Russian shipbuilder Sevmash recently began conducting sea trials of the future Russian Navy Project 885M nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine Perm.
The trials are being conducted in the White Sea. If the trials are successful, the submarine will return to Sevmash's facilities in Severodvinsk in mid-October for completion.
Perm is the fifth Yasen-M-class submarine and the sixth overall Project 885/Yasen-class boat. Like her Project 885M sisters, she will have a maximum submerged speed of 35 knots and space for 64 crewmembers.
The submarine’s armament will includes torpedoes and Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles. According to Russian media, Perm will be the first nuclear-powered submarine to have Zircon missiles among her standard armament.
Design work on the Project 885 and Project 885M submarines was undertaken by Malakhit Marine Engineering Bureau.
The new submarines will replace the Russian Navy’s Project 949/Oscar-class and Project 971/Akula-class boats, which were originally built in the 1980s.
The future Perm will be assigned to the Russian Pacific Fleet alongside her sister boats Novosibirsk and Krasnoyarsk.