Rotorcraft are needed to control shipping
A special military operation (SVO) to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine has been going on for more than a year and a half, including on the water expanses. Having announced the termination of the grain deal from July 18, Moscow undertook to establish strict control over shipping in the northwestern part of the Black Sea from midnight on July 20.
The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (MO RF) announced that all ships going to ports controlled by the Kiev regime will be considered as potential carriers of military cargo and considered involved in the Ukrainian conflict on the enemy's side. Then came the explanation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Russian navy sailors will stop suspicious vessels for inspection.
In practice, taking into account the distances, the state of the environment and the counteraction of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), this is possible only with the help of patrol and patrol ships of the Navy (Navy) and the coast guard of the Border Service of the FSB of Russia. And not any, but seaworthy ones, capable of patrolling a given area of the Black Sea for quite a long time.
The only suitable type in the Black Sea Fleet (Black Sea Fleet) The Russian Navy ships of the project 22160. They are quite large (standard displacement of 1500 tons, crew of 80 officers and sailors). The head "Vasily Bykov" joined the Black Sea Fleet towards the end of 2018, followed by "Dmitry Rogachev", "Pavel Derzhavin" and "Sergey Kotov" in 2019-2022. They are designed to protect the maritime economic zone in peacetime and ensure the stability of the fleet's forces and facilities (by defending the home areas) in the event of an armed conflict. The autonomy is 60 days, the cruising range is up to 6000 nautical miles, the speed is up to 30 knots. These 94-meter ships are armed with a three-inch turret artillery installation and several large-caliber machine guns, and in the aft part there is a hangar and a landing pad for aviation equipment, there is a storage of aviation fuel and bombs with a volume of 30 cubic meters.
SMALL NUMBER
During the operation of the ships of the project 22160, technical shortcomings were identified, but their most important drawback is their small number. The lack of such equipment was reflected in the fact that in August there were only isolated cases of stopping merchant ships by Russian Navy patrol ships performing patrols where the so-called "water humanitarian corridor" for grain carriers previously ran.
Apparently, for the reason stated above, the Russian navy could not stop and inspect the container ship under the flag of Hong Kong, which proceeded from Odessa to Istanbul. According to the MarineTraffic shipping service, the Joseph Schulte container ship stood in Odessa for almost 16 months when it "suddenly" started moving towards the end of July. The vessel became the first after Moscow's withdrawal from the grain deal to leave Ukraine with a cargo of agricultural products (according to Kiev, it had 30 thousand tons of cargo).
According to The Wall Street Journal, the American side, together with Ukraine, Turkey and other countries, is working on an alternative route for exporting Ukrainian grain without Russia's participation. Kiev has already managed to pave a waterway to the Bosphorus, designating it in an appeal to the International Maritime Association (IMO). As explained in the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, the proposed corridor will be used primarily for the exit of those vessels that stayed in the ports of Ukraine until February 23 last year.
Apparently, Joseph Schulte was used to "test" the sea route favored by Kiev. While the container ship was on its way to the Bosphorus, three bulk carriers moved out to meet it on July 30. Ignoring Moscow's warning, Greek, Israeli and Turkish-Georgian vessels bypassed Russian patrols to Izmail. However, it was not possible to load grain there and calmly follow the same path back: after the fire impact, the port infrastructure was unable to serve the arriving vessels.
However, all this did not prevent the President of Ukraine from claiming that his subordinates managed to create an "alternative grain corridor in the Black Sea." According to Vladimir Zelensky, the waterway will be able to function stably only if Western partners provide assistance "in strengthening the air shield ... to protect Odessa" and other ports. Specifically, Zelensky appealed to Greece with a request to transfer the S–300PMU anti-aircraft missile systems previously purchased by this country in Russia to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. "It can be a historic contribution of Greece to the pan–European security if you help to protect the Black Sea water area," he said. So far, however, neither Greece nor other member states of the Alliance are eager to take any serious steps to defend the "waterway" planned by the Kiev regime for the export of Ukrainian grain.
AN ILLUSTRATIVE CASE
The landing of Russian marines on a Turkish cargo ship bound for Izmail, followed by a survey of its contents, received a wide response. The operation took place in the early morning of August 13 with the participation of a Ka-29 deck helicopter based on the Vasily Bykov patrol ship. The cargo ship "Shukry Okan", flying the flag of Palau, was discovered by the Russian military in a zone previously declared dangerous for navigation. Approaching the violator, the guard asked him to stop for inspection for the carriage of prohibited goods. The Turkish team reacted in a peculiar way – increased speed. Then the Russian patrol opened warning fire from automatic small arms, firing several bursts of tracer bullets from a 14.5 mm machine gun.
