Nuclear submarines remain in the arsenals of only the militarily strongest states.
Born as a class of warships in the 19th century, and recognized as a full-fledged means of naval warfare during the two world wars, submarines made perhaps the biggest breakthrough in building performance in the post-war period of any warship. Modern submarines are designed to solve a wide range of tasks - from tactical to strategic. This makes them one of the most important means of warfare in general.
Today, submarines of various classes are in the Navy in more than 30 countries around the world. At the same time, a fairly small number of states - world leaders in the creation and production of high-tech military equipment - still have the competence in construction, and even more so in the development of new types of submarines.
EXPENSIVE FACT OF THE GREAT
Nuclear-powered submarines, being the most expensive and complex combat units among all submarines, still remain in the arsenals of only an extremely narrow circle of the militarily most powerful states. At present, nuclear submarines are in service in five countries of the world: Russia, USA, Great Britain, France and China. In addition, the first nuclear submarine of the Indian Navy has already been built and is being tested (although it has not yet been entered into the fleet), and, finally, Brazil and Argentina are developing their own nuclear submarines.
Nuclear submarines are divided into several main subclasses. Nuclear submarines - carriers of strategic ballistic missiles (RPLSN, SSBN) are designed to deliver a nuclear strike against enemy territory. They are the largest and most expensive submarines. As a rule, these submarines carry from 12 to 24 ballistic missiles, and torpedoes and missile torpedoes are used as defensive and auxiliary weapons. They are distinguished by increased secrecy.
Multipurpose nuclear submarines - cruise missile carriers (MCSAPL, SSGN, PLA) - the most common subclass of submarines. They can solve both tactical and operational-strategic tasks. The main purpose is to combat enemy surface ships and submarines at sea, as well as to deliver cruise missile strikes against coastal targets. Multipurpose nuclear submarines became widespread after the creation of cruise missiles launched from torpedo tubes, such as Harpoon, Exocet, Tomahawk, Waterfall, Granat, etc. Separately, the domestic nuclear submarines stand out - carriers of the Granit heavy cruise missiles, specially designed to combat large enemy surface ships. Currently, this branch is represented by the nuclear submarine of project 949A.
Purely torpedo nuclear submarines (PLA) are an “outgoing” subclass of nuclear submarines designed to combat sea targets using torpedoes.
At present, mainly multipurpose nuclear submarines are being built in the world. All countries that own nuclear submarines have them in their shipbuilding programs. Perhaps the only exception is the Indian Navy's nuclear submarine Arihant. Experts continue to argue whether the first Indian nuclear submarine and its planned sisterships are strategic or, nevertheless, multipurpose submarines.
The characteristic features of modern fourth-generation nuclear submarines are as follows:
- equipping with integrated combat information and control systems (BIUS), combining multifunctional digital sonar systems (SAC) and torpedo (missile) firing control posts;
- installation of GAK antennas on the submarine, allowing the entire corps to "hear" the enemy, increasing the energy intensity of the GAK. As a result, a sharp (several times compared with the third, and an order of magnitude compared with the first or second generations) increase in the awareness of the command of the nuclear submarine about the tactical situation;
- the initial equipping of all new nuclear submarines with cruise missiles, an increase in the range of weapons;
- equipping the majority of nuclear submarines with pump-type propellers, a sharp (two to three times) drop in the noise level at cruising speeds (15-25 knots);
- equipping boats with a new generation of nuclear reactors with a service life of the core increased to 15-20 years.
These technical solutions made it possible to increase the gap between the capabilities of nuclear submarines and their non-nuclear counterparts, especially in terms of such indicators as the duration of cruising, firepower, information content of the SAC (due to immeasurable superiority in power-to-weight ratio) and a number of other characteristics.
MODERN NPS CONSTRUCTION PROGRAMS
Russia
The core of the nuclear submarine fleet of our country at present is still made up of Soviet-built nuclear submarines: Project 667BDR RPLSN (4 units) and 667BDRM (6 units), Project 949A SSGN (8 units), Project 971 SSNS (12 units), 945 (3 units), 671RTMK (4 units).
