The Russian Navy has expanded its capabilities by adding an advanced nuclear-powered nuclear submarine to its fleet – named Arkhangelsk.

The attack submarine was handed over to the Russian Navy in December 2024 at a ceremony at the Sevmash shipyard on the White Sea.

Arkhangelsk is the 141st nuclear submarine built for the Russian Navy at the Sevmash shipyard. It is the fourth Project 885M (Yasen-M) class submarine to join the country’s fleet and the fifth Yasen ship overall.

The submarine underwent a series of sea trials for almost a year, after which it was handed over to the Russian Navy.

At the ceremony, the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral Alexander Moiseyev, presented the St. Andrew’s Naval Flag to the submarine commander, Captain 1st Rank Alexander Gladkov. The flag was raised aboard the nuclear submarine cruise.

Arkhangelsk – Russia’s newest nuclear submarine

Arkhangelsk was named after the capital of the Pomorye Oblast in the north of European Russia.

The Project 885 and Project 885M nuclear submarines were built with the intention of replacing the earlier Oscar-class and Akula-class ships built in the 1980s.

The project’s lead ship, the Severodvinsk, entered service in 2014. Starting with the second boat in the series, the submarines were built according to the modernized Yasen-M project.

The Arkhangelsk nuclear submarine is capable of carrying all sea-based missile weapons capable of effectively striking both sea and coastal targets, the head of the Russian Navy said, according to a report by state news agency TASS.

The 13,800-ton Yasen-M nuclear submarines can carry the 1,000-mile range 3M-54 Kalibir NK land-attack cruise missiles, the P-800 Oniks anti-ship missile and the 3M-22 Zircon hypersonic anti-ship missiles.

Like its predecessors, Arkhangelsk is said to have a length of 426 feet (130 meters) and a hull diameter of 42.6 feet (13 meters). The nuclear submarine has a maximum rated depth of 2,159 feet (658 meters) and can reach a top speed of 35 knots (40 miles per hour) underwater.

Arkhangelsk is to be stationed near Norway

Moscow had announced that the new nuclear submarine would be based at Sapadnaya Litsa, Russia’s westernmost submarine base on the Kola Peninsula.

According to a report by The Barents ObserverThis place is just 60 kilometers from Norway – a founding member of NATO.

Russia plans to have twelve Yasen-M class nuclear submarines in its fleet, half of which will be stationed in the north.

The Sevmash shipyard is building four Project 885M submarines: Perm, Ulyanovsk, Vladivostok and Voronezh.

The Yasen-M class nuclear submarines Severodvinsk, Kazan, Novosibirsk and Krasnoyarsk are already in service in the Russian Navy.

A Yasen-M class nuclear submarine – Kazan – made headlines in June 2024 when it arrived in Cuba.

A previous report by RUSI states that the Yasen and Yasen-M class submarines pose a significant threat to Western forces due to their combination of stealth and long-range strike capabilities.

It is also noted that the ships of this class are said to have a noise level comparable to that of Western-operated submarines. Construction is also progressing quickly, with several units planned.