(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) – The highly classified deep-diving Russian submarine ‘Losharik’ (AS-31), is set to return to the sea in June or July this year after repair works commenced in 2019 due to a fire incident have been successfully completed.
It is one of Russia’s most secretive nuclear-powered submarines, with its functions, capabilities, and existence closely guarded by Russian authorities.
Russian news agency ‘TASS’, citing military sources, stated that repairs on the secretive submarine have nearly concluded, with the next phase involving sea trials.
“Following the repair works, it is planned that the submarine ‘Losharik’ will embark on testing operations in June or July this year,” according to the military source speaking to TASS regarding the current status of the secretive submarine launched by Russia in 2003.
The submarine has been in dry dock since 2019 when it suffered a fire incident resulting in the loss of 14 crew members.
The military source also informed the Russian news agency that following the repair works, the ‘Losharik’ submarine will retain its capability to dive to depths of up to 6,000 meters, a unique and powerful feature compared to its adversaries’ submarines.
TASS reported that the submarine’s Titanium hull remained undamaged during the fire incident, ensuring its ability to dive to extreme depths.
In comparison, nuclear-powered submarines of the United States such as the Seawolf-class or Ohio-class are said to be capable of diving to depths ranging from 490 meters to 2,000 meters, still not reaching half of the ‘Losharik’ submarine’s diving capability.
During the fire incident, ‘Losharik’ was conducting a secret mission in Russian waters, but it was located not far from Norway, believed to be related to the Northern Sea Route (NSR), an alternative shipping route being explored by Russia.
The incident has drawn global defense observers’ attention to ‘Losharik’, an extremely secretive submarine operated by Russia due to its mission of spying and gathering crucial information, especially concerning underwater terrain.
Given its highly sensitive role for the Russian navy, the crew assigned to operate the ‘Losharik’ submarine are members of the Russian navy serving within the agency called the Main Directorate Deep Sea Research (GUGI).
Only the best are selected to serve on this highly secretive submarine owned by the Russian navy.
The 14 deceased crew members of the ‘Losharik’ submarine were among the most respected submarine crews in Russia.
All those killed were posthumously awarded Russia’s highest honor, the ‘Hero of the Russia Federation.’
What is unique about this nuclear-powered ‘Losharik’ is that its crew operates within seven spherical hulls made of Titanium alloy inside the submarine’s body.
In this Russian secretive submarine case, the design of these spherical hulls allows it to dive much deeper than any other submarines in the world.
It is said that the round shape is stronger than a cylindrical one when diving into the deep sea (to withstand the pressure of the ocean floor).
The West calls ‘Losharik’ The Cold War Submarine.
According to a senior U.S. navy officer, with its ability to dive to such depths, there is no submarine in the world that can detect ‘Losharik’.
Russia also stationed ‘Losharik’ in an area called Olenya Guba as its submarine base, an area in the Kola Peninsula in Russia located far from any nearby human civilization. — DSA”