RUSSIAN SUBMARINE CLASS "KILO" type 636

Description

The Russian Kilo Class submarine first entered service in the early 1980s. It was designed by the Rubin Central Maritime Design Bureau, St Petersburg. Subsequent developments have led to the current production versions, the Type 877EKM and the Type 636. A successor, the Lada (Project 677) was launched in November 2004. Rubin is developing an air-independent propulsion (AIP) system (Diesel-electric) which could be available for retrofit to the other versions. The Kilo submarine was originally built at the Komsomolsk shipyard but is now constructed at the Admiralty Shipyard in St Petersburg. China has two Type 636 submarines, the second of which joined the Chinese fleet in January 1999. (Scale : 1/200e)