ST. PETERSBURG. April 8 (Interfax-AVN) - The fourth-generation Sankt Peterburg diesel-electric submarine will be handed over to the Russian Navy in late 2005, the press service of the Admiralteiskiye Verfi shipyard told Interfax-Military News Agency on Friday.
"After all the tests are over, including marching ones that will start only in late May, the sub will be handed over to the customer," a press service official said.
"This sub is unique in terms of its primary specifications, including the firepower, stealth capacity, long self-sustained capability and range, as well as high reliability. It has no rivals in the world as far as these parameters are concerned," he added.
The official stressed that the improved specifications will allow it to effectively destroy surface ships and other subs and deliver multiple missile strikes. The sub is equipped with new generation electronically controlled weapons suit, a variable speed electric engine on constant magnets and a battery with extended service life. The noise emission of the sub has been reduced dramatically. Also, new anti-hydrolocation coating was applied. To crown it all, the sub features a combined automated control system.
The hydroacoustic system of the new submarine has a sensitive antennae in the nose. Its navigation equipment ensures safe navigation and use of cruise missiles even if missile stays submerged for a long time.
The Sankt Peterburg submarine is the first one of the series of Project 677 Lada (export code-name Amur-1650), developed at the Rubin Central design bureau of seagoing vessels. Its primary specs are as follows: displacement 1,765 tonnes, length 67 m, width 7.1 m, speed underwater 21 knots, surface speed 10 knots, max submergence depth 300 m, self-sustained endurance 54 days.
The sub is equipped with six 533-mm torpedo launchers and carries 18 torpedoes.
The construction of the submarine started in 1997, and it first touched water in October 2004.