Russian submarine, which was supposed to scare the US during joint exercises with Cuba, is "falling apart"

One of Russia's newest and most advanced submarines, the Kazan, which recently left Cuba, is "falling apart" and has hull damage, an open-source intelligence analyst said.

Here's What We Know

Marijn Marcus, a Capgemini consultant, shared four photos of the Kazan nuclear submarine. Marcus said that the submarine's soundproofing panels appear to be "falling off" the front of the submarine's hull. He said this would make the vessel "very" loud underwater and compromise its stealth capabilities.

"During the docking, Russian divers were seen around the submarine, presumably trying to repair the submarine," he said.

However, military experts told Business Insider that the damage seen in the photos is common and is not likely to affect the submarine's operational capabilities.

Richard Cuyumdjian Inglis, an officer in the Chilean Naval Reserve, explained that the tiles are made of rubber, so they can break and fall off. The loss of a large number of tiles would make it easier to detect the submarine, but the photos showed that only a few were missing, which would not be enough to make a difference.

"Russian naval vessels are not the most modern and sometimes poorly maintained, but that doesn't mean something catastrophic will happen," he said.

Source: Business Insider