Russians have been repairing their nuclear submarine AS-31 “Losharyk” for more than 4 years
In Russia, the purpose of the AS-31 “Losharyk” is to disable equipment and other operations at a considerable depth of up to 6 km.
Major repairs have been completed on Russia’s AS-31 special-purpose deep-sea nuclear submarine, better known by its nickname “Losharyk”. And now it has to undergo tests, including a maximum depth of 6 km.
According to the Russian state-run TASS, citing its own sources, the final tests are scheduled for this summer. Thus, the total recovery period for this deep-sea vehicle will be 5 years from the date of the AS-31 crash in the Kola Bay of the Barents Sea on July 2, 2019.
Then a fire broke out on board the Losharyk, and according to official information, 14 Russian submariners out of 25 crew members died as a result of poisoning from combustion products. The fire was allegedly caused by low-quality Chinese or “import-substituting” lithium-ion batteries. At the time of the fire, the AS-31 was docked to its carrier, the BS-64 Podmoskovye, a converted 667BDRM strategic submarine.
According to Russian sources, Losharyk received new equipment and underwent some modernization during the repair. The reactor’s nuclear fuel was also replaced.
But perhaps these are just reasons to explain why the rapid restoration of the AS-31, promised by Russian Defense Minister Shoigu, ended up taking years. And it’s not a given that the Russian submarine will even pass the test.
It is worth reminding that the AS-31 Losharyk is actually a subversive submarine designed to conduct operations at considerable depths. In particular, according to Western experts, its targets may include underwater communications and submarine detection systems, in particular IUSS on the Faroe-Icelandic border (GIUK passage).
The unofficial name “Losharyk” refers to the characteristic design of the Russian submersible, in which all the internal compartments are shaped like spheres made of titanium alloys, reminiscent of a character from a little-known Soviet cartoon.
It should also be noted that there are no reliable images of the AS-31 “Losharyk”, so all the images shown here are only a rough approximation of this deep-sea vehicle. In particular, some photos may well show an older AS-15 of the 1910 project (codenamed “Kashalot”).
