Overrated. Here's how it is - over-praised. In a couple of previous materials, I spoke so flatteringly about the work of Kyle Mizokami that now I'm sitting here, and I can't understand. Kyle, buddy, how could that be?
Water War: Russia's Battlecruiser Kirov vs. America's Stealthy Zumwalt (Who Wins?)
Okay, so we can agree before the Third World War. That it will begin somewhere in the Pacific Ocean with a skirmish … No, but in fact, this can happen.
In general, with regards to the Third World War in general and the beginning of it at sea in particular, I can tell you the following: it seems to me that most likely the Third World War will begin after the ships of Mongolia or Uzbekistan begin to sink the ships of Moldova or Belarus. I somehow do not observe any more weighty prerequisites for unleashing total annihilation.
By the way, who already has a good laugh? Almost 500 ships are wandering around the world under the Moldovan flag … So there is no need to giggle. Laugh at Belarusian shrimp if you want to.
Well, or Mizokami predicts for us the meeting of large ships of Russia and the West somewhere in a dark corner of the World Ocean in order to arrange some kind of local disgrace with far-reaching consequences.
In general, the picture that Mizokami paints is quite futuristic like that. Somewhere over the horizon, "Zamvolt" and … "Peter the Great" met face to face.
Moreover, Mizokami himself writes that Zamvolt is a missile destroyer to support ground operations. That he forgot in one peakless cap in a remote area of the ocean, where "Peter the Great" staggers like a lonely elephant - the question is, as it were, the same.
You know, it's like hand-to-hand combat with a paratrooper from the Airborne Forces. I mean, you have to lose a machine gun, a shovel, a knife and find a second equally gifted one. And to meet the lonely "Zamvolt" with the no less lonely "Peter the Great".
In general, I fundamentally disagree with the Mizoks, and if we compare the Zamvolt, then with a ship of a similar class, and not with a heavy cruiser.
Yes, the Zamwalt is the newest class of ships in the United States, truly stealthy ships with quite impressive firepower. Plus the latest electronic equipment.
In general, "stealth" today is a very conditional thing. It is applicable, shall we say, in the face of opposition from an adversary who does not have modern means of tracking. And when a group of satellites hangs in orbit, AWACS planes fly over the sea, and enemy ships have their own "eyes" in the form of helicopters - all this is very conditional.
Since we are talking about the visibility of "Peter the Great" and "Zamvolt", I think there will be parity. The Americans claim that the signatures of Zamvolt are comparable to a fishing seiner of 3-4 thousand tons, but the presence of reconnaissance helicopters from Peter the Great and the Legend orbital reconnaissance system makes it possible to question the secrecy of Zamvolt.
We are not talking about the stealth of "Peter the Great" at all, of course. It is clear that 25,000 tons of a cruiser and 14,000 tons of a destroyer are slightly different things.
The armament of the ships is also completely different. And let's put it this way, from a destroyer, even one as thick as Zamvolt, it is difficult to expect such capabilities as a cruiser has.
Multifunctional radar AN / SPY-3 is the last word in American developments. The station is capable of controlling the entire complex of the ship's missile weapons.80 universal launchers for missiles and AN / SPY-3 - and perfectly control the ship-to-air missiles Standard SM-2, modified Sea Sparrow, ASROC anti-submarine missiles and guided missiles Tomahawk.
In general, a complete set.
And if you really want to use the Zamvolt as an air defense ship, then you can load 4 Sea Sparrow missiles of shorter range into each cell, and then the ammunition load will be "only" 320 missiles. That is, in which case, "Zamvolt" has something to fend off enemy missiles. Plus two 30mm cannons. The destroyer seems to be able to protect itself.
Peter the Great's radar facilities include a very large number of stations. 16 stations of three types. General ship tracking, tracking and target designation facilities consist of two space communication stations (SATSOM), four space navigation stations (SATPAU) and four special electronic stations. The airborne situation is monitored by the all-weather three-dimensional radar "Fregat-MAE", which detects targets at a distance of more than 300 km and altitudes up to 30 km.
With regard to the air defense of the cruiser, then everything is more interesting. SAM "Fort-M" (aka S-300FM) with 12 launchers and 96 missiles. The S-300 is more than enough for both a modern aircraft and a Tomahawk.
At an average distance, "Peter the Great" has 16 "Dagger" launchers and 128 missiles. And at the closest distance - 6 "Kortika" launchers, 144 missiles and two more 30-mm six-barreled anti-aircraft guns AO-18K.
In general, it is much more serious than that of a destroyer. Yes, we can say that the RIM-162 ESSM is newer than the Daggers, but who tested it in battle?
And now a few words about how these ships could pick each other.
