Putin announces new submarines, but the industry is strained

MOSCOW — Russia will build eight nuclear multi-purpose and strategic submarines for the Navy, according to the Russian president.

Vladimir Putin announced the plans after the launching ceremony last week of the new Perm nuclear submarine of the Yasen-M class. That boat will be the first full-time carrier of the Zircon hypersonic cruise missile.

Following the withdrawal of Soviet submarine, military officials originally wanted to field 30 Yasen-class submarines and 14 strategic Borei-class boats.

Putin’s announcement indicate a shift on objectives, with 10 copies to be built in each class.

Submarine manufacturing plant Sevmash has emerged as something of a bottleneck in the overall production scheme. The plant hasn’t been making enough boats, and only a year ago modernized its production facilities .

Given Russian plans to start building new fifth-generation submarines of the Husky class by 2027, the Yasen-M line may cease to exist, according to Pavel Luzin, a Russia defense expert with the Washington-based Center for European Policy Analysis.

Moscow’s overall naval weapons mix has leaders hesitant to rush into additional Yasen production, as support elements like reconnaissance satellites and ships as well as accompanying surveillance aircraft are lacking, according to Dmitry Smirnov, a Russian military expert.

In addition, the defense budget shifted to the production of weapons needed in the war against Ukraine. Sevmash is not receiving enough orders for the construction of submarines, and employees are getting pay cuts, says economist Vyacheslav Shiryaev.

Aggravating the situation, after the invasion of Ukraine, Russia lost access to foreign components due to sanctions and was forced to start from scratch on some submarine parts .

Maxim Starchak is a Russia correspondent for Defense News. He previously worked as an editor for the Russian Defence Ministry and as an expert for the NATO Information Office in Moscow. He has covered Russian nuclear and defense issues for the Atlantic Council, the Center for European Policy Analysis, the Royal United Services Institute and more.

莫斯科——据俄罗斯总统称，俄罗斯将为海军建造八艘核动力多用途战略潜艇。

弗拉基米尔·普京在上周亚森-M级新型彼尔姆号核潜艇下水仪式后宣布了这项计划。该潜艇将成为首艘全职搭载“锆石”高超音速巡航导弹的舰艇。

苏联潜艇撤出后，军方官员最初希望部署 30 艘亚森级潜艇和 14 艘战略潜艇北风之神级潜艇。

普京的声明表明目标发生了转变，每个级别将建造 10 艘。

潜艇制造厂北德文斯克机械制造厂（Sevmash）已成为整体生产计划中的瓶颈。该厂的潜艇产量不足，而且仅仅在一年前才对其生产设施进行了现代化改造。

据华盛顿欧洲政策分析中心的俄罗斯国防专家帕维尔·卢津称，鉴于俄罗斯计划在 2027 年开始建造新的第五代“哈士奇”级潜艇，“亚森-M”系列潜艇可能会不复存在。

俄罗斯军事专家德米特里·斯米尔诺夫表示，由于缺乏侦察卫星、舰艇以及配套的监视飞机等支持要素，莫斯科的整体海军武器结构使得领导人不愿仓促加大亚森导弹的生产。

此外，国防预算转向生产对乌克兰战争所需的武器。经济学家维亚切斯拉夫·希里亚耶夫表示，北德文斯克机械制造厂（Sevmash）收到的潜艇建造订单不足，员工面临减薪。

雪上加霜的是，在入侵乌克兰之后，由于制裁，俄罗斯失去了获得外国零部件的途径，被迫从头开始制造一些潜艇部件。

马克西姆·斯塔恰克是《防务新闻》的俄罗斯特派记者。他曾任俄罗斯国防部编辑，也曾担任北约驻莫斯科新闻办公室专家。他还曾为大西洋理事会、欧洲政策分析中心、皇家联合军种研究所等机构报道俄罗斯核问题和国防问题。