Attack Submarine War: Russia’s Stealthy “Kilo-Class” vs US Navy Virginia-Class

By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization

(Washington D.C.) Russia’s Navy is by any account much smaller, less lethal, and much less capable of projecting global power when compared to the U.S. Navy, yet its submarines remain a serious and somewhat pressing threat for a number of critical reasons.

Enter the Kilo

Current variants of the Soviet 1980s-era Kilo-class submarine feature an improved engine, advanced combat system, and various kinds of cutting-edge noise-reduction technologies. Some in the U.S. naval community refer to this class of Russian sub as the black hole for being relatively stealth.

While the specific extent to which it can rival the U.S. Navy’s advanced Block III and Block V Virginia-class submarines may not be fully known, the Type 636.3 Kilo-class variants are the byproduct of a series of enhancements integrated in the mid-2010s to further strengthen the boat’s anti-submarine and anti-surface-ship mission.

Over the course of several decades, the Kilo-class boats have been engineered with advanced sonar, mine-detection, and avoidance sonar. 

A piece in the Diplomat says Project 636.3 is an improved variant of Project 877 Kilo-class designs, which is slightly longer and more advanced.

Enhancements likely to be of larger concern, for instance, include ceramic compounds used as “coating” materials to improve “quieting” technologies, according to a paper published by Russian weapons maker Rosoboronexport.