Naval Systems

Akula-class submarine

Also known as
  • Akula
  • Akula-class
  • Akula class submarine
  • Project 971
  • Project 971 Shchuka-B
  • Shchuka-B
  • Shchuka B
  • NATO: Akula

The Akula-class submarine is the NATO reporting name for the Soviet-designed Project 971 Shchuka-B nuclear-powered attack submarine. Built by Amur Shipbuilding Plant and Sevmash, the class used a double-hull design, combined torpedo and cruise-missile armament, and a mission set focused on anti-submarine and anti-shipping warfare.

Akula-class submarine, Nuclear-powered attack submarine, Naval Systems
Image source: Akula class submarine starboard quarter view.JPEG

Role in Conflicts

Design Notes

The Akula-class was built as a late-Soviet hunter-killer submarine rather than a strategic missile boat. Sevmash's own retrospective highlights the lead boat's unusually fast build and the class's "beast" series of hulls.

FeatureDocumented detail
Lead boatK-480, later named Bars, opened the Project 971 series.
Build paceSevmash says the lead boat was completed in 3 years and 10 months.
Design bureauSevmash credits the project to St. Petersburg Marine Engineering Bureau Malachite.
Fleet contextNTI said Russia still retained six Project 971 boats in 2024, and K-152 Nerpa was leased to India as INS Chakra.

The class's appeal is endurance, quiet hunting, and mixed undersea attack options, not a single-purpose missile role.

Profile / Specs

Specifications

Displacement
8,140 tonnes surfaced; 12,770 tonnes submerged
Length
110.3 m
Beam
13.6 m
Draft
9.7 m
Crew
73
Diving depth
600 m
Speed
33 knots submerged
Propulsion
1 x 190 MW OK-650 pressurized-water reactor; 1 shaft
Armament
4 x 533 mm and 4 x 650 mm torpedo tubes; torpedoes, mines, and Granat cruise missiles
Variants
  • Project 971 Akula I
  • Project 971I Improved Akula
  • Project 971U Akula II
  • Project 971M Akula III
Documented Ordnance

Open sources describe Project 971 boats as attack submarines with torpedoes, mines, and cruise missiles in their weapons fit.

Carried itemItem typeCarriage evidence
Cruise missile, Cruise missile, MunitionsCruise missileCruise-missile payload

NTI lists cruise missiles among the Akula-class armament, and the class description also identifies a cruise-missile fit.

Sources: Russia Submarine Capabilities, AKULA CLASS RUSSIAN NUCLEAR ATTACK SUBMARINES

Sea mine, Naval mine, MunitionsSea mineMine payload

NTI and the Naval Submarine League source both describe mines as part of the class's armament.

Sources: Russia Submarine Capabilities, AKULA CLASS RUSSIAN NUCLEAR ATTACK SUBMARINES

Timeline

Akula-class submarine Key Events

  1. Lead boat Bars is laid down

    Sevmash's virtual photo exhibition says the lead Project 971 submarine K-480, later Bars, was laid down on 22 February 1985.

    Sources: Sevmash virtual photo exhibition: Bars

  2. Bars is accepted into service

    Sevmash marked 29 December 1988 as the 35th anniversary of the lead boat's acceptance act, describing K-480 Bars as the ship that opened the class.

    Sources: Sevmash: Lead Project 971 submarine turns 35

  3. K-152 Nerpa is leased to India

    NTI says Russia leased the Akula-class K-152 Nerpa to India as INS Chakra under a ten-year contract.

    Sources: Russia Submarine Capabilities

  4. Two Akula-class submarines are reported near Syria

    Open-source reporting said two Northern Fleet Akula-class submarines joined the Russian battlegroup heading toward Syria and the eastern Mediterranean.

    Sources: Two nuclear submarines from Kola sail into Mediterranean, Russian Submarines 'Join Battle Group Heading For Syria'

