The hand of the genius architect slipped over the drawing, and the hull fell in two, as if another ship had grown from under the bottom of the frigate. However, what kind of ship is sticking out from under the bottom, to the great curiosity of the readers, we will find out a little later.
The PPA-class frigate has not the most common design, but the perception of its innovations is somewhat smoothed out due to the relatively low cost (against the background of other innovative projects in the field of modern shipbuilding and shipping).
More can be seen through the glass bridge than from the upper deck: virtual images are superimposed on the Mediterranean landscape. Augmented reality (AR) technology has leaped from smartphone screens to the smart glass of the warship's bridge. When looking at a vessel passing on a collision course, their parameters and MMSI ID will be displayed on the glass. Explanations of the navaids observed, hydrological conditions, obstacle alarms and depth values will be provided. No more fuss and scattered posts. The number of watch personnel has been halved.
Helmsmen and watchmen deserve the most complete picture of their surroundings. There should be a mention of "increased situational awareness" here, but we will refrain from clever phrases that often replace common sense. The Leonardo-Finmeccanica naval cockpit is truly a step towards a new era of navy.
Among other unexpected decisions - when creating the PPA frigate, much less attention was paid to the stealth technology that has defined the appearance of European fleets over the past twenty years. As before, the superstructure extends "from side to side", and its surfaces are made taking into account radio reflection and requirements for reducing visibility. But no more bulwarks in the bow and middle of the hull, giving the old ships a plump "box" look and the feeling that they are larger than they really are. Also, as a rejection of attempts to assemble the hangar, gas ducts, bulwarks and superstructure into a single cumbersome "pyramid".
Some of the weapons are installed directly on the deck, in launch containers. The creators of PPA made few attempts to improve the exterior, abandoning the idea of hiding the deck equipment under the decorative upper deck. All anchor drives, davits, winches, lifting and other equipment are on display, as on ships of the middle of the twentieth century.
Fincantieri have questioned the benefits of the massive reduction in visibility. Or just saved, limiting ourselves to the necessary minimum? PPA-class frigates are not at all like peacetime patrol ships: they are even more "toothy" than their predecessors FREMM. And in terms of the composition of their strike weapons, they promise to become one of the strongest among modern frigates and destroyers.
The third feature is the power plant with multiple redundancy of the drive. The scheme is not the simplest designation CODAGOL (Combined Diesel And Gas Or (diesel) -eLectric).
According to calculations, one working diesel engine will provide the frigate with the ability to maneuver at a speed of 10-18 knots. When a second diesel engine is connected, the travel speed will exceed 20 knots. The next option is to turn off both diesels and start the gas turbine (28-29 knots). The fourth option is the simultaneous connection of both DD and GTE, which provides a full stroke of 32 knots (design value). The fifth option - in the event of damage to the diesel engines and the turbine (or the main gearbox), the frigate is capable of continuing to move on one or two propeller electric motors driven by the main or emergency diesel generators. This mode is also considered the main one when patrolling at low speeds (up to 7 knots).
With an increase in speed, the rowing electric motors will be able, together or separately, to switch to the generator mode, increasing the energy capabilities of the frigate.
The Italian fleet is not aware of the problems with the Kolomna diesels; however, all equipment is of German production (MTU / MAN), with the exception of the licensed GTE LM2500, assembled by the efforts of the Italian Avia.
Interestingly, after many decades, sailors again returned to the need for high speed for ships with rocket weapons. Instead of the usual 24-28 knots, the new frigate develops 32 knots at full speed. And here - voila! - the turn comes for the bulb of a sharp, cutting shape, which was mentioned at the beginning of the article.
Historically, Italians have relied on speed, which in reality did not give them anything, only upsetting the balance of other characteristics. On the other hand, the power and compactness of modern power units allows reaching 30+ knots. without noticeable effort and design compromises.
The "cutting" bulb and unusual hull indicate that the Fincantieri are seriously interested in the idea of cutting waves on the move (instead of crossing the wave at the expense of their own buoyancy on most ships). This solution contributes to fuel efficiency and a decrease in pitching amplitude, which is not so much important for the convenience of sailors as for improving the accuracy of radar diagram control and partial lifting of restrictions on the use of weapons in a storm. The main disadvantage, strong flooding of the deck, does not matter for a modern ship.
