Type 971 attack nuclear submarine (Russian: проекта 971 Щука, Chinese: Pike/Barracuda, English: Project 971 Pike, NATO code: Akula Class, also known as Shark Class), is a type of nuclear-powered attack submarine of the Soviet/Russian Navy, a Soviet/Russian third-generation/fourth-generation multipurpose attack nuclear submarine.
The Type 971 attack nuclear submarine was built by the Soviet Navy after the Type 949 cruise missile nuclear submarine, the last class of traditional attack nuclear submarines developed by the Soviet Union, and the largest number of attack nuclear submarines built by the Soviet Union/Russia after the Type 671 attack nuclear submarine Type III. Before the Type 885 attack submarine entered service, it was the fastest and most quiet attack submarine in Russia.
The Type 971 attack submarine, in the same era as the Type 945 attack nuclear submarine (Sierra class) and the Type 685 attack nuclear submarine (Komsomol class), was built by the Soviet Union in the early 1980s, a total of 15 are known to have been built, of which 3 have been decommissioned and 2 have been leased to the Indian Navy, making it one of the main forces of the Russian Navy.
History
Development background
K-317 Panther docks
In the early 1970s, the Soviet Union had a strong economic strength and talent reserves, in order to win the advantage of underwater warfare against the U.S. Navy, the Soviet Navy decided to continue to develop and build new nuclear submarines, so the task of building a new generation of nuclear submarines was simultaneously sent to three well-known submarine design bureaus at the time, namely the Malachite Design Bureau (formerly known as the Soviet Leningrad SKB-143 Special Equipment Design Bureau/Ship Design Bureau), the Ruby Design Bureau, and the Azure Stone Design Bureau. The Soviet Navy intended for each of the three design bureaus to independently design new nuclear submarines, while the Navy would take them all in and select them by comparing their respective strengths.
The Soviet Union's requirements for a new generation of nuclear submarines are very demanding, and the newly designed nuclear submarines must not only have a large diving depth, high underwater speed, and good concealment, but also have the ability to counter-ship, anti-submarine and attack enemy shore targets, the most important task of which is to find and sink the strategic nuclear submarines of the United States loaded with ballistic missiles and their escort submarines in advance. To this end, after accepting the task, the Malachite Design Bureau immediately based on the PTM type 671 attack nuclear submarine (NATO called Victor class, referred to as V class) and the Type 705 attack nuclear submarine (NATO called Alpha class, referred to as A class), based on the chief designer George W. Bush. Under the leadership of N. Chenisv, research and development work was carried out under the code name "проекта 971 "Щука", that is, the Type 971 attack nuclear submarine.
Construction history
Type 971 attack nuclear submarine
In the early 1980s, the development of the Type 971 attack submarine was basically completed. With the approval of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, the first boat was built in 1983 (1981) at the Komsomolsk Shipyard (now the Amursk Shipyard in Russia), launched in June 1984 and rigorously tested. Because the Soviet Union at that time was a vast territory, the fleet was scattered and divided, and the north was an inconvenient Arctic Ocean, so the follow-up boats were arranged to be built at the same time as the Amursk Shipyard and the Severodvinsk Shipyard (now the Russian Northern Machinery Factory), the nuclear submarines built by the Amursk Shipyard in the Far East went directly to serve in the Pacific Fleet, and the Northern Machinery Factory built the Northern Fleet, forming a production scale of two articles per year.
There are many translations of the Type 971 attack submarine, the most common of which are the Akula Class I, Class II or AKI Class, Class II. In fact, according to the name published by the Soviet/Russian Navy, the Type 971 submarine should be called the "Pike/Barracuda" class (Щука), a dexterous and fast-moving marine fish of the size of a shuttle; and its improved version was called the "Pike/Barracuda-B" class (Щука-Б).
