The Ufa submarine, the forth boat in a batch of submarines developed by Rubin Design Bureau and destined for the Russian Pacific Fleet, has been launched at the Admiralty shipyards today.

She is the 73rd submarine of the Kilo class, which includes Pr. 877 and its modification, Pr.636. The fifth and sixth ships' keel-laying ceremony took place in August 2021, so the total number of Kilo-class vessels has reached 75 units so far. Thus, Kilo batch takes the second place among series of conventional submarines of the USSR and Russia.

It was the Whiskey class that granted the largest series of non-nuclear submarines with 215 ships built for the Soviet Navy and exported to seven countries, the major batches delivered to Indonesia and Egypt. Reliability, ease of maintenance and long service life featured submarines of that project.

Counting 75 units, including 17 export ones, 8 submarines among them destined for the Indian Navy, Pr. 641 (Foxtrot class) has shared the second place with Kilo class. India became the first foreign country to receive Soviet-made ships specially customized to the client's requirements. Foxtrot class submarines were featured by considerable endurance and cruising range; diving depth and underwater speed increased significantly compared to their predecessors.

Kilo class submarines have extend the tradition of seriality and reliability in operation. Pr. 636 has undergone a series of upgrades; submarines built under this project meet all cutting-edge requirements.

Credit: Rubin Design Bureau, Oleg Kuleshov, Vladimir Karnozov