Media

Akula-class submarine Videos

Akula-class submarine Images

Akula-class submarine, Nuclear-powered attack submarine, Naval Systems - view 1
Source: Akula submarine DN-SN-91-00616.JPG
Akula-class submarine, Nuclear-powered attack submarine, Naval Systems - view 2
Source: AkulaProjekt971K335.png
Related Weapon Systems
Oscar II-class submarine, Nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine, Naval SystemsNaval SystemsOscar II-class submarineNuclear-powered cruise missile submarineThe Oscar II-class submarine is NATO's reporting name for Project 949A Antey, the improved Soviet/Russian third-generation nuclear-powered cruise-missile submarine designed by Rubin and built by Sevmash. The class was built around a carrier-strike mission with 24 P-700 Granit anti-ship missiles in side launchers, a large double-hull SSGN design, long endurance, and improved crew habitability; later Project 949AM modernization reporting centers on replacing the Granit fit with newer cruise missiles.
Victor III-class submarine, Nuclear-powered attack submarine, Naval SystemsNaval SystemsVictor III-class submarineNuclear-powered attack submarineThe Victor III-class submarine is the NATO reporting name for the Soviet Project 671RTM/RTMK Shchuka nuclear-powered attack submarine. Built at Admiralty and Komsomolsk shipyards, it carried the Project 671 line into a quieter, missile-capable generation with updated combat electronics, a distinctive towed-array sonar pod, 533 mm and 650 mm bow tubes, and a loadout spanning torpedoes, RK-55 Granat cruise missiles, antisubmarine missiles, and mines. A small number of late boats remained tied to Russian Northern Fleet service decades after the Soviet collapse.
Delta III-class submarine, Ballistic missile submarine, Naval SystemsNaval SystemsDelta III-class submarineBallistic missile submarineThe Delta III-class submarine is the NATO reporting name for the Soviet Project 667BDR Kalmar, a Sevmash-built nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine designed around the D-9R launch system and 16 R-29R / SS-N-18 submarine-launched ballistic missiles. The class introduced a MIRV-capable Soviet SSBN design, remained visible in Russian Pacific Fleet strategic exercises into the 2010s, and ended regular SSBN service when K-44 Ryazan was withdrawn after the other Project 667BDR boats had already left service.
Neustrashimy-class frigate, Anti-submarine warfare frigate, Naval SystemsNaval SystemsNeustrashimy-class frigateAnti-submarine warfare frigateThe Neustrashimy-class frigate is the Soviet Project 11540 Yastreb anti-submarine warfare frigate family, designed through a long Cold War development path and built at Yantar Shipbuilding Plant in Kaliningrad for Russian Baltic Fleet service. Only Neustrashimy and Yaroslav Mudry were completed, but the class combines a 129.8 m hull, helicopter facilities, sonar-centered anti-submarine weapons, 3K95 Kinzhal naval surface-to-air missiles, Kortik close-in defenses, and Kh-35 Uran anti-ship missiles on the second ship. Neustrashimy is directly documented in the 2008 Gulf of Aden counter-piracy campaign.

Sources

Russia Submarine CapabilitiesPublisher: Nuclear Threat Initiative | Note: Supports Akula-class background, dimensions, submerged speed, tasking, the Russian Navy's 2024 Shchuka-B inventory, and the K-152 Nerpa lease to India as INS Chakra. | Accessed: 2026-06-25Akula: The Russian Submarine The U.S. Navy Truly HatesPublisher: The National Interest | Note: Supports the Akula-class builder context, double-hull design, reactor family, cruise-missile fit, and general class background. | Accessed: 2026-06-25AKULA CLASS RUSSIAN NUCLEAR ATTACK SUBMARINESPublisher: Naval Submarine League | Note: Supports Project 971 background, the 1984-1996 production span, the 16-boat build count, the reported 300 million-ruble 1984 cost, design bureau and shipyard context, armament, propulsion, crew, depth, and tactical mission profile. | Accessed: 2026-06-25Sevmash virtual photo exhibition: BarsPublisher: Sevmash | Note: Supports the lead Project 971 submarine K-480 Bars laying down on 22 February 1985 and the class's opening as the first boat in the "beast" series. | Accessed: 2026-06-27Sevmash: Lead Project 971 submarine turns 35Publisher: Sevmash | Note: Supports the lead Project 971 submarine's 29 December 1988 acceptance act, the Malachite design bureau credit, the 3 years 10 months build time, and the class's seven-boat Sevmash series. | Accessed: 2026-06-27Two nuclear submarines from Kola sail into MediterraneanPublisher: The Barents Observer | Note: Supports 2011 Syrian Civil War fielded-by context: reported Akula-class submarines joined the Russian battlegroup heading toward Syria in October 2016. | Accessed: 2026-06-25Russian Submarines 'Join Battle Group Heading For Syria'Publisher: Forces News | Note: Supports 2011 Syrian Civil War fielded-by context: reported Akula-class submarines joining the Russian naval battle group heading toward Syria. | Accessed: 2026-06-25Akula class submarine starboard quarter view.JPEGPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance and public-domain context for the primary Akula-class submarine photo. | Accessed: 2026-06-25Akula submarine DN-SN-91-00616.JPGPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance and licensing context for an Akula-class gallery photo. | Accessed: 2026-06-25AkulaProjekt971K335.pngPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance and licensing context for the K-335 Akula-class diagram in the gallery. | Accessed: 2026-06-25AkulaSchema1.svgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance and licensing context for the Akula-class schematic gallery image. | Accessed: 2026-06-25