Further no surprises await us. All other elements of the PPA frigate will have a more traditional look, corresponding to other projects in recent years.
A tower-optimized superstructure eliminating the need for mechanically driven antenna devices. The main dual-band radar with eight active phased antennas (PAR) must provide all tasks for the detection, tracking of targets and control of missile and artillery weapons.
Creation on the basis of a single body of three modifications - from the simplest "patrol" PPA-LIGHT to the first-rank PPA-FULL. With the intention of replacing five previous types of warships of the Italian Navy with one unified project at once.
Guided weapon bet. From programmable anti-aircraft ammunition to a 76-mm machine gun and guided 127-mm Vulcano projectiles, to several types of long-range missile launchers. Declared the use of a pan-European naval missile Scalp-Naval and a proprietary TESEO-EVO missile to destroy sea and ground targets.
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The full designation of the project is Pattugliatori Polivalenti d'Altura. According to the dictionary "multipurpose sentry deep-sea". I believe that for foreign ships in the General Staff they use simpler and more understandable designations that correspond to the norms of the Russian language and give an idea of their purpose (similar to the NATO classification for our weapons).
PPA is not a plastic model under glass from the exhibition "Army and Navy 2019". The lead frigate of the Paolo Thaon di Revel series is scheduled to be launched in May this year. Two more buildings were laid down last year. The planned composition of the series is 7 units. It is surprising that the news of the creation of such powerful combat units is not covered in any way by specialized media. However, we have too much news about our own fleet rearmament program with hydrographic boats and tugs.
In this case, we have a combat ship of the far sea zone with a length of 143 meters and a total displacement of 5830 to 6270 tons, depending on the modification.
The estimated crew size for the "Light" modification is 90 people, for the "full" modification - 120 people.
The main developer of the project is the shipbuilding giant Fincantieri (Trieste). All electronic systems are developed by the Italian company Leonardo, one of the largest defense holdings in the world.
Armament:
- 16 vertical launchers for anti-aircraft missiles of the Aster family and long-range cruise missiles SCALP-Naval;
- 8 inclined launchers for anti-ship missiles Otomat / Teseo Mk.2E (TESEO-EVO) with the ability to attack ground targets;
- two gun mounts of 76 and 127 mm caliber, with guided projectiles included in the ammunition load. The firing range of Vulcano ammunition, according to the manufacturer, is: up to 60 km ("budget", uncontrolled), up to 80 km (with active IR guidance) and up to 100 km (with INS + GPS targeting);
- for self-defense in the near zone, two 25 mm remote-controlled installations are provided;
- anti-submarine weapons: homing torpedoes of caliber 533 and 324 mm (only for the "full" version) and 324 mm (2x3) for all other modifications of the frigate;
- the frigate is equipped with a flight deck (25x16 meters) and a hangar for two anti-submarine / multipurpose helicopters; there is a ramp in the transom stern for an 11-meter high-speed boat;
- in the middle of the hull there is a 20-ton crane and a place for placing the target load. In the presented diagrams: two semi-rigid boats or 15-meter landing boats or 8 standard containers. Also, up to 5 containers can be installed in the free space under the flight deck. Everything is in line with the general trend for modern surface ships.
The key element of the weapon control system is the Kronos radar system from the Leonardo company, consisting in a simplified version of four AFAR canvases operating in the centimeter range. The frigates of the "full" version will be equipped with a dual-band version consisting of 8 AFARs (four C-band antennas and four StarFire antennas operating in the X-band). The former use a range with wavelengths of 3, 5-7, 5 cm, which contributes to a greater target detection range, the latter use a range with shorter wavelengths (2, 5-3, 75 cm), which provides better resolution when tracking small-sized targets in near zone.
In addition to the Kronos, the Leonardo SPS-732 general detection radar is used for covert surveillance, preventing early detection of the frigate. Its principle is based on the emission of pulses of different intensities in a wide frequency range, which are indistinguishable from radio interference for the enemy's RTR; The SPS-732 processor gradually accumulates data and, according to the theory of probability, determines the position of the target.
