Losos-class submarine
Project 865 Piranha (Russian: Проект 865 «Пиранья») is a type of Russian (formerly Soviet) midget submarine. The NATO reporting name for the class is Losos, which means "salmon" in the Russian language.
 Losos-class submarine | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders: | Shipyard "Leningradskoe Admiralteyskoe Obedinenie" (Admiralteyskie Verfi), Saint Petersburg (Leningrad) |
| Operators: | |
| In service: | 1988-1997 |
| Planned: | 6 |
| Completed: | 2 |
| Cancelled: | 4 |
| Laid up: | 2 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 218 tons surfaced, 390 tons submerged |
| Length: | 28.2 m (92 ft 6 in) |
| Beam: | 4.8 m (15 ft 9 in) |
| Draught: | 5.1 m (16 ft 9 in) |
| Depth: |
|
| Installed power: | Diesel-electric |
| Propulsion: | diesel electric, 2 diesel – 160 kW (210 hp); propulsion motor – 60 kW (80 hp) |
| Speed: |
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| Endurance: | 10 days |
| Test depth: | 200 m (660 ft) |
| Complement: | 9 |
| Electronic warfare & decoys: | Active/passive radar and sonar |
| Armament: | 2 mine-laying devices or 2 torpedoes |
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The Losos class was designed for special operations and engaging surface ships located offshore, and is thus very durable and almost completely silent.
The hull is made of a titanium alloy, which helps with signature management because it is not magnetic. The non-magnetic alloy would greatly reduce the effectiveness of enemy magnetic anomaly detectors or magnetic limpet mines against this type of vessel.
Only two Losos-class submarines were built: MS-520 and MS-521. Original planning called for a total of 12 Project 865 Piranha submarines to be constructed; this was eventually reduced to six, then just the two. Launched in 1986 and 1990, respectively, they are in reserve but are expected to soon be discarded.