In terms of the depth of impact on the enemy, an aircraft carrier with long-range radar detection and control aircraft and carrier-based fighters will lose to surface ships equipped with Kalibr-NK missiles, Konstantin Sivkov, Deputy President of the Russian Academy of Missile and Artillery Sciences (RARAN) for information policy, Doctor of Military Sciences, predicts in the Military-Industrial Courier.
"The latter have a firing range, according to official data, of more than 2500 kilometers, while the ship's version of the Su-57 in the shock version when taking off from the ramp is unlikely to have a range of more than 800 kilometers with a small group and 600-650 kilometers with a large one. However, if these machines are equipped with KR (cruise missiles-approx. "Tapes.ru") of a long range (DB), similar to those that have Tu-95M aircraft, then the aircraft carrier will surpass surface ships of all other classes in terms of impact range," the author claims.
Nevertheless, according to the deputy president of the Russian Academy of Sciences for information policy, " even a radius of 600-650 kilometers is quite enough to solve the tasks of striking ground objects to the entire depth of the theater of military operations in the absolute majority of possible local wars and armed conflicts of the future." "So it is impossible to recognize this superiority of surface ships with CD DB as significantly significant," the specialist added.
According to Sivkov, the cost of departure of a deck aircraft for solving problems of hitting ground objects is an order of magnitude cheaper than a single "Caliber" strike.
The expert recognizes that the use of manned aircraft in the area of the enemy's missile defense (ABM) is undesirable, but the same can be said about the "Calibers", which in this case will need cover from electronic warfare (EW) aircraft.
"It is currently impossible to fire the CD DB at any mobile objects. The system for controlling the movement of the missile along the route and pointing directly at the target does not provide this, " the Doctor of military Sciences recalled.
The author believes that "a large arsenal of Kalibr missile defense systems that can be placed on ships built instead of an aircraft carrier in local wars and armed conflicts is likely to be very limited in use."
According to Sivkov, the restoration of the aircraft carrier fleet in Russia is a vital necessity.
In January, the American magazine Forbes wrote that Russian shipyards have not yet recovered from the post-Soviet collapse, as a result of which modern Russia is building not large ships, but much smaller frigates and corvettes, as well as submarines.
Ivan Potapov
