Submarine forces of the Russian Federation: current status and prospects.

Nowadays Submarine Forces of the Russian Federation along with naval missile-carrying aviation continue being one of the main arms of the Navy and the most important tool in naval combat. They include submarines of various classes such as: multipurpose, strategic and special purpose. Submarine possesses unique combat capabilities: high operational security, survivability, agility, constant readiness to employ weapons and long endurance. Supplies for crew activities and its psycho-physiological capabilities of withstanding a long-term cruise are the only limits for endurance of a nuclear submarine itself. Submarines can operate both independently and as part of similar or various type task forces of the Navy. All together these features enable Submarine Forces depending on the combat mission to deliver surprise and concentrated strikes, including use of nuclear weapons at surface targets, aircraft carrier task force, detachments of warships and transport convoys, to fight successfully against submarines of any enemy, to land ranger groups and many others. The massive use of mines by submarines can guarantee the solution of not only tactical but also operational-and-strategic tasks as well.

It is missile submarines that form the backbone of the Naval Strategic Nuclear Forces (SNF) that are the organic part of the Strategic Nuclear Forces triad of the country ensuring nuclear deterrence of military threats to the integrity and sovereignty of the Russian Federation.

Today structurally Submarine Forces consist of divisions, brigades and naval squadrons that are subordinate to the Commander of the Submarine Squadron or to the Fleet Commander. We think that taking into account specific nature of the Submarine Forces, their composition, training and [C.sup.2] features this single type organizational structure should be kept.

It's worth mentioning that the top political-and-military leaders of the country and the Main Naval Command pay the appropriate attention to development and construction of the Submarine Forces. Thus, The Fundamentals of the Russian Federation Policy in the Sphere of Naval Activities for the Period till 2010 approved by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated March 4, 2000, consider construction and modernization of submarines (and first of all strategic submarines) to be the priority direction in implementing the Russian national policy in the World Ocean.

The concept of the perspective shipbuilding program, which is being developed today, is to build qualitatively new warships of all classes, subclasses and types, including submarines, thus forming a system of all-round support of the sea-going forces for the whole service life of warships. And this should be done on the basis of minimal sufficient nuclear potential and the latest scientific-and-technical achievements in developing weapons and materiel. The solution of this task will make it possible to create a system of balanced development of the Navy, its combat and support weapon systems, to maintain common rate of recovery, operation and utilization of the sea-going forces.

The final phase of works on creating a perspective nuclear-missile system has started. It will include a new Bulava shipborne strategic missile system. It is foreseen to equip all missile submarines of the fourth generation with it. A new stage of this system development testing began at the end of 2005 by a successful launch of a ballistic missile.

The strength of Submarine Forces is growing. Thus, the Northern Fleet commissioned Project 971 SSN in December 2001. Construction of Project 955 Strategic Missile Submarine Cruiser, Project 885 SSN as well as Project 971 cruise SSN goes on dynamically. It is expected that in 2006 the Baltic Fleet will commission Project 677 diesel submarine. Besides, some other labor-consuming tasks have been accomplished in the last decade. In particular, a big number of various types nuclear submarines previously deactivated by the Navy were utilized. Some can say that these achievements are not very significant. And they will be right. But one should keep in mind that construction and development of the Navy is a Federal task. So the general economy recession in our country in the 1990s inevitably caused a slowdown of the Navy construction and development. The Kursk SSN tragedy cost our state a lot, both morally and financially.

The continuing discussion about the naval science, place and role of the Navy in the future imminent hostilities in the sea and ocean theater doesn't assist the fleet development either. Although conclusions made from unprejudiced analysis of geopolitical situation, geostrategic position of Russia, national historical experience and experience of the world leading countries vividly demonstrate that the Navy and Submarine Forces first of all should always be at the very forward defense line of the Russian Federation.

It's worth underlining that when designing new submarines the priority was given to the most sophisticated missile systems, various radio-technical and radio-electronic devices and combat information control systems of a new generation. Structural capabilities of new submarines have been significantly improved as far as their reliability, safety and suitability are concerned. In the future it is foreseen to invent even more up-to-date technical and technological solutions in projects of all types warships. They include the following: improved methods of hydrodynamic designing, tailored materials, achievements in the sphere of studying nanotechnology and developing anaerobic* powerplants as well as reducing the excessive amount of the basic shipboard equipment. Scientific inquiry goes on in order to reduce the acoustic field parameters of the future submarines. In particular we speak about reasonable reduction of their floatage, which means reduction of displacement and dimensions, and wider invention of single-shaft propulsion devices, etc. The Navy Command pays special attention to introduction of the state-of-the-art developments in the field of computer technology and systems engineering. Development and assimilation of unmanned submersible vehicles goes on.

Tension of active service and combat training of submarines keeps growing. The practicing of new tactical technique goes on. It makes it possible to use more improved submarines performances as well as combat and technical features of their weapon systems and equipment.

Combat training plans for 2006 foresee further building-up of the combat readiness and active duty forces; it is also planned to conduct submarine cruises directly to the area of the North Pole. The submarines "ice cruises" are not only aimed at accomplishing combat missions but also at carrying out bathymetric** research works in the zone of two-kilometer fathom line. This will enable Russian Foreign Ministry to continue marking the Russian Federation State Border line along the external edge of the coastal shelf of our part in the Arctic zone till the North Pole.

The improvement of the Submarine Forces command and control system when performing their missions in the open sea goes on; security and reliability of transmitting C2 signals to them keep growing. The invention of a new automated control system (ACS) has started. Tests of ACS in combat mode demonstrated its high combat readiness to perform command and control of the Naval Forces both centrally from Command Posts of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and from the Navy Command Posts. Besides, submarines get new underwater communication stations; the unified underwater situation monitoring system is being formed. All these make it possible to qualitatively improve capabilities of detecting and classifying low-noise underwater targets at ranges providing timely employment of weapon and other antisubmarine means.

Continuous improvement of weapon systems and technical parameters of submarines require better professional knowledge and technical skills of the personnel. That is why the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy has assigned a task already in this year to man all crews of operational strength of submarine forces of the Northern and Pacific Fleets with contract servicemen. Nevertheless there are still a lot of problems on the way toward the contract principle and they should be solved in the nearest future. And the main problem is a level of material remuneration and privileges for naval service, hard and dangerous, especially in underwater environment, which the contemporary youth find very unattractive.

This year, when we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Submarine Forces of Russia we should not only recall heroic chapters in history and glorify our submariners-heroes, outstanding engineers and designers, but also do our best to keep Submarine Forces of our Motherland a formidable arm of the Navy capable of fighting and destroying any aggressor at sea.

Admiral M.L. ABRAMOV

Chief of the Main Naval Headquarters

Mikhail Leopoldovich ABRAMOV was born on July 6, 1956 in Vladivostok. He graduated from the S.O. Makarov Pacific High Naval School (1978), High Naval Officers Course (1984), Naval Academy (1989), General Staff Academy (2001). He served onboard the surface ships of the Pacific Fleet starting from the position of the artillery company commander of the corvette to the commander of the surface ships division (1989). Then he served as Flotilla Chief of Staff, Chief of Staff of the Task Force in the North-East of the Russian Federation (1990-1999), Flotilla Commander of the Pacific Fleet (2001-2003), Chief of Staff of the Baltic Fleet (2003-2004), Commander of the Northern Fleet (2004-2005), from September 2005--Chief of the Main Naval Headquarters.

* Anaerobiosis--life without free oxygen.

** Bathymctry--measurements done to determine depth and get data about the sea bottom contour.