In the second half of the 2000s. After a long hiatus, our country has resumed the serial construction of nuclear submarines of new projects. Up to this point, the construction of the submarines laid down in the USSR was being completed. The geography of nuclear submarine construction has sharply narrowed: out of four centers of underwater shipbuilding (St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Severodvinsk, Komsomolsk-on-Amur), the laying and construction of new nuclear submarines is carried out only in Severodvinsk at the Sevmash Production Association. This situation, apparently, will remain in the next decade.
The number of nuclear-powered submarine projects and their number has also sharply decreased compared to the end of the 80s. At present, construction is underway of the Project 955 Borey RPLSN and the Yasen project 885 SSNS. According to a number of experts, the current pace of construction of new nuclear submarines threatens a sharp weakening of the submarine of the Russian Navy over the next 10-15 years.
The development of a new RPLSN project began in the USSR at the end of the 70s. The lead ship of Project 955, named Yuri Dolgoruky, was laid down in November 1996, but almost immediately the construction was complicated by a number of problems. Firstly, there was no sufficient funding, and secondly, the main armament of promising RPLSN was not ready. Initially, it was assumed that these missile carriers would receive the D-19UTTH complex with the R-39UTTH Bark SLBM. However, after the development of the Bark was discontinued in 1998, the project was redesigned to be equipped with the D-19M missile system with the R-30 Bulava SLBM.
Currently, the lead boat "Yuri Dolgoruky" and the first serial "Alexander Nevsky" have been launched. The construction of the third RPLSN "Vladimir Monomakh" is underway. The submarines themselves are rated as modern, with powerful hydroacoustics and high stealth. According to some information, projects 955 and 885 were created in accordance with the concept of the "base model", when the main structural elements of the submarine, the main power plant and general ship systems are made almost the same, and the differences lie in the target modules of the main weapon. This approach poses a number of complex tasks for designers, while at the same time making it possible to significantly simplify the infrastructure for basing submarines, reduce the range of maintenance and repair complexes, reduce the cost of building nuclear submarines and facilitate their development by crews.
The lead ship of project 885 "Ash", the development of which, like the new RPLSN, began in the late 70s, was planned to be laid back at the turn of the 80s and 90s, but financial restrictions and the collapse of the USSR pushed the start of construction to 1993 Then a long saga of its construction began. In 1996, the work on "Severodvinsk" - such a name was given to the promising MCASN - was actually stopped due to lack of funding.
Initially, it was assumed that the lead ship would enter service in 1998, but in 1998, the dates were shifted to the early 2000s, then to 2005, 2007 … Work on the ship resumed, according to some information, only in 2004-2005 biennium As a result, the lead nuclear submarine missile cruiser Severodvinsk was launched in 2010, and its commissioning should not be expected earlier than 2011. Unlike Yuri Dolgoruky, which is only planning to receive Bulava missiles. Severodvinsk will not remain unarmed - all of its cruise missiles and torpedoes have already been mastered by the industry.
During the completion of the project, significant changes were made to the project. The equipment laid down by the designers in the late 80s is outdated, and it was pointless to complete the cruiser with it.
"Ash" combines the capabilities of "anti-aircraft" SSGNs of project 949A and "anti-submarine" SSGNs of project 971, which makes it possible to optimize the program of re-equipment of the submarine forces of the Navy. At the same time, the new boat turned out to be quite expensive. A number of experts believe that it would be reasonable to limit ourselves to two or three boats of Project 885 and launch the construction of cheaper and smaller nuclear submarines, just as in the United States, instead of the expensive Seawolf, a more compact and less outstanding submarine was chosen as the main boat for the future. Performance characteristics boat Virginia. However, the latter almost caught up with the "Sea Wolf" in cost.
USA
The United States currently continues to maintain its submarine forces at a very high level. The fleet includes 14 Ohio-class SSBNs (the first 4 submarines of this project have been converted into cruise missile carriers), 3 Seawolf-class submarines, 44 Los Angeles-class nuclear submarines and 7 newest Virginia-class nuclear submarines. The Ohio-class SSBNs are supposed to remain in the fleet until the 2040s, when they are supposed to be replaced with new submarines, the development of which has already begun. Los Angeles-class submarines are gradually being phased out of the fleet, giving way to more modern Virginia-class submarines. It is assumed that by 2030 all Los Angeles-class submarines will be withdrawn from the Navy, and the number of multipurpose nuclear submarines will be reduced to 30 units.
