Nuclear Warhead22 By Kris Osborn, President, Warrior (Washington DC) With air-independent propulsion, heavy precision weapons and additional quieting technologies, Russia's fleet of submarines has for years presented a much more serious threat than its surface force. The Yasen M, Akula-class and Kilo-class boats are all likely considered very serious threats to the US Navy's surface and undersea platforms, despite the fact that there is still much that is unknown about these boats. Some known factors include the ability of Yasen M submarines to fire Zircon hypersonic missiles and current Russian plans to operate as many as 11 of the submarines. Russian Surface Navy Russia’s surface Navy has essentially been prevented from operating anywhere near the Ukrainian Coast along the Black Sea, in large measure due to efficient ISR, targeting and Ukrainian use of land-fired anti-ship missiles. The arrival of US Navy surface drone boats in recent years likely impacted this equation, as they would be capable of using sensors to “see” and “target” Russian surface ships, depending upon the extent to which they are effectively “networked” with ground-based command and control. This war development underscores a larger and more broadly recognized point about Russia’s surface Navy, as it simply does not present the kind of credible threat which some may have anticipated years ago. Not only has Russia’s lone aircraft carrier been derailed by problems, but its fleet of surface warships have not proven particularly effective in any kind of combat. US Navy Has Slightly More Submarines Russian submarines, however, present an altogether different equation as they are regarded as sophisticated, stealthy and lethal. In terms of sheer numbers, Russia’s submarine fleet appears roughly similar in size to the US fleet. Globalfirepower.com’s 2025 military rankings list Russia as operating 63 submarines compared to the US’ 70 undersea boats. Given the roughly similar fleet size, the operative question related to US-Russian submarine competition relates to the maturity of each country’s undersea warfare technology. Does either country operate with undersea superiority, a question which likely continues to occupy the minds of Pentagon decision makers. Yasen-M Submarines Russia’s submarines are known to be quite advanced, as evidenced by the emergence of the Yasen-M boats in recent years reported by the Russia’s TASS newspaper [https://tass.com/defense/1559017] to be capable of firing Tsirkon hypersonic missiles.. “Among the nuclear submarines of project 885M, the fifth submarine Perm will be the first regular carrier of the Zircons, which will be structurally slightly different from its predecessors,” the TASS paper quotes a source saying as far back as 2023. More recently, an essay in USNI reports [https://news.usni.org/2025/01/02/russia-commissions-fifth-yasen-nuclear-attack-sub]that Russia commissioned its 4th-Yasen-class submarine in December, 2024. Should Russia’s Yasen-M-class ambitions come to fruition in impactful numbers, it could place Russia ahead of the US pace to arm its attack submarine fleet with hypersonic weapons by 2028. Former Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday told this to Congress several years ago during an earlier phase in Russia’s Yasen-M development. Russian newspapers say they will operate as many as 11 Yasen-class submarines, with as many of 10 of them being built as the modern “M” variants. The Yasen class submarines go back more than 10 years to the Severodvinsk , yet the first Yasan-M variant called the Kazon appeared in 2021. In subsequent years, Russia has announced plans to build more Yasen-M boats. Yasen-M Copy US Navy Virginia Submarines? Interestingly, Russian Yasen-M submarines are built with a life-of-core reactor similar to the US Navy’s Columbia-class boats, a technology which enables much longer deployments without needing mid-life refueling. A life-of-core reactor also brings additional quieting technologies as well and decreases the size and space of the boats. “The new-generation reactor will also contribute to the quieting of the submarine, meaning that the Kazan may surpass the Severodvinsk in terms of its ability to evade detection,” a Rusi.org essay states. [https://rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/rusi-defence-systems/yasen-m-and-future-russian-submarine-forces] Yasen-M submarines also incorporate an advanced, performance-enhancing conformal array sonar, something which improves upon previous “cylindrical array sonar” now on Russian submarines. It may not surprise many to learn that the Yasen-M’s conformal array sonar closely replicates the Large Aperture Bow conformal array sonar built into US Navy Block III Virginia-class attack submarines. Conformal array sonar “allows a larger surface area for hydrophone arrays, and thus greater array gains in passive mode compared to the older spherical array sonar configuration,” Rusi.org states. Akula-class Submarines Russian submarine threats have long been on the radar at the Pentagon, going back to the arrival of Soviet, 1980s-era Akula-class submarines. Advanced technology woven into the Akula class was a Pentagon concern, according to an essay in Science.org as far back as 1989 called “Quite Soviet Subs Prompt Concern.” [https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.243.4899.1653] The text, as cited in a Warrior essay in October of 2024, [https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.243.4899.1653] quotes defense expert Norman Polmar saying, “The launch of the first submarine in 1985 shook everyone up (in the West), as Western intelligence agencies had not expected the Soviet Union to produce such a boat for another 10 years.” Specifically, the essay quotes Naval experts telling lawmakers years ago that the existence of the Akula “threatens the survivability of our Carrier Task Forces. Kris Osborn [https://warriormaven.com/author/krisosborn] is President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a highly qualified expert in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University
