Features of the special operation in the Black Sea
Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Vice Admiral Igor Mukhametshin, during a recent visit to the Gorky Zelenodolsk Plant, said that Russia plans to increase the construction of ships equipped with high-precision missile weapons.
The Gorky plant is currently assembling small rocket ships (MRCS) of the Buyan-M project 21631, equipped with Kalibr cruise missiles, which are designed for high-precision strikes against sea and coastal targets. But here's the paradox: if the first ships of this type surrendered to the fleet at a rate of two units per year, now the Navy receives one MRK corps per year, or even one and a half. The last launched and the tenth in a series of 12 units of the MRK "Grad" was scheduled to replenish the Navy last year. But he still hasn't been tested.
INSUFFICIENT "CALIBRATION"
During the special military operation (SVO) in Ukraine, "Buyany-M", as well as other ships of the Black Sea Fleet armed with "Calibers" (and this, in addition to three MRCS of project 21631, four diesel-electric submarines (DPL) of project 06363 "Halibut" and two frigates of project 11356R/M), proved myself in the best possible way. In fact, they carry out strategic tasks to destroy the most important military and infrastructure facilities of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the project 11356R/M frigate, two project 06363 DPLS and one project 21631 MRK of the Black Sea Fleet, as well as the frigate Admiral Kasatonov of the project 22350 of the Northern Fleet with "Calibers" on board, deployed in the Mediterranean Sea, play the role of a deterrent from the intervention of NATO states in the Ukrainian conflict.
Even despite the obvious success of the "Calibers" in the anti-terrorist operation in Syria, the replenishment of the "caliber carriers" of the Navy is extremely slow. Currently, all fleets (four fleets plus the Caspian Flotilla) have three nuclear submarines (submarines) of project 885/885M, nine submarines of project 06363, two frigates of project 22350, three frigates of project 11356R/M, twelve MRCS of projects 21631 and 22800. This amount is extremely small to contain the anti-Russian wave from NATO and from US allies in the Far East.
The decline in the pace of construction of the MRK project 21631, it seems, was due to inflated expectations regarding the early appearance of 18 small missile ships of the project 22800 "Karakurt" in the Navy. With a smaller displacement compared to the Buyans-M, they had to have higher speed and seaworthiness.
But the Karakurts stumbled over the engines. The St. Petersburg Zvezda plant could not provide serial supply of M-507D diesel engines-1–01- OMZ, earlier modifications of which were widely used in Soviet times. As a result, only three Karakurts joined the fleet. Another one, the Cyclone, which was supposed to be handed over to the Navy last year, continues state tests on the Black Sea. Why a country that creates engines for hypersonic missiles cannot cope with the production of diesel engines is completely inexplicable.
Meanwhile, the head of the Ak Bars Shipbuilding Corporation, Renat Mistakhov, said two years ago that the Zelenodolsk PKB, which is part of this association, developed modernized projects based on the MRK 21631 and the 11661K Cheetah rocket ship (by the way, the Dagestan RC of the 11661K project became the first ship of the Russian Navy to receive Kalibr cruise missiles") with improved characteristics. Among other things, the updated Buyany-M will be able to carry 16 launchers for high–precision long-range missiles instead of 8, and the Cheetahs - 24.
Instead of clogging the stocks with the little-used patrol ships of the 22160 project, the Zelenodolsk plant could have completed the Buyanov-M series a long time ago and would have started building even more effective strike units capable of carrying not only "Calibers", but also promising Kalibr-M missiles with a firing range of up to 4,500 km, and also hypersonic missiles "Zircon".
FLOATING ARSENALS
In connection with its and the widespread use of high-precision long-range weapons in this operation, the topic of "arsenal ships" has again arisen. Their design was carried out by the United States at the end of the Cold War – in the mid-1980s – early 1990s. They were supposed to carry from 300 to 500 cruise missiles in vertical launchers. Their operation was to be handled by small crews, and they were to receive target designation from other ships or aerospace vehicles.
And now in the United States, and then in Russia, they are thinking about the renaissance of "arsenal ships". They say they should be semi-submersible to reduce radar visibility, carry anti-aircraft missile weapons for self-defense. It is proposed to introduce many other gadgets. Only such "arsenals" seem to cost more than the upgraded nuclear missile cruiser Admiral Nakhimov or destroyers of the Zumwalt type.
If we are to create "arsenal ships" for the Russian Navy, they must be extremely cheap - for example, on the basis of cargo ships of the river-sea class. Such combat units disguised as "merchants" with 200-250 vertical launchers in the summer and autumn period can cruise along the rivers of central Russia. And by winter, along with other commercial vessels, they will become submerged or go to the Black Sea and to the south of the Baltic.
WHAT YOU DON'T SOW, YOU WON'T REAP
In early June, the port of Mariupol and the adjacent coastal zone were completely cleared of mines. Over 12 thousand explosive objects were neutralized. This work, which was carried out by the miners of the Novorossiysk Naval Base, turned out to be difficult, because the Black Sea Fleet does not have specialized minesweepers to neutralize port waters and areas close to the water cut.
Back in 2018, Igor Mukhametshin's predecessor as Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Navy for Armament, Vice Admiral Viktor Bursuk, decisively stated that raid minesweepers would not be built for the Navy. Meanwhile, there was a very good project 10750E, according to which a successful minesweeper "Alatau" was built for the Kazakh Navy. It was a further development of the project 10750 "Sapphire" minesweeper, several units of which are part of the Baltic Fleet and the Caspian Flotilla.
