The incident involving two warships of the US Navy and the Russian Navy, which took place in the northern part of the Arabian Sea on January 9, 2020, was interpreted differently by each of the parties and ultimately boiled down to mutual accusations. At the same time, this news drew increased attention to the participants in the incident with a dangerous rapprochement of two warships. First of all - to the new Russian reconnaissance ship (communications vessel) "Ivan Khurs" of project 18280. Today it is the most modern reconnaissance ship of the Russian fleet.
Reconnaissance ships - project 18280
The engineers of the famous Iceberg Central Design Bureau were responsible for the development of Project 18280 reconnaissance ships (communications ships). The main specialization of this CDB is the creation of icebreakers, as well as auxiliary ships and special-purpose ships for the Russian navy. Back in Soviet times, the specialists of this design bureau created a large nuclear reconnaissance ship of the project 1941 "Ural" that has no analogues in the world, which became the largest surface ship in the Russian fleet with a nuclear power plant on board. Also, the "Iceberg" specialists designed Project 1826 reconnaissance ships.
The new Russian Project 18280 ocean-class reconnaissance ships, created by specialists of the Iceberg Central Design Bureau, are a further development of previously implemented projects at a new technical and technological level. Two ships of this project were built at the Severnaya Verf enterprise in St. Petersburg for the Russian fleet. Officially, they are all designated as communication vessels. The first ship, named Yuri Ivanov, was laid down back in 2004, the ship was launched only in 2013, and the ship was accepted into the fleet in 2015. The second reconnaissance ship of project 18280 was named "Ivan Khurs". Laid down in 2013, the ship was launched in 2017, and already in June 2018 was included in the fleet.
The reconnaissance ship "Yuri Ivanov" is serving in the Northern Fleet, and the "Ivan Khurs" went to the Black Sea Fleet, its home port is the city of Sevastopol. As part of the Black Sea Fleet, "Ivan Khurs" compensated for the loss of the medium reconnaissance ship "Liman", which sank on April 27, 2017. The presence of such a ship allows the Russian Black Sea Fleet to ensure the constant presence of reconnaissance vessels, primarily in the Mediterranean Sea, which in recent years has again become quite important for the Russian fleet.
It is noteworthy that both ships of Project 18280 were named after the sailors who made a significant contribution to the creation and development of military intelligence of the Soviet Navy. So Vice Admiral Ivan Khurs from 1979 to 1987 headed the military intelligence of the USSR Navy. In total, it is planned to build up to four such ships for the Russian fleet. Two more vessels of Project 18280 may be built by 2025.
Among the main reconnaissance tasks that can be solved with the help of ships of project 18280, the following are distinguished:
- electronic intelligence, allowing to determine the type, affiliation and characteristics of the detected sources of radio emission;
- tracking the components of the US sea-based missile defense system;
- radio interception of air radio messages at all frequencies;
- identification and systematization of sources of various electromagnetic radiation;
- compilation of electromagnetic and acoustic profiles of various surface ships and submarines;
- control over sea communications;
- observation of the actions of the fleets of a potential enemy, including during naval maneuvers and exercises.
What is the intelligence ship "Ivan Khurs"
The main tasks of the ships of project 18280 are to provide communications and control of the fleet, as well as to solve special reconnaissance tasks. The ships are able to conduct modern reconnaissance and take an active part in electronic warfare. It is believed that one of the main tasks of such ships is to monitor the components of the American missile defense system (primarily naval), as well as anti-aircraft missile systems.
According to the assurances of the developers, in the ships of the project 18280, it was possible to significantly improve the operational characteristics of ship power, as well as the efficiency of use in comparison with similar ships of previous generations. On reconnaissance ships, automation of control processes for radio surveillance and communication systems was widely used, which made it possible to reduce the number of crews. Improved seaworthiness. In particular, to improve the maneuverability and controllability of the vessel, the ships of the project 18280 are equipped with adjustable pitch propellers.
According to the manufacturer, such ships are fundamentally new ships for the Russian fleet, significantly superior in their capabilities to ships of previous generations. There is no doubt that the ships of the project 18280 have better tactical and technical characteristics than the ships of Soviet construction, but many characteristics of the ships, including the composition and capabilities of the onboard equipment, are currently classified information.
At the same time, the main technical characteristics of the ships are well known. The ships of the project 18280, which include the Ivan Khurs reconnaissance vessel, have a total displacement of 4,000 tons. The ship is 95 meters long and 16 meters wide. The ships are equipped with a main power plant developed by specialists from the Kolomna plant. The ship's power plant includes two modern 5DRA diesel geared units, built on the basis of an 11D42 8ChN30 / 38 8-cylinder diesel engine. The total power of the main power plant is 5500 hp. This is enough to provide the ship of project 18280 with a cruising speed of 16 knots (approximately 30 km / h). The cruising range of the ship is 8000 nautical miles (14 816 km). The crew of the ship is 131 people. All the given data are taken from the official website of the Severnaya Verf company, which built both ships of the series. It is worth noting that the Soviet-built reconnaissance ships of Project 1826 were slightly larger - 105 meters long, with a total displacement of 4550 tons.
The full composition and technical characteristics of the radio equipment placed on board are classified information. It is known that on board the ships of the project 18280 are installed: navigation radar MR-231-3; integrated bridge electronic system "Mostyk 18280", which is responsible for positioning the ship, localization and orientation on the ground; the system of mutual information exchange "Subtitle-23", which is responsible for the electronic compatibility of radar, detection and navigation stations. According to experts, the equipment placed on board the ship makes it possible to track signals of different power in different wavelengths.
The traditional armament of the ship is symbolic in nature and is represented by a set of 14.5 mm Vladimirov heavy machine guns (KPV) mounted on a special naval column-mounted machine gun mount (MTPU). In total, there are from two to four such installations on board, which can be used to combat surface and air targets, including lightly armored ones. The maximum sighting range for surface targets is 2000 meters, for air targets - 1500 meters. Also at the disposal of the crew of the ship are MANPADS "Igla" or more advanced "Verba".
The ship's crew of 131 people and the size of the ship suggest the presence of a well-developed household infrastructure. On board, in addition to the crew cabins, the medical block and sanitary facilities, there is a large galley block, designed to cater for more than 100 people. For cooking alone in the galley, about 30 items of various equipment are used: from standard ovens and boilers to kneaders and flour sifters. Moreover, all the equipment installed in the galley is of domestic production.
