Consul-class
DSV (project 1681x) is a class of two
deep submergence vehicle
A deep-submergence vehicle (DSV) is a deep-diving crewed submersible that is self-propelled. Several navies operate vehicles that can be accurately described as DSVs. DSVs are commonly divided into two types: research DSVs, which are used for ex ...
s, built and operated by the
Russian Navy. Conceived in the late 80s, they are a military counterpart to the better known strictly civilian
Mir submersibles and are operated by the Navy's Main Underwater Research Directorate. The first ship in the class, AS-37 ''Rus'', is built to the original project 18610, while the second one, AS-39 ''Consul'', is of the updated project 16811 design, though ''Rus'' was later upgraded to the pr. 16811 specs.
Project History
Soviet Navy issued the technical requirements for the military DSV back in 1984, and the design was assigned to the
Malakhit design bureau
OKB is a transliteration of the Russian initials of "" – , meaning 'experiment and design bureau'. During the Soviet era, OKBs were closed institutions working on design and prototyping of advanced technology, usually for military application ...
, one of the leading Soviet submarine specialists, with the final drafts for the project 16810 completed and approved by 1989. During the design process the
Ministry of Geology also showed the interest in similar DSV for marine shelf geological research, so the drafts were updated to comply with civilian
USSR Register of Shipping requirements, and some additional upgrades were incorporated into them, resulting in the updated project 16811. Both ships were laid up in
Admiralty Shipyard
The JSC Admiralty Shipyards (russian: link=no, Адмиралтейские верфи) (''formerly Soviet Shipyard No. 194'') is one of the oldest and largest shipyards in Russia, located in Saint Petersburg. The shipyard's building ways can ac ...
in 1989, but while the Navy order (commissioned later as AS-37 ''Rus'') was largely completed before the funding dried up in the mid-90s (and even then the construction continued whenever the funds were available), the Ministry of Geology order was plagued by bureaucratic red tape, especially the statute forbidding
Rosnedra, its successor, to engage in R&D. ''Rus'' was eventually completed in 1999 and commissioned in 2001, while ''Consul'' continued to sit in the yard until Rosnedra agreed to transfer its ownership to the Navy, with the provision of making it available for geological research when necessary. This allowed the resumption of the submersible's construction and by 2009 it was finally completed. Meanwhile, ''Rus'' underwent an upgrade to bring its specs to the project 16811. By late 2011 both ships completed their testing including dives to the project depth of 6000 m, easily surpassing it by several hundreds of meters, and ''Consul'' was commissioned into the Navy. Originally they operated from various ''ad hoc'' tenders, but in December 2012 their dedicated tender,
R/V ''
Yantar'', was launched by
Yantar shipyard
Yantar Shipyard (russian: Прибалтийский судостроительный завод «Янтарь») is a Russian shipbuilding company based in Kaliningrad, Russia.
Yantar Shipyard builds military ships, including antisubmarine and ...
in
Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad ( ; rus, Калининград, p=kəlʲɪnʲɪnˈɡrat, links=y), until 1946 known as Königsberg (; rus, Кёнигсберг, Kyonigsberg, ˈkʲɵnʲɪɡzbɛrk; rus, Короле́вец, Korolevets), is the largest city and ...
.
Design
The ships are of the conventional DSV design, with a spherical habitable
pressure hull
A submarine hull has two major components, the ''light hull'' and the ''pressure hull''. The light hull (''casing'' in British usage) of a submarine is the outer non-watertight hull which provides a hydrodynamically efficient shape. The pressure ...
of diameter and thickness welded from
titanium
Titanium is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resista ...
alloy, with buoyancy provided by domestically produced
syntactic foam. Habitable hull fits two crew with an optional passenger/mission specialist, and is equipped with three viewports in the frontal side and external cameras. Pressure hull assembly is hydrostatically tested to withstand 720 atm, while the viewports are tested up to 780 atm. Propulsion is supplied by three main engines with
ducted propeller
A ducted propeller, also known as a Kort nozzle, is a marine propeller fitted with a non-rotating nozzle. It is used to improve the efficiency of the propeller and is especially used on heavily loaded propellers or propellers with limited dia ...
s in the stern, while two additional vertical and one lateral impellers ensure the maneuverability. Both ships are equipped with two heavy-duty
robotic arm
A robotic arm is a type of mechanical arm, usually programmable, with similar functions to a human arm; the arm may be the sum total of the mechanism or may be part of a more complex robot. The links of such a manipulator are connected by join ...
s, capable of handling up to 200 kg loads, and are able to carry and control
ROVs. The endurance is mainly limited by capacity of their main batteries, which are capable of holding enough charge for 10–12 hours of operation.
References
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Deep-submergence vehicles