Russia's Yasen-M nuclear submarine is equipped with the world's most powerful weapons

According to RT on January 28, the press service of the Northern Fleet (SF) said that the newest multipurpose nuclear submarine (NPS) Arkhangelsk of Project 885M Yasen-M has arrived at its permanent base.

“At the port, the sailors met with the commander of the Northern Fleet's submarine forces, Vice Admiral Anatoly Kovalenko, the commander of the submarine flotilla, Rear Admiral Pavel Bulgkov, guests from Saint Petersburg, representatives of the Navy administration, local authorities, and relatives of the crew,” the Russian Defense Ministry said on its website.

“In the coming period, the crew of the Arkhangelsk nuclear submarine will have to complete the tasks of the training course, after which the ship will become part of the Northern Fleet's permanent readiness force,” the Northern Fleet press service said.

According to RT, in late 2024, the Arkhangelsk multipurpose nuclear submarine was commissioned into the Russian Navy. During the solemn ceremony, Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Alexander Moiseev said that the Arkhangelsk nuclear submarine is "a carrier of all types of naval missile weapons, capable of effectively striking both sea and coastal targets."

“This allows Yasen-M class submarines to make an invaluable contribution to maintaining regional and global security. Serial production of submarines of this project will continue,” Moiseev said.

Arkhangelsk is the third nuclear submarine equipped with cruise missiles of the Yasen-M series. Previously, the Russian Navy received Kazan, Novosibirsk and Krasnoyarsk. According to the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Moiseev, in the near future the Navy will be supplemented with four such submarines, which will be based in: Perm, Ulyanovsk, Voronezh and Vladivostok.

The developer of Yasen-M is the St. Petersburg Marine Engineering Bureau "Malachite". This line of nuclear submarines is a modernized version of Project 885 Yasen, which belongs to the fourth generation of nuclear-powered cruise missile submarines. Only one submarine was built under the project - Severodvinsk. Its construction and testing lasted 20 years.

Military expert, Captain Reserve 1st Rank Vasily Dandykin explained in a conversation with RT that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian shipbuilding industry could not implement the project of the 4th generation nuclear submarine. The situation began to change only in the 2000s.

“The lead submarine of Project 885 “Yasen” (Severodvinsk) became a long-term construction project. It had a difficult fate, but then worthy funding appeared and cooperation issues were resolved. The project was seriously modernized and put into serial operation. This is an important event against the backdrop of the growing threat from the US implementation of the fourth-generation nuclear submarine program,” Dandykin noted.

Mr. Dandykin believes that in the coming years, the Northern and Pacific fleets will receive the official lineup of Project 885M submarines.

“The modernized Yasen’s weapons are capable of effectively covering strategic missile submarines (SSBNs) and hunting down any potential enemy naval vessels. The deployment of the Yasen-M project will undoubtedly strengthen Russia’s naval power,” military expert Dandykin said.

The tactical and technical characteristics of the Yasen-M are not disclosed. However, official sources say that the nuclear submarine can use Caliber and Onyx missiles, capable of hitting surface and coastal targets. According to media reports, in the future the submarines will receive hypersonic Zircons. Another weapon of the cruiser is guided torpedoes.

The founder of the Russian Military portal Dmitry Kornev said: Based on open data, Yasen is probably the most powerfully armed nuclear submarine in the world. Its multiple launch missiles include subsonic "Calibers" and supersonic "Onyxes". In terms of the total number of offensive weapons on Yasen-M, it must be more than the number of weapons on American nuclear submarines.