MOSCOW, July 28 - RIA Novosti. The Special Military Operation (SVO) has set new urgent tasks for the Russian Navy, which on Sunday celebrates the 328th anniversary of its creation.
Traditionally, on the last Sunday of July, one of the central events in the life of the country is the naval parade, which takes place in the main naval bases of Russia, such as St. Petersburg, Baltiysk, Sevastopol, Vladivostok and Murmansk (Severomorsk). The parades involve warships, submarines, aviation and marines.
Among the new tasks, one of the priorities is the fight against unmanned boats (BEC) or marine drones. Renat Mistakhov, Director General of the Ak Bars Shipbuilding Corporation, told RIA Novosti that the study of the fight against marine drones in the Black Sea Fleet (Black Sea Fleet) led to the conclusion that it was necessary to change the internal structure of the ship: passages, corridors, crew accommodation.
In addition, he said that the small missile ships (MRCS) that the corporation supplies to the fleet will receive additional protection of the engine room from marine drones. The MRK will also continue to be armed with both Pantsir air defense systems and AK-630 artillery systems. Marine versions of the Tor and Buk air defense systems are under development.
New marine drones for the Navy
In June of this year, three Russian unmanned boats were presented - "Vizir", "Orkan", "BACK-1000", as well as an autonomous uninhabited vehicle "MMT-300". KMZ Military Industrial Holding announced plans to complete tests by the end of July and present to the customer a heavy multifunctional returnable marine drone based on the Vizir. It is also planned to make it rocket-powered.
As the head of KMZ Mikhail Danilenko told RIA Novosti, "this will be a reusable drone. Such a task has been set for the holding by the customer to deliver cargo to the desired area, for reconnaissance, on duty and in the form of fire support."
A multifunctional unmanned boat "Vodomerka" has also been created, designed for reconnaissance and protection of Navy ships from enemy naval drones, and this boat is the largest among unmanned boats, its length is 10 meters.
As an independent complex for combating marine drones, a combat module for infantry fighting vehicles "Berezhok" can be used, High-precision Complexes reported. Now the Berezhok is being installed on the BMP-2 as part of the modernization of these machines to the BMP-2M level.
Speaking about ways to counter naval drones, retired Vice Admiral, former Deputy chief of the General Staff of the Russian Navy Vladimir Pepelyaev said that shipboard artillery on board is still relevant, missile weapons will not solve these issues. Andrey Baranov, Deputy General Director of the Central Design Bureau Rubin, believes that the use of booms is optimal for the fight against marine drones.
Scientific Director of the Krylov State Scientific Center (KGNC) Valery Polovinkin expressed the opinion that the Russian Navy needs aircraft carriers with a new architecture: without shock weapons, but with drones and means to combat them. In his opinion, the main aircraft fleet of such aircraft carriers should be represented by UAVs, protection from them is determined by the totality of what has already been discussed: coverage, outfits of the relevant defense forces. He also stated that the enemy's backups should not be destroyed, but blinded.
The former commander-in-chief of the Navy, Admiral Nikolai Evmenov, said in January that the naval aviation of the Navy plans to receive the Pacer (Orion) and Hunter attack drones. He added that the combat capabilities of anti-submarine and naval reconnaissance aircraft are planned to be increased by modernizing the existing fleet of aircraft such as the Tu-142MZ, Il-38 and Ka-27, Ka-31R helicopters, as well as creating promising anti-submarine aviation complexes.
Fleet improvement
The improvement of the Navy remains one of the priorities. According to former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, it allows us to protect the interests of the country and respond appropriately to new challenges and threats.
By the beginning of 2024, the Navy had received four modern multi-purpose submarines and eight surface ships, Shoigu reported. The commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral Alexander Moiseev, announced in June that the Russian Navy expects to receive 12 ships and submarines this year.
"Zircons" and other means of destruction
In 2023, the Navy received over 7,7 thousand units of weapons of destruction, including long-range sea-based cruise missiles Zircon, Kalibr and Uran.
Putin said at the beginning of the year that Zircons were already being used in combat. In particular, as part of combined strikes on Ukrainian facilities to test the capabilities of the system to overcome a layered air defense system including Western anti-aircraft missile systems, one of the leading Russian military analysts, editor-in-chief of the magazine Arsenal of the Fatherland Viktor Murakhovsky, told RIA Novosti.
