K-18 Karelia has a length of 167.4m (549.2feet) overall, a beam of 11.7m (38.4feet) and a draft of 8.8m (28.9feet). She displaces and has a test diving depth of 550m-650mm (1,800feet-2,130feetm). The complement is about 135-140.[1] [2] [3]
The boat is powered by two VM-4 180MW pressurized water reactors which drive two shafts with seven-bladed fixed-pitch propellers. She can achieve a maximum speed of when surfaced and when submerged.[2] [3]
The boat is equipped with 16 R-29RM Shtil (range of 8300km (5,200miles) or R-29RMU Sineva (range of 11547km (7,175miles) submarine-launched ballistic missiles, RPK-7 Veter anti-ship missiles and 4 533-mm bow tubes to launch up to 12 torpedoes or 24 mines.[1] [2] [4]
Karelia was laid down in the Sevmash shipbuilding yard in February 1987 and was launched in 1988. It bears the name of a region of northwestern Russia (and eastern Finland). It was commissioned into the Soviet Navy in 1989,[1] and after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, it was transferred to the Russian Navy.
Karelia underwent modernisation at Zvezdochka shipyard in northern Russia between 2004 and 2009. The submarine had 100 new components added which included the TVR-671RM rocket torpedo system and the RSM-54 Sineva SLBMs. Other upgrades included noise reduction, better vessel-tracking capabilities and improved survivability. The submarine has fired over 14 missiles and has traveled more than .[1]
In April 2000, Vladimir Putin, then the Acting President of Russia, spent the night in the submarine at a depth of over 50 metres, and oversaw the Northern Fleet exercises. Officers demonstrated to Putin how ballistic missiles were launched, and Putin was made an honorary submariner after he followed the traditional submariner's ritual of drinking seawater.[5] In February 2022, the submarine participated in the Grom-2022 strategic nuclear exercises, which were held in the context of the Ukraine crisis. The submarine successfully launched a Sineva ballistic missile from a position in the Barents Sea.[6]