The Russian multi-purpose nuclear submarine Project 971 Shchuka-B (NATO classification - Akula), armed with cruise missiles, patrolled the waters off the coast of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico for several weeks, remaining unnoticed. This information was distributed in mid-August by an American online publication, citing unnamed American officials. Highlighting the weakness of the American anti-submarine system, it is also reported that the presence of a submarine near US territorial waters was noticed only when the submarine was already leaving the area, and this caused serious concern among US officials. The correspondent of Our Version decided to recall the history of the confrontation between submarines.

So far, information about the presence of a Russian submarine near the American coast has not been officially confirmed by either side, and it is possible that due to the special secrecy, the information will not be available for a long time. But, according to experts, the success of Russian submariners is beneficial to both sides. Russia clearly demonstrates the unfading military power, and also questions the deployment of a missile defense system in Europe. For the US military, this incident is beneficial in that it could affect plans to cut America's defense spending by $487 billion over the next 10 years. The inability of the US Navy to track the Russian submarine is evidence of shortcomings in the work of American anti-submarine systems, the funding of which has just come under cut.

It should be noted that this is not the first time that Russian warships have frightened the US military. In 2009, two "Pikes" were spotted off the coast of the United States at once. And as Alexander Khramchikhin, head of the analytical department of the Institute of Political and Military Analysis, told Our Version, being in neutral waters near the territory of other states is a common element of combat training for submariners. No provocations on long trips are planned. The fact that the boat was discovered is very bad, in fact, it is a disruption of the mission. American boats are near the Russian coast, and the fact that the Russian Navy has recently failed to open a single one speaks eloquently that the Americans are acting more professionally.

It should be noted that submarines were considered one of the most effective weapons in the Cold War. Spying on each other, the submarine fleets created incredible psychological pressure, not allowing the enemy to feel safe even at their own moorings. The scale of the submarine war is impressive: in 30 years, there have been about 25 collisions between American and Soviet (later Russian) submarines only underwater, and this is in the boundless oceans.

As a rule, incidents occurred during major exercises where submarines carried out combat launches. In addition, submarines carried out active reconnaissance activities on the approaches to enemy naval bases. Submarines solved many operational tasks: they monitored the movements of enemy submarines in the World Ocean, they were sent to collect information along the entire perimeter of the enemy’s maritime border.

Often, submarines boldly entered foreign territorial waters and even closed bays and water areas of naval bases in order to intercept information from coastal radars and telecommunications. In addition, they secretly collected fragments of military equipment, connected to communication lines. Moreover, the details of many operations carried out even several decades ago continue to be kept under the heading "secret" to this day.

But one of the episodes of the confrontation involving a submarine, which literally brought the world to the brink of war, received wide publicity. In October 1962, during the Caribbean Crisis, four Soviet diesel-electric submarines B-59 of project 641 (“Foxtrot” according to NATO classification), loaded with nuclear torpedoes, patrolled off the coast of Cuba. On October 27, a group of 11 US Navy destroyers, led by the USS Randolph, surrounded one of the boats. The submarine was fired upon by an American aircraft, according to the Soviet side, depth charges were also used against the submarine. The captain of the Soviet submarine panicked, decided that the war had already begun, and gave the command to prepare to launch a response nuclear torpedo at the American ships. The chief of staff of the 69th submarine brigade of the Northern Fleet, Vasily Arkhipov, who was the senior on board, convinced the commander not to do this, but to surface and wait for instructions from Moscow.

There were several tragicomic cases in the history of the Soviet Navy, one of which happened to the Soviet medium torpedo diesel-electric submarine of project 613 (according to NATO classification - Whiskey-I) on the night of October 27-28, 1981.

The submariners, making a routine training voyage in the Baltic Sea, lost their course and ended up deep inside Swedish territory. Meanwhile, the "Swedish Komsomolets" - as the boat was ironically called later on the Baltic Fleet - did not plan to enter Swedish territorial waters. But there was a whole chain of circumstances that led to a major international scandal. First, due to damage to the fishing nets, the antenna of the Deka navigation system began to give out incorrect information. The navigator of the boat failed to notice in time that the submarine had been moving on the wrong course for several days. As a result, the boat, which was supposed to be a hundred miles from the Scandinavian coast, sat on the rocks of the Bsela coastal shallows off the southeastern tip of Sweden, near the island of Turumskjaer, 2 kilometers from the secret NATO military base in Sweden. The incident of the situation also lies in the fact that in order to reach the scene of the incident, the ship had to pass through several narrow artificial straits difficult to navigate. In addition, by a strange coincidence, the time of the incident coincided with the testing of a new model of torpedoes at this base.

