Lada-class

Russia's long-delayed, conventionally powered attack boat — a mono-hull Kalibr-shooter that was supposed to field air-independent propulsion but has yet to do so, leaving it a smaller, quieter, but still conventionally limited alternative to the Improved Kilo.

Overview

The Lada class (Project 677, NATO reporting name St. Petersburg) is a Russian diesel-electric attack submarine designed by the Rubin Central Design Bureau as a successor to the Kilo family. Compared with the twin-hull Improved Kilo, the Lada adopts a single-hull architecture, a smaller crew, and a lighter displacement, aiming for quieter operation and greater automation. The design was conceived to carry a domestically developed air-independent propulsion (AIP) system, but that capability has never been fitted, drastically narrowing the boat’s operational utility and forcing the Russian Navy to continue ordering the older Project 636.3 Improved Kilo. Three hulls have been commissioned after a programme that spans nearly three decades, and further construction proceeds at a slow pace.

Development

The lead boat, Sankt Peterburg (B-585), was laid down at Admiralty Shipyards in St. Petersburg in 1997, launched in 2004, and only commissioned in 2010 after years of trials that effectively kept the vessel in prototype status. According to GlobalSecurity.org, the programme suffered repeated setbacks linked to the immaturity of the planned lithium-ion battery-based AIP plant, forcing the navy to accept the boat as a pure diesel-electric platform. Naval Technology notes that the export version, Project 1650 Amur, was marketed with an optional AIP module but attracted no customers. The first serial unit, Kronshtadt (B-586), was not commissioned until early 2024, and the third boat, Velikiye Luki, followed in December 2025.

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