In coming decades, the Russian navy could replace its nuclear-powered submarines with battery-powered models that are smaller, harder to detect and cheaper to build.
But the non-nuclear approach to future subs is risky, particularly for under-ice Arctic operations. It’s not for no reason that the world’s leading undersea power, the United States, is committed to an all-nuke sub fleet.
“I believe future submarines will be smaller, because of the use of more advanced technologies as well as the pursuit of more cost-effective production,” Sergei Sukhanov, senior naval architect at the Rubin submarine design bureau, told RIA Novosti.
“The fifth-generation boat will also be less ‘visible’ compared with existing submarines,” Sukhanov added. “They could also feature a new power plant, including fully electric.”
But building more, smaller conventional subs would represent a major departure for the Russian navy. While Russia, and the Soviet Union before it, has long maintained a mix of nuclear and diesel-electric subs, the nuke models have always been the flagships of the fleet.
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