“Kazan” in Cuba
Why Putin’s most dangerous submarine is making the US nervous
The nuclear submarine “Kazan” in the port of Havana
© Arial Ley / Picture Alliance
Putin has sent his most modern nuclear submarine to Cuba. The “Kazan” is almost impossible to detect. It can hunt naval units, but can also attack distant targets such as ports and command centers with its hypersonic weapons.
The “Kazan” is one of the most modern submarines in the world. And that is exactly what Putin sent to Cuba and off the coast of Florida. The submarine has now entered the port of Havana. The boat belongs to the Yasen-M class. With this, Putin’s Russia has once again become a real threat on the world’s oceans, just as the USSR’s submarine force was in the 1970s and 1980s. However, these old Soviet boats are getting on in years and can now be tracked down.
This is precisely not the case with the “Kazan”. When submerged, it is so camouflaged and quiet that it is difficult, if not impossible, to find it in the sea. This is why it is such a threat to the USA. There are fears that it and its sister boats will break out of the North Atlantic, cross the GIUK gap (Greenland-Iceland-Great Britain) unnoticed and then hide off the American coast.
Nuclear submarine as a hybrid of two classes
Then there is the “Kazan” type of operation. These boats are not primarily built as attack submarines to fight foreign ships and submarines. The submarine carries long-range weapons – this is a novelty. The Yasen-M class retains the characteristics of an attack submarine (SSN) with the armament of a strategic missile carrier (SSGN). Ultimately, the design is a consequence of advances in cruise missiles. These make it possible to build weapons that are just as dangerous but much smaller. In addition, the boat requires fewer crew and uses a smaller nuclear reactor. The hull could therefore be reduced in size without having to make any compromises in terms of armament.
The “Kazan” can therefore do both: attack strategic targets on land and hunt down enemy naval units.
In 2021, General Glen VanHerck, head of the U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, said these submarines “are designed to operate undetected within range of cruise missiles off our coasts to threaten critical infrastructure in the event of an escalating crisis.”
“Kazan” not nuclear armed on this mission
The Kazan’s arsenal includes the 3M22 Zircon hypersonic missile, Kalibr long-range cruise missiles and Oniks supersonic cruise missiles against ships. The Zircon in particular is a threat due to its high speed. “Depending on the trajectory, it can potentially overwhelm shipboard air defenses by taking away the time they need to develop a fire solution,” the RUSI think tank said in a study. However, it will not be armed with nuclear weapons on this mission. It is equipped with ten 533 mm torpedo tubes and six 324 mm torpedo launchers. These smaller torpedoes are decoys and part of the defense system.
With the maneuver, the Russians are renewing their presence off the coast of the USA. But as dangerous as individual ships and submarines are, it is also clear that the Russian Navy is no match for the US Navy. The majority of the ships are clearly outdated. The only ancient Russian aircraft carrier will probably never return to active service.
The Russian Navy is capable of visiting countries all over the world – but not to demonstrate real power there. That is well known. The deployment of the “Kazan” is a reminder that the Russian fleet can fulfill a limited purpose. In the event of a European crisis, the Yasen-M class boats are intended to prevent or at least hinder the relocation of large military units from the USA to Europe. And they can be trusted to do that.