The Submarine That Refused to Die: 5 Things You Need to Know About Russia's Velikiye Luki

The Submarine That Refused to Die:

5 Things You Need to Know About Russia's Velikiye Luki

The story of a single Russian submarine, the B-587 Velikiye Luki, is a nearly two-decade saga of industrial struggle, strategic recalibration, and remarkable persistence. What began as a routine construction project in 2006 spiraled into one of the most protracted development journeys in the history of modern non-nuclear shipbuilding. This vessel's path from its initial steel cutting to the verge of commissioning is not merely the story of one submarine, but a reflection of an entire program's fight for survival.

...it reflects the struggle, recalibration, and persistence of an entire submarine program that has spent nearly two decades chasing its intended performance.

The Velikiye Luki has been a ghost in Russia's naval ambitions for years, plagued by the near-total failure of its lead vessel, repeated redesigns, chronic funding shortages, and a cascade of missed deadlines. It has been re-laid, renamed, and re-engineered in a relentless effort to salvage a next-generation design that nearly collapsed.

Now, after years of methodical but grueling sea trials in the Baltic, this submarine is finally on the threshold of joining the Russian fleet. Its long-awaited arrival provides a unique window into the state of Russia's naval power and its military-industrial complex. Here are the five most surprising and impactful takeaways from this submarine's long journey to operational readiness.

A Two-Decade Odyssey of Failure, Redesign, and Sheer Persistence

The journey of the Velikiye Luki is defined by a timeline of failure and recovery that few naval projects survive. Its story begins in 2006, when the submarine was first laid down under the name Sevastopol as part of the Lada-class, Russia's intended successor to the globally successful Kilo-class family of diesel-electric submarines. The program, however, almost immediately ran into catastrophic trouble.

The lead vessel, the Sankt Peterburg, proved to be a near-total failure, struggling profoundly with its propulsion system, electrical performance, noise levels, and the integration of its onboard systems. The problems were so severe that by 2009, the Russian Navy paused all work on subsequent hulls, including the future Velikiye Luki. The entire next-generation submarine program was on the brink of abandonment.

After years of reassessment, the program was revived. Between 2014 and 2015, the submarine was officially re-laid under a redesigned and improved standard known as Project 677M. This architectural overhaul was intended to fix the critical flaws inherited from the lead ship. Yet this renewed hope was followed by repeated disappointment as a series of delivery deadlines—2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2024—were announced and subsequently missed.

Key milestones were eventually met, but the pace was glacial. The submarine was finally launched in December 2022 and even made a public appearance at the 2023 Main Naval Parade, a signal of official confidence. That confidence, however, preceded the project's most grueling phase. Formal sea trials began in late 2023, initiating a testing period that spanned much of 2024 and stretched into 2025. This phase was defined by a methodical but prolonged rhythm described as a cycle of "trial, return, adjust, and resume." This included a careful progression of depth tests, with initial dives to 100 meters to validate basic integrity followed by more demanding trials at 180 meters in July 2024 to assess propulsion reliability and emergency procedures under significant pressure. This two-decade odyssey reveals more than chronic engineering difficulties; it is a testament to the sheer persistence of Russia's shipbuilding industry to stabilize a deeply troubled design.

A Coastal Defender with a Strategic Long-Range Punch

At its core, the Velikiye Luki is a product of its environment. As a Project 677M Lada-class submarine, its design was conceived specifically for operations in Russia’s shallow and acoustically complex internal seas, with the Baltic Sea as its primary theater. It is compact and maneuverable in shallow waters, with a submerged displacement of only 2,650 tons, making it significantly lighter than the Kilo-class. Its designated missions are explicitly regional: anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface missions, chokepoint monitoring, and coastal defense.

However, this regional focus masks a powerful capability that transforms it into a strategic weapon. The submarine's most crucial offensive feature is its ability to launch Kalibr long-range cruise missiles from its six 533 mm torpedo tubes. This system gives the submarine the capacity to conduct both land-attack and anti-ship operations at extended ranges, turning a stealthy coastal defender into a survivable, forward-deployed precision-strike platform. A submarine lurking in the shallow waters of the Baltic can suddenly hold targets deep within Europe at risk.

This dual capability creates a strategic paradox that fundamentally complicates NATO’s anti-submarine warfare (ASW) doctrine in the region. Placing a long-range, strategic-level threat on a quiet platform designed for littoral operations presents a uniquely challenging target. In a region dense with allied surveillance, the Velikiye Luki provides Russia with "greater flexibility and a more modern undersea asset," capable of projecting power far beyond its immediate operational area and transforming the strategic calculus in a critical maritime chokepoint.

A "Next-Gen" Submarine Missing a Key Next-Gen Feature

The Lada-class was conceived as Russia’s next-generation family of non-nuclear submarines. The Velikiye Luki, as a modernized Project 677M boat, embodies many of these credentials. Its design places a heavy emphasis on stealth, boasting a lower acoustic profile than its predecessors. This is achieved through modern hull coatings to absorb sound and sophisticated vibration isolation for its internal machinery.

