ST. PETERSBURG, June 28. /TASS/. The modified Project 636.3 Varshavyanka-class (NATO reporting name: Improved Kilo-II) fourth submarine Ufa for the Russian Pacific Fleet is set to be floated out by the end of this year, the press office of the Admiralty Shipyard reported on Monday.

"By now, the hull sections of the Ufa submarine of the Pacific series have been joined, and the main cable is being laid. The vessel is set to be floated out before the end of this year," the press office said in a statement.

A contract for building a series of Project 636.3 six diesel-electric submarines for Russia’s Pacific Fleet was signed in September 2016. The Project 636.3 lead submarine Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky was delivered to the Russian Navy on November 25, 2019. The second submarine Volkhov was handed over to the Fleet on October 24, 2020. The third submarine Magadan entered shipbuilders’ sea trials on June 25 this year and is set to be delivered to the Navy in November 2021.

Modified Project 636.3 Varshavyanka-class submarines (NATO reporting name: Improved Kilo-II) are referred to the third generation of large diesel-electric underwater cruisers. They are characterized by higher combat efficiency compared to their predecessors. The optimal combination of acoustic stealth and the target detection range, the latest inertial navigator, the advanced automated information and control system, the powerful high-speed torpedo, and missile armament ensure the global priority of these underwater cruisers in conventional submarine-building.

The Project 636.3 submarines have sea endurance of 45 days, can dive to 300 meters, develop a speed of 18 knots in their submerged position, and have a crew of 52. Each submarine carries six torpedo tubes.