Akula-class submarines have remained the thorns in the flesh of Western naval forces for quite some time now. One can argue against the fact that this engineering feat is of Russian origin. Designed by Amur Shipbuilding Plant and Sevmash, the submarines have a double hull, propelling their buoyancy and maneuverability far ahead of those of their Western counterparts. Powered by the pretty reliable OK-650B pressurized water reactor, over the years Akula-class submarines have testified to advanced capabilities and reliable performances during their deployment.
The Akula I variants were Puma, Delphin, Kashalot, Kit, Pantera, Bars, and Narvel. Over time, the class was further refined with the improved Project 971U variant, with ships named Volk, Morzh, Leopard, Tiger, and Drakon. The Akula II was only represented by one variant: Vepr (K-157). The launch of Vepr was in 1994, and several improvements were made in armament and sensors. India did lease an Akula II submarine, having the name INS Chakra; it has since been returned early due to propulsion issues.
The Akula-class submarines continue to be the mainspring mainstay of the fleet of the Russian Navy, and the Vepr can probably still have decades more of service life ahead. The double hull system of each submarine-essentially, an inner pressure hull and an outer allows greater freedom in the exterior hull shape, thereby providing more buoyancy than in Western submarines. The OK-650B reactor introduced into operation in the 1970s represented an enormous improvement over earlier designs regarding not just reliability but also general performance. The OK-650B reactors were also used on other soviet submarines, including Sierra I, Sierra II, Oscar I, Oscar II, and Typhoon-class submarines.
Armamentally, the Akula class is quite strong. The design was for S-10 Granat (SS-N-21 Sampson) cruise attack missiles, roughly equal in specifications to the American Tomahawk. Improvements on later variants included 533-mm external torpedo tubes. These have provided it with improved combat powers gained from sophisticated sensors, including the advanced MGK 540 sonar system in use with Western submarines, providing automatic target detection and classification of the Akula.
The Akula II-class submarine ever was launched in 1994, which brought huge improvements in the submarine. Vepr was finally constructed and put into service in 1995 after the development stage suffered from unnecessary delays and the inability to secure finance to finance the project. The Akula II submarines measure 110 meters in length, with a displacement of up to 12,770 tons. They have a top submerged speed of 35 knots and can dive up to a maximum depth of 600 meters.
This underlined the international importance of the class when India leased an Akula II submarine that it renamed the INS Chakra. Though beset by delays and even a tragic gas leak incident in 2008, the INS Chakra served almost nine years in the Indian Navy before being returned to Russia in 2021 owing to propulsion issues.
The armament of the Akula II SSN is even more formidable, fitted with four 533 mm torpedo tubes capable of launching Type 53 torpedoes, RPK-6 or RPK-2 missiles, naval mines, the RPK-7 missile, and four 650 mm torpedo tubes. In 2022, NATO naval forces closely monitored and followed the submarine closely as it transited from the Northern Fleet to the Baltic, underlining its strategic importance.
Advanced in design and mighty in their capabilities, Akula-class submarines epitomize the very core of Russia’s naval power. As the Russian Navy gains momentum in modernity through its fleet of ships, the Akula-class superiority remains a living legacy of unbreakable strength and innovation in the Russian naval engineering world.