MOSCOW, May 16. /TASS/. The Project 877V ‘Paltus’ diesel-electric submarine B-871 Alrosa carries Kalibr-PL cruise missiles after its upgrade and will shortly re-enter service with the Black Sea Fleet’s 4th separate submarine brigade, a source in Sevastopol defense circles told TASS on Monday.
"The submarine Alrosa has departed from the 13th Ship Repair Plant and taken up its place at the berth. Its crew will shortly start practicing L-1 and L-2 course tasks, following which it will re-enter the combat inventory of the fourth separate submarine brigade," the source said, adding that the Black Sea Fleet’s oldest submarine had acquired new combat capabilities and was now the carrier of the Kalibr-PL cruise missile system after its repairs and upgrade.
The diesel-electric submarine B-871 ‘Alrosa’ was built at the Krasnoye Sormovo Shipyard in the city of Gorky (now Nizhny Novgorod) and entered service with the Russian Navy on December 1, 1990. The submarine was built under the unique Project 877V that stipulated outfitting the sub with a waterjet engine instead of propeller propulsion, which ensured its maximal stealth.
The submarine operated within the 153rd submarine brigade from December 1990. In March 1992, some crewmembers attempted to seize the submarine after pledging allegiance to Ukraine. The Alrosa was the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s sole operational submarine for 20 years after the Fleet was divided between Russia and Ukraine in June 1993.
In 2014-2017, the Russian Black Sea Fleet received six new Project 636.3 conventional subs outfitted with Kalibr cruise missiles.