Typhoon-class strategic nuclear submarine
The Soviet Union's nuclear submarines were numerous, numerous, numerous, and more famous. The Soviet Red Navy divided nuclear submarines into ballistic missile submarines, torpedo attack submarines, and cruise missile submarines. Torpedo attack nuclear submarines are mainly used for anti-submarine, but also anti-ship, cruise missile nuclear submarines are specialized in dealing with the Large Nuclear Submarines of the US aircraft carrier formation, and the weapons are mainly vertically launched cruise missiles, such as Oscar-class nuclear submarines. The naming of Soviet submarines is first of all a project development code, such as Type 671, Type 971, etc., corresponding to a Soviet Navy code name, such as Type 671 for the Perch class, Type 971 for the Pike class. NATO also customarily gave each class of Soviet nuclear submarines a code name, such as the Type 671 (NATO called victor class) and the Type 971 (NATO called the Akula class). In addition, NATO also gave Soviet nuclear submarines a number, usually one of the 26 letters, such as A, V, S, and another Moorish code called letters, such as V corresponding to the Victor class. In addition, the Soviet Union/Russia also awarded each nuclear submarine a number similar to the hull number and name starting with K.
The names of a certain class of ships of the Soviet/Russian Navy are not, as NATO customarily suggests, after the name of the first ship of its class, often by a different name. The term "Akula" (transliterated from Akula) is the "nickname" given by NATO to the Type 971 submarine during the Cold War when it was uncertain about the names and classes of the Soviet Navy ships at that time. "Akula" is also not an English word, but a Latin spelling of the Russian word "shark" (акула), so the Type 971 submarine is also transliterated as the "Shark" class. The name "Shark" is actually the soviet/Russian Navy's true name for the Type 941 strategic nuclear submarines that NATO is customarily referred to as the Typhoon class. In contrast, the Type 971 attack nuclear submarine obviously behaves more like a barracuda, and the description of the Typhoon class by shark is obviously more appropriate.
Service history
On December 30, 1984, the first Type 971 was delivered to the Soviet Navy for service, and unlike in the past, the Soviet/Russian Navy named the Type 971 attack submarine submarines after various animals.
The different construction periods and external characteristics of the Type 971 attack nuclear submarine can be divided into four different types, namely the 971 prototype boat (Akula I), the 971I (Akula I improved, one said 971U), the 971U (Akula II, one said 971A), the 971M (Akula III), and NATO classified the 971U and 971M as the Akula II. Internally, however, when the prototype boats were being built in the 3rd and 4th, based on the reliable information obtained that the United States was stepping up efforts to improve the Los Angeles-class attack nuclear submarines, a targeted modification project was immediately launched, and the submarines built later were called the "971 Modernization Modification Program", which focused on reducing noise, appropriately enhancing the weapon system, and improving the problems exposed during the use of the prototype boat. After the improvement, the Type 971 is 5 meters longer than the prototype boat, its noise is reduced to about 105 decibels, the attack power is about 20% higher than the prototype, and its overall performance is slightly higher than the improved version of the Los Angeles class attack nuclear submarine, the main force of the US Navy, and some of the performance even reaches the Seawolf class, which is praised by the US Navy as the "21st century attack submarine". In addition, the Type 971 attack submarine uses the same VM-5 (OK-650) reactor as the Type 941 strategic nuclear submarine and the Type 949 cruise missile nuclear submarine, of which the reactor coolant container of the four prototype boats before the K-391 is similar to the Type 941 strategic nuclear submarine and uses a long tube type; while all subsequent submarines, including the K-391, use a shorter model similar to the Type 949 cruise missile nuclear submarine II.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Submarine Force of the Russian Navy was heavily reduced in equipment, and the submarine manufacturing industry was also in an extremely difficult and difficult era. Despite this dilemma, given that the Type 971 is indeed a multi-purpose attack nuclear submarine with advanced performance, wide versatility, high reliability and significant potential for improvement, and that the submarine and its improved version were designed with cost factors in mind, Russia retained all the built Type 971 submarines despite financial constraints, and planned to continue to build the more advanced Type 971M, which is obviously much stronger than the Type 945 and Type 685 of the same period. The first vessel of the Type 971M, the K-335 Cheetah, was built extremely slowly, construction began in 1991, was not launched until 1999, and entered service in 2001, the overall performance of the type is comparable to that of the American Seawolf-class attack nuclear submarines, and Russia had planned to build seven if financial resources permit. The Type 971 attack submarine was commissioned as of December 2009 with the K-152 Ringed Seal, with a total of 15 ships under construction.
