MOSCOW, April 28. /TASS/. A Project 949A Antey nuclear-powered missile-carrying submarine unofficially called the ‘aircraft carrier-killer’ will take part for the first time in Russia’s Main Naval Parade in St. Petersburg this year, a source in the domestic defense sector told TASS on Saturday.

"The participation of one of the Anteys [the Project 949A] of the Northern Fleet is planned in the parade on Navy’s Day in St. Petersburg, along with the missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov," the source said.

The Project 11356 frigate Admiral Makarov will participate in the naval parade for the second time, the source said.

TASS has not received an official confirmation of this information yet.

Russia’s Defense Minister Army General Sergei Shoigu earlier said that the naval parade in St. Petersburg this year will involve over 40 warships, including 18 most advanced vessels, and also 25 aircraft and helicopters.

Naval parade’s participants

Project 949A Antey submarines were dubbed ‘the aircraft carrier-killers’ during the Soviet period. Overall, 11 such submarines were built and currently eight of them have remained in service with the Russian Navy. Each submarine displaces 24,000 tonnes and is armed with 24 launchers of Granit cruise missiles and six torpedo tubes.

As was reported earlier, Antey-class nuclear submarines will be rearmed with Kalibr advanced cruise missiles during their heavy upgrade at the Zvezda Shipyard while their service life will be doubled. CEO of the Rubin Central Design Bureau for Marine Engineering Igor Vilnit earlier told TASS that not all of the fleet’s available submarines of this class were slated for modernization.

The Marshal Ustinov is a missile cruiser and the 2nd Project 1164 Atlant warship operational in the Northern Fleet. In 2011-2016, the warship underwent its upgrade in Severodvinsk in northwest Russia. The missile cruiser returned to the Northern Fleet’s main base in late December 2016. Last year, it also took part in the naval parade in St. Petersburg.

2017 naval parade

On the Russian president’s instruction, the first Main Naval Parade in Russia’s modern history took place in 2017. From now on, it will be held annually along with the naval parades in the Northern, Black Sea and Pacific Fleets and the Caspian Flotilla.

The guests of last year’s parade saw the Pyotr Velikiy battlecruiser; the world’s biggest nuclear submarine Dmitry Donskoi; and a number of the Russian Navy’s most advanced warships, including the amphibious assault ship Ivan Gren, the frigate Admiral Makarov, as well as the diesel-electric submarines Veliky Novgorod and Vladikavkaz.

China’s destroyer Hefei, frigate Yuncheng and support vessel Luoma Hu also took part in the naval parade.

On the day of the parade, various naval aviation aircraft flew over St. Petersburg, including the Su-33K and the MiG-29K carrier-based fighter aircraft, Su-24M bombers and Su-30SM multirole fighter jets, MiG-31BM interceptors, Il-38 and Tu-124M antisubmarine warfare and maritime patrol aircraft and other planes. The air show also featured the Ka-52K Katran ship-based reconnaissance and combat helicopters, Ka-27 and Ka-29 antisubmarine warfare helicopters, as well as Mi-8 transport and attack gunships and Mi-24VP attack helicopters.

Overall, the naval parade involved about 50 warships and submarines, 40 aircraft and helicopters. For the first time in the entire history of naval parades in St. Petersburg, more than 5,000 sailors of the Baltic, Northern and Black Sea Fleets and the Caspian Flotilla were involved in the festivities on Russia’s Navy Day.