A Ka-29 with a group of Russian servicemen took off from the deck of the Vasily Bykov. These actions prompted the Turkish navigators to make contact by radio. The inspection group landed on the cargo ship and after checking it (nothing forbidden was found on board) allowed the captain to continue moving.
The following conclusions can be drawn from what happened. The first: the patrol ship must be fast enough to catch up with the intruder. However, this alone is not enough, because it turned out to immobilize the "Shukry Okan" only with the help of Marines. Disembarking from a helicopter on board, heavily armed fighters stormed onto the bridge and "had a heart-to-heart" with the disobedient captain. It was only at gunpoint that he gave his subordinates the order to turn off the diesel engine and escort the inspection group on a tour of the ship's premises. A couple of days later, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation distributed a short video telling about the actions of Russian marines. It is issued as a warning to those shipowners who direct their assets "to where it is dangerous." According to the Defense Ministry, the work of the inspection team was carried out "professionally and in accordance with the requirements of international documents."
As a representative of the shipowner company told CNN, according to the results of the inspection, the captain of the bulk carrier signed a paper stating that "no damage or damage" was caused to the vessel, no cargo was seized.
For its part, Ankara warned Moscow about the risk of rising tensions in the Black Sea in the event of a repeat of situations similar to what happened with the Shukry Okan. A corresponding statement was made by the Center for Combating Disinformation, established under the auspices of the Communications Department of the administration of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The text indicates the need to "avoid cases that could increase tensions in the Black Sea." At the same time, Ankara noted that the "Shukry Okan" is "a vessel not under the Turkish flag" (although it belongs to Turkish owners), and that "the flag of the vessel is decisive from the point of view of international law" when checked by law enforcement agencies in international waters.
The second practical conclusion from the case of August 13: the patrol ship must have a helicopter capable of accommodating the capture group and landing it on board a suspicious vessel. And if necessary, also provide fire support to the Marines. The Ka-29 amphibious assault helicopter, which fortunately was on board the Vasily Bykov, is capable of all this. Fortunately, because there are very few such rotorcraft left in the Russian Navy aviation. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, production of the Ka-29 ceased. Moreover, the devices that have been preserved in good condition for almost a dozen years have been in storage. They were taken out of there only the day before their own. Today, the Ka-29s that have undergone restoration repairs, along with the Mi-8/17 and Ka-27, are flying sorties to protect the Crimean coast and are on combat duty on ships of the Russian Navy.
If the Ka-29 helicopter had not been on board the Vasily Bykov, it would have been much more difficult to stop and inspect the ship going to Izmail. Photo by Vladimir Karnozov
PRODUCTS OF THE BRAND "KAMOV"
The Ka-29 was created on the platform of the basic Ka-27, which was produced in anti-submarine (Ka-27PL) and search and rescue (Ka-27PS) variants. The Ka-28, representing the export version of the Ka-27PL, was supplied to the partner countries for military-technical cooperation (MTC). In addition, the Ka-27 platform served as the basis for the creation of the Ka-31 search and detection helicopter. Serial production of the latter was carried out on foreign orders, all commercial samples were sent to India and China. For herself, Mother Russia left only prototypes built for flight tests. People talk about such cases: "A shoemaker without boots."
In 2019, the Zvezda TV and radio company showed a report on how one Ka-31, after the introduction of improvements, began to fly under the control of military pilots to patrol the Black Sea coast. How the fate of other flight prototypes of the Ka-31 turned out, it is unknown how and whether this model is produced by orders of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. Meanwhile, if such helicopters were available, they would be very useful when conducting their own, to perform tasks on the review of the sea and airspace when flying both from airfields and appropriately equipped ships.
With all the advantages, the Ka-31 stuffed with electronic equipment blocks is not suitable as a means of disembarking marines on board suspicious vessels. In addition, the "flying radar" (the main sensor on board is an Oko–type radar survey station) is too expensive for such use.
The anti-submarine Ka-27PL is also not suitable for such an application, since it is also "clogged" with target equipment, including the AMP-73 magnetic detector (export version – ALM-73) and the Ros-V submersible sonar station. At the same time, the Ka-27PL is good because, if necessary, it can be used for firing at naval targets. The helicopter is capable of carrying one AT-1 or AT-3 torpedo, or two Kalibri torpedoes (and Indian ones are also foreign analogues of A244S Whitehead), or 4 PLAB–250 depth charges.
The Ka-29 transport and combat helicopter is also well armed, but in a different way. On four external pylons, it is capable of carrying 4 B8V20A units with 80 unguided C-80 80 mm rockets. Alternative loading options: a pair of 3B-500 incendiary blocks, 2 universal gun containers UPK-23–500, 8 Storm anti-tank missiles or bombs with a total weight of 500 kg. But the main advantage of the car is that it can take on board 16 armed paratroopers with full equipment.
