Designer tips non-nuclear powered 5th-generation subs in Russia

Russian fifth-generation submarines were unlikely to be nuclear powered and would be smaller than their predecessors, a top naval designer said Monday.

"Future submarines will be smaller due to the use of more advanced technologies as well as the pursuit of more cost-effective production," RIA Novosti news agency quoted senior designer at the Rubin design bureau Sergei Sukhanov as saying.

The fifth-generation submarines might be equipped with a noiseless air-independent propulsion plant which would make them harder to detect than the current nuclear subs, Sukhanov said.

He also said the construction of the fifth-generation submarines in Russia could start in the next 10 to 15 years.

The core of the Russian submarine fleet currently consists of third-generation Project 941 Typhoon-class submarines.

Fourth-generation Project 955 Borey strategic subs and Project 885 Yasen subs have started entering service recently.