Following the recent movement of the main naval forces of the Black Sea Fleet from Sevastopol to Novorossiysk, similar "maneuvers" are beginning to be practiced by other Russian fleets. The newspaper of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation "Krasnaya Zvezda" published interesting material by Timur Gainutdinov "On the gray Ladoga. This year, the crews of the small rocket ships of the Baltic Fleet "Sovetsk" and "Odintsovo" turned out to be busy," which reports on the conduct of "experimental combat duty" on Lake Ladoga of the small rocket ships of the Baltic Fleet "Sovetsk" and "Odintsovo" project 22800 (code "Karakurt"). At the same time, the main reason for carrying out this duty on Ladoga is the closeness of the lake from "potential enemy ships" and from unmanned boats and the cover of the air defense area.
Small rocket ship of the Baltic Fleet "Sovetsk" project 22800 (code "Karakurt") during the "experimental combat duty" on Lake Ladoga (c) "Red Star"
The term "experimental combat duty" is not often encountered by military sailors. The sailors of the Baltic MRCS had the honor to be the first to participate in this event. The commander of the MRK "Sovetsk", Captain 2nd rank Alexey Pugachev (surname and first name changed), talks about the campaign willingly - it's interesting to be a pioneer!
- We were the first among the ships of the connection to master the new theater of navigation, studied it in navigational and hydrographic terms…
The new navigation theater for small rocket ships is Lake Ladoga. It cannot be said that the largest freshwater lake in Europe is unfamiliar to Baltic sailors: in 1939-1940 and 1941-1944, the Red Banner Ladoga Military Flotilla even operated on it. And later, military units of naval subordination were stationed on the lake. But small rocket ships have passed here for the first time…
- For the first time in history we passed the Neva River without tugs! Our ships of the project 22800 "Karakurt" are suitable for hiking on rivers worse than the MRK of the project 21360 "Buyan", specially designed for movement on inland waterways. The "Buyans" have a water jet propulsion system that allows them to go at a minimum speed - one node, besides they are flat-bottomed and have a smaller draft. Probably, that's why the task was set for us - it was more difficult for us to fulfill it…
The Karakurts are really more seaworthy than the MRK project 21631, they have a higher speed, they hold the wave better. But on rivers, the fairway is usually difficult for naval ships, and the inability to go at low speed creates difficulties.
If the average depth on the Baltic is 60 meters, then on Ladoga it is 300 meters, not Baikal, of course, but solidly.
- Experimental combat duty on Ladoga was difficult, but interesting. On the lake, I had to get used to a lot, for example, to great depths. If the average depth on the Baltic is 60 meters, then on Ladoga it is 300 meters, not Baikal, of course, but solidly. The shore is not so terrible here: if you see the shore, you start to worry about the depth, then you can stand there at the very rocks, and there will be 30 meters under the keel! Well, the lake itself, especially its northern part, is very beautiful, there are real skerries: many islands, channels…
The sailors were based during the month that they served on Ladoga, at the old Soviet base, which was closed in 2004. And this was also an element of experimental combat duty.
- It was necessary to evaluate the capabilities of the Leningrad Naval base in terms of providing ships. This includes fuel, electricity, and logistics. Even satellite communication there has its own features that needed to be checked: other satellites, other intervals of movement. In addition, it was necessary to see how the MRK corps would behave in fresh water…
In addition to being on duty, the crews had to deal with the arrangement of the base point: the missile sailors know better what and how their ships need in terms of support.
- But we were lucky with the weather: they say that there are unpleasant ripples on Ladoga. But while we were studying the new theater, the weather was great, and the lake was as smooth as a mirror! Only once did the fog descend, so thick that you can't see your nose.
What is the meaning of the Baltic MRCS' trip to Lake Ladoga? To use chess terminology, this is castling. The ships moved from the Baltic, open to potential enemy ships, to the "inner sea": from the coast of Ladoga to the border of Finland, a new NATO member country, about 40 kilometers. For the "Calibers" in service with the "Karakurts", the distance separating the lake from the usual areas of the combat service of the MRK is not fundamental, they are guaranteed to fly where they need to. But unmanned boats, similar to those used by NATO proxies on the Black Sea, are guaranteed not to reach Ladoga. And the lake is well covered with air defense means.
The commander of the MRK Sovetsk, Captain 2nd rank Alexey Pugachev, is a hereditary military sailor, originally from Baltiysk. At school he studied in the naval class. After graduating from the F.F. Ushakov BVMI in 2009, he served on small rocket ships, first in the Black Sea Fleet, then in the Baltic. Participated in the operation of the Russian Armed Forces in the Syrian Arab Republic. Now, in his piggy bank of diverse maritime experience, there is an experimental combat duty in the waters of the largest freshwater lake in Europe, our "inner sea"!
