[FlameOn]

Top secret Russian nuclear spy submarine, that the West suspects is used to install either spy equipment or cut deep sea internet fiber cables, catches fire and kills 14 Russian sailors. The only known photo this sub aside from the time it surfaced and was caught on during a photoshoot for the Russian Top Gear magazine.

On July 1, a fire onboard a secretive Russian nuclear submarine killed 14 sailors before it was extinguished. The sailors were assigned to the Losharik, a small nuclear-powered submarine that is alleged to conduct underwater espionage activities. The cause of the fire is not known at this time.

The incident took place in Russian territorial waters north of the Arctic Circle. According to Russian state media the Losharik was engaged in “biometric research activities” when the fire broke out. TASS quoted the Russian Ministry of Defense, stating, “On July 1, in the Russian territorial waters on a research deep-water apparatus designed to study the bottom space and the bottom of the World Ocean in the interests of the Russian Navy, a fire occurred during bathymetric measurements.”

The incident reportedly killed 14 Russian Navy sailors and injured more, with reports suggesting that the sailors sacrificed themselves to put the fire out. On Russian television, President Vladimir Putin revealed that seven of the deceased were captains first rank, and two were awarded the distinction “Heroes of Russia” in the past. That’s an unusually high concentration of decorated officers.

A conflicting report on Twitter claims that the fire took place not on Losharik itself but the mother submarine that carries, it Podmoskovye. Podmoskovye is a modified ballistic missile submarine designed to carry smaller special mission-engineering (read: spy submarines) like Losharik to operational areas.

Losharik (AS-12) is a deep diving special mission/engineering submarine (aka a spy submarine). According to submarine authority H.I. Sutton, Losharik entered service in 1997, displaces less than 1,000 tons (the U.S. Navy’s newest Virginia-class attack submarines 7,800 tons), and is about 230 feet long, 23 feet wide, and typically has a crew of 25. She is powered by a single 5-megawatt nuclear reactor.

The sub is named after a Russian cartoon horse made up of juggling balls, and the name is a play on the fact that the submarine is internally made up of up to seven interlinked high pressure orbs. Each orb is designed to provide protection from the extreme pressures of deep sea diving. Sutton believes this gives Losharik the ability to dive to depths up to 1,000 meters (3,280 feet).

Losharik is designed to operate on the ocean floor, front-mounted flood lights, remotely operated arms for manipulated equipment, and retractable ski feet for sitting on the seabed. Although described as a scientific research submarine, she is assigned to the Main Directorate for Deep Sea Research, known by its Russian acronym GUGI. The submarine is considered highly classified and the only known photo appeared in the Russian magazine version of Top Gear, when it accidentally sailed into a camera shot.

https://www.popularmechanics.com/mil...ubmarine-fire/