The design and construction of the US Navy submarine is currently focused on the Electric Boat division of General Dynamics Corporation and the Newport News Shipbuilding of Northrop Grumman Corporation. There is only one type of nuclear submarine currently under construction for the US Navy - the Virginia class.
Development of these multipurpose nuclear submarines began in the late 80s, when it became clear that promising Seawolf-class submarines were too expensive, even by the standards of the US Navy. Their cost, initially announced at $ 2.8 billion, eventually grew to almost $ 4 billion. However, they did not manage to save money - the first Virginia-class submarines cost taxpayers the same $ 2.8 billion per unit.
Already during the design of Virginia, it became clear that the previous concept, focused primarily on confronting the Soviet Navy, no longer makes sense. Therefore, from the very beginning, the boats were designed to perform a wide range of tasks, including providing special operations. For this purpose, Virginia-class nuclear submarines have the appropriate equipment: uninhabited underwater vehicles, an airlock for light divers, a deck mount for a container or an ultra-small submarine.
Like the advanced Los Angeles-class nuclear submarines, these boats are equipped with vertical launchers to launch Tomahawk cruise missiles. The main version of the Tomahawk CD for the new submarine is the latest modification of this BGM-109 Tomahawk Block IV missile, which allows the CD to be re-targeted in flight. The missile is capable of loitering in anticipation of an order to attack, which dramatically increases the flexibility of this weapon system.
United Kingdom
The program for the construction of the British submarine fleet today raises many questions, including in this country itself. First of all, the possibility of reducing the number of combat-ready SSBNs in connection with the general course of Great Britain to reduce its own nuclear arsenal is being discussed. At the same time, SSBNs themselves remain the only element of the British nuclear deterrent system. Currently, there is only one series of multipurpose submarines under construction for Her Majesty's fleet - the Astute. Their need is clear: multipurpose submarines are supposed to be used to perform a variety of tasks, including support for special operations. British nuclear submarines are quite "conservative" in terms of armament: unlike Russian or American ones, they do not carry vertical launchers for the CD. Torpedo tubes are used to launch missiles, if necessary.
Boat design in the UK is concentrated in one center - BAE Systems Submarine Solutions. After merging with Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering, the new center became the only UK designer and builder of nuclear submarines. This monopoly will remain unchanged in the near future.
France
Among the European NATO member states, France has the most powerful navy, surpassing, among other things, the navy of its traditional rival neighbor - Great Britain. The French submarine currently consists of 10 nuclear submarines, four of which are the latest Le Triomphant-class SSBNs, and six more are Rubis-class nuclear submarines, famous for being the smallest nuclear-powered submarines in the world - 2600 tons of displacement. As in the UK, SSBNs in France form the backbone of the nuclear deterrent. The construction of Le Triomphant boats has been going on for the last 20 years and has become one of the main and most expensive French military programs. With the completion of the construction of new SSBNs, France switched to updating the fleet of non-strategic submarines, laying down a series of Barracuda-class nuclear submarines.
Among the leading nuclear powers, France began building a new generation of nuclear submarines of the last: the head submarine of the Barracuda type, named Suffren, was laid down in 2007. Being twice the size of the Rubis (5300 tons), it is nevertheless the smallest nuclear submarine of its generation, yielding in size and displacement to Virginia, Astute, and Severodvinsk. The small size of the boat allows you to reduce the cost of construction.
From Rubis, the new boat inherits the design of the main power plant with full electric propulsion, which significantly reduces noise at medium speeds (10-20 knots) compared to analogues equipped with classic turbo-gear units.
Suffren, like the rest of her peers, is a multipurpose boat designed to perform a wide range of tasks, including special operations. For this purpose, a room for a group of light divers and a docking station for underwater vehicles are provided. The French submarine, like the British one, will not be equipped with vertical launchers for cruise missiles. All types of weapons, including cruise missiles, will be launched through the nuclear submarine's torpedo tubes.
The new construction program is characterized by a very long implementation period: six boats are planned to be commissioned in 10 years. At the same time, the lead boat, laid down in 2007, should be commissioned in 2017.
The design and construction of nuclear submarines in France, as well as in other leading countries, is monopolized: this work is carried out by DCNS Corporation, the country's main shipbuilding company, which offers projects for ships of all major classes.
