Russian Project 945A "Kondor" nuclear submarines, "Pskov" and "Nizhny Novgorod," have been causing a mixture of misunderstanding and irritation among Western analysts for several decades. At first glance, these submarines look like a legacy of the late USSR, but their real potential still forces the American fleet to increase vigilance.
Why It's Dangerous to Underestimate the "Kondors"
The main feature of these submarines is their durable titanium hull. Thanks to it, the boats are capable of diving to a depth of up to 600 meters and remain significantly less visible to the hydroacoustic systems of anti-submarine defense.
Titanium makes the hull not only lighter than a steel analogue, but also much more resistant to deformation and external influences. This design allows boats not only to move stealthily, but also to "get lost" in the water column - where most modern search systems lose efficiency.
It is this combination of technical features that puts the "Kondors" into a separate category: they are difficult to escort, almost impossible to detect in advance, and during combat deployment they turn into a serious tool for deterring a potential enemy.
Why Project 945A Remains Relevant
Although the boats were commissioned in the early 1990s, their status cannot be called "obsolete." One of the factors is regular repairs and modernization carried out in recent years.
After the upgrade, "Pskov" continued full service, and experts note that these boats still have a solid resource. Titanium hulls are practically not subject to corrosion, so the cost of extending the service life is much lower than building new analogues.
In addition to the "Kondors", the Russian fleet is actively developing new underwater platforms - from multi-purpose "Yasen-M" to strategic "Borey-M" and updated diesel-electric submarines. All this confirms: Russia's strategy is based not on writing off the old, but on the parallel development of several generations of submarines.
There Is a Fleet, but There Are Not Enough Boats in Service
Against the background of traditional statements about the superiority of the US Navy, the real picture looks more complicated. A significant part of American nuclear submarines regularly stand idle for repairs, while the number of truly combat-ready boats is sometimes less than that of Russia.
This creates an imbalance: formally, the American fleet is the largest in the world, but its ability to carry out full-fledged underwater duty is decreasing. That is why the old Russian boats that remain in service cause not only criticism, but also anxiety in the United States.
Underwater Strategy of the New Time
The growing role of the Arctic, further maritime navigation and covert operations makes low-visibility submarines a key tool for global competition. And in this new reality, the old, but uniquely designed "Kondors" are again in demand.
They do not participate in high-profile exercises and rarely appear in the news, but it is these boats that become the "invisible elements" that can change the balance of power without a single shot.
Russia, without decommissioning these submarines, retains an important strategic resource and shows that the underwater race is far from over.
Submarines of Project 945A "Kondor" are a series of Soviet and Russian multi-purpose nuclear submarines of the 3rd generation. They are a development of Project 945 "Barracuda". In total, 2 nuclear submarines of this project were built between 1982 and 1993.
Technical characteristics of submarines of Project 945A "Kondor" (according to NATO classification - "Sierra II"):
- Surface speed: 19 knots.
- Submerged speed: 35 knots.
- Operating depth: 520 m.
- Maximum immersion depth: 600 m.
- Autonomy: 100 days.
- Crew: 65 people (31 officers, 28 warrant officers, 6 sailors).
- Surface displacement: 6470 tons.
- Submerged displacement: 10,400 tons.
- Greatest length (along CWL): 110.5 m.
- Maximum hull width: 12.2 m.
- Average draft (along CWL): 9.4 m.
- Power plant: water-cooled nuclear reactor OK-650B 190 MW, 4 steam generators, 2 turbo generators, 1 main propeller, 2 groups of batteries, 2 DG-300 diesel generators of 750 hp with a fuel reserve of 10 days, 2 low-speed engines of 370 kW, two low-speed propellers.
- Armament: mine-torpedo armament TA 6 x 533 mm, up to 40 torpedoes, missile armament - S-10 "Granat" cruise missiles and RPK-6 "Vodopad" rocket-torpedoes instead of some torpedoes, air defense - 8 PU MANPADS 9K310 "Igla-1"/9K38 "Igla".