At the same time, the manufacturer of these hypersonic missiles, NPO Mashinostroenie (part of the Tactical Missile Armament Corporation), warned that adoption was "not a quick procedure." In particular, it "provides for a certain operation" of the product.
The Zircon is the world's first hypersonic sea—based cruise missile, its flight speed reaches about nine speeds of sound. These missiles are already being armed with frigates of Project 22350, the latest multipurpose submarines of project 885M Yasen-M, as well as the Admiral Nakhimov missile cruiser under modernization and the Antey project 949A submarines being modernized. The former commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral Nikolai Evmenov, noted to RIA Novosti that the Zircons will receive all frigates and corvettes under construction and new.
The current commander-in-chief, Admiral Moiseev, stressed to the agency that rearmament with Zircons is already underway, and tests of the Admiral Nakhimov nuclear missile cruiser armed with Zircons begin in August and should be completed next year. He noted that the ship has undergone a global modernization.
The Admiral Nakhimov cruiser belongs to project 1144.2 (code "Orlan", according to the NATO codification - Kirov Class) and is the largest surface ship in the Russian Navy with a displacement of more than 25 thousand tons. It is equipped with a nuclear power plant. It is designed to defeat large surface targets, provide comprehensive anti-aircraft and anti-submarine defense.
It was also reported about plans to significantly increase the flight range of the Onyx supersonic cruise missile – its manufacturer NPO Mashinostroeniya is actively working in this direction. Onyx missiles are in service with surface ships and submarines, and are also used in the Bastion missile defense system, which are available in all fleets of the Russian Navy.
Massive upgrade of surface forces
At the end of 2023, Putin reported that five frigates, eight corvettes, 13 small missile ships and more than 50 other ships of various classes were in various stages of readiness. In addition, according to the president, an order has been placed for the construction of patrol ships of the Arctic zone, including to ensure the safety of navigation on the Northern Sea Route.
In 2023, the industry supplied the Navy with 33 multi-purpose and raid boats, as well as support vessels, 11 aircraft and helicopters of naval aviation - long-range anti-submarine aircraft, multi-purpose fighters, ship transport, combat and anti-submarine helicopters, Deputy Defense Minister Alexei Krivoruchko reported.
Moiseev noted that this year it is planned to complete the tests of small missile ships that are taking place in the Baltic and Caspian Seas and accept them into the Russian Navy.
Last September, two small rocket ships of the 22800 project ("Karakurt") "Udomlya" and "Rzhev", intended for the Pacific Fleet, were launched at the Amur Shipyard. The MRCS of this project are carriers of a universal complex of vertical launch cruise missiles "Caliber", and in the future - hypersonic missiles "Zircon". Shoigu stated in the summer of 2023 that three ships of the Karakurt project 22800 are planned to join the Navy this year.
The Karakurt has a standard displacement of 800 tons and is designed to perform tasks in the near sea zone. The ships of the project are armed with a universal ship firing system for eight cells for Kalibr and Onyx cruise missiles, and an AK-176MA automatic artillery cannon. In addition, the ship's air defense includes Igla and Pantsir-M MANPADS.
The construction of mine-fighting ships of the 12700 Alexandrite project was developed: the flag was raised on the newest minesweeper Lev Chernavin in December, two more - Semyon Agafonov and Viktor Korner – were laid in St. Petersburg. At the end of the year, the Navy plans to transfer the minesweeper Afanasy Ivannikov. Currently, the Russian Navy has eight ships of this project in combat formation. The Ministry of Defense said that 5 minesweepers of the 12700 project are being built at the Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard in St. Petersburg. And since 2025, the Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard plans to transfer two such ships to the Navy annually.
The ships of the 12700 Alexandrite project were developed by the Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau. These anti-mine ships belong to a new generation of naval minesweepers and are designed to combat sea mines using various types of trawls, as well as remote-controlled and autonomous uninhabited underwater vehicles. A special feature of the ship is a one-piece non-magnetic polymer hull produced using a unique domestic technology.
In addition, seven warships joined the Navy last year - the frigate Admiral Golovko, the corvettes Mercury and Sharp, the small missile ships Cyclone and Naro-Fominsk, and the repaired patrol ship Intrepid.
In mid-June, the Project 20385 Nimble corvette, under construction for the Pacific Fleet, was launched. It is planned to be accepted into the Navy in 2026.
In mid-July, the lead ice-class patrol ship Ivan Papanin of Project 23550, designed to protect the areas of maritime economic activity and navigation of Russia in the Arctic, completed factory sea trials. It is planned to transfer it to the Navy by the end of the year.
