"We were different in everything …"
The vision of submarine forces in the Soviet Union and the United States was very different, which was due to both different strategies for using submarines, and different levels of military-technical development. The simplest example: for nuclear submarines, the United States has long chosen a single-hull architecture, while Soviet submarines were built with a double-hull. In the latter case, the main ballast tanks are located inside a lightweight hull, which completely covers the robust hull.
However, even more attention is drawn to the fact that the United States, unlike Russia, has long gone along the path of reducing the types of submarines in order to maximize their unification. Putting aside a couple of built multipurpose Seawulfs, which are, in fact, a conceptual legacy of the Cold War, then the only multipurpose boat of the future should be the Virginia. And the only strategic one will remain "Ohio" for a very long time.
This approach is intended to save money and facilitate operation. Although, in all fairness, Virginia is not the most powerful multipurpose nuclear submarine, and all Ohio are already quite old. In turn, Russia inherited from the USSR many different submarines of different projects: often they had only external similarities. If the United States long ago abandoned diesel-electric submarines, then for Russia they remain, firstly, an important element of the country's defense capability and, secondly, a significant (albeit far from the main) part of the country's export potential.
The spirit of time
Prestige in the global arms market directly stems from the last point: not every state can offer modern submarines to foreign customers. As of 2006, 29 submarines of project 877 "Halibut" were delivered to foreign customers. However, not everything is rosy. In 2014, the media reported that the Indonesian Ministry of Defense refused to buy used Russian Halibuts. The decision to refuse was taken after a delegation of the Indonesian Navy visited the Russian Federation, which checked the condition of the ships. And already in 2017, Indonesia received the first South Korean-built submarine of the DSME1400 project …
In general, it is becoming more and more difficult for the post-Soviet countries to compete with the leading world powers on the arms market. So, if the Russian defense industry is quite capable of producing modernized Soviet models, then it is difficult to make a qualitative leap forward into the 21st century. One of the striking examples is the domestic anaerobic power plant for future diesel-electric boats. Recently it became known that the project has not been funded for about a year and a half. According to available data, the Indians, who traditionally rely on cooperation with Russia, have already shown interest in him. At least in matters of the Navy.
Working principle and possibilities
Let's look at the issue in a little more detail. Unlike nuclear submarines, a conventional diesel-electric boat has limitations associated with the need to rise to the surface to charge batteries. At the same time, an air-independent or anaerobic engine does not require direct access to the surface, and a submarine can perform its tasks for a rather long time, being under the water column.
It is worth saying that different countries approached the challenges differently:
- Sweden created an installation based on the Stirling engine;
- Germany based the installation on an electrochemical generator and intermetallic hydrogen storage;
- France created a plant based on a closed-cycle turbine using ethanol and liquid oxygen.
New European diesel-electric boats are capable of staying under water for almost 20 days, performing in full the assigned combat missions. An example of a modern boat is the German project 212A submarine, which is actively used by both the German fleet and the navies of other European countries, for example, Italy.
Russian hopes were associated with the project 677 Lada submarine, which is, in fact, a modernized boat of the 877 project. Project 677 in the future envisaged the installation of anaerobic power plants. According to the plans, the Russian plant should use highly purified hydrogen for operation. They want to get it from diesel fuel by converting the fuel into hydrogen-containing gas and aromatic hydrocarbons, which must subsequently pass through a hydrogen recovery unit. Subsequently, the hydrogen is directed to the hydrogen-oxygen fuel cells, where electricity is generated for engines and on-board systems.
At the same time, Russia wants (or wanted) to use the anaerobic installation not only for existing submarines, but also for promising submarines. “We have developed a line of small submarines with a displacement of two hundred to a thousand tons … One of their main advantages is the use of VNEU. These boats will be able to feel comfortable in straits, shallow areas, harbors, and will even be able to enter enemy ports and naval bases. High stealth, small size and the ability to stay under water for weeks without surfacing makes them ideal scouts and allows them to launch a surprise attack on ships and key coastal infrastructure facilities, Igor Karavaev, the lead designer of the Malakhit Design Bureau, said in his 2018 comment to RIA Novosti. Obviously, further plans for the creation of promising small submarines are in question.
Take and stop
Perhaps Russia with its promising air-independent installation could declare itself before 2013. However, the current political and economic realities are not conducive to this at all. The fact is that a technological leap in conditions of actual isolation is practically impossible: it would be naive to rely solely on internal resources, and there is no need to wait for external assistance.
Perhaps Russia should focus on the most important projects for the Navy, such as building new Project 885 multipurpose submarines or upgrading the R-30 missiles for Borey-class 955 strategic submarines. One can argue: we are talking about completely different directions, but the problem is also that there will not be enough money for all important and promising undertakings in modern conditions. Therefore, most likely, the Russian anaerobic installation will be on a par with the nuclear destroyer "Leader" and the promising aircraft carrier "Storm". Although these projects, unlike VNEU, de facto died long before their birth.
