Icebreaker Simulator: Rossiya to Prepare Crews for Arctic Conditions
Engineers at OKBM Afrikantov have developed an onboard simulator for the nuclear icebreaker Rossiya (Project 10510), allowing crews to train before the vessel enters service.
At OKBM Afrikantov, the Experimental Design Bureau of Mechanical Engineering named after I.I. Afrikantov, engineers have finished building an onboard simulator for the lead nuclear icebreaker Rossiya. The system is an integrated hardware-software system used to train operating staff to work with the vessel’s nuclear power plant and onboard systems.
The simulator has already been installed at the OKBM Afrikantov site and tested, and it can handle training for at least 200 people at once.
The icebreaker Rossiya is being built as part of Project 10510 Lider (Leader project). It is the first vessel of a new generation and is expected to become the most powerful nuclear icebreaker in the world. OKBM Afrikantov is delivering the reactor plant, while the hull is being constructed in Russia’s Far East.
How the Simulator Works
The simulator displays system schematics of the vessel’s primary and auxiliary systems, as well as the control interfaces of the central control room. Its software runs process models that model reactor operation, steam turbine systems, and control systems. The simulator can reproduce both standard operating conditions and abnormal scenarios involving equipment failures.
In effect, the system is a virtual replica of the vessel’s most complex components. It allows crews to practise procedures repeatedly without risk to equipment and without waiting for the vessel to go into operation. This approach is critical for the nuclear fleet, where errors have high consequences and personnel must be trained before operations begin using validated scenarios.
Crew Training as a Core Task
The Rossiya icebreaker is being developed to support year-round navigation along the Northern Sea Route. Project 10510 has no direct analogues, and its RITM-400 reactor plant has a thermal capacity of 315 megawatts. Two such reactors, named Ilya Muromets and Dobrynya Nikitich, are intended to provide the vessel with the capability to operate in extremely heavy ice conditions.
For that reason, crew training has been treated as a separate task well before completion of the vessel. For Rosatom, this is part of the broader Arctic programme, where reactor technology, trained personnel, and digital tools are developed in parallel to operate as a single integrated system.
Integration with Northern Sea Route Strategy
Implementation of the Rossiya project is part of the Northern Sea Route development strategy. Atomflot considers this route key to enabling year-round Arctic navigation, and the icebreaker is intended to strengthen capacity in the eastern sector. Project 10510 will help shape logistics infrastructure in the Russian North, strengthening transport reliability and the operation of Arctic ports.
Crew training is intended to ensure personnel are prepared to operate in complex ice conditions. Similar approaches have been applied in other nuclear fleet projects, including training programmes for the universal icebreaker Project 22220.
Next Steps
The Rossiya project remains on schedule: in 2025, manufacturing of the RITM-400 reactors was completed, and in 2026 the onboard simulator for crew training was developed. Launch of the icebreaker, according to the revised schedule, is planned for February 2028. Personnel training is proceeding in parallel with industrial assembly of the vessel.
OKBM Afrikantov is both reactor manufacturer and developer of digital training tools. In the case of Rossiya, this approach will enable deployment of the world’s most powerful nuclear icebreaker with a fully trained crew from the outset.
