Last week on "VO" there was an article about the state of the armed forces of Foggy Albion. The expert, without hesitation in expressions, colorfully described the decline of the once powerful Air Force and Navy (the British army was traditionally not a priority).
Britain's military spending is only 1.9% of GDP, which does not have the best effect on the country's defense capability. However, the author got overly carried away by touching on areas of which he is not clear-cut. The lack of information was made up for by guesses, which, according to the author, should correspond to the general line of his story.
Britain cannot count on the "distant line of storm-covered ships" by the "ruling seas"; things are even worse with her than with aviation.
Weighing the blunders of others, few of us will not put our hand on the scales (L. Peter). Objectivity is a subjective concept. For accurate estimates, it is necessary to have the full amount of information, which is unlikely in practice. The maximum that a journalist can do is to be impartial when analyzing the data available to him.
A closer look at the Royal Navy leads to an unexpected conclusion: their fleet is at its best in the last 50 years. And a limited budget is enough to maintain some of the best navies in the world. In order to be convinced of this, let's rewind history several decades back.
1982, Falklands Conflict: the best that Britain had - Type 42 destroyers (4200 tons) with limited combat capabilities. Eight units in the ranks.
Aircraft carriers and SeaHarriers failed against the Argentine Air Force equipped with 1950s aircraft. Those aircraft carriers were like that.
A couple of dozen destroyers and frigates (2000 tons) built in the 1950-60s. A simple fact speaks about the capabilities of these “vessels”: out of eight dozen missiles released by the “SeaCat” air defense system,… 0 hits were recorded.
It is not surprising that 30 ships and vessels (one third of the squadron!) Were damaged by air attacks. The British admirals owe their victory to the even more depressing state of the armed forces of Argentina, who refused 80% of the bombs dropped.
Three decades have passed. How has the British navy changed?
The combat core of the modern KVMS is six destroyers of the Daring type (Type 45), commissioned in 2009-2013.
"Daring", in general, is also not a masterpiece of shipbuilding, they have a rather problematic air defense system
The mention of the problematic air defense system was especially strange, given that the Daringi are the best specialized air defense / missile defense ships in the world. Where the British destroyers fail, no one can.
How justified is such a statement? Just look at the ships to make sure they are the best in their class.
The destroyer stands out to everyone. From a competent layout with an outstanding height of the antenna posts, to the quality characteristics of the antennas themselves (2 radars with AFAR) and the PAAMS (S) anti-aircraft complex, which set a series of records for intercepting targets in difficult conditions.
The Daring is twice the size of the destroyers of the previous type (Type 42). Its full displacement is about 8000 tons. The lack of strike weapons and long-range missile launchers is explained by peacetime: in the bow of the Daring, a place is reserved for 12-16 additional missile silos.
Even a decade after the laying, the level of air defense of British destroyers remains unattainable for the navies of most countries of the world.
In addition to the Daring, the surface component includes 13 Duke (Duke)-class frigates, which joined the ranks of the Navy in the period from 1990 to 2002. In terms of their characteristics and composition of weapons, they roughly correspond to the domestic BODs of pr. 1155. At the same time, the “Dukes” are younger than the domestic BODs and destroyers by an average of 10 years.
In 2017, the next generation frigate Global Combat Ship (Type 26) was laid down at the shipyard in Glasgow, with a total displacement of over 8,000 tons. The Navy is expected to receive eight of these oversized frigates by the end of the next decade.
This is what the “shabby British lion” looks like.
In parallel, the development of the project "Type 31e", also known as "general purpose frigate" is underway. A more modest version of the ocean zone ship, planned for construction in a series of 5 units.
Aircraft carriers
In 2017, the aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth began to undergo sea trials. With a total displacement of over 70 thousand tons, she became the largest warship ever built in Great Britain. And also the first full-fledged Royal Navy aircraft carrier in 38 years, since the obsolete Arc Royal was scrapped in 1980.
How will the potential of the Navy change with the advent of Queen Elizabeth and its twin, the aircraft carrier Prince of Wales under construction, whose transfer to the Navy is scheduled for 2020?
