While on a working trip to the Arkhangelsk region, Russian President Vladimir Putin convened a meeting with senior naval officials to discuss the development strategy for the country’s submarine forces, during which current fleet expansion plans were addressed. Among the various announcements that emerged from the meeting, a key highlight was the president’s statement that Russia will seek to build at least nine Lada-class conventional attack submarines—an increase of three units over previous estimates.
In President Putin’s own words, delivered during the meeting: “The construction of the Project 677 conventional submarines is underway. The lead submarine, the Kronstadt, joined the Navy in 2024. At least nine submarines of this class will be built. I request a report on the progress of serial production of submarines of this class.”
At this point, it is worth recalling that the Lada-class submarine line consists of an initial prototype submarine named after the city of Saint Petersburg (B-585), while the aforementioned Kronstadt marked the beginning of serial production for the class. To these must be added the Velikiye Luki, Vologda, Yaroslavl, and a final unit whose name has yet to be confirmed. These form the basis upon which the three additional submarines would be added, bringing the class total to nine vessels.
Reviewing some of the known characteristics of the platform, these are the most modern conventional submarines to be fielded by the Russian Navy. They are configured as smaller vessels with greater performance than the Kilo-class submarines still in service. Each unit displaces about 2,700 tons submerged and requires a crew of 34 to operate. They have a top submerged speed of up to 21 knots and an endurance of 45 days. In terms of weaponry, each submarine is equipped with six 533 mm torpedo tubes capable of launching torpedoes, missiles, and naval mines.
Moreover, according to what was discussed during the occasion, the decision to expand the number of submarines to modernize the Russian Navy’s capabilities has become one of the main pillars of the institution’s development strategy for the future. In the words of the Russian president: “The submarine forces of the Navy play a fundamental role in ensuring Russia’s sovereignty and security, protecting its interests, and making a significant contribution to regional and global stability and the maintenance of strategic parity (…) That is why enhancing the Navy’s capabilities, including its submarine forces, is one of our main priorities.”
Finally, it is important to note that building additional submarines is not the only measure the Russian Navy will take in line with the stated objective of strengthening its strategically vital undersea capabilities. In that sense, it was mentioned during the meeting that the country is advancing the development of a new fifth-generation submarine, as well as designs for “multifunctional underwater robotic systems.”
*Images used for illustrative purposes only
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