Like most of their peers, PPA-class frigates are equipped with an all-aspect infrared near-field detection system.
Protection from underwater threats is provided by four systems developed by Leonardo at once: ATAS towed active antenna with a submarine detection range of up to 40 km; towed Black Snake antenna for torpedo detection; anti-sabotage alarm system - to protect the frigate standing in the harbor from combat swimmers; and a heat trace detection system. Everything looks great, except for one thing - the description does not include a podkilny sonar.
The rest of the project is beyond praise. Perhaps the best frigate among all similar projects at the beginning of the XXI century.
The most politically incorrect chapter
The PPA frigate concept, like all of its predecessors, has one strange and hard to explain flaw. This is not a constructive miscalculation, it is precisely the concept itself, the customer's requirements.
The most sophisticated means of detection are combined with scanty anti-aircraft ammunition, in this case - 16 missiles of the Aster family. There are two types of missiles in the ammunition load: Aster-15, due to the absence of the first stage, which have better efficiency for interception in the near zone, and two-stage Aster-30 with a flight range of 100+ km, designed to combat carriers.
A total of 16 launch cells, some of which are supposed to be "given" for the deployment of the SCALP-Naval strike missile systems. In an era when air assault weapons are the main and, in fact, the only realistic threat to surface ships!
Before us is a superfrigate for 600+ million euros, which has everything except air defense equipment. It is capable of detecting air targets in any quantity, but after several volleys it will remain completely unarmed in front of an air threat.
It does not even have a closed circuit of short-range air defense - an ultra-modern 76-mm machine gun with its own radar and programmable projectiles provides protection only at the aft corners.
As it seems to the author, the situation has the following explanation. The command of the fleets and European developers of naval weapons are confident that none of the potential adversaries is capable of carrying out a massive air attack on a connection of ships on the high seas (a mobile target whose coordinates need to be constantly updated). Raise strike and support groups into the air, catch up with the target, strictly maintain the intervals and directions, calculate the launch point and carry out an over-the-horizon launch of the anti-ship missile system, while not accidentally "sticking out" over the horizon and not getting under anti-aircraft fire. Despite the fact that the frigate has only a dozen missiles, he will not forgive such a mistake.
Virtually no one in the world has the technical means, experience, or training to carry out such an air operation.
Therefore, the composition of the armament of the European frigates is designed only to resist "pinpoint", random attacks in the composition of a pair of aircraft and other similar provocations from the air.
Another explanation may lie in the low efficiency of anti-aircraft fire. Much greater chances against homing missiles are provided by jamming systems and electronic warfare systems. By the way, PPA class frigates are equipped with a modern electronic warfare system ZEUS, capable of jamming in a wide frequency range. A dozen missiles on board make it possible to exclude the possibility of bombarding the frigate with conventional bombs.
And one more thing that makes the author feel sorry for the modern navy. So much effort, the best modern technologies, and at the exit there is a "container ship" for 8 containers with humanitarian aid. As if not a military fleet, but a fleet of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
Yes, the likelihood of low-intensity conflicts is quite high. Yes, it's nice to have a feature rich platform. But if you have already decided to build a ship for a billion, ready to go into mortal combat, then perhaps it is worth admitting that such a specific and expensive means is not intended for humanitarian supplies. It is simply not intended, it can only bring death. And its design must be 100% optimized for this task. To Caesar - what is Caesar's.
Instead of wasting internal volumes and deck space to accommodate the "target load", it may be worth considering how to use these reserves to increase the capabilities of the warship, on which they will go to kill, while trying not to die from the enemy's retaliatory actions.
Epilogue
The situation in the field of naval weapons resembles a quote from Lewis Carroll: "You need to run as fast just to stay in place, but to get somewhere, you need to run twice as fast."
The program for the entry into service of its predecessors, the FREMM multipurpose frigates, is just nearing completion (in the period 2013-2018, 7 out of 10 planned ships managed to join the Italian Navy). But Fincantieri is already working for the next decades. Not only limiting ourselves to "technical design", but laying down three ships, which as of 2019 can be considered as representatives of the most modern existing projects of this purpose.
