The Navy requires submarine missile carriers and carriers of unmanned vehicles
The cooling of East-West relations, the growing volume of economic sanctions, a special military operation in Ukraine, the expansion of NATO and the creation of new military-economic blocs in Asia will inevitably lead to a revision of previously adopted long-term programs in the Russian defense industry.
Among them is the Shipbuilding Program until 2050, approved by the President of the Russian Federation in May 2014, the text of which is classified. However, the Navy and the shipbuilding industry are such that it is not possible to hide the main directions of their activities and development due to the size of naval equipment, bases, docks, shipbuilding and ship repair plants.
SUBMARINES
Today, almost all shipbuilding capacities of domestic shipyards, traditionally specializing in the production of military products, are engaged in the implementation of the state defense order and export contracts.
The flagship of domestic shipbuilding – the Northern Machine-Building Plant (Sevmash) in Severodvinsk is operating at full load. Main specialization: production of submarines with a nuclear power plant. Strategic cruisers with intercontinental ballistic missiles of Project 955A "Borey" and multi-purpose cruise missiles of project 885M "Yasen-M" are made here.
In addition, the production line of the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) includes special-purpose submarines, such as deep-sea stations, launch vehicles and robotics. Example: Belgorod, which has recently been put to the test.
The United States, Great Britain and France refused to purchase non-nuclear submarines for their navies. Russia continues the program of gradual replacement of worn-out diesel-electric submarines (DPL) of the Soviet-built project 877 with more modern projects 636.3 and 677.
In parallel with the production of serial products, Admiralty Shipyards JSC is preparing a production site for next-generation equipment with air-independent power plants (VNEU). Such ships can complement the classic diesel-electric submarines in the Northern Fleet, as they are better suited for long-term navigation under the ice.
In recent years, there has been significant progress in descent vehicles of various classes (such as the rescue Bester, etc.). And especially in robotics (from small "drones" with a length of several decimeters to fully automatic submarines with a length of ten meters or more), which in the future will determine the nature of the war at sea.
NECESSARY ADJUSTMENT
The growing confrontation with the collective West requires adjustments to the work of shipbuilders. It's not just about import substitution.
As the practical fulfillment of the tasks assigned to the Black Sea Fleet has shown, the project 636.3 DPLS most often go to sea with all their might and means. Mainly for launching cruise missiles of the Kalibr–PL complex at targets on the territory of Ukraine.
The foreign press recognizes the high efficiency of the actions of Russian submariners: the intelligence of the NATO bloc is not able to track all the movements of submarines of the Black Sea Fleet. The covert exit to the firing position leads to the fact that the coordinates of the submarine are fixed only at the point of exit from the water of the 3M-14 type missiles. This introduces an element of surprise into the actions of the Russian Armed Forces, reduces the enemy's ability to reduce the loss of manpower and equipment by quickly dispersing them immediately before a missile strike.
High stealth allows the use of submarines for reconnaissance and surveillance at a small distance from enemy coastal facilities. Surface vessels do not enter there because of the threat of firing by anti-ship missiles "Neptune", "Harpoon" and "Brimstone", which entered service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
However, the Black Sea Fleet submarines have obvious disadvantages associated with the moral aging of the basic project 877, completed in the 1970s. Numerous improvements implemented on the 636 project are unable to bring it to the technological level of the latest foreign submarines in terms of automation and noise level.
The best way out of this situation will be the complete cessation of the construction of the project 636.3 DPL in favor of the ship of the next, fourth generation of the project 677 Lada. While maintaining the armament (18 missiles and torpedoes), Lada is an order of magnitude quieter, and its Lira sonar system is much more perfect than the outdated Rubicon. This gives the crew the opportunity to operate covertly in areas where enemy anti-submarine defense aircraft and ships are present.
Lada is more compact and therefore better adapted for operations in shallow water and in areas with a high intensity of navigation – for example, in the Baltic.
THE BALTIC IS NOT A "NATO LAKE"
The upcoming accession of Sweden and Finland to the North Atlantic Alliance has prompted some politicians (among them Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics) to talk about the Baltic Sea as an "internal territory" and a "lake of NATO".
With the exception of a small water area in the Gulf of Finland, the Baltic Sea will indeed be under the actual control of the alliance forces. The technical solution to the problem will be the replenishment of the Baltic Fleet with modern Lada-type submarines. And in the future – the resumption of the construction of small submarines of the "Piranha" type.
The last boats of this class (sabotage project 865) were withdrawn from the fleet at the turn of the century as a gesture of goodwill of the Russian leadership. It followed repeated appeals from "Western European partners" who are now actively supplying weapons to Bandera Ukraine.
It is good that the Malachite design bureau has continued to work on the development of a line of small submarines of export appearance all these years. The International Military-Technical Forum "ARMY-2020" was remembered for the demonstration of a model of a new type of submarine – P-750B Serval.
Its fundamental difference from all domestic non-nuclear submarines in operation is the use of a gas turbine instead of the classic combination of a diesel generator and a battery that feeds an electric motor. A feature of the proposed power plant is the use of oxygen-enriched exhaust gases as a working medium, not atmospheric air. Previously, they will be cleaned and cooled, for which the so-called Dewar vessels are installed on the ship.
