- Russian naval ships left Cuba on Monday after a five-day official visit.
- Among them, the submarine Kazan – with visible damage including falling plates.
- Despite its dilapidated appearance, it will not affect the submarine’s performance, experts told BI.
One of Russia’s most advanced new submarines, which has just left Cuba, is “crumbling” with damage to its hull, according to an OSINT analyst.
Maren Marcos, a management consultant at IT company Capgemini, shared four photos of the Kazan nuclear-powered reactor on LinkedIn. mail on monday.
Marcus noted that soundproof panels were “falling off” from the front of the submarine’s hull. That would destroy their stealth capabilities, making them “very” loud underwater and making them light up on sonar, he said.
He also pointed to what he described as a “gap” in the midsection of the submarine.
He added: “While docking, Russian divers were seen around the submarine, presumably trying to repair the tin basin.”
Marcus did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
However, military experts told BI that the damage seen in the images is common and would not affect the submarine’s operational capabilities.
Richard Kouyoumdjian Ingles, a Chilean Naval Reserve officer, told BI that the tiles are made of rubber and can come loose and fall.
Missing so many tiles would make finding the submarine easier, Inglis said. He added that the photos showed only a small number of missing people, which is not enough to make a difference.
He added: “Russian naval ships are not state-of-the-art, and sometimes they are not well maintained, but this does not mean that something catastrophic will happen.”
Falling off such tiles is a “very common” problem for all navies, including the United States, John Hardy, deputy director of the Russia program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told BI.
Meanwhile, Mark Seay, a former British Royal Navy diver who declined to provide his last name, citing work-related crossovers, said the ship appeared to be suffering from operational wear and tear but remained capable of fulfilling its role.
“So it is very likely that she will continue her training,” he told the BBC.
The Kazan ship, along with three Russian surface ships, left the port of Havana in Cuba on Monday after a five-day official visit that included scheduled military maneuvers in the Atlantic Ocean. According to the Associated Press.
Its next destination is unclear, although U.S. officials said a few days ago that it may stop in Venezuela, according to the Associated Press.
The United States and its Western allies have been concerned about the relatively new Kazan class of submarines for years.
They cite its ability to strike targets on land and sea without warning, as well as its ability to conceal itself.
An unnamed U.S. official said Russia sending warships to Cuba was an attempt to show its navy is still a world power despite its heavy losses at sea around Ukraine, the Associated Press reported earlier this month.
