The Belgorod submarine is one of the most ambitious shipbuilding projects in the country
The special-purpose submarine "Belgorod" is preparing to go to sea for the first time. As sources in the military department told Izvestia, the world's longest submarine has a high degree of factory readiness. Preliminary tests of the components and mechanisms showed their serviceability and technical reliability. The length of the nuclear-powered vessel is more than 180 m. This is 11 m more than the largest submarine "Typhoon", and 12 m more than the American submarine type Ohio. The Russian submarine is one of the most ambitious projects of the Russian shipbuilding industry. But how much does the navy need it today? After all, the Navy, although belatedly, began to receive multi-purpose submarines "Ash" and strategic missile carriers "Borey". The military historian Dmitry Boltenkov dealt with the issue specifically for Izvestia.
The story of a giant
The Belgorod nuclear-powered ship was created to fight the enemy's surface groups. It was supposed to carry 20 Granit cruise missiles on board. It was planned that the submarine will be the 14th in the family of boats of the project 949 and 949A.
Although the submarine was officially laid down after the collapse of the Soviet Union, on July 24, 1992, in fact, its construction began earlier. That is why the "Belgorod" can be considered the last submarine of the departed superpower. In 1997, the construction of the submarine and two more of its "sister ships" was stopped due to the difficult economic situation. In the future, the metal structures of the two ships laid down after the "Belgorod", went to the creation of submarine missile cruisers of the"Borey" type.
After the tragedy with the Kursk submarine in August 2000, the question of completing the Belgorod to replace the lost submarine was considered for some time. However, in the end, they decided to build a nuclear-powered ship for other purposes. The process of developing new types of weapons is not fast. The systems that Vladimir Putin described in his address to the Federal Assembly in 2018 were created for quite a long time. And we can understand why in the early 2000s it was decided to use the Belgorod as a carrier for a variety of promising underwater systems, including combat ones.
The nuclear submarine "Kursk»
Image source: Photo: TASS/Semen Of Masterman
On December 20, 2012, the construction of the submarine resumed, but according to the new project 09852. On April 23, 2019, the boat was taken out of the boathouse for completion afloat and various tests. The transfer of the submarine to the Russian Navy is scheduled for 2021.
During the work, the boat underwent major changes. In particular, its hull was increased by 30 m due to the insertion of new compartments. Thus, the Belgorod became the longest submarine in the world. New compartments were needed to accommodate a variety of underwater vehicles, as well as to release them into the marine environment and receive them back.
Tsunami under water
The Belgorod submarine will be the first full-time carrier of a new strategic deterrent weapon — the Poseidon supertorpedo. In fact, it is a Doomsday weapon. With its help, a retaliatory nuclear strike can be carried out on the territory of a potential enemy if he attacks first.
The highest population density and the largest cities and industrial centers are located near the coastline. A nuclear explosion of enormous power near the enemy's territory, in addition to the striking factors themselves, will also cause the appearance of a tsunami.
Ocean multi-purpose system " Poseidon»
Image source: Photo: TASS/Press service of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
It is worth noting that the Poseidon system is already being tested on the Sarov boat, but it can also be used independently. The construction of the Belgorod submarine is progressing at a faster pace, especially against the background of delays in the schedules of other submarines, in particular, the Kazan attack submarine.
And other robots
In addition to Poseidon, many more underwater robotic systems have been created or are being created in Russia, in particular, the autonomous uninhabited vehicle "Clavesin-2R-PM". It is capable of conducting research and search operations at a depth of up to 6 thousand meters. For example, it can search for sensors of underwater surveillance systems located at the bottom of the sea. Curiously, the public images of "Belgorod" necessarily present a hangar for this product.
Autonomous uninhabited vehicle " Klavesin-2R-PM»
Image source: Photo: New Defense Order/dfnc. ru
For the development of anti-submarine operations and, most importantly, for the camouflage and protection of submarines in Russia, the device "Surrogate"was created. This is a submarine simulator with the reproduction of its acoustic and magnetic fields. This technique will distract the enemy's attention to false targets during the course of combat operations. It can be assumed that the Belgorod will also carry it on board.
"Harmony" and " Losharik»
In Russia, the development of the underwater surveillance system "Harmony"is underway. This is a complex of fast-moving target detection sensors on the seabed. In peacetime, the system will be able to monitor areas of mining, primarily oil and gas. In particular, "Harmony" will be able to find foreign objects that can damage the mining facilities in time.
At the same time, during the war, Harmony will be deployed to create so-called defensive bastions. These are completely isolated sea areas for the enemy, where strategic submarine cruisers will be on duty, as well as boats with Poseidon drones on board.
In addition, the "Belgorod" is the carrier of the so-called nuclear deep-water stations, such as the AS-31 "Losharik". These miniature boats are designed to carry out a wide range of underwater technical work at great depths (according to some sources, up to 6 thousand meters). In particular, to search for lost military equipment, detect or install a variety of underwater sensors, connect or destroy communication cables.
Photo: TASS/Sergey Bobylev
Image source: iz.ru
The above systems are not the only ones that are created in the interests of the Russian Navy. They are simply the most well-known. No information has yet appeared on the development and adoption of underwater attack vehicles equipped with missiles and torpedoes. However, this does not mean that they are not being developed.
The cruiser "Belgorod" has a wide range of underwater vehicles and robots as a carrier. The use of a variety of systems in the course of combat operations will ensure control over vast maritime areas and will minimize the loss of warships and submarines. It will also give the possibility of guaranteed defeat of both the enemy's combat assets and its territory. Therefore, we can safely say that the commissioning of the "Belgorod" as a whole brings the concept of" sea war " to a new level.
Dmitry Boltenkov