MOSCOW, 30 Mar-RIA Novosti, Andrey Kots. The Pentagon has finally decided on the strike armament of the newest Zamvolt-type destroyers. The US Navy requested a version of the upgraded ships with launchers for hypersonic missiles — the current mines did not fit in size. With the help of three improved "Zamvolts" (two are already in service, one is being tested), Washington expects to put pressure on possible opponents in the world's oceans.
Long search
The epic with the choice of weapons for the "Zamvolts" has been going on for more than a decade. Initially, the designers relied on artillery. It was supposed to install two electromagnetic railcars on each ship. However, the project was doomed to failure, as this weapon would have used all the power of the onboard generators. A destroyer with railcars, in fact, turned into a floating carriage for the gun and "disconnected from the network" after each shot.
US Navy destroyer Zumwalt
Image source: © AFP 2021 / US NAVY/PO2 Timothy Schumaker
Later, they decided to stop at two 155-mm AGS artillery guns of an unconventional active-reactive scheme with a firing range of up to 148 kilometers. The LRLAP projectiles used in them, according to the developers from the Lockheed Martin concern, are so accurate that they are able to " hit targets in the canyons of coastal cities with minimal collateral damage." Everything would be fine, but the cost of one munition exceeded 800 thousand dollars.
The project was becoming more expensive, the number of planned "Zamvolts" was decreasing, and the American naval leadership was very concerned about this. In fact, the super-destroyers had no weapons to justify their existence. Eighty Tomahawks in vertical launch systems is clearly not enough for ships worth more than four billion dollars each. For comparison, the Ticonderoga-class cruiser, capable of carrying up to 122 cruise missiles, costs about a billion.
The solution was suggested by Russia and China, which are actively developing hypersonic technologies. The Americans are going to conduct a test launch of the IRCPS (Intermediate Range Conventional Prompt Srikke) sea — based ultra-high-speed missile by the end of the year. The carriers of these missiles were supposed to be multi-purpose submarines of the type "Virginia" of the fifth series with an additional missile compartment Virginia Payload Module, but now they are adapting and"Zamvolty". The IRCPS will be the marine version of the LHRW land complex. Speed — more than five Mach numbers. The range, according to experts, is three to four thousand kilometers.
The designers were faced with the question of how to place promising missiles in the "Zamvolts". It was reported that their vertical launch systems, although larger than the standard Mk 41 UVP for the US Navy, accept ammunition with a diameter of up to 28 inches (71.12 centimeters). And IRCPS have a minimum of 30 inches. Consider several design options. In particular, the enlarged launchers can be mounted on the site of 155-millimeter AGS guns, shells for which the Pentagon could not afford.
Contain China
According to the American military leadership, "Zamvolts" with hypersonic missiles will turn from ships without a goal and task into an effective deterrent. Unobtrusive, with ultra-fast long-range weapons, stuffed with the most modern electronics, they really pose a serious threat to any possible enemy. According to many experts, Washington started the modernization of "Zamvolts" primarily because of China.
U.S. Navy destroyer USS Zumwalt
Image source: © AFP 2021 / US Navy
"The ships are most appropriate to use in the western Pacific," says Brian Clark, a senior researcher at the Hudson Institute, a Pentagon-affiliated think tank. — In this case, they will be able to hit targets on Chinese territory, while remaining vulnerable to enemy missiles. However, something else is more important. A submarine with hypersonic missiles is difficult to see, a destroyer can be tracked. This makes it a powerful deterrent and deterrent to the enemy. The Chinese authorities will think a hundred times before doing anything when they see these ships near their shores."
According to Clark, three destroyers are quite enough for permanent duty near the territorial waters of the People's Republic of China. One is at sea, the second is preparing for a trip, the third is in repair or maintenance. If necessary, the duty ship will enter the South China Sea and shoot at targets in the PRC. Or by just being there, it will make Beijing more accommodating.
Lasers and drones
Other options for the combat use of "Zamvolts"are also being considered. Experts note that the United States already has enough ships with cruise missiles, and it is better to equip new submarines and the promising "destroyer of the future" DDG(X) with hypersound. At the same time, thanks to the powerful power plant, the Zamvolts are able to carry weapons that are not available to other pennants. So, US Navy Admiral Mike Gildy told reporters that the destroyers can install laser weapons. Then the "Zamvolts" will turn into air defense ships and will cover the fleet from the threat from the air.
Another concept is the use of these pennants as "destroyers of superiority at sea" (Maritime Dominance Destroyer). In this case, the "Zamvolts" will almost completely disarm and install on them the standard for American surface ships combat information and control system "Aegis". According to the head of the defense consulting agency The FerryBridge Group, Brian McGrath, such destroyers will become command posts for air and sea unmanned platforms.
As early as next month, this concept will be tested in practice. The US Pacific Fleet will conduct large-scale exercises with the use of drones. The overall management of the allocated forces and resources is assigned to the second Zamvolt - the destroyer Michael Mansur. If the concept is approved, the US Navy will receive a universal unobtrusive ship, ready to perform a wide range of tasks thanks to a whole flotilla of drones for various purposes.
The American destroyer USS Michael Monsoor of the Zumwalt type, heading out to sea for testing. December 4, 2017
Image source: © AP Photo / Robert F. Bukaty
Recall that the program for the construction of advanced destroyers started in 2007, when Congress allocated $ 2.6 billion for the creation of the first two "Zamvolts". In total, the US Navy expected to receive 32 ships of this type and meet at the same time 40 billion. However, the cost of the pennants of this project, which American engineers tried to pull up to the high demands of the military, began to grow at an astronomical pace. First, the order was reduced to 24 destroyers, then to seven. As a result, in 2008, the fleet decided to limit itself to just three ships. Each of them, according to the latest data, cost the treasury $ 4.4 billion.