Another no less casus case occurred on February 29, 1996. During a NATO exercise near a detachment of alliance ships, the K-448 Tambov submarine suddenly surfaced. It turned out that one of her crew members needed urgent medical attention due to peritonitis that developed after an operation to remove the appendix. It is noteworthy that the Russian submarine followed the exercises and even conditionally sank several ships. Despite this, the enemy got into a position - the sick submariner was taken to the British destroyer Glasgow, and from there he was sent by helicopter to the hospital.

By the way, the most complex and successful CIA operation is still considered to be the top-secret Ivy Bells project, which involved the removal of information from Soviet submarine cable communication lines. This operation was carried out with the active use of submarines. It started in 1970. Then the CIA showed an increased interest in information about the results of launches of our intercontinental ballistic missiles, which hit targets at the Kamchatka test site. The Khalibat submarine secretly penetrated Soviet territorial waters and hovered over an underwater cable that connected the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the Karpinsky Kura missile range located near the island, and the Krashenikovo submarine base with the mainland. Four deep-sea divers installed special equipment, and the submarine filmed top secret information for several days.

Further, the process of retrieval of information was improved. A stationary device, created on the instructions of the CIA, was installed on the cable. This device, which received the characteristic name "Cocoon", was able to remove information from the cable without opening its outer shells.

This spy equipment embodied the latest achievements of radio-electronic technologies of that time. In appearance, it was a cylindrical container, in the tail section of which there was a nuclear power source that supplied electricity to the on-board radio-electronic systems. The electronic spy worked offline for a long time and transmitted the accumulated information to a submarine entering the area.

Thus, the Americans have been stealing classified information for a decade. It is still not known for certain how the wiretapping was detected. According to one version, the device was discovered by repairmen who were looking for a broken cable that was accidentally hit by a fishing anchor, according to another, Soviet intelligence officers received information from their agent working on this project in the CIA.

According to experts, the deployment of nuclear submarines to combat service did not stop even after the collapse of the Soviet Union, although they were significantly reduced.

My repeated proposals to increase the effectiveness of deterring the aggressive aspirations of the United States have finally been heard. The Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported on the possible presence of Russian nuclear submarines off the coast of the United States. Guido Olympio, a columnist for this newspaper, writes in his article "The Secret of the Kremlin Ship Surveilling the Florida Coast":

“It is clear that the big Russian rescue tug Nikolai Chiker is enjoying being off the coast of Florida, especially now that the crisis in eastern Ukraine has entered its most intense phase. This ship of the Russian Navy performs interesting maneuvers. In mid-February, the Chiker left Gibraltar and quickly reached the Caribbean. There are 50 people on board, a team of specialists in underwater work, modern equipment, a platform for a helicopter, a spacious hold, which stores supplies that ensure long-term autonomous navigation of the ship. The Chiker is a powerful beast, a tugboat whose height allows it to operate in Arctic waters as well. The ship participated in many complex operations, including the lifting of the Kursk submarine. Indeed, submarines are familiar sailing mates: the tug provides them with support, accompanies them like a shadow. According to many experts, the tug is supporting at least two submarines that Moscow sent to the shores of the United States. The tug also works with other spy ships. This is the kind of activity that has been carried out in recent weeks.”

Our reference:

“Rescue tugs SB 135 of the Fotiy Krylov type, including the Nikolai Chiker, were built in 1989 in Finland by order of the USSR Navy. They were supposed to be used primarily for towing large-capacity ships, that is, aircraft carriers, and for rescue operations. These two vessels cost the Navy $50 million to build.

Immediately after the construction, during the tests, the Fotiy Krylov type was entered in the Guinness Book of Records as a ship capable of creating the most powerful traction force when towing. The power plant capacity is 25,000 horsepower. These characteristics, as well as design features, allow it to tow ships with a displacement of up to 250 thousand tons at sea waves of eight points at a speed of four knots. The figures are still unsurpassed.

