19:40 25-11-2025

Expert Defends Russia’s Kondor Subs After US Criticism

Russian expert Vasily Dandykin rejects US claims that the Nizhny Novgorod and Pskov Kondor-class submarines lack value, citing their titanium hulls and proven resilience.

Military analyst and retired Navy Captain Vasily Dandykin has responded to claims by an American commentator who argued that Russia’s two Project 945A Kondor nuclear submarines are supposedly of little value. The criticism targeted the K-534 Nizhny Novgorod and B-336 Pskov.

Dandykin dismissed the journalist’s remarks as unfounded. He pointed out that both submarines were built in the late Soviet period and feature titanium hulls — a material that is notoriously difficult to work with but offers significant advantages.

He recalled that the Kondor-class boats had once become an unpleasant surprise for the U. S. Navy. One of the submarines, he noted, collided with the American Baton Rouge. Following the incident, the Russian vessel required only minor repairs, while the Baton Rouge was written off entirely. In Dandykin’s view, this example contradicts any suggestion that the submarines lack relevance, and he described the American commentary as little more than misplaced bravado.

Earlier, Jack Buckby, a columnist for the U.S. publication National Security Journal, argued that Nizhny Novgorod and Pskov, despite their costly titanium construction, offer limited value to the Russian Navy today. According to him, the boats participate only sporadically in exercises and do not influence the global balance of undersea forces.