The large landing ship "Ivan Gren" of project 11711 (according to NATO codification Ivan Gren) will soon become the most modern large landing ship in the Russian fleet. Large landing craft "Ivan Gren" is intended for the landing of troops, transportation of military equipment, as well as various equipment and cargo. In total, two ships of this project were laid down for the Russian Navy. The lead ship "Ivan Gren" is undergoing the final stage of state tests, the second large landing craft "Pyotr Morgunov" is preparing for launching. The Russian military abandoned the further construction of ships of this project in favor of creating even larger and more capacious ships of this class.
At the end of December 2017, the general director of the Baltic shipyard Yantar, Eduard Efimov, told reporters that the Ivan Gren large landing ship had entered the final stage of state tests. Shortly before this, the newest Russian ship conducted its first firing and checked the naval artillery in the Baltic Sea. It should be noted that "Ivan Gren" is a ship with a very difficult fate, it was laid down in Kaliningrad on December 23, 2004, but was launched only on May 18, 2012 and has not yet been included in the fleet. At the initial stage, the assembly of the ship was seriously complicated by unstable financing and problems at the enterprise itself.
At the same time, a new ship in the fleet is undoubtedly awaiting. Entering it into the fleet will significantly expand the capabilities of the Russian Navy at sea and in remote regions of the planet. Landing ship of the ocean zone "Ivan Gren" project 11711 will be able to take on board up to 300 marines, as well as 13 main battle tanks (weighing up to 60 tons) or a choice of up to - 36 armored personnel carriers / infantry fighting vehicles, military equipment is located on the tank deck. Also on board the ship there is a covered hangar and a take-off area for helicopter technology. It can take on board up to two Ka-29 transport and combat helicopters, or Ka-27 search and rescue helicopters. If necessary, it will be able to accommodate the Ka-52K Katran attack helicopter.
Large landing ships of project 11711 are a further development of the Soviet large landing craft project 1171 "Tapir". The design of the ships of the new project was carried out by the Nevsky Design Bureau. The project 1171 ship hull was not taken as a basis by chance, it has proven itself well over the decades of service in the Soviet, and then the Russian fleet. At the same time, most of the structures within the framework of the new project have undergone significant changes. Mainly, the superstructures and interiors of the landing ship were redesigned. During the construction of the large landing complex "Ivan Gren", the most modern technologies were used, in particular, aimed at reducing visibility through the use of modern technical solutions and materials. In addition, increased attention was paid to the accommodation conditions for the ship's crew and paratroopers. A gym, a canteen, as well as more comfortable cockpits and cabins appeared on board the large landing craft.
The loading of military equipment onto the ship can be carried out either independently by ramps or with the help of cranes. Loading of cargo and equipment into the troop compartment can be carried out through a four-leaf cargo hatch located in the upper deck using a crane with a lifting capacity of 16 tons. There are also two boat cranes on board for loading motor boats, lifeboats and equipment. Among other things, the cargo hatch of the ship can be used for ventilation, removing exhaust gases from operating equipment from the under-deck space (troop compartment). Ventilation of the troop compartment is very important, as it allows the transported equipment to warm up the engines, which is very important in low air temperatures. Exhaust gases from idling vehicles fill the landing hold rather quickly, so ventilation through the upper cargo hatch is simply necessary, thanks to which the paratroopers will not be poisoned by exhaust gases.
The main feature or "feature" of the Project 11711 ships is the so-called non-contact method of landing troops on an unequipped coast. For this, engineering pontoons can be pushed out into the water from the open nasal flaps, which, when coupled, form a bridge to the shore. This pontoon bridge joins the shore, on which the landing is made, after which it is used to ferry heavy equipment and marines. This landing scheme allows you to maintain a distance between the large landing craft and the coast, seriously reducing the risk of running aground.
The capabilities of the BDK "Ivan Gren" allow it to transport by sea tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, army trucks or towed artillery at a distance of up to 3,500 nautical miles (at a speed of 16 knots). Military equipment is transported on the so-called tank deck. The equipment can be loaded on board in different ways: by deck or portal crane, it can also go on board the ship on its own through the aft ramp. In addition to military equipment, the BDK can carry various cargoes, including standard 20-foot sea containers. Among other things, standard 20-foot sea containers can accommodate the Club-K missile system, which is a modification of the Caliber missile system. At the same time, it is unlikely that any missile systems will appear on board the Ivan Gren large landing craft, since countering enemy ships is not part of its direct tasks.
Light amphibious armored personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles and BMDs can be released into the sea directly from the stern and bow of the ship, they are able to reach the coast on their own. The landing is possible when the sea is rough up to 4 points. Due to the range of the "Ivan Gren" has the ability to remotely drop, he is able to patrol a certain region for a month, the autonomy of navigation is exactly 30 days.