Technical features
Boat-type structure
Boat type
K-419 "Walrus" (3 photos)
The Type 971 attack nuclear submarine adopts the teardrop line boat type, and its length-to-width ratio is 8.2:1, which is greater than the 7.7:1 requirements of the American Seawolf class, which is more different from the most ideal 7:1 requirements of the water drop type, but in terms of shape, the Type 971 is very close to the form of the water drop type. Type 971 bow round blunt, front thickness and rear thin, in order to pursue the best line, the cancellation of the crew to facilitate the operation of the flat deck, the entire front section of the boat is oval, to the length of 2/5 of the width of the boat to reach the maximum, and then the outer contour line of the hull shrinks to the middle line of the submarine, smooth transition to the pointed stern, very much like an elongated water droplet. The horizontal rudder of the bow is located in the front of the hull, which can be retracted, the command platform enclosure is located at 1/3 of the length of the bow, and the internal is equipped with reconnaissance radar, search periscope and other lifting equipment, the stern adopts a cross-shaped rudder, and the top of the upper vertical rudder has a streamlined deflector cover, which is equipped with a towing sonar retractor, and the stern is a pointed stern, a single axis and a 7-blade large-sided oblique propeller.
The type 971 attack nuclear submarine adopts the appearance, in the case of the same displacement and main engine power, reduces the wet surface area and hull resistance of the hull, so that the reflective area of the boat to the active sonar signal is less, increasing the stealth performance of the submarine, and also improving the speed of the submarine. At the same time, this form factor reduces the rotation radius of the submarine, improves maneuverability, and the small aspect ratio linear type increases the diameter of the pressure-resistant shell and increases the compartment volume, allowing more instruments and equipment to be accommodated. In addition, the Type 971 attack nuclear submarine also took other measures to reduce the navigational drag, such as the smooth and smooth surface of the entire hull, rarely protruding, and the various openings were also minimized; in the construction process, although the bow rudder was still habitually placed in the bow position, when it was retracted, it was tightly combined with the outer surface of the hull, without revealing a trace, and the torpedo tube front cover was also provided with an outer hatch cover; when they were lowered, the entire command platform enclosure was also very smooth. In addition, the command platform enclosure itself also chooses a low-resistance shape, which is further developed by the A-class and 971-class nuclear submarines, and even the latest Virginia-class attack nuclear submarine in the United States is said to have adopted a similar shape of the command platform enclosure, which the United States named "advanced command platform shell".
Compartments
Type 971 cabin cross-section
The Type 971 attack nuclear submarine has a total of 7 pressure-resistant cabins from the bow to the stern, namely the weapons cabin, the command cabin, the front auxiliary engine room, the reactor, the rear auxiliary engine room, the main motor cabin and the tail cabin. Due to the large reserve buoyancy, it is usually possible to carry out combat tasks when one cabin enters the water; two to three cabins enter the water, and the submarine can float at sea for several hours for the crew to escape. In addition, a more complete life-saving pod was equipped in the middle of the shell of the command platform, which could evacuate all crew members.
parameter
Functional diagram of the Type 971 hull
Type 971 submarine - life capsule
Due to the large number of modifications of the Type 971 attack submarine, there are many contradictory statements about its performance data, and even the data published by Russia itself are different. According to the information published by Russia before 1995, the water displacement of the 971 type is 5700 tons, and the underwater displacement is 7900 tons, which can be identified as the prototype of the 971; and in the book "1997-1998 Russian Ships" published by the Russian side, its water displacement is 8140 tons, the underwater displacement is 12770 tons, and the reserve buoyancy of Soviet submarines is generally about 30%-40%, if calculated according to this data, its reserve buoyancy will exceed 50%. Excessive reserve buoyancy can also bring many drawbacks to submarines, so it is clear that this data is inaccurate; there are also data showing that the water displacement of the "Akula" II is 7500 tons, and the underwater displacement is 9500 tons.
