Yasen is classified here as an SSN with substantial cruise-missile capability, although it is sometimes marketed as an SSGN. Later-block Virginia submarines provide the comparison for attack boats taking on more cruise-missile work. The assessment places the Russian boats below Western equivalents while still treating them as capable threats. That comparison also needs to account for Russia's post-Soviet economic disruption and broken engineering and training pipelines. A longbow and a modern rifle illustrate the warning: an advantage in equipment does not prevent the less well-equipped opponent from inflicting a fatal result. Comparative superiority therefore gives no grounds for complacency.
Notable Point · 11:33-13:35
Yasen cruise missiles and the limits of submarine comparisons
Yasen's growing cruise-missile capacity complicates its SSN/SSGN label. A lower comparative assessment still leaves it a capable threat.