As the events of August 13 showed, the crew of the Ka-29, based on the Vasily Bykov patrol car, coped with the task perfectly. However, this machine is redundant for such operations. Like all other versions of the basic Ka-27, it is quite large: the maximum take-off weight is 12 tons. Two turboprop engines of 2200 hp each accelerate the helicopter to a speed of 285 km / h, but at the same time they consume a lot of fuel, and on board the patrol ship it is worth its weight in gold.
As noted above, the Ka-29 is a rare car. According to the reference book The Military Balance, in 2008, the Russian naval aviation had two hundred helicopters of the Ka-27 family, of which only 30 were made in the amphibious assault modification. The rest are equally distributed between the Ka-27PL and Ka-27PS.
If necessary, a search and rescue helicopter can be used to land a small inspection team on a vessel stopped for inspection. According to some reference books, the Ka-27PS can also carry weapons: one B8B20A unit or one UPK-23–500 container with a 23 mm double-barreled rapid-fire cannon. Of the whole family, it has the longest flight range – up to 1100 km against 500-800 for the anti–submarine version and 250 for the amphibious assault.
PROMISING TECHNIQUE
The latest development of the Design Bureau is considered promising for use from warships. Kamova – Ka-52K "Katran". It was created on the basis of the Ka-52 attack helicopter of the Army Aviation, which is used with great success in the SVO zone. Such vehicles inflict fire damage to the armored vehicles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with the help of guided missiles "Whirlwind" and fire at area targets with unguided missile shells of caliber 80-130 mm.
Unlike the basic helicopter, the Katran has a folding system of screws, which provides better conditions for basing in cramped hangars of warships. When serial Ka-52KS become available, the fleet will receive a powerful means of enhancing the firepower of ships in the far sea zone.
The Katran can carry a large arsenal of guided weapons, including the X-35 anti-ship missiles with a launch range of 130 km (the X-35U variant is up to 235 km). Target designation is issued using an onboard radar located in the nose of the Ka-52K. This helicopter can provide fire support to Marines and capture groups, but it is not able to transport them due to the lack of free space on board – everything is occupied by target equipment.
Of the serial products currently in production at the plants of PJSC "Russian Helicopters" for patrol and patrol ships (and they have a relatively small displacement), the deck version of the Ka-226 is best suited. In fact, it represents a marine version (folded blades are used to reduce the required hangar space) of the basic Ka-226, designed to solve the tasks of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. The first use of the Ka-226TM was on the ships of the Coast Guard of the Border Service of the FSB of Russia. The production of the marine version began in 2016, the number of ready-made samples is still limited.
The Ka-226 is interesting because it is much lighter (the maximum take–off weight is 3.4 tons versus 12) and more compact than the main helicopter of the Russian Navy - the Ka-27. At the same time, it also has a coaxial propeller scheme, which proved itself better when flying from the deck than the classical scheme (main rotor and steering propeller).
Due to the complete absence of light-class machines in the line of Russian Helicopters (the Mi-34, Aktay, etc. were developed and tested, but did not go into production), the Ka-226 and the Ansat (classic layout), which is close to it in size, are sometimes referred to as light, which creates some confusion. According to the international classification, both the Ka-226 and Ansat belong to medium helicopters, the Mi-8/17 and Ka-27 are heavy, and the Mi-26 are super–heavy.
As if trying to justify such an attitude, the Ka-226 can take on board up to 7 passengers (in the appropriate configuration with a replaceable module). This number is sufficient to complete the task of landing an inspection team on an (unarmed) intruder vessel (on board of which there are no militants ready to offer armed resistance).
Since there is always a problem of lack of space on ships, the choice of the appropriate type of helicopter is carried out taking into account the size of the aircraft, flight deck and on-board hangar. From this point of view, the marine version of the Ka-226 seems to be a good solution for the patrol and patrol ships of the Russian Navy and the FSB. It is not surprising that PJSC United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), when demonstrating scale models of its products at various exhibitions, places a model of the Ka-226TM helicopter on their flight decks. Such, in particular, can be seen in the USC pavilion in Kubinka on models of ships of projects 22160, 22800 (mod.) and others.
You can, of course, use a much heavier Ka-29 – but it is demanding on the size of the flight deck and hangar. A hangar sufficient to store the Ka-29 will accommodate several Ka-226s, which should be kept in mind when planning naval operations.
The choice of a heavy helicopter is logical if it is required not only to ensure the landing of the capture group, but also to support it with fire. There is no information about the armed variants of the Ka-226. One can only assume that, if necessary, it will be possible to equip it with a rifle-caliber machine gun, as well as to drop small bombs from the side.