The Hull of the Type 971 attack submarine still uses the traditional Soviet/Russian double hull, and there are different views on the material of its pressure-resistant hull. According to some sources, the pressure-resistant shell inside the Type 971 is made of titanium alloy, and the maximum diving depth is 400 meters, 520 meters to 600 meters. There are also views that in the same model, there is a deep-diving type made entirely of titanium alloys, because the pressure-resistant shell made of titanium alloy can ensure that the submarine is safe and sound at a depth of about 650 meters. When the U.S. Navy first discovered that the Type 971 submarine could dive to 650 meters, it was overwhelmed. Even in the 21st century, the depth of strike of the vast majority of anti-submarine weapons in the world and the diving depth of nuclear submarines do not exceed 500 meters. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia can continue to build this type of nuclear submarine in the case of economic difficulties, it can be seen that the Type 971 obviously took into account the cost factor when designing, using a more traditional pressurized water reactor and degaussing high-strength steel hull, only in some key parts of the use of titanium alloy, which makes its cost much lower than other submarines of the same period, so it can continue to produce. In addition, the maximum speed of the Type 971 also varies from 28 knots, 33 knots to 35 knots, but considering that the Soviet Union's pressurized water reactor technology is very mature and can obtain a high power density, the Type 971 can obtain a maximum speed of nearly 35 knots underwater, which can fully meet the operational needs without excessive pursuit of speed.
Weapon systems
torpedo
RK-55 Garnet submarine-launched cruise missile
The Type 971 attack submarine is equipped with 8 torpedo tubes, of which 4 are 650 mm caliber and 4 are 533 mm caliber, all arranged in the bow and using hydraulic launch methods that can be launched at large depths, which is different from American submarines. In addition, according to Russian data, the latest K-157 and K-335 built in the later period have 14 torpedo tubes, in addition to 8 conventional launch tubes, there are 6 533 mm caliber launch tubes located outside the pressure-resistant hull, so they do not have underwater reloading capabilities, similar to the missiles carried by fighters. The Type 971 is equally impressive, carrying 40 torpedoes or missiles, but it is slightly inferior to the 52-piece ammunition of the American Seawolf class. If a mine-laying mission is carried, up to 80 mines can be carried, including the PMK-1 floating anti-submarine mine, the MSHM inshore mine and the SMDM self-propelled submersible mine.
missile
Russian Type 65 torpedo
The Type 971 533 mm torpedo tube can fire 533 mm torpedoes, RPK-2 Blizzard/Starfish anti-submarine missiles (SS-N-15), RK-55 Garnet submarine-launched cruise missiles (SS-N-21), 3M-54 Club submarine-launched anti-ship missiles (SS-N-27 "Hot" anti-ship missiles), and mines, which are loaded with the 3M-54 "Club" series of submarine-launched anti-ship missiles with the ability of a single boat to launch saturated missile attacks against surface ship formations. In addition, because it can carry and launch RK-55 "Garnet" submarine-launched cruise missiles, it is defined as a multi-purpose nuclear submarine. The 971U and M 650 mm torpedo tubes can fire 650 mm torpedoes and RPK-7 Strong Wind/"Oyma" long-range anti-submarine missiles (SS-N-16), of which the torpedoes are mainly large-caliber, high-power, long-range Type 65 torpedoes, which are divided into 65-73 anti-ship and 65-76 anti-ship/anti-submarine dual-purpose types. Type 65-76 torpedo, weighing 4500 kg, warhead charge 450-500 kg, can be nuclear/conventional charge, using wake self-guidance + acoustic self-guidance, pump injection propulsion, maximum diving depth of 400 m, range of 50 km / 50 knots, 100 km / 30 knots of speed, this torpedo is expensive, and due to the use of hydrogen peroxide as fuel, its safety is not good, many indications are that the Kursk sank because of this type of torpedo.
The Type 971's in-tube weapon can be quickly reloaded after firing, and the weapon has a high rate of launch. In addition, the Type 971U and M also have a "Needle-M" short-range air defense missile (SA-N-10) launcher at the shell of the command platform, with a bomb load of 18 pieces, so it has a certain air defense capability.
Underwater acoustic system
The Type 971 attack nuclear submarine is equipped with МГК-500 "ray" integrated sonar, "shark gill" type hull low-frequency active/passive search and attack sonar, "rat call" type low/medium frequency active/passive search tracking sonar, and "scatter" -3 type very low frequency tow line array sonar and sound velocity meter.
