Russia’s Belgorod special-purpose nuclear-powered submarine of Project 09852 began the manufacturer’s sea trials in the White Sea, the Russian TASS agency reported.
“On June 25, the Belgorod nuclear sub took to the White Sea for the first time, for the manufacturer’s sea trials,” the source of TASS said.
According to the source, state trials will begin once the manufacturer’s trials are completed. The nuclear submarine is to be handed over to the ordering party in late 2021.
The Sevmash shipyard’s press service refrained from any comments on the issue.
Earlier, a source close to the Russian Defense Ministry said the special-purpose nuclear sub is to enter service with Russia’s Pacific Fleet.
The Belgorod is the first carrier of the Poseidon strategic unmanned underwater craft. It has to deliver a retaliation nuclear strike at the potential adversary in case it attacks first. The Belgorod was floated out on April 23, 2019. It will serve in the Pacific Ocean after passing state trials and commissioning
About Belgorod submarine:
The K-329 Belgorod is a leading Russian nuclear submarine. It has already been tested at sea with a specially trained crew and its active commissioning is expected around the end of the year 2021. K-329 is also identified to become the first submarine to utilize the Status-6 Oceanic Multipurpose System currently in the testing phase.
The exact operational characteristics of the K-329 are classified and therefore officially unknown to date. It’s defined as the longest submarine in the world with a length of more than 184 meters, and its estimated tonnage is more than 19.000 tons. The new nuclear submarine is expected to make 32 knots of speed and accommodate around 110 people.
Belgorod will be fitted 6 Poseidon torpedoes.
Its destination for special operations means that its capabilities have been adapted to many types of missions with strategic aims. This nuclear submarine cruiser is therefore designed for adaptability, the ability to use and deliver different types of weapons or other suitable material with the assigned intelligence objective.
Among these strategic aims, the desire to set up and exploit the Arctic shelf is one of the major Geostrategy objectives in the short to medium term, this for energy issues, various surveys, or even control of maritime flows called to recompose with the melting of arctic ice. The K-329 Belgorod, a top-class submarine vessel, thus appears to be ideal for helping the Russian government to fulfil its claims on the Arctic marine space through intelligence operations and discreet and/or destructive actions in deep waters.
Check out Naval Library App to find out the specifications of the Belgorod special-purpose submarine.
