Russia begins construction on new Lada-class submarine

Russia’s United Shipbuilding Corporation held a keel-laying ceremony this week at its Admiralty Shipyards for a new Project 677 Lada-class diesel-electric submarine for the Russian Navy, the company said.

The submarine, designed by United Shipbuilding’s Rubin Design Bureau, has been named Maloyaroslavets. United Shipbuilding described it as the sixth submarine in the Lada series, though Andrey Puchkov, the company’s general director, referred to it in his remarks as the fifth ship in the series. United Shipbuilding did not clarify the discrepancy or disclose an expected delivery date for the vessel.

“Last year we delivered the submarine Velikiye Luki to the fleet, and today we are laying down the Maloyaroslavets, the fifth ship in the series,” Puchkov said. “This is the result of decisions by Russia’s Ministry of Defense, made following extensive joint work between the Navy leadership and the United Shipbuilding Corporation. I want to thank the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy for this work, which has resulted in today’s keel-laying.”

The Lada class is built to a modernized design that Rubin engineers developed based on lessons from the lead vessel’s operational service with the Russian Navy, the Sankt-Peterburg. That submarine entered extended trial service in 2010 following a lengthy and troubled development process that spanned more than a decade.

United Shipbuilding said the Project 677 submarines represent Russia’s most modern non-nuclear submarines currently in production. The company said the design features a low acoustic signature, effective sound-dampening protection and what it described as an extremely powerful sonar system, which it said gives the Lada class an advantage over foreign submarines of comparable size. United Shipbuilding did not provide technical specifications or measurements to support that comparison.

The Velikiye Luki, the submarine Puchkov referenced as the most recent delivery, joined the Russian Navy in 2025. A separate modernized Lada-class boat, the Kronshtadt, was delivered to the fleet in 2024, according to earlier reporting.

Source: Defence Blog