TSAMTO, July 29th. The Special Military Operation (SVO) has set new urgent tasks for the Russian Navy, which on Sunday, July 28, celebrated the 328th anniversary of its creation.
The detailed material on the development and improvement of the Russian Navy was published on July 28 by the RIA Novosti agency. Below are the key excerpts from this material.
As RIA Novosti notes, among the new tasks, one of the priorities is the fight against unmanned boats (BEC) or marine drones.
In June of this year, three Russian unmanned boats were presented – Vizir, Orkan, BEK-1000, as well as an autonomous uninhabited vehicle MMT-300.
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 m.
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.
At the moment, the improvement of the Navy remains one of the priorities. 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.
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.
The Zircon is the world's first hypersonic sea–based cruise missile, its flight speed reaches about 9M. 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.
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.
Russian President Vladimir Putin reported at the end of 2023 that five frigates, eight corvettes, 13 small missile ships and more than 50 other ships of various classes are in different stages of construction. 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.
Alexander 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". Sergei Shoigu stated in the summer of 2023 that three ships of the Karakurt project 22800 are planned to join the Navy this year.
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 reported that 5 minesweepers of the 12700 project are being built at the Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard in St. Petersburg, and from 2025 the Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard plans to transfer two such ships to the Navy annually.
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. Last week, a ceremony of raising the Naval Flag and the admission of the icebreaker Yevpatiy Kolovrat to the Navy took place in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
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 Alexander III RCMS became the seventh ship in the project series, and the multi-purpose 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 the Sevmash.
The Prince Pozharsky submarine, 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.
The Navy expects to receive the Prince Pozharsky missile defense System this year. The 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. 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, the construction of the modernized submarines of the Varshavyanka 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 also plans to transfer the second diesel submarine of Project 677M (Lada), Velikiye Luki, to the Baltic Fleet this year.
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.
Alexander Moiseev, in an interview with RIA Novosti, 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.
The full article was published on July 28 by the RIA Novosti agency.