China
China acquired its own nuclear submarine fleet later than all other great powers. The formation of the nuclear submarine in this country was rather difficult. So, the development and construction of the first Chinese nuclear submarines of project 091 (type "Han") were accompanied by significant difficulties both engineering - the creation of nuclear powered submarines for China in the 70s of the last century was a very difficult task, and political - among the designers were actively looking for "enemies people ". For these reasons, the first Chinese nuclear submarines never became full-fledged combat units. They are distinguished by high levels of noise, poor performance of hydroacoustic equipment and insufficient level of biosecurity. The same applies to Project 092 SSBNs (type "Xia"). The only submarine of this type in service for 30 years made only one entry into combat service, having spent a significant part of her career in repairs. The second missile carrier of the "Xia" type, according to some information, was lost as a result of an accident in 1987.
The construction of the SSBN of the new project, also known as the Jin type, began in 1999. There is little information about it - China is classifying its developments in this area almost steeper than the USSR. This is a fairly compact submarine with a submarine displacement of less than 10,000 tons, armed with twelve ballistic missiles with a range of more than 8,000 km. Thus, the Jin-class submarines became the first Chinese SSBNs capable of striking US territory while in the western Pacific Ocean under the protection of their own fleet and air force. Experts believe that China plans to receive 5 Jin-class SSBNs in order to switch to the construction of advanced Tang-class SSBNs (Project 096) in the next decade, with 24 missiles on board. Thus, we can state a steady tendency towards the growth of the importance of NSNF in the nuclear triad of China.
Problems with the operation of boats of the "Han" type prompted China to develop a more advanced project, which received the index 093 (type "Shan"). The construction of a new type of lead boat began in 2001. Project 093 submarines, although larger than the Han-class boats, are also quite compact and differ in more sophisticated equipment. 2006 to 2010 two new submarines were commissioned, but, like their predecessors, problems arose during the operation of these submarines. According to the scarce information available, they are also related to the noise of the power plant and the capabilities of the equipment. As a result, the development of a modified project designated as 095 immediately began in China, which, while maintaining the basic dimensions and performance characteristics of project 093, would become much quieter and more reliable. The construction of new submarines should begin in the coming years.
As in the leading nuclear powers, the development and production of nuclear submarines in China is concentrated in one hands: the main builder of ships of this class is the Bohai shipyard in the Yellow Sea.
It is difficult to say how quickly China is able to overcome its lag in the creation of full-fledged nuclear submarines, measured in tens of years, but, in any case, the development of new and new submarine projects demonstrates a persistent desire to bridge this gap.
India
India has long shown interest in building nuclear submarines. The first nuclear submarine in the Navy of this country was the K-43 boat leased from the USSR, which was named Chakra. Having flown under the flag of India for four years - from December 1984 to March 1989, the boat became not only a source of personnel for the Navy of this country - several people from the crew of the boat rose to the rank of admiral, but also a source of valuable technical information.
This information was used by India to create the first nuclear submarine of its own project, called Arihant ("Killer of enemies"). Almost nothing is known about the new acquisition of the Indian fleet except that the lead Arihant was launched in July 2009, and its main armament is Sagarika operational-tactical missiles with a range of 700 km. In general, the submarine combines the features of a multipurpose nuclear submarine and an SSBN, which is logical given the country's limited capabilities. At the same time, India does not refuse from foreign aid - for example, from the lease of the Russian nuclear submarine "Nerpa" of project 971.
Brazil and others
Brazil has not yet entered the circle of countries with nuclear submarines. But this country is developing its own nuclear submarine. Local shipbuilders rely on the Franco-Spanish project of the Scorpene diesel-electric submarine, which uses a number of technologies borrowed from the promising nuclear submarine Barracuda. The timing of the project has not yet been announced, but it is unlikely that Brazil will receive the first nuclear submarine before 2020.
Recently, there have been reports that Argentina is planning to acquire nuclear submarines. As a nuclear submarine, it is planned to complete the construction of a diesel-electric submarine of German design.
IMPRESSIVE OPPORTUNITIES AT A MODER PRICE
The nuclear submarine fleet was and remains an expensive toy. Political restrictions practically exclude the possibility of free sale of nuclear submarines on the international arms market. Diesel powered submarines thus remain the only submarine manning option for most of the world's navies.
