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A fourth-generation Russian nuclear-powered multipurpose attack submarine that was floated out on Tuesday is too expensive for serial production, a business daily said on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev arrived in the northern port of Severodvinsk to attend the official float-out ceremony. The construction of the Severodvinsk, the first Project 885 Yasen (Graney) class submarine, began in 1993 at the Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk, but has since been dogged by financial setbacks. Russia planned to float out the submarine on May 7 to mark the 65th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in May 1945. Russia's Vedomosti...

Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Cheyenne (SSN-773) in conjunction with Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet and members of Naval Special Warfare Group (NSWG) 3 successfully fired a Block IV-E Tomahawk Land Attack Missile. The missile launch took place off the southern coast of California into China Lake Test Range and marks the first time a forward-deployed operational command acted as the Tomahawk strike coordinator and primary missile controller for an operational test launch. "The Navy's ability to conduct strike operations on re-locatable targets is currently very challenging," said Master Chief Fire Controlman (SW) David Brewer, U.S. 7th Fleet Tomahawk strike coordinator....

The Russian Navy will retain its Akula class nuclear attack submarines in service till 2019, the country’s Navy chief has said. “They (the Akula class subs) will remain in the fleet at a minimum until 2019,” Navy Commander Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky was quoted by Arms-Tass as saying. The Navy Chief said that modernisation opportunities for the attack submarines “are very large, there are several options.” The Russian naval fleet at present comprises of three Project 941 Akula class (NATO name Typhoon) nuclear submarines out of the six constructed. One of them – the Dmitry Donskoy – has been refurbished to...

Russia has delayed the launch of its new Graney class nuclear attack submarine, Severodvinsk, citing technical reasons. The multi-purpose nuclear attack submarine, the first of Project 885 Yasen (Graney) class attack sub, was earlier scheduled to be floated out on May 7, 2010. “The launch of the new Severodvinsk submarine has been delayed for technical reasons,” a source at the Sevmash shipyard which is constructing the ship, told RIA Novosti. The vessel will be floated out for sea trials later this year, the source said. It is expected to enter service with the Russian Navy by late 2010 or early...

A new Russian nuclear-powered multipurpose attack submarine will be launched May 7, an official said Monday. Construction of the Severodvinsk, a Project 885 Yasen (Graney) class submarine, began in 1993 at the Sevmash shipyard in the northern Russian city of Severodvinsk but has since been dogged by financial setbacks. 'A floating out ceremony for Russia's new Severodvinsk nuclear submarine at the Sevmash shipyard has been scheduled for May 7,' the shipyard spokesman said. Graney-class nuclear submarines combine the ability to launch a variety of long-range cruise missiles (up to 3,100 miles or 5,000 km) with nuclear warheads, and effectively engage...

British Navy’s nuclear-powered submarine HMS Triumph is ready to set sail for sea trials after being refurbished for six years. The vessel will undergo extensive sea trial for three months before being commissioned in the Royal Navy for a second time. The submarine has been retrofitted at a cost of £300m ($455 million). Capability improvements include installation of latest sonar systems and an upgrade for the Tomahawk land attack cruise missile system. The vessel has also been equipped with a new command and control system, a new internal fibre optic computer systems network and enhanced satellite communications system. Its safety...

Malaysia’s first submarine, the Scorpene-class KD Tunku Abdul Rahman, successfully underwent underwater trials in the South China Sea yesterday. Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said a technical team was aboard during the submarine’s dive to monitor its progress under water. “The dive was successfully completed by 4pm. Everything was pronounced to be okay,” Dr Ahmad Zahid said in an SMS. The trials were carried out at the Royal Malaysian Navy base in Teluk Sepanggar, Sabah. It was earlier reported that the KD Tunku Abdul Rahman was unable to dive after a mechanical defect was discovered by engineers....

Indian Navy will regain its underwater warfare nuclear capability in the next 60-days with the Russians assuring that the Akula-II class attack submarine the Nerpa would be delivered by mid-May. The assurance that the nuclear submarine would be delivered "strictly on schedule" was given by top Russian shipbuilding officials to the Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who is to visit New Delhi on a state visit next month. Nerpa has been handed over to the Russian Navy for its sea trials. "The 518th project, the Nerpa submarine is currently completing trials in the Pacific basin. We believe that we will be...

Last week, the Malaysian submarine programme, which received much attention during the past months, suffered a temporary setback as Malaysian Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had to announce that the country’s first Scorpene-class submarine, delivered in September 2009, was unfit for diving. Originally scheduled for tropical water trials, KD Tunku Abdul Rahman, a diesel-electric attack submarine named after the country's first Prime Minister, was forced to remain on the wharf longer than expected. According to the Minister, “the defects are still covered by warranty, so the supplier and contractor are repairing them.” Since then, the technical problem has been repaired...

The U.S. Navy has retired the USS Los Angeles (SSN 688). This was the lead ship of the Los Angeles class nuclear attack submarine (SSN). The Los Angeles entered service in 1976. It is one of three classes of SSNs in American service, and was the backbone of the American SSN force during the last years of the Cold War. The mainstay of the American submarine force is still the Los Angeles class. Sixty-two of these submarines were built, 44 of which remain in front-line service, making it probably the largest class of nuclear submarines that will ever be built....

The nuclear-powered attack submarine Los Angeles had been in the fleet for a dozen years, mostly patrolling the Pacific to keep a close watch on Russian subs, when Caleb Schrum was born. On Saturday, Schrum, now 21 and a Navy petty officer second class, gently lowered the American flag on the aft of the Los Angeles at the conclusion of a tradition-rich ceremony in San Pedro in which the submarine was decommissioned from the active fleet. The vessel that entered service in 1976 as the Navy's most innovative underwater warship is headed for retirement as its oldest submarine. Soon the...

Russia's Nerpa nuclear attack submarine, which entered service with the Navy in late 2009, will undergo additional adjustments in February, the Defense Ministry said on Tuesday. The submarine was put into service despite a fatal accident during its sea trials in November 2008. Earlier reports said it had passed final tests successfully. "Additional adjustments are planned for the Nerpa in February 2010 to rectify the flaws revealed during the latest tests," a ministry official said. On November 8, 2008, while the Nerpa was undergoing sea trials, its onboard fire suppression system activated, releasing a deadly gas into the sleeping quarters....

Russia's Nerpa nuclear attack submarine, damaged in a fatal accident during tests in November last year, has successfully passed final trials, a Pacific Fleet spokesman said on Monday. On November 8, 2008, while the Nerpa was undergoing sea trials, its onboard fire suppression system activated, releasing a deadly gas into the sleeping quarters. Three crewmembers and 17 shipyard workers were killed. There were 208 people, 81 of them submariners, onboard the vessel at the time. Following repairs, which cost an estimated 1.9 billion rubles ($65 million), the submarine has been cleared for final sea trials. "A state commission has concluded...

Navy gets Agosta 90-B Saad today (8/22/04) ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s first indigenously built submarine, Agosta 90-B Saad will be inducted into the naval fleet today. The submarine has been built with the technical assistance of France and it is the latest in the Agosta class. Pakistan was transferred technology to completely manufacture three submarines in the country under an agreement with France. The first submarine, Khalid, manufactured with French assistance was commissioned in the Pakistan Navy in September 1999 while the third submarine, Hamza, presently under construction in the naval dockyard, will be commissioned in year 2005. Sources said Agostas have...