Despite its outstanding size, Queen Elizabeth does not have catapults and is designed to operate aircraft with vertical (short) takeoff and landing. According to the plan, the actual size of the air group will be only 24 F-35B fighters and several units of rotorcraft. In the amphibious configuration, it is possible to place transport and combat helicopters (including the heavy CH-47 Chinook), convertoplanes and the AN-64 Apache strike squadron.
It is known that even the American "Nimitz" - unlike the more powerful and sophisticated ships with a larger number of air wings, are not able to influence the situation in local wars. Then what do the British expect? Obviously, "Queen" will not represent any significant force.
One thing is certain - even such a ship is better than an empty dock.
70 thousand tons could not be wasted. The British received a universal platform - a mobile airfield with a couple of dozen fighters, an anti-submarine helicopter carrier, an amphibious assault ship and a naval radar base - thanks to its powerful radar, "Queen" is able to control airspace within a radius of 400 km.
Now it will be brought in wherever it will be possible to use such a ship. The question of necessity is taken out of the scope of discussions. The status of a "naval power" obliges to have an aircraft carrier.
With the advent of aircraft carriers, the question arose about the further fate of the landing ships Albion and Bulwerk (Oplot), which entered service in 2003-2004. British UDCs are not distinguished by outstanding capabilities, inferior in terms of the aggregate of characteristics to the French Mistral. Taking into account the fact that landing operations can be ensured with the participation of the Queen Elizabeth aircraft carriers, the planned service life of the Albion-class UDC (up to 2033-34) can be adjusted downward.
The possibility of early write-off of UDC has another reason: there is a “shadow” element in the structure of the British Navy. Auxiliary Fleet (RFA) - naval special purpose vessels, manned by civilian crews, while performing purely military tasks. Fast tankers, integrated supply ships, multi-purpose landing ships and helicopter carriers disguised as civilian ships.
The auxiliary fleet is actively replenished with new equipment. So, in 2017, a fast tanker (KSS) of a new type "Tidespring" with a displacement of 39,000 tons was commissioned. This unit is the backbone of the British Navy, providing operations around the globe.
Underwater component
In service - 10 nuclear submarines:
4 "Vanguard" strategic and 6 multipurpose submarines: three "Trafalgar" (1989-1991) and three "Astyuta" of the new generation.
At various stages of construction, there are two more submarines of the Astyut series, the third built, but not having time to enter service (Odeishes), began testing in January 2018.
Taking into account the technical condition of the ships, their young age and equipment (for example, all six submarines are carriers of long-range cruise missiles), the British Navy can claim the second place in the world (after the United States) in terms of the number of combat-ready submarines.
In order not to retell hackneyed truths, I want to share a couple of facts about Submarine Service.
It is common knowledge that British SSBNs are armed with American Trident-2 ballistic missiles. It is less known that the British are using more advanced nuclear warheads of their own design, which have an adjustable explosion power (from 0.5 to 100 kt).
All six multipurpose nuclear submarines are armed with Tomahawk long-range missile launchers. Great Britain is the only one of the US allies that has been granted the right to acquire this weapon, which combines a strategic flight range with a conventional warhead.
Cruise missile purchases are slow, with the British acquiring roughly 65 Tomahawks every decade to offset the use of existing missiles. The first combat use took place during the bombing of Serbia in 1999, 20 missiles were fired by British submarines. Subsequently, the launches of the CD were made from the Indian Ocean in support of the operation in Afghanistan, the US invasion of Iraq and the bombing of Libya in 2011.
Worthy of worthy adversaries
The only fleet in the world that has experience in naval warfare in conditions close to modern ones. Able in practice to provide logistical support for a large maritime operation at a distance of 13 thousand kilometers from its shores.
Assessing the state and capabilities of the Royal Navy is impossible without taking into account the geopolitical realities of our time. The British Navy is an integral part of the American Navy, which has a multinational format. The anti-aircraft qualities of the Daring are used to provide defense for the US aircraft carrier groups. Auxiliary fleet tankers are escorting American squadrons. Atomic Trafalgars launch cruise missiles to support US operations in the Middle East.