Despite these modern features, the submarine is conspicuously missing a key technology that has become a hallmark of contemporary Western non-nuclear designs: air-independent propulsion (AIP). An AIP system allows a conventional submarine to operate submerged for weeks at a time without needing to snorkel, dramatically extending its underwater endurance and stealth. The Velikiye Luki does not incorporate an AIP module.

This design choice reveals a core tenet of Russia's current naval modernization: prioritizing reliable, proven systems over the higher risks associated with cutting-edge, but unmastered, technologies. The chronic engineering difficulties that plagued the program’s early years likely informed the decision to forego the immense complexity of an AIP system Russia has struggled to perfect. Instead, designers opted for a conventional single-shaft diesel-electric system, capable of up to 21 knots underwater. To compensate for the lack of AIP, the design focuses on enhanced battery capacity with two large battery groups. This allows for longer quiet loitering periods or high-speed sprints, but it still creates a predictable vulnerability: the submarine must eventually snorkel to run its diesels and recharge, a moment when it is most exposed. The result is a capable but technologically conservative platform—a "next-gen" submarine shaped by the hard lessons of past failures.

A Single Vessel Tasked with Saving an Entire Class

The successful delivery of the Velikiye Luki is about far more than adding a single submarine to the Baltic Fleet. This one vessel carries the weight of its entire, precarious program on its shoulders. The Lada-class has been so plagued by failure and delay that its future has been in serious doubt for over a decade.

The catastrophic failure of the lead boat, Sankt Peterburg—which is reportedly slated for retirement—nearly killed the program. The second boat, Kronstadt, had its own protracted journey, taking from 2005 to 2024 to enter service. Most critically, work on two newer units, the Vologda and Yaroslavl, which were laid down in 2022, has since been suspended due to funding shortages. With one boat a failure, another taking nearly two decades, and the next two stalled, the program was at a dead end.

In this context, the Velikiye Luki serves as a crucial "proof-of-concept milestone" for Russia’s ability to field operational Project 677M boats. Its successful commissioning is the first clear signal that the underlying design flaws that crippled the Sankt Peterburg may have finally been resolved. Its primary mission, therefore, is simply to prove that the Lada-class can work. A successful delivery implies that the 677M design may finally be stabilizing, which could restore confidence and encourage the restart of work on the suspended hulls when funding permits.

"The Lada-class, after years of doubt, would take a step closer to proving that it still has a future in Russia’s naval doctrine."

A Microcosm of Russia's Modern Defense Industry

The Velikiye Luki is not merely a product of Russia's defense industry; it is its perfect, contradictory embodiment. The submarine’s two-decade journey is a case study in how an industrial base plagued by systemic inefficiency and financial precarity can, through sheer institutional will and technical persistence, ultimately produce a modern and strategically relevant weapon system. The project encapsulates both the chronic weaknesses and the persistent strengths of a military-industrial complex operating under immense pressure.

On one hand, the program reveals a set of deep, systemic weaknesses:

• Chronic engineering difficulties: The near-derailment of the class from fundamental struggles with systems integration, propulsion, and acoustic performance on a new platform.
• Financial instability: Repeated funding interruptions that led to the suspension of newer hulls and massively extended timelines for existing ones.
• Systemic delays: A project that began in 2006 is only reaching completion around 2025, a timeline that highlights an inability to deliver complex military hardware efficiently.

On the other hand, the eventual success of the Velikiye Luki demonstrates a set of resilient and often underestimated strengths:

• Technical persistence: A remarkable determination to overcome major engineering setbacks, refusing to abandon a strategically important program despite its near-total initial failure.
• The ability to recalibrate: Instead of scrapping the project, designers were able to implement a comprehensive redesign (Project 677M) and eventually stabilize the troubled platform.
• Capacity to deliver under pressure: Achieving this milestone represents a rare success amid sanctions and industrial constraints, proving the system is ultimately capable of producing a modern weapons platform.

A Question of the Future

The Velikiye Luki is a vessel of contradictions. It is a modern, stealthy design that is also technologically conservative. It is a coastal defender built for shallow seas, yet it carries a strategic long-range punch capable of threatening targets hundreds of miles inland. Above all, it is a success story born from nearly two decades of failure, a single achievement that may yet salvage an entire submarine class.

Its long-awaited delivery to the Baltic Fleet marks the end of one of the Russian Navy's most protracted development journeys. However, it also raises a critical question. Does the commissioning of the Velikiye Luki truly mark a new, more stable chapter for Russia's advanced submarine programs, signaling that the deep-seated industrial and engineering problems have been overcome? Or is it merely a single, hard-won victory in a continuing story of industrial struggle? The answer will define the future of Russia's undersea naval power for years to come.