Although calling this ship just a tugboat, albeit the most powerful in the world, does not turn around. This is a whole rescue complex. The diving equipment installed on it allows for complex deep-sea work. It is equipped with a hyperbaric chamber, diving suits, underwater television cameras, equipment for soil erosion, underwater welding and cutting, and metal detectors.

In addition to everything, the ship is capable of supplying flame-extinguishing liquid to ships in distress, and using its own installations to extinguish fires.

The helipad supports an all-weather 24-hour helicopter operation with refueling.

Fully equipped operating room and three hospital wards.”

(Wikipedia)

After staying off the Caribbean Islands, an Italian journalist reports, the tugboat arrived at a square near Kings Bay, the base of American nuclear submarines of the US 7th Fleet. Guido Olympio also informs that the Chiker was not alone there: the Viktor Leonov, a Russian reconnaissance ship, cruised nearby:

“The appearance of Russian ships coincided with the first phase of the crisis in the Crimea. After that, the tugboat visited the Cape Canaveral area, then made another call to the Caribbean, and in the second week of April was again off the coast of Florida. On April 15, the ship again entered the area of ​​the cosmodrome. In terms of time, this episode coincided with the aggravation of the situation in Ukraine, the transfer of columns of military equipment and threats.”

And now - about a possible meeting with the Russian nuclear submarine:

“Yesterday morning, the Chiker stopped south of the NASA test site, as if taking up an observation position. There are many theories about the "Nikolay Chiker" off the beaches of Florida. Starting with the most obvious: performing reconnaissance missions. Other experts believe that this is a meeting with a Russian nuclear submarine. Or even about a meeting with the Viktor Leonov reconnaissance ship, which has been in the region for a long time. Strange movements in the Caribbean Sea suggest some kind of underwater work. Finally, we can talk about monitoring the space center at Cape Canaveral, perhaps collecting classified information.

Our reference:

"Viktor Leonov" - a medium reconnaissance ship, is one of the seven SRZK project 864 Polish built in 1985-1990. Initially, the SSV-175, commissioned by the Soviet Navy in 1988, was called "Odograph" and was part of the Black Sea Fleet. In 1995 she was transferred to the Northern Fleet and in April 2004 she was renamed Viktor Leonov.

(Wikipedia)

The appearance of "Viktor Leonov" off the coast of America, by the way, was noted back in February.

The last major scandal surrounding the appearance of Russian nuclear submarines off the coast of the United States was in 2012, when in mid-August the Western media wrote that the Russian nuclear submarine of project 971 "Pike-B" (according to NATO classification - "Akula"), capable of carrying winged long-range missiles allegedly went unnoticed in the Gulf of Mexico relatively close to the US coast for a month, which became known after the nuclear submarine left the area.

According to an Italian journalist, two Russian nuclear submarines may currently be located off the coast of the United States - one off the Pacific coast, the other off the Atlantic, off Cape Canaveral, where the Russian tugboat Nikolay Chiker and the reconnaissance ship Viktor Leonov were spotted. Most likely, these are not shock, but low-noise multi-purpose boats of the project 971 "Shchuka-B", designed to combat enemy submarines and surface ships. They can also strike ground targets with Granat high-precision cruise missiles, which can be equipped with a nuclear charge.

In the fall of 1983, off the coast of the United States, in the Sargasso Sea, the multi-purpose Soviet nuclear submarine K-324 surfaced. The American media published pictures of the boat lying in a drift, with a partially exposed propeller. It all happened in the midst of the Cold War, so the Western media raised a loud cry about the mortal danger for the "free world". The Soviet leadership kept silent, because. at that time, he really had no idea what happened to the nuclear submarine on combat duty. As it turned out later, the reason for the hype was not the ascent of the boat near the coast of the United States, but what was wound on the propeller of the submarine ...