The Model 971 also featured two underwater acoustic countermeasure systems. One is a submarine simulator launched from a 533 mm torpedo tube, with a diameter of 533 mm, a length of 4 meters, a weight of 800 kg, a speed of 15 knots, a range of 15 km, and can simulate the noise of submarines, sonar echoes and noise interference. When encountered by an enemy anti-submarine self-guided torpedo attack, it is again a sound decoy and is responsible for diverting the self-guided torpedo. The other is a 170 mm caliber air curtain projectile launcher, which can fire air curtain shells, which are equipped with chemical agents, and will produce a large number of air curtains after encountering seawater to block the detection of the opposing submarine or torpedo sonar, which is equivalent to the smoke screen shells cast by tanks when they encounter enemy anti-tank missile attacks.
Boat electrical system
The Type 971 attack nuclear submarine is equipped with the latest radar, navigation, communication and electronic countermeasure equipment, the radar is the "magic companion" search radar and the "stop light" radar reconnaissance instrument; the electronic countermeasure is the round-edged cap" and the "brick group" electronic countermeasure device and the "Crimean-2" identification device; the navigation system includes inertial navigation, electrostatic gyroscope, satellite navigation, radio locator; communication equipment includes medium-wave, short-wave, ultra-short-wave communication equipment, very low-frequency towed communication buoy antenna, very low-frequency towed buoyant antenna, "park light" Direction finder; "Bus" operational intelligence command system.
The Type 971's combat command system, power system, submarine maintenance and loss control system have all been automated, and the high level of automation is evident from its crew.
Stealth technology
K-419 Walrus anechoic tile
The Type 971 attack nuclear submarine emphasizes stealth, so the use of various methods to reduce noise has become the focus of the design of Russian designers, the submarine appearance, overall layout, equipment selection, pipeline noise reduction, vibration isolation measures, material use and other aspects of the careful design, and do not hesitate to increase the displacement to arrange a large number of vibration and noise reduction equipment. Type 971 adopts a teardrop hull and a smooth, small-opening hull surface to reduce eddy current noise; low-noise equipment is used to reduce mechanical noise; a large number of anti-vibration float valves are installed to prevent mechanical vibrations from being transmitted outside the boat; a 7-blade large-sided oblique propeller with high processing accuracy and excellent blade design is used to reduce propeller navigation noise; and the hull surface is laid with improved anechoic tiles to reduce the echo reflection of the enemy active sonar. After taking these measures, although it seems to be a bit backwards in some indicators compared to the previous type of nuclear submarine, the underwater navigation noise of the Type 971 has been reduced to 105-110 decibels, which is lower than the improved noise level of the Los Angeles-class attack nuclear submarines, and it is not much different from the latest generation of the United States Seawolf class and Virginia class.
It is said that in the past, American submarines could find "noisy" Soviet nuclear submarines at a distance of 100 kilometers. During the overseas test voyage of the first type 971 submarine, the nuclear submarines of Western countries have secretly tracked and monitored it, and the results of the monitoring have overwhelmed the Western countries, the low noise of the type 971 nuclear submarine is greatly beyond the previous prediction level, and the huge generation gap in the noise reduction technology of the nuclear submarine that has made the Americans proud has been narrowed by the Soviet Union to only 3-4 years of the level gap, which shows the results of its submarine muting technology.