A serious drawback of the serial Ka-226 is considered to be equipping them with foreign Rolls-Royce Allison or Safran Arrius 2G1 engines. Shortly after the start of the SVO, the general designer of UEC-Klimov, Vsevolod Eliseev, announced plans to begin serial production of VK-650V engines suitable for the Ka-226 and Ansat in 2024.
UNMANNED ADD-ON
Recently, unmanned boats and helicopters have often appeared among the promising areas of robotics development for marine applications. They are capable of conducting reconnaissance with high efficiency and solving individual firing tasks. At the same time, samples of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) capable of transporting and landing a capture group have not yet been created. Therefore, it is premature to completely abandon marine helicopters.
Drones can only complement the deck helicopter on board the patrol ship. A positive aspect of their implementation will be, among other things, the preservation of the resource of manned vehicles, as well as aviation fuel (the UAV consumes it an order of magnitude less than a helicopter).
It should be understood that the patrol ships carry a limited amount of aviation kerosene. Accordingly, the topic of its economical and rational use arises. The solution is seen in the way of a reasonable combination of manned and unmanned aircraft flights.
Shortly before the start of the special operation in Ukraine, footage appeared where Orlan-10 type UAVs were captured on board Russian patrol ships. There is no information about the combat use of this combination. At the same time, it would be strange if the Black Sea sailors, really having such an opportunity, would refuse to use such valuable "Eagles" when solving a wide range of their tasks within the framework of their own.
In addition to aircraft-type UAVs, of which the Orlan family is a prominent representative, unmanned helicopters are also used in the fleet. Interest in such appeared during the development of the Camcopter S-100 unmanned vehicle by Schiebel from Austria. Along with a dozen other countries, Russia has also shown interest in it. In the autumn of 2011, a UAV assembled under an Austrian license, which received the local designation "Horizon Air S-100", was successfully tested on board the patrol ship "Rubin". Six years later, at the Naval salon in St. Petersburg, the Horizon company demonstrated the S-100 in three variants, differing in equipment. It is reported about the use of such equipment on the patrol ship "Dozorny" by the Coast Guard of the Border Service of the FSB of the Russian Federation.
"Rubin" and "Dozorny" are made according to the project 22460, have a total displacement of 750 tons. Five similar "watchmen" are operated on the Black Sea. The main disadvantage is considered to be weak armament from a 30-mm machine gun. At the same time, the designers managed to place a runway on a ship with a length of only 62 m and equip a telescopic hangar for a Ka-226 helicopter.
Domestic designers are also engaged in equipment similar to the Camcopter S-100. Their developments (BAS-200 and others) were demonstrated at the aerospace salon in Zhukovsky and at international military-technical forums in Kubinka. Moreover, both unarmed (reconnaissance) and armed (shock) variants have been created.
For the fleet, unmanned helicopters are more interesting than aircraft-type UAVs, since during the operation of the latter there are more problems with ensuring take-off and especially landing. At the same time, aircraft-type UAVs are capable of performing the task of patrolling the coastline and coastal waters with high efficiency. It becomes relevant in view of the incessant raids of Ukrainian unmanned boats on Sevastopol. Residents and visitors of the city note frequent flights of Mi-8/17 and Ka-27/29 along the coastline. Drones are not used, most likely because no suitable models have been created for the Russian Navy worthy of launching into the series.
From the line that is available, the best for use in the interests of the fleet are the reconnaissance variants of Orion (the developer and manufacturer is PJSC Kronstadt) and Outpost (the Russian version of the Israeli Searcher). But the more compact ones (Orion-30, Garnet-4) may have problems when flying over the water surface in bad weather – strong gusts of wind can "dump" the UAV into the sea.
It seems that in view of the raids of Ukrainian unmanned boats on Sevastopol, the Kerch transport crossing and Novorossiysk, the task of creating a specialized drone for patrolling the coastline and coastal waters is urgent. Its solution requires a careful approach to the choice of parameters of such a device, since a simple "warming up" of previously created UAVs for flights over land will not be the best solution. Apparently, a promising machine should have a higher load on the wing and, accordingly, fly faster. In this case, it will not only be able to survey a large surface area per unit of time, but it will also be better to resist the elements in the form of air gusts.
In the meantime, such UAVs have not been created, we must rely on existing equipment. As the case of August 13 showed, the Ka-29 amphibious assault helicopter turned out to be an important addition to the Vasily Bykov artillery systems. Therefore, it makes sense to raise the issue of transferring all the rotorcraft of this type available to the Russian Navy (in the Northern, Pacific and Baltic theaters) to the Black Sea sailors, taking into account the tasks they are solving today as part of a special operation in Ukraine.
Vyacheslav Ivanov
Vyacheslav Viktorovich Ivanov – military expert, historian; Vladimir Aleksandrovich Karnozov – responsible editor of the HBO.
