Russia is building two new icebreakers designed patrol the Arctic Ocean, capable of smashing through five feet of sea ice. These vessels may also carry high-powered lasers designed to cut ice, though there are obvious military applications.

Last April the Russian Navy ordered for two ships for Project 23550, the Ivan Papanin-class icebreakers. Construction of the first began last September at JSC Admiralty Shipyards in St. Petersburg. The two ships are designed to function as icebreakers, tugboats, and patrol vessels.

The ships will play these multiple roles partially for the sake of practicality, and partly beause of necessity. Many Russian Navy ports are ice-bound in the winter, and the Papanin class will be able to tow larger ships such as the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov while simultaneously forging a path through the ice. Plus, icebreakers are expensive and only useful for half of the year, so adding a patrol capability to them to make them useful for the rest of the year helps to justify the cost.

According to Janes, the two ships will displace about 8,500 tons, about the size of modern destroyers, but much of that weight is due to the reinforced hull needed by icebreakers to plow through thick sea ice. Dimensionally, the Papanin class will be only about the size of a frigate. The ships will carry one AK-176MA 3-inch multipurpose deck gun (76.2-millimeter), a Kamov Ka-27 search and rescue helicopter, and eight Kalibr anti-ship missiles or longer-range cruise missile variants. The ships will be powered by diesel electric engines mounted in azipods generating a combined horsepower of 9,160 horsepower, and will carry bow thrusters for precise maneuvering.

According to Russian state media Sputnik News, the Ivan Papanin ships could be outfitted with lasers in the near future. Later this year Russian engineers will test a 30-kilowatt laser on the icebreaker Dikson, with an eye toward eventually fielding a 200-kilowatt seagoing laser. The article claims the icebreaker will only use lasers for ice cutting, allowing the ships to get around the arctic faster.

While that sounds innocent enough, lasers are emerging as the future of warfare, and it's difficult to imagine that the Russian Navy is investing in laser technology only to cut ice. The U.S. Navy considers 30 kilowatts enough power for a weapon capable of engaging drones and small boats, as the LAAWS laser deployed on the USS Ponce demonstrates.

Via The National Interest

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