TK-208 Dmitry Donskoy, the largest submarine of all time.

Submarines are considered undersea assassins, capable of attacking and wiping out a fleet, even a large area of enemy territory.

Biggest

The Soviet Union’s heavy nuclear ballistic missile submarine Project 941 `Akula` holds the world record for size.

Each Akula submarine is 175 m long, 23 m wide and has a displacement of 48,000 tons.

Today, there is only one Akula class left, named TK-208 `Dmitry Donskoy`, which is in service with the Russian navy as a floating laboratory.

Equip the most weapons

The US Ohio-class strategic nuclear submarine possesses the largest arsenal of weapons in the world, with 24 Trident I and Trident II ballistic missiles.

Submarines carry Tomahawk missiles – America’s most dangerous weapon

Ohio class submarine departs on patrol.

Military expert Andrei Kotz said Ohio-class submarines are the backbone of the US strategic nuclear deterrent force, with more than half of the attack power of the US nuclear triad located on this type of submarine.

Most compact

The title of the world’s smallest nuclear attack submarine belongs to France’s Rubis class, with a submerged displacement of only 2,600 tons, 20 times smaller than Russia’s Project 941.

French Rubis-class nuclear submarine.

Although compact, the Rubis class is equipped with a very powerful weapon system, not inferior to ships of much larger size.

Lowest noise level

In the early 1980s, the Soviet Navy received the first Project 877 `Paltus` (Kilo-class) diesel-electric attack submarine.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, a deep modernization called Project 636 `Varshavyanka` (Improved Kilo) was built and commissioned for the Russian navy and many other countries around the world.

The main advantage of Projects 877 and 636 is their extremely low operating noise level, which led NATO to nickname them `oceanic black holes`.

Each Varshavyanka submarine is equipped with 24 Klub cruise missiles with a range of 300 km and torpedoes.

Most mysterious

Russia’s Status-6 unmanned nuclear submarine is considered one of the most mysterious designs in the world.

Leaked images of Status-6 on Russian television.

Status-6 is considered to have high stealth and automation capabilities, and its main task is to deliver large nuclear warheads to enemy coastal areas.

In March 2016, Russia’s United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) confirmed that it was building an unmanned submarine large enough to carry its own torpedoes.