Performance data
| Hull parameters | |
| Captain | 110.3 meters |
| Boat width | 13.5 meters |
| draft | 9.7 meters |
| Water displacement | 7500 tons |
| Underwater displacement | 9100 tons (Type 971) 9500 tons (other models) |
| Speed | 20 knots (over the water) Sections 33-35 (underwater) |
| Dive deep | 450m / 480m (Type 971) 600米(971I、U、M型) |
| Reserve buoyancy | 30-40% |
| Self-sustaining | 90 days - 100 days |
| Crew establishment | 72-100 people (971 models) 63-78人(971I、U、M型) |
| transmission | Single-shaft, 7-blade propeller |
| dynamical system | 1 VM-5 pressurized water reactor, OK-650M.01 steam generator, power 190/200 MW 1 OK-9/GT3A steam turbine unit with power of 4300/4750 hp |
Derivative models
Model 971
Rear view of K-322 Sperm Whale
The prototype of the Type 971 attack submarine, also known as the Akula I, was built in total, and the earliest models were all fitted with the МГК/MGK-500 "SKAT" sonar system (NATO code name Shark Gill). To alleviate financial pressure, the first K-284 was decommissioned in 2001, while the K-322 and K-480 were mothballed as reserves. The K-480, which was mothballed in 1998, was decommissioned in 2002 and began to be dismantled in February 2010, with some equipment and materials used on Russian cruise missile submarines; the K-263 decommissioned in 2011; and a ten-year lease agreement between Russia and India on the K-322 in December 2015, with the submarine's repair, upgrade, testing and Indian crew training to be completed in 2018. The three K-317, K-391 and K-331 after the Type 971 prototype boat carried out the "971 Modernization Modification Program" in turn, and all of them were equipped with "sock" type fluid sensors. The K-317 was repaired and refit in 2007 and returned to active service in January 2008, while the K-391 began overhaul and modernization in 2008.
Type 971I
K-152 (Chakra) on loan to India
The Akula I. modified has a total of 6 ships, including K-328, K-461, K-154, K-419, K-295 and K-152, of which K-152 was leased to India in 2012 and renamed "Chakra", and the rest are all in service. Since this model was all included in the Soviet "971 Modernization Program", it was quieter than the prototype boat, with all but the K-328 installed with "sock" type fluid sensors; the sonar system was upgraded from MGK-500 SKAT to MGK-501 SKAT. In addition, six 533 mm decoy launch tubes have been added, the flow holes in the hull shell have been treated differently, and the K-152 has also been equipped with a new life-saving capsule, which is mainly distinguished by the surface of the shell dome of the command platform.
Model 971U
K-157 "Wild Boar"
The Akula II was originally planned to build 3, but in the end only the K-157 was completed and joined active service, and the remaining two K-337 and K-333 were dismantled before they were completed, and the material was used to build the Type 955 strategic nuclear submarine. The Akula II is 3 meters longer than the Akula I hull, with an increase in displacement of about 700 tons, and the extra space is mainly used to arrange the underwater acoustic system, replacing the old MGK-501 SKAT sonar with the new MGK-540 SKAT-3 sonar. In addition, the K-157 was Russia's first quieter nuclear submarine than the latest Los Angeles-class attack submarine of the United States at the time and its modified version.
Model 971M
K-335 "Cheetah" (4 photos)
The K-335 Cheetah, the only completed of the Akula III, began construction in 1991, was halted in 1996 due to tight military spending, launched in 1999, began sea trials at the end of 2000, and ended in the summer of 2001. The Akula III is longer and has a larger displacement than the Akula II. In addition, its command platform enclosure has been enlarged, and the top of the vertical rudder on the stern has been modified into a towed array sonar distributor, using more new noise reduction technology. Before the Service of the Type 885 attack nuclear submarine and the Type 955 strategic nuclear submarine, the Cheetah was Russia's most advanced attack nuclear submarine, which was mainly used to complete the strategic launch mission with the Type 955 strategic nuclear submarine. Western countries paid considerable attention to the Soviet Union's progress in silent technology, which has always been regarded as the most significant advantage of American submarines compared to the Soviet Union. From 1983 to 1984, Japan's Toshiba Company sold to Russia 9 sets of advanced CNC machine tools and supporting systems developed by Norwegian companies, and U.S. Navy officials and members of Congress believed that the Soviet Union could use these equipment to create more precise and quiet propellers for nuclear submarines.
Service dynamics
K-331 "Horned Whale" (4 photos)
On November 8, 2008, during the sea trials of the plant of the 971I.971I.K-152 "Ringed Seal", an accident occurred in the Sea of Japan, and due to the failure of the fire protection system, Freon leaked into the cabin, killing 20 people and poisoning 21 people and hospitalizing them, a total of 208 people on board at that time, and the entire repair work cost 1.9 billion rubles. Due to the accident, the Ringed Seal was postponed until the end of December 2009.
On August 5, 2009, a Type 971U nuclear submarine successfully evaded the surveillance of the Us Gold Coast Large Submarine Tracking System and re-entered the East Coast of the United States, which had not been touched by Soviet and Russian nuclear submarines for a long time.
