The Rostov-on-Don submarine of Russia's Black Sea Fleet (Varshavyanka project) went off radar screens of NATO warships in the Mediterranean Sea. At the same time, the sub continues to stay in touch with the Russian command and transmits signals normally, RIA Novosti reports, citing a source familiar with the situation.
According to the agency, anti-submarine forces of the North Atlantic Alliance have been trying to detect the Russian submarine for a week already. However, as it became known, they still have not been able to succeed, despite "great opportunities" in the Mediterranean.
"They got large forces involved to search for the Russian submarine, but to no avail. This means that they are at gunpoint under conditions of combat actions, which annoys them very much," the source explained.
Admiral Viktor Kravchenko, who served as the Chief of the Main Staff of the Russian Navy in 1998-2005, said that Varshavyanka submarines were among the most noiseless submarines in the world.
"Well, let them look. She just proves her noiselessness ... Those things work covertly," he said.
Vice Admiral Igor Osipov, the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, told the agency that all six submarines in service with the Black Sea Fleet were currently performing missions outside the region.
On March 18, a number of media outlets reported that the Russian submarine disappeared from the screens of command and control systems of NATO ships a few days ago. The US Navy expressed concerns about the situation and deployed allied forces in the area to search for the missing sub.
The idea of creating a full virtual model of the submarine and the possibility of carrying out its remote repair with the help of a mobile data center belonged to engineer Valery Pshenichny, who is known as "the Russian Elon Musk".
In April 2018, he was found dead at a pre-trial detention center in St. Petersburg. Investigation concluded that he had committed suicide, although forensic experts found more than 40 abrasions and stab wounds on his body, marks from shocker batons, as well as signs of sexual violence with traces of semen of an unidentified man.