French FREMM frigate Normandie tracks Russian submarine Novorossiysk.

According to a tweet published by the Premar Atlantique on October 1, 2022, the French FREMM frigate Normandie and a Caiman helicopter tracked the Russian Improved Kilo-class submarine Novorossiysk and the Seagoing Tug Sergey Balk in the Bay of Biscay.
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Russian Improved Kilo class submarine Novorossiysk and French Navy's FREMM frigate Normandie. (Picture source: PREMAR)

B-261 "Novorossiysk" - a Russian Project 636.3 Varshavyanka diesel-electric submarine, part of the Russian Navy's 4th Independent Submarine Brigade of the Black Sea Fleet, the lead ship of Project 636.3, named after the Russian city of Novorossiysk.

She was laid down on August 20, 2010, at the Admiralty Shipyards plant in St. Petersburg under construction number 01670. On November 28, 2013, the submarine was launched.

In December 2019, she was put in for scheduled routine maintenance at a ship repair facility in Russia's Northwest. The repairs were completed in the fall of 2020.

The submarines of Project 636.3 have higher combat effectiveness as compared to the previous projects. The two-hulled submarine has a high reserve of buoyancy and unsinkability. It is equipped with a modern navigation system and automated information and control system, and high-speed torpedo-missile armament.

Navigational autonomy is 45 days and the maximum diving depth is 300 meters. Underwater, the submarine is capable of speeds up to 18 knots, which is 33.3 kilometers per hour. The submarine crew consists of 52 persons.

About the Seagoing Tug Sergey Balk

Since 2014 CDB Baltsudoproekt (design affiliate of the Krylov State Research Centre) has been engaged in the design of seagoing tugs of Project 23470 for the Russian Navy. The notable design features of these vessels include fully electric propulsion system, crane with roll damping, and helideck.

The tug is intended for towing of vessels, floating facilities and structures in ice-covered and ice-free water; assistance to vessels within port water area and mooring operations; escort operations in sea; extinguishing of fires on floating and shore-based facilities, extinguishing of fuel burning on water surface; refloating of ships and vessels.

Seagoing Tug Sergey Balk laid down 30 October 2014 at the Yaroslavsky Shipbuilding Plant (yard No.410), launched 27 December 2016, commissioned 21 February 2020 and was assigned to the Black Sea Fleet.