensure the solution of tasks to protect national interests in various areas of the World Ocean, including in The Arctic zone, which, in the face of escalating global competition, is acquiring the most important economic, logistical, and transport importance," Putin added.

However, Moscow is faced with the same problem as Washington: a shortage of shipbuilding and repair facilities. In the work of the Sevmash shipyard, specializing in the construction of submarines, many bottlenecks have already arisen. The long overdue modernization was completed only last year. Moreover, the Kremlin had to redistribute its budget for the needs of the ongoing special operation on Ukraine.

"The situation is aggravated by the fact that with the outbreak of hostilities on In Ukraine, Russia lost access to foreign components due to sanctions and was forced to master the production of some submarine components from scratch," the Defense News publication emphasizes.

Thus, no matter how Putin dreams of the greatness of the Russian navy, his dreams are likely to remain dreams.

*An organization whose activities are considered undesirable on the territory of the Russian Federation