“Podmoskovye” (NATO reporting name Delta-IV) was launched on August 11 after undergoing “in-depth modernization” at the Zvezdochka shipyard in Severodvinsk since 1999. The vessel’s missile compartment for Sineva intercontinental missiles has been cut out and replaced with compartments for living and scientific work, as well as equipment for docking of nuclear deep-diving subs, TASS reports.
“Podmoskovye” will soon start mooring trials, and later sea trials.
The modernization, which has made the submarine longer than it used to be, makes it possible for “Podmoskovye” to dock smaller, deep-diving submarines and conduct operations of long duration.
As BarentsObserver reported earlier, “Podmoskovye” will probably be used as carrier for the “Losharik” deep diving titanium submarine. “Losharik” was in 2012 used for deep diving along the Mendeleyev ridge at the seabed of the North Pole, as a part of Russia’s research before submitting its claims of the continental shelf in the Arctic for the United Nation.
Due to the titanium hull and nuclear reactor, the submarine can stay much longer and much deeper than any other bathyscaphes. During the collecting of geologic material by the North Pole, the vessel dived to a depth of 2.5 to 3 kilometers and stayed submerged for 20 days.
The “Losharik” is said to be able to dive to 6,000 meters, it has a crew of 25 and an estimated length of 79 meters. A photo of the top-secret submarine was accidentally published by the Russian edition of Top Gear in January 2015.