K-329 Belgorod is a class of intercontinental unmanned nuclear submarine built under Project 09852 for the Russian Navy. The ship was built by Sevmash, a shipbuilding company belonging to Russia’s United Shipbuilding (USC) group.
Belgorod can perform a variety of missions such as nuclear attacks, research, testing of new research equipment, and rescue operations. This submarine successfully carried out a series of test launches of Poseidon torpedoes in January last year. Tests demonstrated the submarine’s performance at different depths.
Belgorod’s design is based on the Oscar II class submarine. The ship is 184m long, 18.2m wide and has a displacement of more than 14,700 tons when floating and 24,000 tons when submerged. It can dive to a depth of 520m and operate underwater for about 4 months.
According to the manufacturer, Belgorod can carry the AS-15 deep-water nuclear station and small nuclear-powered submarines to conduct secret deep-sea operations. Belgorod operates with two pressurized water reactors with a capacity of nearly 255,000 horsepower, so the train can reach a maximum speed of more than 59km/h.
Belgorod is equipped with 6 Poseidon nuclear torpedoes and 6 533mm torpedo tubes. Poseidon is an automatic torpedo carrying a nuclear warhead with a yield of 100Mt, powered by energy from a nuclear reactor. This torpedo has an estimated length of 24m and a diameter of 1.6m. It can operate at a maximum depth of 1,000m and is capable of operating 10,000km and operating continuously for about 100 hours. This is the world’s largest torpedo and is a strategic weapon that can attack naval bases and coastal cities.
The K-329 Belgorod submarine is expected to be put into service with the submarine force of the Russian Pacific Fleet in 2025.