The nuclear submarine "K-324" pr.671-RTM, referred to in NATO as "Victor-III", was built in Komsomolsk-on-Amur and was the seventh in the series, was part of the Northern Fleet and performed combat service tasks off the coast of the United States. At the time described, the US Navy was testing the latest TacTAS hydro-acoustic system (HAS), and it was on the American frigate McCloy, equipped with this device, that the nuclear submarine entered. Information about the operating parameters of this ultra-modern equipment was invaluable for Soviet science and the fleet. And the K-324 managed to accompany the frigate for a long time, busy testing the GAS, but also to find out some of the performance characteristics of the towed cable antenna. Moreover, in the course of tracking, I was lucky to reveal some features of the interaction of the American frigate's hydroacoustics with its submarines and other components of the American early warning sonar system.
This was luck and a rare success of the boat in combat service! Work with the McCloy frigate could have been continued, but he suddenly stopped testing and quickly left, in connection with which the nuclear-powered ship received a command to change the navigation area. But at this moment, an emergency happened.

As it seemed at first to everyone on board, the main turbine of the submarine failed. With an increase in speed, a strong vibration began in the stern, it became impossible to stand without holding the handrails. The main turbine was stopped, the ship was moving at depth due to propeller motors - in the turbine compartment, the crew began to find out the causes of the accident. However, the reason lay in something else, it became clear only after the ascent.
At night, after inspecting the boat on the surface, it turned out that the reason for the loss of speed was not in the turbine, but in the fact that a “cable from a fishing net” was wound around the tail of the submarine - “something wound around the tail of the boat with a tight coil, fettered the actions of the ship, forced ship propulsion to work with an unusual load, deprived the boat of maneuverability. In the dark, it was impossible to eliminate the interference. During the day, in the sunlight, they saw that it was not the cable from the nets that fettered the movements of the submarine. On the tail of the submarine was wound a piece of an armored cable-antenna of the American towed GAS - the same top-secret latest GAS.

After reporting the incident to the headquarters of the fleet, the command ordered to save the antenna at any cost and deliver it to the base. It was not easy to do this - the boat was deprived of its course, the dive was also associated with danger. In addition, after the surfacing of the nuclear submarine, it was discovered by US Navy patrol aircraft, and surface ships were not long in coming. The destroyers "Piterson" and "Nicolson" (of the "Spruance" type) arrived at the surfacing site of the nuclear submarine with the opposite task - to prevent the Russians from getting the secret antenna by any means.
Later it turned out that a 400-meter piece of cable-antenna dangled behind the stern of the boat. In addition, even antenna receivers were preserved on it, however, some were partially destroyed, but one was completely preserved. It was a find!
The Aldan rescue ship was urgently sent to help K-324, but before its arrival, the crew had to save at all costs, and if it was not possible to save, then destroy the most valuable find.

For almost 10 days, high-speed US destroyers pursued the Soviet boat, which could move extremely slowly with the help of propeller electric motors. American destroyers repeatedly crossed the course of the submarine, passed in close proximity. By the end of the protracted pursuit, the actions of the destroyers became especially dangerous and it was decided to prepare the nuclear submarine for an explosion. K-324 was already ready to fall into the abyss at 5000 m and take all the secrets with it, but then the Aldan arrived to the rescue, which began towing the nuclear submarine to Cuba. The situation was relieved, but the American destroyers continued to escort all the way to Cuba.
After arriving in Cuba, the damage was repaired on the boat and she returned to her home base. Valuable "catch" was immediately transferred for research.

The Russian multi-purpose nuclear submarine of Project 971 Schuka-B (according to NATO classification - Akula) was in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of the United States for almost a month. This became known after the boat left the area. However, experts do not exclude that the scandal could have been made public by the US military for selfish purposes.

The Russian nuclear submarine Project 971 Shchuka-B (NATO reporting name “Akula”), capable of carrying long-range cruise missiles, was undetected in the Gulf of Mexico relatively close to the US coast for a month, which became known after how the nuclear submarine left the area.

The first to report on the incident was Washington Free Beacon author Bill Hertz, known in journalistic circles for his closeness to the Pentagon and intelligence agencies. Hertz notes that we are talking about the nuclear submarine, which is considered “one of the quietest” and elusive for enemy radars of Russian submarines.

“A Russian attack submarine has patrolled the waters in the immediate vicinity of the US coast for only the second time since 2009,” Interfax quoted the article as saying.

