Kilo-class submarine

The Kilo-class submarines are a group of diesel-electric attack submarines designed by the Rubin Design Bureau in the Soviet Union in the 1970s and built originally for the Soviet Navy.

The first version had the Soviet designation Project 877 ''Paltus'' (, meaning "halibut"), NATO reporting name Kilo. They entered operational service in 1980 and continued being built until the mid-1990s, when production switched to the more advanced Project 636 ''Varshavyanka'' variant, also known in the West as the Improved Kilo class. The design was updated again by the Russian Navy in the mid-2010s, to a variant called Project 636.3, also known as Improved Kilo II.

Role

The Project 877 attack submarines were mainly intended for anti-shipping and anti-submarine operations in relatively shallow waters. Original Project 877 boats are equipped with Rubikon MGK-400 sonar system (with NATO reporting name Shark Gill), which includes a mine detection and avoidance sonar MG-519 Arfa (with NATO reporting name Mouse Roar).

Newer Project 636 boats are equipped with improved MGK-400EM, with MG-519 Arfa also upgraded to MG-519EM. MGK 400E can detect submarines with 0.05 Pa/Hz noisiness in and surface vessels with 10 Pa/Hz noisiness in . The improved sonar systems have reduced the number of operators needed by sharing the same console via automation.

Anechoic tiles are fitted on casings and fins to absorb the sound waves of active sonar, which results in a reduction and distortion of the return signal. These tiles also help attenuate sounds that are emitted from the submarine, thus reducing the range at which the submarine may be detected by passive sonar.

Project 636 and 636.3 submarines can launch Kalibr (and their Club export version) cruise missiles. It was reported in September 2022 that they can carry four Kalibr missiles, and can launch them through two of their six torpedo tubes.

History

A single Project 877 submarine, ''Alrosa'', is equipped with pump-jet propulsion, instead of a propeller. It has been retrofitted for the Kalibr missile.

It was planned for Project 636 (Improved Kilo) to be succeeded by the in Russian Navy service. However, by November 2011 it was apparent that the Lada class would be delayed because ''Sankt Peterburg'' (B-585), the lead boat of the class, had shown major deficiencies. On 27 July 2012, the Russian Navy commander-in-chief announced that construction of the Lada-class submarines would resume, having undergone design changes. Series production was reported to be underway in the latter 2010s.

The Russian Navy also moved forward in the late 2010s, with the construction of Project 636.3, also known as Improved Kilo II. The first-in-class was named ''Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky'' (PPK) and was launched by the head of Admiralty Shipyard Alexander Buzakov on 28 March 2019, or some thirty months after commission. By November 2019, six units had been built for the Black Sea Fleet and further boats were proposed, but not funded, for the Pacific and Baltic Fleets.

In June 2022, an unconfirmed report from within Russia's defense industry suggested that a further tranche of six additional Project 636.3 vessels might be ordered to start construction in around 2024. The class "is slightly longer in length — the sub's submerged displacement is around 4,000 tons — and features improved engines, an improved combat system, as well as new noise reduction technology; it can fire both torpedoes and cruise missiles, launched from one of six 533-millimeter torpedo tubes." The class has a seven-bladed propeller, instead of the six-bladed propeller of the Project 877 class.

Specifications

There are several variants of the Kilo class. The information below is the smallest and largest number from the available information for all three main variants of the boat.

* Displacement:
** 2,300–2,350 tons surfaced
** 3,000–4,000 tons submerged
* Dimensions:
** Length: 70–74 meters
** Beam: 9.9 meters
** Draft: 6.2–6.5 meters
* Maximum speed
** 10–12 knots surfaced (18–22 km/h)
** 17–25 knots submerged (31–46 km/h)
* Propulsion: Diesel-electric
* Maximum depth: 300 meters (240–250 meters operational)
* Endurance
** at submerged
** at snorkeling (7,500 miles for the Improved Kilo class)
** 45 days sea endurance
* Armament
** Air defence: 8 Strela-3 or 8 Igla-1, but after sea trial it was rejected by the navy.
** Six 533 mm torpedo tubes with 18 53-65 ASuW or TEST 71/76 ASW torpedoes or VA-111 Shkval supercavitating torpedoes, or 24 DM-1 mines,
* Crew: 52
* Price per unit is US$200–250 million (China paid about US$1.5–2 billion for 8 Project 636 Kilo-class submarines)

Operational history

Kilo-class attack submarines originally began entering service with the Soviet Navy from 1980.

At the beginning of 2014, the Chinese PLA Navy held an emergency combat readiness test. The Kilo-class submarine ''Yuanzheng 72'', deployed on a combat readiness voyage encountered a "cliff" caused by a sudden change in seawater density. Because the seawater density suddenly decreased, the submarine lost its buoyancy and rapidly fell to the seabed more than deep. The pressure on the submarine increased sharply, and the main engine room pipeline was damaged and water entered. The vessel lost power due to a large amount of water entering the main engine room. The crew reacted quickly, the submarine resurfaced in three minutes, avoiding disaster. The voyage was notable for creating many firsts for PLAN's submarine service.

In 2015 five Kilo-class submarines were deployed to the Russian naval facility in Tartus, Syria. At least two of the units reportedly attacked land targets inside Syria with 3M54 Kalibr cruise missiles (NATO designation: SS-N-27A "Sizzler"). On 8 December 2015 marked the first time a Kilo-class submarine fired cruise missiles against an enemy. '' B-237 Rostov-on-Don'' struck two targets near the ISIS capital of Raqqa by the missile attack. The ''B-237 Rostov-on-Don'' transited the Dardanelles on its way back to the Black Sea on 12 February 2022.