The total displacement of the landing ship is 5,000 tons, length - 120 meters, width - 16.5 meters, draft - 3.6 meters. The heart of the Ivan Gren large landing craft is two 16-cylinder V-shaped diesel engines 10D49 with a gas turbine supercharging with a capacity of 5200 hp. The power plant's capabilities allow the ship to accelerate to a maximum speed of 18 knots. The ship's crew consists of 100 people. The most modern BDKs in the Russian fleet before the appearance of the Project 11711 ships were the Polish-built Project 755 BDK. "Ivan Gren" surpasses them in displacement - 5000 tons versus 4080 tons for ships of Project 755, in addition, the new Russian landing ship is 8 meters longer, 1.5 meters wider and 1.3 meters deeper in the water. Accordingly, its amphibious capabilities are also higher.
As part of the work on the project and the construction of the ship, its armament has undergone changes. According to the initial project, one 76-mm artillery mount AK-176M, two anti-aircraft artillery complexes "Broadsword" and two launchers of the multiple launch rocket system A-215 "Grad-M" were to appear on board the BDK. However, due to the fact that the concept of using the BDK project 11711 has undergone changes, as well as to save money and time for building the ship, in 2010 it was decided to change the composition of the armament, which today is purely defensive in nature.
The armament of the large landing craft "Ivan Gren" is represented by one two-automatic shipborne 30-mm automatic artillery mount AK-630M-2, two AK-630 mounts with a 5P-10-03 "Laska" radar fire control system, two 14.5-mm mounts MPTU " Sting ", as well as the complex of fired passive jamming KT-308-04" Prosvet-M ", this complex protects the ship from enemy missiles.
AK-630M-2 "Duet" is a modern two-automatic 30-mm automatic artillery mount, which provides an enormous rate of fire - up to 10,000 rounds per minute. Its main purpose is to provide antimissile defense of naval ships in the near zone. First of all, it is designed to destroy anti-ship missiles and other types of guided weapons. Also, the installation can solve the problem of engaging enemy aircraft, helicopters and UAVs, small-sized surface and coastal targets. The effective firing range is 4000 meters.
Installations AK-630M-2 and AK-630 are built according to the scheme of multi-barreled weapons (6 barrels each) with a rotating barrel block (the so-called Gatling scheme). Automation of Russian installations of this type works at the expense of the energy of powder gases and, unlike foreign analogues (Phalanx CIWS and Goalkeeper), does not require external energy sources to rotate the barrel block. Installed on the Ivan Gren landing ship, the AK-630M-2 “Duet” installation became a further modernization of the AK-630M1-2 complex, from which it visually differs in the turret, which received a lower radar signature.
In addition to rapid-fire artillery weapons, there are two large-caliber machine guns on board. This MPTU "Sting" - 14, 5-mm naval pedestal machine gun mounts, which are designed to combat air, surface and coastal lightly armored targets. Large-caliber machine guns can effectively engage lightly armored targets at ranges of up to 2000 meters and 1500 meters in height. For firing at air, surface and coastal targets, cartridges with the B-32 armor-piercing incendiary bullet, the BZT armor-piercing tracer bullet, and the MDZ instant incendiary bullet are used.
On the Internet and various media, one could come across allegations that the new Russian large landing ships of project 11711 are supposedly a kind of replacement for the Mistral-class universal amphibious docking ships built in France, but never transferred to the Russian Federation, but this is absolutely wrong. Firstly, the construction of the Ivan Gren large landing craft began long before the decision of the Ministry of Defense to purchase Mistrals in France, and secondly, the ships are difficult to compare even in their technical capabilities, mainly in size. It is incorrect to compare them due to the huge difference in displacement (more than 4 times), as well as the size of the aviation group (Mistrals can carry up to 16 light helicopters on board).
AK-630M-2 "Duet" - Russian shipborne two-automatic 30-mm automatic artillery mount
It is more correct to compare the new Russian large landing craft of project 11711 with the Chinese ships Type 072-III (Yuting-II class), which are large tank landing ships that are the main landing craft in the PRC naval forces. With similar characteristics and dimensions, the Russian project is favorably distinguished by the presence of a full-fledged helicopter hangar on board.
Despite the fact that Russian sailors are not interested in the further acquisition of the Project 11711 BDK (information about this appeared in 2015), abandoning them in favor of larger ships of a new generation, it is too early to put an end to the further prospects of the Project 11711 BDK. Currently, the ship already has an export passport, so it can be promoted by Russia for export. This was reported by the Zvezda TV channel with reference to Sergei Vlasov, who is the general director of the Nevsky Design Bureau. Judging by the official catalog of the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), we are talking about the 11711E project, which received a displacement increased to 6600 tons.
The ships of the Priboy project can be attributed to the larger landing ships that may appear in the Russian fleet in the future. Within the framework of the Army-2015 forum, a mock-up of universal landing ships of the Priboy project was presented for the first time with a displacement of more than 14 thousand tons and a capacity of up to 500 paratroopers, 20-30 tanks or 60 units of various military equipment. Among other things, these ships will be able to take on board up to 8 Ka-27 or Ka-52K helicopters.