In April 2012, India signed a 10-year lease of the Type 971I SEAL to Russia for $920 million, which is likely to be passed on to the construction and development costs of the Type 971's descendant, the Type 855.
In December 2015, Russia leased the Type 971 K-322 Sperm Whale to India for another 10 years, and the repair, upgrade, testing and training of Indian crews of the submarine will be completed in 2018.
The class of each boat
| Model | Boat number | Russian boat name | Boat name | shipyard | subjection | Start date | Date of launch | Date of service | status quo |
| 971 | K-284 | (cougar) | (Cougar) | amur | Pacific Ocean | 1983.11 | 1984.6 | 1984.12.30 | Decommissioned in 2001 |
| K-263 | dolphin | dolphin | 1985.5.9 | 1986.5.28 | 1987.12.30 | Decommissioned in 2011 | |||
| K-322 | cachalot | Sperm/horned whale | 1986.9.5 | 1987.7.18 | 1988.12.30 | 2015.12 Loan to India | |||
| K-480 | leopard | snow leopard | Severodvinsk | northern | 1985.2.22 | 1988.3/4 | 1988.12 | Decommissioned in 2002 Demolished in 2010 | |
| K-391 | whale | whale | 1988.2.23 | 1989.4.14 | 1989.12.29 | Overhaul in 2008 | |||
| K-317 | panther | panther | 1986.10.6 | 1990.5.21 | 1990.12.30 | In service | |||
| K-331 | narwhal | narwhal | 1989.12.28 | 1990.6.23 | 1990.12.31 | ||||
| 971I | K-461 | wolf | wolf | 1987.11.14 | 1991.6.11 | 1991.12.29 | |||
| K-328 | leopard | leopard | 1988.10.26 | 1992.6.28 | 1992.12 | ||||
| K-419 | (walrus) | (Walrus) | 1991.7.28 | 1992.5.18 | 1992.12.31 | In service, repairs began in 2010 | |||
| K-154 | tiger | tiger | 1989.9.10 | 1993.6.26 | 1993.12.29 | ||||
| K-267/295 | / | (Dragon/Viper) | 1993.10.7 | 1994.8.5 | 1995.7 | ||||
| 971U | K-157 | boar | wild boar | 1990.7.13 | 1994.12.10 | 1995.11.25 | |||
| 971M | K-335 | cheetah | cheetah | 1991.9.23 | 1999.9.17 | 2001.12.4[29] | |||
| K-337 | (Jaguar) | 1992.8.18 | 1998.1 Construction was discontinued | dismantle | |||||
| K-333 | lynx | lynx | 1993.8.31 | 1997.10 Construction stopped | |||||
| 971I/U | K-152 | Seal | Ringed seals | 1993 | 2006.7.4 | 2009.12.28 | 2012.4 Loan to India | ||
| 1992 | to be continued | ||||||||
| Iribis | 1994 | 60% downtime | |||||||
| 1990 | |||||||||
| 1991 | Demolition [24] |
Resources
Overall evaluation
Type 971 attack nuclear submarine (7 photos)
The Type 971 attack nuclear submarine has a high speed and good underwater maneuverability. It uses an improved PWR and advanced silent technology accumulated by the Soviet Union/Russia for a long time, so it has lower underwater noise and greater self-sufficiency. The Hull pressure-resistant structure and materials used in the Type 971 can be submerged to a depth of up to 600 meters, which greatly enhances the concealment ability. At the same time, because of its large displacement, the volume of the cabin can be expanded, so it can carry a larger number, a wider range of uses, and more powerful weapons and electronic equipment.
In the late 1980s, the Soviet Union mass-produced both Type 971 and Type 945 attack submarines, two very different nuclear submarines and a third type of Type 685 attack submarine with a larger gap and almost the same technical content, cruising in the waters controlled by the Soviet Union, which was obviously incredible for Western countries. The Type 971 attack nuclear submarine can be anti-submarine, anti-ship, and land attack, and is a multi-purpose attack nuclear submarine with low noise, high speed and large submersible depth. Although designed during the Cold War, due to its advanced design and strong combat capabilities, it was still the main force of the Russian Navy's attack on nuclear submarine forces until the 21st century.