Russia deploys five submarines in Mediterranean for first time


According to information published by Tass on September 9, 2021, the Russian Navy for the first time increased the number of diesel-electric submarines of project 636.3 in the Mediterranean Sea to five, a defense industry source told.
Follow Navy Recognition on Google News at this link


Russian Vyborg Shipyard laid the Purga ice class coastguard ship of project 23550 925 001 Russian Project 636.3 submarines (Picture source: Tass)


There is not an official confirmation of the report.

The two submarines are the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and the Volkhov. The Krasnodar submarine sailed with them to the Mediterranean Sea after an overhaul. The Mediterranean force includes another two submarines of the Black Sea fleet. Five submarines of project 636.3 can fire one salvo of 30 Kalibr cruise missiles.

The Gremyashchy corvette of project 20385 is also sailing from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific fleet. 

Project 636.3 also called Varshavyanka class is an upgraded version of the Kilo-class submarines that entered into service with the Russian Navy in June 2014. The new submarine features stealth technology as well as extended cruising range and the ability to strike surface, land, and underwater targets. They are crewed by 52 submariners, have an underwater speed of 20 knots, and a cruising range of 400 miles with the ability to patrol for 45 days.

The submarine has a length of 74 meters, a maximum displacement of more than 3,900 tons, an operational depth of 240 meters, a maximum depth of 300 meters, and a cruising range of 7,500 nautical miles.

The Project 636.3 submarines can launch Kalibr / Club land-attack cruise missile, anti-ship missile, and anti-submarine missile. The submarine is also armed with 533-millimeter torpedo tubes and carried a total of 18 torpedoes.