ST. PETERSBURG, June 26. /ITAR-TASS/. The first diesel-electric submarine of project 636.3 Varshavyanka (The Rostov-on-Don) being built for the Black Sea Fleet in St. Petresburg, has been launched at the Admiralty Shipyards.

A total of six submarines of this project are going to be built for the Black Sea Fleet. As Russia’s naval commander-in-chief, Admiral Viktor Chirkov, said earlier, the submarines in combination with surface ships and anti-submarine aircraft, will be able to address comprehensive tasks within their zone of operations. The submarines will reinforce the potential of Russia’s permanent task force in the Mediterranean.

This is a third generation of submarines. They are considered to be one of the quietest and have a far greater combat effectiveness in contrast to the previous projects, surface speed of 20 knots, maximum diving depth of 300 meters, endurance of 45 days, crew of 52 and underwater displacement of about 4,000 tonnes.