The Serval has a diving duration of 1,200 miles at an economic speed of four knots. With a displacement of only 1400 tons, the boat carries the most powerful armament - the Kalibr-PL complex. Bringing this project to the stage of practical implementation without any exaggeration will breathe new life into the Baltic Fleet. Replenished with Lada, Piranha and Serval submarines, it will once again become a powerful deterrent to the aggressor.
LARGE SURFACE SHIPS
We are doing worse with surface shipbuilding: the product line has a number of gaps. Due to the huge cost, the construction of large missile-carrying ships for ocean expanses was actually stopped after the delivery of the nuclear cruiser "Peter the Great" to the fleet (1998).
At the same time, ships of the 1st rank are produced – large amphibious (BDK). Following the delivery of the Ivan Gren and Pyotr Morgunov to the fleet, another pair was laid according to the modified project 11711, with an increase in the total displacement by more than a third, up to 8-9 thousand tons. A couple of years ago, in an interview with the factory newspaper "Forward!", the general director of the Baltic Shipbuilding Plant "Yantar" Eduard Efimov expressed hope that the company would receive a contract for the third pair of such ships.
In 2020, the hulls of universal amphibious assault ships (UDC) of project 23900 "Ivan Rogov" and "Mitrofan Moskalenko" were laid at the Gulf plant in Kerch. By displacement (about 40 thousand tons) they are second only to the flagship aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov" project 11435 (more than 60 thousand tons).
What unites these two types is the presence of a solid flight deck and extensive hangars. But the composition of the aviation group differs fundamentally. The UDC is not carried by Su-33 and MiG-29K / KUB fighters, instead they are helicopters for various purposes and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), including Hunter–type strike aircraft with a take-off weight of about 20 tons.
The analysis of the development of naval aviation abroad shows the prospects of the unmanned direction. Amphibious ships of projects 11711 and 23900 are quite suitable for use as "drone carriers". But do not limit yourself only to them.
Scientific and technological progress in unmanned aviation is proceeding at a rapid pace. It allows you to make fairly compact UAVs with artificial intelligence capable of taking a payload like modern multi-purpose fighters. Thus, there is an alternative to the classic aircraft carriers, which today are increasingly turning from formidable weapons into large targets.
Existing air defense systems are not able to intercept modern anti-ship missiles, such as the Dongfeng-21D ballistic missiles (China) and the Zircon hypersonic missiles (Russia).
It is not surprising that the revised US Navy development concept a couple of years ago provides for a reduction in the number of heavy aircraft carriers from eleven to eight units, while simultaneously building six new light aircraft carriers based on the UDC America.
The essence of the changes lies in the understanding that heavy aircraft carriers are becoming too vulnerable, and carrier-based aviation is needed: without it, the fleet remains without air cover, largely deprived of reconnaissance, strike and anti-submarine capabilities.
The way out is seen in the development of unmanned aircraft based on ships of smaller displacement, as well as submarines. While this direction is not developed in the world, and we have a good chance to become a leader here.
A NEW SHIP IN THE OLD HULL
Five months of a special military operation in Ukraine have revealed both the strengths and weaknesses of the technical equipment of our Armed Forces. Additional funds are required to patch holes, replenish spent arsenals, and release the most popular types of weapons, military and special equipment.
The construction of warships is characterized by a long cycle duration: a serial submarine of project 636.3 – two to three years, a corvette of project 20385 - five to six years, a nuclear missile carrier of project 955A - eight. Therefore, there is a temptation to withdraw funding from the "long-term construction" in favor of products with a shorter manufacturing time (such as a boat or a cruise missile) and thereby solve the most pressing problems.
If such an approach prevails, the Navy will suffer the main "victims" among all types of Armed Forces. One of the ways to prevent this scenario is to return to the topic of "a new ship in an old hull".
We have accumulated quite a lot of "age" hulls, machines and mechanisms that have retained some residual resource, while the ships themselves are very outdated. You can breathe new life into them.
It seems that the Ministry of Defense, together with science and industry, should once again seriously address this topic. As the experience of the conversion of the Admiral Gorshkov cruiser into the Vikramaditya aircraft carrier, the restoration of the Admiral Nakhimov and other similar projects has shown, incorrect assessment of the condition of the ship and its systems, excessive requirements and expectations lead to serious failures during the practical implementation of projects.
Hence the delays and cost overruns, which negates the obvious benefits of the idea of a "new ship in the old hull". Therefore, the work should begin with the most thorough study of the current state of the ship – in order to understand whether it is worth upgrading or reworking it.
At the same time, it should be remembered that delays and cost overruns are often observed in the case of creating completely new equipment. A typical example is the corvette "Daring". The lead ship of the promising project 20386 has been under construction for the sixth year and is still in a low stage of readiness. But it is relatively small, the total displacement is 3400 tons. It is possible to avoid a repetition of such a scenario only by more careful planning of design and production work.
Vladimir Karnozov
