The fifth submarine of the Yasen-M project will be the first to receive the latest missile system»
The newest hypersonic cruise missile "Zircon" was identified as a carrier submarine. The first production submarine with these munitions in the arsenal will be the Perm. All subsequent cruisers of the Yasen-M project will also be equipped with these complexes. The new weapon will allow submarines to deliver high-precision strikes both on enemy ships and on ground targets, experts say.
Number five
The submarines of the Yasen-M project will be equipped with the Zircon hypersonic missile system, starting with the Perm nuclear submarine. This is the fifth in a series of submarines of the project "Ash-M". The decision was made by the Ministry of Defense, it follows from the documents on the terms of construction available to Izvestia. "Perm", which received the factory number 165 when it was laid, began to be built in 2016. But it hasn't been launched yet. The four Ash Trees that have already been built will receive these weapons later.
Currently, the first submarine of the project 885 "Severodvinsk"has been accepted into the Navy. But the lead nuclear cruiser of the updated project 885M — "Kazan" - is only undergoing state tests. At the end of last year, the submarine fired several times at sea and land targets with Onyx and Kalibr cruise missiles. According to the press service of Sevmash, where the submarine was built, it will be accepted into the fleet in 2021.
In January, Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Krivoruchko said that successful tests of the "Zircons" allow us to move on to the next stage of their development — launches from an underwater carrier. The state tests of the complex are expected to be completed in 2021. And from 2022, serial deliveries of hypersonic missiles to surface ships will begin.
The solemn ceremony of launching the nuclear submarine of the modernized project " Yasen-M»
Image source: Photo: RIA Novosti/Press service of JSC "PO "Sevmash»
— When installing new weapons systems, the ship passes the same tests that are provided for the lead submarines,-the former commander of the submarine, Captain 1st rank Igor Kurdin, told Izvestia. — They are much wider than the serial ones, and include more stages. At one time, our submarines even passed such tests, which today may seem unusual. For example, multi-purpose submarines went on long ocean voyages. They tested how the rocket would "feel" during storms, in hot climates, with sharp temperature changes, and in other extreme conditions. In addition, during the tests, the ships previously conducted combat launches of ballistic missiles, sometimes with the actual detonation of a nuclear munition.
When ships are not built very quickly, then in the process of their creation, significant developments in weapons systems may appear, in fact, a new generation of them will appear — " Hero of Russia Rear Admiral Vsevolod Khmyrov told Izvestia.
- Today, the "Zircons" allow you to strike at various objects: at the enemy's surface formations, and at coastal objects — both moving and stationary. The missiles themselves are already multifunctional. And the submarine with them gets new qualities, - the expert noted. — The most important part of the test program of any ship that is undergoing rearmament is the systems and mechanisms. The second is the weapon, the basis of everything. New missiles require changes to the launchers and control system. And the third component is the modernization and improvement of systems for saving personnel or fighting for survivability. They need to be adapted to new weapons systems.
Irresistible hypersound
The Zircon under development will be the world's first ship-based hypersonic missile. Its intensive state tests since October last year are conducted on the new frigate of the project 22350 "Admiral Gorshkov". He has already completed several target practice exercises in the Barents Sea and onshore target practice at the Chizha range in the Arkhangelsk Region. This year, multiple rounds of ammunition will be fired simultaneously, which will allow the tests to be completed from a surface carrier.
The peculiarity of hypersonic ammunition is very high speed. At high altitude, the "Zircon" flies eight times faster than sound. The rocket covers a distance of 450 km in just four and a half minutes.
Test firing of the hypersonic cruise missile "Zircon" from the frigate " Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov»
Image source: Photo: Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation/mil. ru
- The "Zircons" have significantly increased the range of use, and most importantly-they have increased capabilities to overcome the missile defense system, - said Igor Kurdin. - Thanks to this, multi-purpose submarines will be able to hit both ship formations and coastal objects with high accuracy.
"Zircon" is placed in the vertical cells of the universal shooting complex UKSK 3S14. They are installed on ships of a wide variety of displacement, from small missile " Buyans "and" Karakurts "to heavy nuclear cruisers of the project 1144" Orlan " during their modernization. In the future, this will make it possible to introduce hypersonic missiles into their ammunition.
These missiles have not yet been tested from submarines. It was reported that such tests are scheduled for 2021. In the meantime, they were checked only by launches from special submersible stands. It was reported that the only boat of the project 885 "Severodvinsk"was retrofitted for the tests.
Fourth underwater generation
The first submarine of the fourth generation of the project 885 "Ash" began to build in 1993. But it was handed over to the fleet under the name "Severodvinsk" for trial operation only in 2014. The remaining members of the family are already built according to a significantly modified version of the 885M "Ash-M". They have a different composition of weapons, equipment, and even size.
According to the classification, all " Ash " are multi-purpose submarines. They are equipped not only with torpedoes, but also with modern cruise missiles. This made it possible for the first time for domestic submarines to accurately attack not only sea, but also land targets. Supersonic "Onyxes"are used to attack ships. In the upgraded version, the range of their flight reaches 800 km. "Calibers" with a range of more than 1.5 thousand km are intended for strikes on land objects.
Onyx cruise missile»
Image source: Photo: Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation/mil. ru
As of today, contracts have been signed for eight Project 885M submarines. The main " Kazan "is already undergoing state tests at sea. Another one, the Novosibirsk ,was launched in 2019 and is being prepared for tests. Mikhail Budnichenko, General Director of the Sevmash plant, said that the construction of four more submarines is on schedule, although it is at an early stage. These include the Perm submarine.
In July last year, Sevmash laid down two more submarines of the 885M project — Voronezh and Vladivostok. They will be equipped with standard "Zircons"from the very beginning. But the construction of these ships has only just begun and according to the plan, their delivery to the fleet is scheduled for 2027-2028.
Anton Lavrov