According to US officials, the presence of a Russian submarine off the coast of the United States indicates shortcomings in the work of American anti-submarine systems. They stressed that the administration of US President Barack Obama is cutting funding for these complexes as part of a plan to reduce defense spending by $487 billion over the next ten years.

The Shark was built with only one purpose in mind - to destroy US Navy ballistic missile submarines and their crew members. This is a silent boat that can swim up unnoticed and avoid detection,” said another official.

“The fact that she has not been seen in the Gulf of Mexico is worrying,” US officials admitted. Over the past three years, this was the first time that the Russian "Shark" approached the shores of the United States. She stayed there for several weeks in June-July. The last time two such boats were seen was in 2009 off the eastern coast of the country, ITAR-TASS reports.

Meanwhile, representatives of the US Navy refused to give official comments on this matter.

However, it is possible that the leak of information about the Russian submarine from the military or some other department is connected with the discussion in Congress of the draft US defense budget, which should be cut in the coming years due to the general deficit of state funds. It is planned, in particular, to cut spending on the Navy and anti-submarine aviation, which may not be to the liking of some military officials.

The Washington Free Beacon also recalls that this year Russian Air Force strategic bombers flew in close proximity to American airspace. However, then the Pentagon said that it considers this as a regular long-range aviation exercise and does not feel any concern about this.

Igor Korotchenko, chairman of the Public Council under the Ministry of Defense, editor-in-chief of the National Defense magazine, told the VZGLYAD newspaper that if the Russian nuclear submarine was indeed present off the coast of the United States, then “this indicates that Russia has retained the potential and the country is ready for such actions, which ensures prestige and respect for our fleet."

“Such a combat mission, especially considering that it has gone unnoticed for a long time, is worthy of respect. Why did the Americans conclude that the Russian boat had been discovered? At the moment when the boat was off the coast, the Americans could not establish the fact of its presence. But after processing all the observation data, including hydroacoustic monitoring, analysts came to the conclusion, based on a number of indirect signs, that it was a nuclear submarine. All this, of course, plays in our favor - and we have good boats, and the crew is professional, ”said the military expert.

Korotchenko noted that if the nuclear submarine was indeed located off the coast of the United States, then this is a normal tactic for the work of the Northern Fleet and its submarine forces, especially considering that American and British submarines are constantly off our coast. “Combat services of multi-purpose nuclear submarines off the coast of a potential enemy is a normal part of the planned combat work of the fleet’s submarine forces. What is abnormal is that in the 1990s, Russia actually stopped engaging in such operations. And what happened shows that our navy is returning to the previous options for military service, and this is absolutely justified and normal, ”he assured.

The military expert noted that the only thing that is not clear is why the message refers specifically to the Gulf of Mexico. “The main task of multi-purpose nuclear submarines is to track the submarine missile carriers of a potential enemy. There is a corresponding base on the Atlantic coast, where part of the American strategic submarines of the Ohio type with nuclear weapons are located,” said Igor Korotchenko.

The nuclear submarine's speed of 5-7 knots indicates that the boat is quiet, so the conditions of hydroacoustic contact are such that in some cases the Americans really cannot control the detection. But it all depends on a number of factors: the state of salinity of the water, various hydrographic and geographical conditions. We can simply say in general that Russian multi-purpose nuclear submarines have increased stealth and low noise, and the Americans cannot always be guaranteed to detect them.

However, Igor Korotchenko stressed that the scandal with the discovery of the Russian nuclear submarine, which went public, is needed by the Americans in order to knock out additional allocations from Barack Obama for programs related to improving technologies and systems for detecting submarines off the coast of the country.

“As you know, the factor of the Russian threat is actively used in order to solve problems with the budget. Naturally, a message about a threat to any senator acts like a red rag to a bull, and in a fit of patriotic indignation, he votes for the allocation of additional funds for the development of programs, ”the expert explained.

Note that Russian Project 971 Schuka-B submarines are third-generation multi-purpose nuclear submarines equipped with anti-submarine torpedoes and cruise missiles. They are designed to destroy enemy surface and submarine ships.

The name "Shark" is also used in Russian military terminology to refer to Project 941 nuclear-powered ships, which were created in the 1980s for intercontinental ballistic missiles. In NATO, they are classified as Typhoon.

"VZGLYAD.RU"