Typhoon-class submarine
The Typhoon class, Soviet designation Project 941 Akula (Russian: Акула, meaning "shark", NATO reporting name Typhoon), was a class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines designed and built by the Soviet Union for the Soviet Navy. With a submerged displacement of 48,000 tonnes, the Typhoons were the largest submarines ever built, able to accommodate comfortable living facilities for the crew of 160 when submerged for several months. The source of the NATO reporting name remains unclear, although it is often claimed to be related to the use of the word "typhoon" ("тайфун") by General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev of the Communist Party in a 1974 speech while describing a new type of nuclear ballistic missile submarine, as a reaction to the United States Navy's new Ohio-class submarine.
Typhoon-class SSBN profile | |
Typhoon-class submarine TK-17 Arkhangelsk under way | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Typhoon class |
| Builders | Sevmash, designed by Rubin |
| Operators | |
| Preceded by | Delta class |
| Succeeded by | Borei class |
| Built | 1976–1989 |
| In commission | 1981–2023 |
| Planned | 7 |
| Completed | 6 |
| Cancelled | 1 |
| Active | 0 |
| Laid up | 3 |
| Retired | 6 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Ballistic missile submarine |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 175 m (574 ft 2 in) |
| Beam | 23 m (75 ft 6 in) |
| Draught | 12 m (39 ft 4 in) |
| Propulsion | |
| Speed |
|
| Endurance | 120+ days submerged |
| Test depth | 400 m (1,300 ft) |
| Complement | 160 persons |
| Armament |
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The Russian Navy cancelled its Typhoon modernization program in March 2012, stating that modernizing one Typhoon would be as expensive as building two new Borei-class submarines. With the announcement that Russia has eliminated the last R-39 Rif (SS-N-20 Sturgeon) SLBMs in September 2012, only one Typhoon remained in service, Dmitriy Donskoi, which refitted with the more modern RSM-56 Bulava SLBM for testing. She continued to serve until February 2023, when she was decommissioned.