Everything is sad at "Zamvolt". Anti-ship agents are the weak link. "Harpoons" will not fit into the mines, they can be placed, but on the deck, in special PU. The Tomahawk, you know, is a so-so anti-ship missile for many reasons. But the main thing is that modern air defense systems can turn an Ax flying at a speed of 800 km / h into a chop.
"Peter the Great" prepared 20 "Granit" anti-ship missiles for "Zamvolt". Seven-ton monsters flying at a speed of 1, 5 to 2, 5M and each of them is capable of opening such a hole in the destroyer's hull that it’s even unpleasant to imagine.
Will SM-2 be able to stop the Granites? Well, in theory, yes. But what about in practice - who checked it again? On the other hand, if at least one such monster sneaks through the destroyer's defenses, it will not seem a little to him. 700 kg in a warhead is 700 kg of explosives. A modern ship, in which, unlike colleagues from the Second World War, there is simply no armor, will deploy such a rocket like a rose.
Mizokami talks about artillery. Well, yes, there are guns on both ships. On Zamvolta it even looks more impressive, because two 155-mm guns with a rate of fire of up to 10 rounds per minute are quite.
Peter the Great also has artillery. Good old AK-130 double-barreled.
However, the weapons are completely different. American - the newest, from which they shoot exclusively special LRLAP shells "weighing" $ 800,000 apiece at a distance of 81 km. The Russian gun is more modest, and works at a range of up to 23 km. But the combat rate of fire for two barrels is 90 rounds per minute. Against 20 American guns - it looks weighty.
But today it is not even worth considering artillery as a means of fighting ships. Not seriously. A 155-mm projectile that flies according to GPS and hits very accurately is, of course, beautiful. But how many such shells will have to be driven into the "Petra" to make the cruiser unpleasant?
Considering that "Granite" starts from a distance of almost 500 km …
In general, the artillery of "Zamvolta" was initially focused on suppressing targets on the coast. Fighting with such guns against a cruiser is, well, perhaps as a gesture of despair, nothing more. To inflict damage, the shells, of course, will do, this is indisputable. But Granite alone will turn the destroyer into a trough of bloody mince, and there's nothing to be done about it.
Considering that "Granites" can be guided not only with the help of their "brains", but also with the use of ship helicopters, patrolmen Tu-142 and even Tu-95RTs. And there is also "Liana", a system designed specifically for the guidance of such gifts with the help of satellites "Lotos-S".
So, what can happen if these two ships meet on a "narrow path" 400 kilometers long?
Here Mizokami gives out just a masterpiece of thought, and it gave me great pleasure to model this chain of events in my brain.
Come on, of course, our destroyers will be found. Moreover, there is no sense in the fact that "Zamvolt" will be the first to spot "Peter", there is no profit from this. There is nothing special to shoot with anyway.
Well, so-so alignment. Approach the distance that the "Peter" missiles will cover in a matter of minutes and try to pick it open with artillery … It's funny. It is just as frivolous as to rely on the small signatures of the destroyer and that it will not be found from Peter the Great.
That's well said. Probably Zamvolt will be able to shoot down most of the Granites. Quite rightly so. Another question is, what will those missiles that cannot be shot down do to the destroyer?
Trust in guns? Well, after all, this is not the 20th century, and it is hardly worth expecting such effectiveness from shells, in comparison with missiles.
Here I fundamentally disagree with Mizokami. There will be no draws. Kyle himself admits that the destroyer's air defense may not reflect all the attacks of the Russian cruiser. This means that in the event of a military clash, "Zamvolt" will definitely run into Russian "Granites". And here, forgive me, how the cards will fall.
The fact that Mizokami relies so much on the long-range guns of the destroyer and the fact that Peter the Great's radars will not be able to detect the Zamvolt, that it seems frivolous. They can. And detect, and provide guidance to him. Still, a ship of 14,000 tons is a fairly large structure, and all these invisibility effects are often very arbitrary.
And if we also take into account the fact that the speed of the "Peter" is higher than that of the "Zamvolt", and in general it turns out that the destroyer cannot catch up or escape.
Of course, Mr. Mizokami painted a too unreal picture. In itself, such a meeting is too fantastic. A destroyer, whose main task is to cover operations on the coast, and a cruiser, whose main task is to capture and destroy just such ships as Zamvolt.
So even taking into account that "Peter the Great" is very outdated in some places, nevertheless, its narrow specialization as a raider-killer leaves no chance for "Zamvolt".
But the main oddity in Mizokami's plot is why a destroyer against a cruiser? I wanted to flatter my ship, they say, is it so inconspicuous that it will not be found? They will find him, he will not go anywhere.
But I would compare with classmates. It's more honest, and if you really want to show how cool Zamvolt is, you can compare it with something else. And so - even the oldish "Orlan" can easily peck this destroyer. Considering the complete absence of anti-ship weapons at the Zamvolt, it will be easy to do this.
So Kyle Mizokami went a little too far in comparison, relying on invisibility.
