Akula-class submarine
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| Class overview | |
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| Name: | Akula |
| Operators: | |
| Preceded by: |
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| Succeeded by: | Yasen class |
| Cost: | est. $1.55 billion (1995 dollars) |
| In service: | 1984 |
| Planned: | 21 (6 later cancelled) |
| Completed: | 15 |
| Active: | 10 (9 in Russia, 1 in India) |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Nuclear-powered attack submarine |
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| Length: |
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| Beam: | 13.6 m (45 ft) |
| Draught: | 9.7 m (32 ft) |
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| Endurance: | 100 days |
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| Complement: | 73 for Akula I & Improved, 62 (31 officers) for Akula II & III |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
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| Electronic warfare & decoys: |
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| Armament: | |
| Notes: | |
Project 971 Щука-Б (Shchuka-B, 'Shchuka' meaning "pike", NATO reporting name "Akula") is a nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN) first deployed by the Soviet Navy in 1986. The class is also known under the name Bars (meaning "snow leopard"). There are four sub-classes or flights of Shchuka, consisting of the original seven Akula Is, commissioned between 1984 and 1990; six Improved Akulas, commissioned between 1991 and 2009; one Akula II, commissioned in 1995; and one Akula III, commissioned in 2001. The Russians call all of the submarines Shchuka-B, regardless of modifications.
Some potential for confusion may exist, as the name Akula (Акула meaning "shark" in Russian) was used by the Soviets for a different submarine, the Projekt 941, which is known in the West as the Typhoon class. By contrast, the Projekt 971 (the subject of this article) was named Shchuka-B by the Soviets but designated as the "Akula class" by the West after the name of the lead ship, K-284.
The launch of the first submarine in 1985, according to defense analyst Norman Polmar, "shook everyone [in the West] up", as Western intelligence agencies had not expected the Soviet Union to produce such a boat for another ten years.
The Akula incorporates a double hull system composed of an inner pressure hull and an outer "light" hull. This allows more freedom in the design of the exterior hull shape, resulting in a submarine with more reserve buoyancy than its western analogs. This design requires more power than single-hull submarines because of the greater wetted surface area, which increases drag.
The distinctive "bulb" or "can" seen on top of the Akula's rudder houses its towed sonar array, when retracted. Most Akulas have the SOCKS hydrodynamic sensors, which detect changes in temperature and salinity. They are located on the leading edge of the sail, on the outer hull casing in front of the sail and on the bottom of the hull forward of the sail. All Akulas have two T-shaped doors on the aft bottom of the hull, on either side. These are where the OK-300 auxiliary propulsion devices are located, which can propel the submarine at up to 5 knots (9.3 km/h).
Akulas (excluding Nerpa) are armed with four 533 mm torpedo tubes which can use Type 53 torpedoes or the SS-N-15 Starfish missile, and four 650 mm torpedo tubes which can use Type 65 torpedoes or the SS-N-16 Stallion missile. These torpedo tubes are arranged in two rows of four tubes each. Improved Akulas, Akula IIs have an additional six 533 mm torpedo tubes mounted externally, capable of launching possibly up to 6 decoys each. The external tubes are mounted outside the pressure hull in one row, above the torpedo tubes, and can only be reloaded in port or with the assistance of a submarine tender. The 650 mm tubes can be fitted with liners to use the 533 mm weaponry. The submarine is also able to use its torpedo tubes to deploy mines.
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Wikipedia