Russia's Gepard Nuclear Submarine To Undergo Combat Training

Russia's Gepard Nuclear Submarine that returned to Northern Fleet after servicing will undergo a naval combat training course soon.

The submarine has returned after the restoration of technical readiness, Sputnik News reported last Saturday.

"The nuclear submarine has received a series of services, extending the vessel’s operating life and continuing its future use in the Arctic conditions," Сapt. 1st Rank Vadim Serga the fleet’s spokesman said Saturday. The vessel is set for a naval combat training course shortly.

The Gepard vessel, built in 2001, is a third-generation Project 971 (Akula class) nuclear-powered attack submarine.

The Akula-class submarine features very low acoustic signatures and is capable of carrying up to 12 submarine-launched cruise missiles with nuclear warheads with a range of 3,000 kilometers (1,860 miles) in addition to anti-ship missiles and torpedoes.The submarine was first deployed by the Soviet Navy in 1986. There are four sub-classes, consisting of the original seven "Akula I" submarines which were commissioned between 1984 and 1990, six "Improved Akula" submarines commissioned between 1991 and 2009, one "Akula II" submarine commissioned in 1995 and one "Akula III" commissioned in 2001.