Kilo-class submarine - invisible assassin under the sea

Considered by military experts as the least noise-generating diesel submarine in operation, the Kilo-class submarine was dubbed the invisible sea assassin.

Kilo submarine began serving in the Russian army in the early 1980s. It was designed by the Naval Design Bureau Rubin, St Peterburg. Since then, depending on the upgraded features, Kilo submarines are divided into two types, type 877EKM and type 636.

At first, Kilo-class submarines were built at the Komsomolsk shipyard, but now they are mostly built at Admiralty factory in St Peterburg.

Kilo-class submarine, viewed from above.

Type 636 submarines are designed for the purpose of fighting ships as well as other submarines, it can also be used for reconnaissance and patrol purposes. The 636 submarine was evaluated by experts as one of the least noise-generating diesel submarines. It could detect another submarine three to four times farther before it was discovered. Therefore, it is considered an invisible assassin under the sea.

This submarine is designed into 6 watertight compartments separated by horizontal partitions in a two-layer hull. This design allows to increase the ship's survivability greatly, it is still capable of normal operation when shot through several cavities.

Inside the cockpit of the Kilo-class submarine.

The design of the 636 has a lot of differences with the older 877EKM model, such as the wider body, the higher power motor, the higher propeller speed, and the lower the ability to detect. This submarine is capable of diving to a maximum depth of 300 meters, reaching a maximum speed of 20.3 km per hour when floating and 37 km per hour when diving. The range of Kilo reaches 12,000 km when running with ventilation pipes at a speed of 13 km per hour or 640 km if diving deep at a speed of 5.5 km per hour.

Kilo is equipped with a multi-tasking control and command system. The center of the system is a high-speed computer capable of handling information and visualization, which is able to immediately generate parameters such as firing elements, weapon control and other instructions on other controls.

Weapons system

The ship's main weapon is six 533 mm torpedo tubes in front of the bow. The ship can carry 18 torpedoes including 6 fruits in the launcher and 12 pods in the load mechanism. In addition, a torpedo tube can be used to spread mines with a base number of up to 24.

The torpedoes used in Kilo are computer controlled, with a very high chance of hitting the target. With the modern firing control system, it takes only two minutes for Kilo to launch the first round and after five minutes it is possible to launch the second torpedo.

The weapon system of Kilo class submarines includes torpedoes, missiles and mines.

Another weapon that can be used on Kilo class submarines is the Novator Club-S missile (NATO calls this missile SS-N-27 Sizzler). Club-S can easily destroy other warships at a distance of up to 220 km with its 450 kg explosion.

In addition, Kilo is also equipped with anti-aircraft missile launchers for 8 missiles Strela 3 or Igla. These types of missiles are designed by the Fakel Design Bureau in Kaliningrad. Strela-3 anti-air missiles (NATO called SA-N-8 Gremlin) use infrared probes cooled with liquid nitrogen. It has the furthest range of 6 km and the warhead weighs 2 kg.

Igla (the type of fire NATO calls SA-N-10 Gimlet) is a heat-type rocket but heavier than Strela-3. It is capable of attacking targets flying at a distance of five kilometers with a maximum speed of 1.65 M.

Control and motivation system

The Kilo-mounted sensor is the MGK-400EM sonar, making it capable of detecting sound waves that float ships and other submarines emit from very far distances. Besides these are the electronic countermeasures (ESM), radar warnings and navigation devices.

One of the Kilo submarine operating chambers.

Kilo is equipped with two powerful diesel engines and 7-wing propellers to minimize noise. Two sets of fuel cells, each containing 120 batteries in the first and third compartments on board, allow it to have a maximum operating time of up to 45 days.

Control the dynamics of the kilo submarine.

Currently, Kilo-class submarines are used by navies from Russia, China, India, Iran and Anita. In addition, some countries are also ordering Kilo submarines to equip their navies like Vietnam and Indonesia.