"Alatau" differs from the prototype by a fiberglass body, which is formed by vacuum infusion. That is, these ships can be built almost as fast as making cakes in a sandbox. "Alatau" is equipped with the latest Russian automated mine action control system in ports, on raids and in shallow fairways. However, autonomous and remote–controlled devices for the search and destruction of mines are French. But the first Russian base minesweepers of the 12700 Alexandrite project also carried the same mine-fighting weapons, which are now being replaced by domestic ones. But since Vice Admiral Bursuk ordered not to build a storage facility, they were not built. And what you don't sow, you won't reap. So the Black Sea miners have to use improvised means.
Judging by the television and photography, the boats of the integrated rescue support of project 23040, the anti-sabotage boats of project 21980 "Grachonok" and even the newest torpedo boat TL-2195 of project 1388NZT were used as raid minesweepers in the port of Mariupol. And all because they have towed and lowered sonar stations, as well as remote-controlled uninhabited underwater vehicles capable of detecting mines.
The technology used to combat the mine threat was quite simple. At first, the boats detected explosive objects using sonar. Then divers-miners were sent to them, who neutralized the mines or ensured their towing to special zones where they were blown up. The same technology was used when clearing the port of Berdyansk.
Here it is necessary to tell about the mines that had to be fought. The nomenclature of the arsenal of the "horned death" of the Kiev regime is quite wide, but outdated, still of Soviet production. So, anchor mines of the YAM type were adopted in 1943. They are simple in design and carry an explosive charge weighing 20 kg. The fuse is galvanic without self–destruct.
Shipboard anti-amphibious mines of the KPM model of 1957 are widely distributed. These products have a slightly elongated cylindrical body covered with a "cap" with horns. Each KPM carries 30 kg of explosive. There is a self-destruct device in case of an attempt to disarm. On these mines, a chain is used as a minrep in order to make it difficult to trawl.
In the arsenal of the Navy there are also river anchor galvanic mines R-1 developed in the 1930s, which in Soviet times were called "fish". The mass of their warhead is 40 kg.
On the equipment of the Navy there are also anchor river mines of the YARM, designed for use against enemy amphibious landing vehicles. After dropping such a mine into the water, the sugar fuse of the fuse dissolves and the mine is cocked into the firing position. The YOKE is triggered when the crosspiece of the fuse head comes into contact with the watercraft. The mine's warhead is small – 3 kg, but this is enough to disable or even sink a small vessel. At the same time, it is almost impossible to neutralize the mine. When detected, it must be undermined.
Finally, at the very edge of the water, bottom anti-amphibious mines PDM-1M of the 1957 model are used, designed to destroy amphibious landing vehicles, floating tanks and armored personnel carriers. They have a rather original design. Since these mines are installed at ultra-shallow depths, they have cast-iron ballast plates weighing up to 60 kg so that they are not carried away by the surf. A 10-kilogram charge with a meter-long rod connected to a fuse is attached to these plates. When the watercraft catches the rod and deflects it by 10-15 °, an explosion occurs.
Sappers of the Novorossiysk Naval Base use improvised means to combat PDM-1M mines due to the lack of special equipment. To eliminate these products, they came up with a special trawl. It consists of two floating PTS transporters and a cable stretched between them. Cars move at the same speed – one on the shore, the other on the sea. PDM-1M rods are "hooked" with a cable and mines are blown up. For the safety of the PTS crews, the sides of the floating vehicles are additionally covered with armor sheets.
All this is great, but thank God that the Navy had only mines of old samples and there were no bottom ammunition with tricky fuses. Kiev wanted to set up their production at the facilities of the scientific and production association "Cleaver". The head of this enterprise, Oksana Vrublevskaya, in September last year stated that the Navy should resort to mine weapons for the "mass destruction of Russian ships."
Fortunately, it was not possible to do this, since the plant for the manufacture of critical parts for bottom mines with non-contact fuses is located in Lugansk, which has not been controlled by Kiev since 2014. Militant blonde Mrs. Vrublevskaya at the Kiev Technocluster enterprise, which is part of the NGO "Cleaver", managed only to repair part of the mines of pits and KPMS. However, it cannot be excluded that there are no bottom mines in the huge mass of weapons supplied by the West to the Zelensky regime. To combat them, improvised means alone will not be enough.
RELYING ON "THOR"
A few days ago, a message came that the Navy seems to have found a use for the worthless patrol ships of Project 22160. They will be turned into ersatz air defense corvettes. To do this, the Tor anti-aircraft missile system in the modular M2KM variant of the Izhevsk electromechanical plant "Dome" will be placed on the already built ships on the helicopter deck behind the superstructure. It has already passed successful tests on board the Admiral Grigorovich frigate of Project 11356R/M in 2016. 16 anti-aircraft missiles of the complex are capable of hitting a variety of air targets at a range of more than 10 km in the widest range of heights, including low-flying ones.
The lead ship of project 22160 "Vasily Bykov" has already been re-equipped. However, he lost the opportunity to use a helicopter. But today there is no threat from submarines to the Russian Navy on the Black Sea. But from the side of aerial means of attack, including Bayraktar TB2 attack drones, the threat is significant. They say that the sixth and final ship of the series, the Nikolai Sipyagin, will already be equipped with a stationary Tor-FM complex with 32 missiles. This is the right decision, made on the basis of the bitter experience of its own.
Alexander Ivanin
Alexander Sergeevich Ivanin is a military journalist.
