Russian Navy's third Lada-class submarine commissioned into service

The Russian Navy commissioned a new submarine into service in a ceremony in Saint Petersburg on Tuesday, December 16.

Named after a town in Western Russia, Velikiye Luki is the third diesel-electric submarine to be built under Project 677, otherwise known as the Lada-class. Construction took place at the Saint Petersburg facilities of Admiralty Shipyards.

Missions will include anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, protection of naval bases, and reconnaissance.

Velikiye Luki will join her two earlier sister boats Sankt Peterburg and Kronshtadt in the Russian Northern Fleet headquartered in Severomorsk.

The submarine has a maximum submerged speed of 21 knots, a length of 66.8 metres, a hull diameter of 7.1 metres, a crew complement of 35, and an endurance of 45 days. Armament will include 533mm torpedoes and Kalibr land attack and anti-ship missiles.

During Velikiye Luki's commissioning ceremony, Andrei Puchkov, General Director of Admiralty Shipyards' parent company United Shipbuilding Corporation, confirmed that serial production of the Project 677 submarines has commenced in fulfilment of a contract awarded by the Russian Ministry of Defence.