Off the coast of Cuba, a russian nuclear submarine demonstrated a damaged hull that divers were trying to repair
Kyiv • UNN
The russian nuclear-powered submarine Kazan, which was docked in Havana for military exercises, had visible damage to its hull with missing soundproofing panels, making it louder underwater and easier to detect on sonar.
The network is discussing the damaged hull of the russian submarine kazan, which was spotted on a raid off the coast of Cuba. UNN writes about this with reference to Newsweek.
Details
Photos of the russian nuclear submarine kazan, which docked in Havana last week for military exercises, show damage to its hull. According to the newspaper, this is being actively discussed by journalists and observers on social media.
Observers of the russian-Ukrainian war shared photos of the moored submarine on social media, pointing out defects in the hull.
"A russian submarine began to fall apart during a trip to Cuba," wrote Igor Sushko, a Ukrainian military blogger.
Marijn Markus, a Dutch data scientist, wrote on LinkedIn: "russia's newest nuclear submarine, the kazan, is falling apart during a visit to Cuba. Its soundproofing panels are falling off, which means the submarine is very loud underwater and shows up on sonar.
The article also reports that during the submarine's stay near Cuba, russian divers were spotted trying to repair the hull.
Submarines are typically equipped with stealth coatings, or silent tiles, which are designed to absorb sound waves, making them less vulnerable to attack and more difficult for enemy ships to track. Submarine hulls often show stains from missing tiles. This is usually due to problems with the adhesive and the constant contraction and expansion of the hull.
H.I. Sutton, a maritime security researcher, noted in a 2020 article for Forbes that echo-reflective coating is an engineering challenge because it "must stay attached in some of the toughest environments on earth." He wrote that the submarine hull, made of heavy-duty steel, still flexes when the submarine is submerged in water. And the coating is exposed to temperature changes. Therefore, this is a common problem for the submarine fleets of many countries.
Recall
The nuclear-powered submarine kazan and other naval vessels docked in Havana's port on June 12 and left on Monday after a five-day stay. Last week, russia deployed warships and aircraft to the Caribbean Sea for routine military exercises. The US said it was not concerned.
