Secret Soviet ‘Stealth’ Sub Photographed

Jane’s Defense Weekly says it has the first photographs seen in the West of a sonar-evading “stealth” submarine that defense experts regard as the Soviet navy’s most modern secret weapon.

The British military affairs magazine said Friday that the submarine, the Beluga, was photographed in the Black Sea port of Sevastopol on Nov. 3. It is believed to be the only one of its kind in service with the Soviet navy.

The vessel is thought to be the prototype for a diesel-electric propulsion system that does not rely on air for combustion, the magazine’s statement said.

The sub’s propulsion system reduces its sonar signature, the sounds emitted by the craft underwater that can be picked up by detection sonars of enemy vessels, thereby making it hard to detect.

The statement did not disclose how the photograph was obtained.

The Daily Telegraph, a London newspaper, reported that the submarine “is believed to be able to stay deep underwater for up to 30 days without needing to surface for air.”