True to its long tradition of building impressive submarines, Russian design firm Rubin unveiled a concept model of its nuclear ballistic missile submarine “Arcturus.” A superlative submarine could soon be built. The concept of the fifth-generation strategic nuclear submarine was presented at the “Army 2022” military technology forum. The arms fair was held in Kubinka near Moscow from August 15 to 21. The plan is to deploy the submarine to defend the Russian part of the Arctic Ocean in the north.
The decision on the future construction of a new generation of submarines is also important in view of the wealth of opportunities in the area for the use of “Arcturus” in the Arctic. Interest in this area will increase in the coming decades.
The future-generation strategic nuclear submarine “Arcturus” will be more mysterious due to its faceted shape and waveless energy, a Rubin Central Design Bureau representative told the media.
The new submarine named “Arcturus”, after the brightest star in the northern sky, has a dramatically changed design. Most noticeably, it has an angled outer hull with sloping sides and mixed lines. The design resembles a state-of-the-art aircraft rather than a submarine. In addition, new camouflage mechanisms are also built in. The flattened outer hull is much more difficult for radar systems to detect than the previously known angular submarines.
Drones inside the submarine
There are 12 bays in the “Arcturus” for missiles, according to Sutton’s report. These silos are also large enough to carry nuclear missiles, he said. But also new is a special launch and capture ramp for medium-sized autonomous underwater vehicles, which will be mounted on the submarine itself.
In addition to medium-sized vehicles, two to three large autonomous underwater vehicles can also be transported. Several hangars are installed at the rear for this purpose, which are flooded with water. These will be used to transport the newly developed submersibles of the “Surrogat-V” type, effectively a submarine within a submarine. With a flap and a special device, the “Surrogat V” can be launched into the sea when in use.
The “Surrogat-V” is said to be a special anti-submarine drone, according to Navy expert H.I. Sutton. It is said to be equipped with a special pump-jet propulsion system. This allows high speeds to be achieved under water. In addition, a silent system for detecting submarines is installed.
Sutton of “Naval News” says the chances of “Arcturus” ever being built are very slim. The design is said to be a company proposal by the Rubin design studio rather than an approved project, otherwise it would already have a project number, as is customary in Russia. The current Russian economic situation and significant delays in the current submarine construction do not bode well.
But the design is interesting in itself. And it shows the direction of thinking of Russian submarine designers. There may be hints of future designs that could actually make it into the water. Russia’s submarine designers will do their best to keep up with the West, on paper if not on steel.
However, the Russian submarine design studio Rubin is known for its reliability. It already was respponsible for the “Typhoon” series. To this day, they are among the largest submarines ever built.
Heiner Kubny, PolarJournal
