A Russian submarine reported off the coast of Alaska on Thursday is likely the same one that shot a cruise missile in a naval exercise. US Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) stated that the submarine came and is above water are controlled by American troops. It may have appeared due to an emergency. And it is not the only unusual submarine movement of the Russian Navy that has caught the attention of analysts.
The Oscar-II submarine can carry 24 massive P-700 granite anti-ship missiles. One was launched … [+]
U.S. officials said the submarine was involved in a Russian military exercise. A Russian state media report (in Russian) on the exercise said that the submarine ‘Omsk’ fired a cruise missile at a target in the Bering Sea, which lies between Siberia and Alaska.
The conditions of the surface are unclear. It is not uncommon for submarines to come to the surface off the coast of another country. And the USNORTHCOM statements raise questions about whether something is wrong. “We have not received any requests for assistance from the Russian Navy or other marinas in the area.” This could mean that there is an emergency on board that the U.S. Navy is aware of.
Omsk is a submarine of the 949A Class A49 cruise ship ‘Antey’, better known by its NATO reporting name, Oscar II class. It is primarily armed with 24 P-700 ‘Granite’ (NATO designation SS-N-19 Shipwreck) anti-ship missiles. These have a range of almost 400 kilometers and can travel at supersonic speeds. Their 1,653 lb warhead is much larger than on regular anti-ship missiles such as the Harpoon and Exocet. It can also carry a core weight of 500 kilotons.
Footage of the exercise published by the official Russian Ministry of Defense Twitter account (in Russian) shows a massive P-700 Granite emerging from the sea.
Defense analyst Frank Bottema, which uses Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) to track sea movements, has also identified a likely Kilo Class submarine involved in the exercises. This is a smaller non-nuclear submarine. It was with a group of Russian naval warships about 66 miles west of St. Petersburg. Lawrence Island. But while it has been on the surface for a while, I consider it less likely to be the focus of the USNORTHCOM announcement.
Frank Bottema also brought to light an unusual contact outside Norway. A large ship, closely resembling the appearance of a Russian Typhoon Class submarine, can be seen in low-resolution satellite images. Analysis of AIS (Automated Identification System, the broadcasts that ships use to warn others of their presence to avoid collisions) suggests that it is the Academic Pashin. This is an additional ship of the Russian Navy. However, the visual image in the satellite images does not match.
Specifically, it looks like the very large Russian Typhoon Class submarine. This is the largest submarine in the world and has a distinctive shape. But one Typhoon remains in service, TK-208 Dmitry Donskoy. It will have sailed close to where the submarine of the US Navy USS Seawolf landed this week. That identity will not be a mystery to NATO troops in the area.
As is often the case in the secret world of submarine operations, we do not yet have the full picture. The conditions around the surface water submarine for Alaska are still ambiguous. It could be in one or another problem. And the ship of interest outside Norway may not appear to be a submarine. There are still verification efforts. But it certainly looks like one in the picture. How, as if they are connected, is even harder to judge.
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