''B-871 Alrosa'', a pump-jet Kilo class, which derives from the Project 877 hull, participated in the Russo-Ukraine War.

After the sinking of the in April 2022, it was remarked that the Kilo-class subs were the only members of the Black Sea Fleet whose orders did not prohibit venturing into Ukrainian waters near Odesa during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In September 2022, after the early 2022 Crimea attacks, the UK Ministry of Defence said that the Kilo-class submarines were moved from Sevastopol to the Port of Novorossiysk in Krasnodar Krai.

On 13 September 2023, ''B-237 Rostov-on-Don'' was severely damaged by a Ukrainian Storm Shadow missile strike while it was drydocked in Sevastopol.
According to satellite images taken in June 2024, the submarine was moved to a lesser used dry dock within the port (at coordinates 44.609975029014116, 33.537496816089906). Camouflage nets were, at least initially, thrown up to disguise its presence and to make observation more challenging. According to reports, the submarine is under repair.

On 2 August 2024, Ukrainian Forces launched a strike against a Russian submarine and an S-400 air defense system in Crimea. Ukrainian sources claimed that the submarine ''B-237 Rostov-on-Don'' was "sunk on the spot" in the attack. Other sources claim that the submarine was only hit and not sunk. Satellite images showed the that camouflage nets were burned out by the strike.

Operators

The first submarine entered service in the Soviet Navy in 1980, and the class remains in use with the Russian Navy today; around 11 original Kilo-class vessels believed to still be in active service with the Russian Navy (as of 2023), while new Improved Kilo–class subs are being delivered through the 2020s to replace them. About forty vessels have been exported to several countries:

* : 2 original Kilo (Project 877), 4 Improved Kilo (Project 636).
* : 2 original Kilo (Project 877), 10 Improved Kilo (Project 636).
* : 10 original Kilo (Project 877), 1 sustained major casualty – designated as the
* : one boat transferred from Indian Navy by March 2020.
* : 1 original Kilo (Project 877) – .
* : 3 original Kilo (Project 877).
* : 1 original Kilo (Project 877) – (not operational).
* : 10–11 original Kilo (Project 877), 12 Improved Kilo (Project 636.3) delivered as of 2025. One further Improved Kilo ordered in August 2020, during the International Military-Technical Forum "ARMY-2020"; up to six additional boats of the class intended to replace Project 877 units; first three ordered in 2023.
* : 6 Improved Kilo (Project 636) – , , , , , .

Possible purchasers

The government of Venezuela expressed interest since 2005 in acquiring nine AIP-powered conventional submarines, either the German U214 or later the Amur 1650. There was a Russian counteroffer due to technical issues at the shipyards back then, for five Project 636 Kilo-class and four Amur 1650, but it hasn't gone through yet.

In 2017, the Philippine Navy showed interest in the Kilo-class submarine as part of its modernization program. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the country was evaluating a Russian offer.

Failed bids

The Indonesian Navy was interested in purchasing two used Kilo-class submarines, but the Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Navy Laksamana Marsetio cancelled the plans in 2014 after inspecting the two submarines in Russia with an Indonesian Navy team. He said, "The submarines look good on the outside, but the inside is filled with broken equipment, and the two submarines have been in storage for two years." Indonesia instead bought six Improved ''Jang Bogo''-class submarines, later known as , including a transfer of technology, where Indonesia will eventually build four of six of the submarines with South Korea.
Actually, the bid for Kilo Russian submarines fell apart due to the lapse of the financing term of the Russian Federation.

Gallery

File:ORP Orzeł Gdynia.JPG, The Polish Kilo-class submarine , 26 June 2011
File:«Калуга», «Липецк» и «Ярославль» в Полярном..jpg, Russian Kilo-class submarines in Polyarny, Murmansk Oblast
File:Submarine-Kilo-Algeria.JPG, An Algerian Kilo-class submarine
File:Heavy-lift ship Sea Teal carrying Chinese Kilo submarine.jpg, A Chinese Kilo-class submarine being delivered from Russia as deck cargo in 1995.
File:ORP Orzel 1986 (7).JPG, ORP ''Orzeł'', the control room of an 877E-class submarine
File:Iranian Kilo-class diesel submarine.jpg, The Iranian Kilo-class submarine ''Yunes'', during delivery in 1995.
File:INS Sindhughosh (S55).JPEG, Indian Kilo-class submarine, INS ''Sindhughosh''
File:ДЭПЛ Калуга возвращается из дальнего похода.png, Diesel submarine Kilo-class ''Kaluga'' returns from a long voyage
File:Russian Navy Submarine Ufa.jpg, Russian Improved Kilo-class submarine ''Ufa'' during the Russian Navy Day parade in 2023.

List of submarines

Project 877

Project 636

Project 636.3

Italics indicate estimates.

See also

* List of Soviet and Russian submarine classes
* List of submarine classes in service
* Future of the Russian Navy
* Cruise missile submarine
* Attack submarine

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

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Further reading

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External links

SSK Kilo Class (Type 636)
at Naval-technology.com

SSK Kilo Class (Type 877EKM)
at Naval-technology.com
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kilo-class submarine
Attack submarines
Submarine classes
Submarines of the People's Liberation Army Navy
Submarine classes of the Russian and Soviet Navy
Submarine classes of the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy

Russian involvement in the Syrian civil war
Military equipment of the Russian invasion of Ukraine