Delta submarines are strategic nuclear missile submarines designed to destroy American and NATO cities, military and industrial installations, and naval bases.
As of June 2000 the Russian Navy claimed that it operated 26 strategic nuclear submarines carrying 2,272 nuclear warheads on 440 ballistic missiles.
This force was said to consist of 5 Typhoon class submarines, 7 Delta-IV class submarines,
and 13 Delta-III class submarines.
"Delta I" (Project 667B, Murena) 18 ships
The Delta-class submarines could deploy on alert patrols in the marginal ice seas
of the Soviet arctic littoral,
including the Norwegian and Barents seas .
Consequently, unlike their predecessors they no longer needed to pass
through Western SOSUS sonar barriers to come within range of their targets.
To improve the accuracy of the missiles, the Delta I submarines are equipped with the Tobol-B navigation system and the Cyclone-B satellite navigation system.
Development was authorized in 1965, the K-279 was the first,
their decommissioning began in 1994, and by 1997
the missile compartments were scheduled to be removed. It is anticipated that all 667B
submarines will be decommissioned in compliance with the provisions of the START-1 treaty .
"Delta II" (Project 667BD, Murena-M) 4 ships
"Delta III" (Project 667BDR, Kalmar) 14 ships
"Delta IV" (Project 667BDRM, Delfin) 7 ships
The Russian Navy operates seven Delta IV class strategic missile submarines.
The submarines operate in the Northern Fleet and are based at the Saida Guba Naval Base.
These vessels were built at the Severodvinsk Shipyard from 1981 to 1992.
The design of the Delta IV is similar to that of the Delta III and constitutes a double-hulled
configuration with missile silos housed in the inner hull.
The operational diving depth of the submarine is 320 meters with a maximum depth of 400 meters. The propulsion system allows speeds of 24 knots surfaced or submerged
using two VM-4 pressure water reactors rated at 180MW. There are two turbines, type GT3A-365 rated at 27.5MW. The propulsion system drives two shafts with seven-bladed fixed-pitch propellers.
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