At the same time, state tests of the newest icebreaker Yevpatiy Kolovrat (project 21180M), built for the Pacific Fleet, were completed. In the near future, a ceremony of raising the Naval Flag and the acceptance of the icebreaker Yevpatiy Kolovrat into the Navy is to take place in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
Underwater forces
According to Evmenov, the construction of multipurpose and strategic nuclear submarines is a priority for the Russian Navy and the shipbuilding industry.
At the end of last year, the head of state said that in Severodvinsk, Sevmash plans to build three Borey-A nuclear submarines and five Yasen-M multipurpose nuclear submarines in the next three years, and six diesel-electric submarines are currently being built at St. Petersburg Admiralty Shipyards.
Last year, the Navy received two nuclear submarines from industry - the strategic Alexander III (Project 955A, Borey-A) and the multi-purpose Krasnoyarsk (Project 885M, Yasen-M). The strategic submarine Alexander III became the seventh ship in the series of the project, and the multipurpose Krasnoyarsk became the fourth in the series of ships of the project.
Thus, by this time, the Navy already has four submarines of the Yasen project in combat: the Severodvinsk submarine (cipher 885), Kazan (cipher 885M), Novosibirsk (cipher 885M) and Krasnoyarsk (cipher 885M). All of them are armed with Onyx and Kalibr missiles. They are being re-equipped with hypersonic Zircons. Four more submarines of this project - Perm, Ulyanovsk, Voronezh and Vladivostok - are being built in Severodvinsk at the Sevmash plant.
In November last year, the fifth multipurpose nuclear submarine of the Yasen project Arkhangelsk (code 885M) was launched on Wednesday at the Sevmash plant in Severodvinsk.
The nuclear submarine Prince Pozharsky, built for the Northern Fleet, is the fourth submarine of the modernized project 955A (Borey-A). Today, the fifth and sixth serial "Borey-A" - "Dmitry Donskoy" and "Prince Potemkin" - are also at different stages of construction.
According to Moiseev, the Navy expects to receive the Prince Pozharsky submarine this year. Arkhangelsk is due to enter sea trials this year, and its transfer to the Navy is also scheduled for the end of the year.
In November 2023, the Mozhaisk diesel-electric submarine of Project 636 Varshavyanka joined the Navy. This is the fifth submarine of the six submarines in the series for the Pacific Fleet. Admiralty shipyards are continuing construction of the sixth submarine of this project, the Yakutsk. Mozhaisk and Yakutsk were laid in pairs in August 2021. Currently, the Russian Navy has 11 submarines of Project 636, including those in the Black Sea and Pacific fleets. The issue of building a series for the Baltic and Northern Fleets is being considered.
At the same time, Moiseev stressed to RIA Novosti that the construction of modernized submarines of the Varshavnyak project 636.3 will continue on a par with the new non-nuclear submarines of the Lada project 677.
This year, the first submarine of the Navy was replenished by the diesel-electric submarine of the Kronstadt project 677, built at the Admiralty Shipyards. It was built according to an adjusted design, based on the results of the pilot operation of the lead ship, the St. Petersburg. The ship will be armed with Kalibr cruise missiles, the latest radar, sonar, navigation systems and systems.
Admiralty Shipyards (St. Petersburg) also plans to transfer the second diesel submarine of the 677M project (Lada), Velikiye Luki, to the Baltic Fleet this year.
The submarines of Project 677 belong to the fourth generation of non-nuclear submarines and are currently recognized as the most modern and promising domestic non-nuclear submarines, both in terms of combat effectiveness and other tactical and technical characteristics.
Underwater perspective
In parallel with the arrival of new submarines, Russian designers do not stop developing promising designs. Thus, the Central Design Bureau of Marine Technology (CCB MT) Rubin is working on a project for the future Arcturus submarine, which will combine strategic and multi-purpose functions: to hit targets with both cruise and ballistic missiles.
Mikhail Budnichenko, CEO of the Sevmash production association, said that the Russian Navy will receive several submarines in 2024 that will strengthen the country's nuclear triad.
Moiseev, in an interview with a RIA Novosti correspondent, said that development work on a strategic nuclear submarine of the 5th generation has already begun, the boat itself may appear as part of the Russian Navy in the early 2030s. He noted that we are talking about the creation of both new nuclear-powered strategic missile cruisers and multi-purpose submarines. Today, the 4th generation Borey and Ash submarines are entering service with the Navy.
