Russia’s Losharik spy submarine is about to `resurrect` after many years of repair due to fire, expected to help Russia surpass the US in deep-sea warfare.
Russia’s submarine number AS-31, nicknamed `Losharik`, had a fire incident while on a seabed survey mission in the country’s territorial waters in July 2019, killing 14 sailors.
After 5 years of repair, this super-secret submarine model is ready to return to sea testing, scheduled to take place in June, according to Russian media.
The return of the Losharik will help Russia’s special task force specializing in undersea warfare, called the General Directorate for Deep Sea Research (GUGI), fully restore its strength.
Meanwhile, the United States, the country with the strongest navy today, is lagging behind on this front.
Graphic image of the Losharik submarine.
Undersea warfare is military and intelligence activities that take place at depths of many kilometers below the water surface.
`We can only predict what the navies of other countries are actually doing in the pitch black darkness on the cold seabed: installing eavesdropping devices on undersea fiber optic cable systems or removing and sabotaging the devices.
In terms of technology, undersea warfare is a `game` reserved for the world’s most modern naval forces.
In addition to Losharik, the Russian navy also owns three other deep-diving submarine models: Paltus, X-Ray and Kashalot.
These ships are all equipped with claw-like mechanical arms to interact with objects on the seabed.
Structure of the Losharik nuclear submarine model.
Their disadvantage is that they are small in size and not suitable for long voyages.
This fleet of submarines helps the Russian navy possess an advantage over its opponents when considering the ability to intervene in the intercontinental communication system under the sea.
The US Navy has only one submarine capable of performing all undersea missions, the rarely seen USS Jimmy Carter.
However, the big problem is that this ship model was launched in 2004, meaning its steel shell only has a shelf life of about 10 years, after continuously being subjected to high pressure during deep diving trips, according to experts.
For this reason, this year the US Congress approved spending $5 billion to buy a new version of the Virginia-class nuclear attack submarine, equipped with a hull extension to serve undersea combat operations.
The USS Jimmy Carter moves through the Hood Canal in Washington state, USA, November 2017.
However, even with the new Virginia-class submarine, the US Navy will still lose to Russia on this front.
Besides, the US Navy can actually be divided into two independent forces, one in the Atlantic and one in the Pacific.
USS Jimmy Carter belongs to the Pacific Fleet and the Atlantic force does not have a similar ship.
However, this will cost the US billions of dollars and create an additional burden for the country’s shipbuilding industry, which is having a series of projects delayed.
`It’s fair to say that the US is trying its best to maintain undersea combat capabilities at a level they can afford,` Ax said.
