Russian submarine tests missile ‘almost impossible to shoot down’

“Within the framework of planned combat training activities, the Arkhangelsk nuclear submarine launched an Oniks cruise missile while diving in the Barents Sea, aiming at a target simulating an enemy surface ship at a distance of more than 200 km. Surveillance data shows that the Oniks missile hit the target,” the Russian Navy’s Northern Fleet said on June 3.

The published video shows the Arkhangelsk submarine moving in a floating state, before diving and firing Oniks missiles from the seabed.

The Arkhangelsk submarine was started construction in March 2015, launched in November 2023 and commissioned into the Russian navy more than a year later. This is the fourth vessel of Project 885M “Yasen-M”, Russia’s most modern multi-mission nuclear submarine model.

The Yasen-M class submarine has a length of 130 meters, a width of 13 meters, and a displacement of about 13,800 tons when submerged. They can operate at a depth of 520 m, travel at an underwater speed of about 60 km/h, and operate in the sea for 100 consecutive days with a crew of 64 people.

Each ship is equipped with 8 vertical launch tube clusters with 32 P-800 Oniks missiles or 40 Kalibr cruise missiles, and a cluster of 10 533 mm launch tubes capable of carrying up to 30 torpedoes or mines. Each ship is also equipped with Igla-S or Verba shoulder-mounted anti-aircraft missiles to deal with aerial threats.

During an inspection tour of the Arkhangelsk last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that this was the “most modern, best equipped and capable of performing many different missions” submarine. He emphasized that Arkhangelsk and Yasen-M class submarines “can do everything”, mentioning the ability to attack targets in the sea, on water and on land.

The Oniks hypersonic missile has a speed of 3,200 km/h, range of 600-800 km, and uses a high-explosive warhead weighing 250 kg. The original P-800 model was designed to destroy aircraft carriers and large warships, but the Russian military began using this weapon to attack ground targets when attacking Syrian rebels in late 2016.

The P-800 is equipped with an inertial navigation system and activates an active radar probe at the final stage to rush to the target. During the mission of attacking ground targets, Oniks can use the GLONASS satellite navigation system to dive to the set coordinates, or use radar to capture targets with high contrast compared to the surrounding environment.

Colonel Yuri Ignat, press secretary of the Ukrainian Air Force Command, said in April 2025 that the Oniks missile usually flies at an altitude of 10 km during its journey, but will descend 10-15 m when approaching the target. “This, combined with its very high flight speed, makes it almost impossible to shoot it down in time,” he said.