Last Monday, events took place in the media once again, which for some time now have become a kind of tradition. First, there was sensational news, and then it scattered across Internet sites and newspapers. When official comments appeared regarding the veracity of these messages, a considerable part of the audience of the media had already managed to form their opinion on the problem and the statements of officials in some cases were not heard. This was not the first such incident, and most likely not the last, but let's talk about everything in order.
The current scandal at five minutes later began with the fact that on Monday a respected publication published ambiguous information about the nuclear submarine "Severodvinsk". A certain anonymous source in the country's defense complex shared not very pleasant news with Interfax. According to him, the previously promised acceptance of the Severodvinsk nuclear submarine into the Russian Navy this year will be postponed for several months. The new submarine will go to serve no earlier than next year. The anonymous source named serious problems with the nuclear power plant of the boat, an unacceptably high level of noise, as well as the failure of related enterprises to fulfill their obligations, because of which the boat runs the risk of being left without a new torpedo.
Naturally, such specific news simply could not fail to attract the attention of the public, as well as other print and Internet publications. The date of their publication in combination with the news of the previous week gave a special piquancy to the words of the anonymous source. As recently as August 8, First Deputy Defense Minister A. Sukhorukov said that the Severodvinsk submarine was being tested and that all work was proceeding in full accordance with the planned schedule. According to him, all the necessary tests will be completed by the end of this year, and by the end of 2012, the boat will join the Navy's combat strength. Just five days after the deputy minister's statements, the words of a certain source in the defense industry got into circulation. The fact that the two news contradicts each other only added fuel to the discussion.
Almost immediately after the appearance of the message about the disruption of the date for the acceptance of the submarine into service, some citizens recalled the earlier news. So, according to the initial plans, the lead submarine of project 885 "Ash" - "Severodvinsk" - was to become part of the fleet before the beginning of 2012. Later, due to a number of economic and production problems, the deadline was postponed for almost a year. According to some experts and amateurs of military equipment, this transfer may serve as proof that Severodvinsk has serious problems that could lead to another time shift. It is worth noting another opinion, which explains the problems and is distinguished by a greater radicalism of judgments. According to him, delays in the commissioning of Severodvinsk are a direct consequence of the existing communication system between industrial enterprises, which urgently needs to be radically rebuilt.
However, all the opinions expressed are only the judgments of persons not directly related to the construction or testing of a new submarine. It would be wiser to seek comments from the official representatives of the domestic shipbuilding industry or the military department. In the afternoon of August 15, ITAR-TASS published excerpts from a conversation with the head of the Department of the State Defense Order of the United Shipbuilding Corporation A. Shlemov. According to him, all tests of the new nuclear submarine are proceeding normally, and their schedule is being fully implemented. Last year, all three planned outings to the sea were completed, and this year there were two of them. Now the Severodvinsk crew is preparing for the next test cruise. At the same time, Shlemov notes that during the five test trips to the sea, the submarine's power plant did not have serious problems, and was also able to reach its design power. Therefore, the head of the State Defense Order Department considers the statements of an anonymous "source in the defense complex" to be inconsistent with the real state of affairs.
The situation is similar with the noise of the new boat. A number of new technologies were applied in its design, which, by definition, cannot cause more noise than older nuclear submarines. As for the allegedly not ready-made torpedoes, the presence or absence of a new ammunition of this type can hardly have a serious impact on the adoption of a new boat. First of all, for the reason that for some time "Severodvinsk" can use torpedoes of old models. Unless, of course, the information about the unacceptable state of the new torpedo project turns out to be true. An objection may arise here: the same "Yuri Dolgoruky" was on trials for several years due to the fact that for a long time it was not possible to bring to mind the ballistic missile R-30 "Bulava". However, in the case of the Project 955 Borei nuclear submarines, the missile that caused the difficulty is the main weapon. In turn, the torpedo weapons on the Ash will be auxiliary, and the main strike weapon of these boats will be the Caliber missiles.
One interesting design feature of the project 885 "Ash" is indirectly connected with the new torpedoes. The torpedo tubes of these boats are not located in the bow, as was done before, but in its middle part. Thanks to this, it was possible to allocate the entire bow of the boat for the equipment of the new Amphora hydroacoustic station. In domestic practice, such a system has been applied for the first time, although abroad it has long been no news. One of the reasons that our shipbuilders did not use this layout is the speed limit when firing. Perhaps the designers of the Malakhit bureau were able to solve this problem.
Returning to the news that started it all, we can say the following. For some not entirely clear reason, some mass media are too lazy to check the information they receive. In addition, the mention of certain unnamed sources is often a serious reason for doubting not only the veracity of the statements, but also the very existence of this very source and, as a result, undermines the credibility of the newspaper, magazine or news site. Another unpleasant consequence of the publication of unverified data is the creation of "information noise". A large amount of unconfirmed news can dull the attention of the audience, which ultimately can adversely affect the dissemination of truly serious and important information. Finally, such messages, even if disproved, hurt the image of the army, industry and the country as a whole. Is it worth paying such a price for ratings?
