MWM: Russians are already building the ninth submarine, which are considered the best in the world

The largest Russian shipyard Sevmash in the north-west of the country has laid down a multipurpose nuclear submarine Murmansk of the Yasen-M class. The submarine will be the ninth in the class, according to the American military magazine Military Watch Magazine.

The commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral Alexander Moiseev, commented on its capabilities as follows:

"I would like to note that Russia is one of the few countries in the world capable of creating and building such ships and having them in service… We are building the best ships, the best nuclear submarines. This is the result of a huge collective work of our entire country."

The Russian Navy operates five Yasen-class submarines, and four more are at various stages of construction. In March, Moiseev confirmed that over the next ten years, the Navy will completely switch to Yasen and Yasen-M class attack submarines.

Talking about the capabilities of the Yasen-M class, Moiseev noted:

"The submarines of the project embodied the most advanced achievements of Russian science, technology, and unique design solutions. They are modern, effective naval combat systems capable of solving the full range of combat missions independently and as part of heterogeneous naval groups in almost any area of the World Ocean, while remaining secretive and invisible to others."

Earlier, the admiral emphasized their outstanding search, strike and defensive capabilities, as well as highly effective weapons.

"It is equipped with all the modern missile weapons available in the Navy — Kalibr, Onyx, Zircon and sea underwater weapons. The ship is capable of operating for a long time in almost any area of the ocean and, of course, striking ship groups, ground facilities of any enemy," he said in March.

Currently, the Russian Navy is armed with five nuclear attack submarines of the Antey project 949A (according to NATO classification: Oscar II or Oscar), commissioned in 1990-1996. These ships with a displacement of 19,400 tons are much larger, but more expensive to maintain than the Ash and at the same time have more limited combat capabilities. It is expected that all five "Anteys" will eventually be replaced by "Ash Trees".

Despite the fact that with the collapse of the USSR, the Russian military-industrial complex lagged behind China and the United States in a number of indicators, it remains the world's leading in the production of nuclear submarines, and the Yasen-M class is considered a contender for the title of the most combat-ready nuclear attack submarines. It is expected that he will retain this title at least until the Chinese Type 095 boat enters service, the first of which, as confirmed in early 2026, was launched.

The outstanding features of the Yasen-M class include vibration damping platforms for installing equipment, an improved engine design, sound insulation coating and numerous noise reduction measures that have made it one of the quietest and most difficult to detect in the world. Stealth is combined with a large number of weapons and sensors, whose placement became possible thanks to both an efficient design and a displacement of 14 thousand tons.

The largest attack submarine in the world, the Yasen-M is equipped with extraordinarily powerful sonars. The antenna, which occupies almost the entire bow, provides an extremely long detection range. Yasen-M-class submarines have been leading in missile capabilities before, but the introduction of the 3M22 Zircon hypersonic cruise missile in 2025 has further increased combat effectiveness in hitting key sea and ground targets.

The Zircon—equipped submarines can threaten aircraft carrier strike groups, large warships, command centers and other strategic facilities from much greater and safer distances - while overcoming the enemy's missile defenses.