At the height of the Cold War, diesel submarines were considered the "weapon of the poor." They were much cheaper than nuclear submarines and were just as significantly inferior to them in terms of combat capabilities. Small cruising range "in silent mode" on electric motors, high noise when driving in RDP mode (diesel engine operation under water) and other disadvantages made diesel boats "second-class submarines".
The most characteristic representatives of the new generation of diesel-electric submarines, which are now more often called non-nuclear submarines (NNS), are Russian submarines of projects 877, 636 and 677, German types 212 and 214, and Franco-Spanish submarines of the Scorpene type.
Non-nuclear submarines got rid of the status of "second class" boats after the end of the Cold War. They are characterized by low-noise engines, high-capacity storage batteries, auxiliary air-independent power plants, automatic combat control systems and other improvements.
On a number of parameters, non-nuclear submarines have come close and even surpassed submarines with nuclear reactors. First of all, this concerns stealth - modern non-nuclear submarines on electric motors are able to move under water much quieter than nuclear submarines with turbine installations, which, however, retain their overwhelming superiority in the duration of diving, especially at high speeds.
Non-submarine submarines of the third generation are equipped with automated combat control systems that combine detection and weapons control systems for submarines. In contrast to nuclear-powered multipurpose submarines, the detection means of which are focused primarily on underwater targets, anti-ship missions are mainly assigned to the NNS.
One of the features of the modern non-nuclear submarine market is wide international cooperation in the design and construction of submarines. Only Russia and Germany are currently building their own non-nuclear submarines without attracting foreign components. The rest of the countries building submarines are attracting help from abroad in the form of buying licenses, equipment or joint development of projects.
Non-nuclear submarines are cheap and at the same time extremely effective means of warfare. The cost of one submarine, depending on the project and configuration, is $ 150-300 million (the price of a modern nuclear-powered multipurpose submarine is in the range of $ 1.2-2.5 billion). Their armament makes it possible to fight surface warships and submarines, to oppose enemy transport operations and amphibious operations, to carry out mine laying and special operations. Armed with torpedoes and anti-ship missiles, the submarine, which has the necessary supply of food and water, is capable of operating alone against superior enemy forces.
As a result, the demand for submarines, new and used, continues to be strong. The submarines of the naval forces of the countries of the Asia-Pacific region are most actively purchased. After the reduction at the end of the last century, the construction of submarines in Europe was again activated. The latest submarines are not only weapons, but also a symbol of prestige, just like aircraft carriers are in the surface fleet.
The circle of exporters of diesel submarines is currently extremely limited and is actually limited to three countries: Russia, Germany and France. Russia offers on the market mainly the time-tested project 636 - the development of the famous "Varshavyanka", Germany - project 214, an export version of the U-212 submarine being built for the German and Italian navies, France - the Scorpene project created jointly with Spain.
Germany, whose submarines are considered the best submarines of the new generation, retains the leadership in the international submarine market. According to TSAMTO, in 2006-2009. 11 German-built nuclear submarines worth more than $ 3 billion were exported, the order book for 2010-2013. is nine new non-nuclear submarines worth $ 3.826 billion.
Russia occupies the second position: in 2006-2009. two submarines were delivered to Algeria, in the next three years, six more submarines are to be transferred to the Vietnamese Navy. A contract is being prepared for the supply of Russian submarines to Indonesia. France closes the top three world leaders, according to TSAMTO. In 2006-2009. three submarines worth $ 937 million were delivered abroad, in 2010-2013. four new boats are to be sold for nearly $ 2 billion.
It should be noted that the export version of the newest Russian submarine of Project 677 has not yet entered the market. This is largely due to the technical problems that Russia faced during the construction and testing of the lead submarine "St. Petersburg". As a result, project 636 is being promoted not only to the external, but also to the domestic market: three boats of this type have been ordered for the Russian Navy.
In the future, the demand for submarines will grow, as will the importance of the maritime sector of the arms market as a whole. One of the main reasons for this growth is the increase in the economic importance of the World Ocean. The growth of the Earth's population, the gradual depletion of natural resources on the continents and the development of technologies lead to more active development of the biological and mineral resources of the shelf. The growth in the volume of international maritime traffic also has an impact. The result is political disputes over certain areas of the sea surface and bottom, for key islands and straits. In these conditions, states seeking to protect their interests at sea rely on the navy, which over the centuries of its existence has proven its effectiveness as a combat force and an instrument of political influence.
