Whoever comes to us with a sword is … lagged behind in terms of weapons.
Swords are a thing of the past. Most countries, one way or another, are taking steps towards the creation of promising weapons and are continuously building up the power of their own armed forces. In the last 10 days alone, four major events dedicated to shipbuilding and marine technology have flashed in world news at once.
Russia. Launching of the multipurpose frigate "Admiral Grigorovich"
Frigate of the far sea zone of project 11356, designed to strengthen the Black Sea Fleet. "How timely!" - the reader will exclaim, and he will be absolutely right. "Grigorovich" will be an excellent addition to the surface component of the Black Sea Fleet, which urgently needs to update the ship's composition. The new frigate is ideally suited to the conditions of the future duty station: versatility, excellent cost-to-combat ratio, a focus on patrolling in the Mediterranean and participation in low-intensity conflicts.
The Indian Navy frigate INS Tarkash is an export version of Project 11356.
"Admiral Grigorovich" will look similar
The composition of the frigate's armament makes it possible to prevent any provocation and to fulfill the assigned task in the conditions of a "cold" confrontation between Russia and its geopolitical rivals.
Key facts and features of the new ship. Full displacement 4000 tons. The regular crew is 210 people. Elements of stealth technology are widely used in the design of the frigate. All means of detection, combat posts and weapons of the frigate are integrated into the new generation combat information and control system "Requirement-M". Shtil-1 multichannel medium-range anti-aircraft missile system. Self-defense in the near zone is provided by two anti-aircraft missile and artillery complexes "Broadsword". Aft helipad, hangar, Ka-27 helicopter. This aircraft armament significantly expands the frigate's anti-submarine capabilities and provides "flexibility" when performing non-standard missions.
The main weapon of "Admiral Grigorovich" is a universal shipborne firing complex (UKSK) for 8 cells. The modest number of launchers is offset by the power of the ammunition. The frigate's ammunition includes missiles of the Caliber family (anti-ship missiles with a detachable supersonic warhead, PLUR, SLCM with a flight range of 2000+ km) - in any proportion. No foreign ship of similar displacement has such impressive offensive capabilities.
"Admiral Grigorovich" became the largest warship launched over the past four years. And, obviously, it will become the first surface ship of the oceanic zone, entered into the Navy since the distant 1999.
The milestone event took place at the Kaliningrad Yantar plant on March 14, 2014. It is expected that the frigate will be completed and transferred to the Russian Navy by the end of this year.
USA. Date of commissioning of the nuclear submarine "North Dakota"
Less than a year after the entry into service of the previous submarine (USS Minnesota SSN-783), a new submarine is ready in line. Yankees bake their submarines like hot cakes.
Last week, the date and location of the ceremony was officially announced - Boston, May 31, 2014.
USS North Dakota (SSN-784) is the 11th ship of the "Virginia" project and the first of the submarines of sub-series No. 3. The Dakota is a trade-off between cost and combat capability. For the sake of saving money, in the absence of a worthy naval enemy, the Yankees had to abandon the development of secondary qualities, focusing on the main thing: stealth, reliability and situational awareness of the submarine.
An element of a new concept of naval forces, created with a focus on operations against the coast. "Dakota" is the best fit for its role: a means of secret reconnaissance off the enemy coast, sabotage and deafening strikes with the help of cruise missiles "Tomahawk".
Sub-series No. 3 differs from the rest of the Virginias with a new hydroacoustic complex based on a giant "horseshoe" antenna Large Apperture Bow (LAB), as well as a different location of the launchers for the Tomahawks - now they are grouped into two separate six-shot modules (here it is no coincidence that the analogy with two six-shot "Colts" on the coat of arms of the submarine).
The rest of the submarine has retained the main features of its predecessors. Modest size (7800 tons). 4 onboard torpedo tubes. Airlock for the exit of combat swimmers. Unmanned underwater vehicles for surveying the bottom and making passages in minefields. Telescopic mast AN / BVS-1 with cameras and thermal imagers - instead of the usual periscope. Water jet propulsion. S9G reactor with long-term core and natural circulation of the coolant. Ideally, the design period is 33 years of operation without recharging, which corresponds to the life of the submarine.
The disadvantages are also known:
- Giving up a number of opportunities (compared to the formidable SeaWolfe) failed to cut construction costs. The cost of the Virginia was extremely high - $ 3 billion per unit.
- Shallow immersion depth. The sources mention the figure of 240 m (test depth) - 2 times less than that of domestic nuclear submarines.
- Too numerous crew for such a small boat (117-135 people).
The main danger posed by the Virginias is their multiplicity, exacerbated by the continuous improvement of their designs.
Iran. Images of the Nimitz-class model aircraft carrier under construction
On March 21, the Pentagon released satellite images of a huge ship under construction at the Gachin shipyard in the Iranian city of Bandar Abbas. The design is suspiciously similar to the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, and its dimensions are 2/3 of the prototype.
The American military finds it difficult to name the exact purpose of this design, but they are absolutely sure that Iran is not capable of building a real ship of this class. Most likely, this is a mock-up in the form of a self-propelled barge, which will be used for filming provocative news.
The information war is gaining momentum. In this regard, the command of the US Navy has previously published information about the construction of an Iranian copy of the aircraft carrier in order to avoid sensational "news" about the sinking of the real "Nimitz".
Currently, 10 Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carriers are the largest and most expensive ships in world history. With a maximum length of 333 meters and a displacement of over 100 thousand tons, they are capable of carrying up to 90 aircraft and can move in the ocean for 1000 km in one day. In order for these monsters to turn into real weapons, in addition to an air wing of dozens of modern aircraft, they need numerous escorts from surface and submarine ships of the ocean zone, as well as high-speed supply transports and the corresponding coastal infrastructure - huge piers, docks half a kilometer long and air bases to accommodate numerous aircraft.
It is highly unlikely that Iran will be able to create such a combat system, even in a single copy. For comparison, the largest of the modern warships of the Iranian Navy - the destroyer (corvette?) Jamaran - has a displacement of 1,500 tons.
It is curious that after the publication of photographs of the model of the aircraft carrier in the world media, the Iranian side suspended work on the project.
Norway. Published new data on the construction of the reconnaissance ship "Maryata"
On March 16, the finished hull of the reconnaissance ship, representing the next generation of the Marjata family of naval scouts, arrived in Tomrefjorden, Norway.
The hull of the new "Maryata" was launched in Romania. Completion and saturation of the ship with secret equipment will be carried out at the enterprise of the main contractor - the Norwegian company Vard Langsten. The ship is expected to enter service in 2016.
Photo of "Maryata" of the fourth generation, taken during its towing in the Bosphorus
The cost of building the scout is estimated at 1.5 million Swedish kronor. Displacement - about 10 thousand tons (estimate). "Maryata" will traditionally be filled with the most modern radio and hydroacoustic reconnaissance equipment.
The ship will be an important asset supporting exploration in the High North over the next 30 years.
- the head of the Norwegian military intelligence, Lieutenant General Kjell Grandhagen.
The main base of the RZK is the ports of Kirkenes and Vardø, the operational zone is the Barents Sea, work near the training grounds of the Northern Fleet. However, "Mashka" is not distinguished by particular delicacy and regularly penetrates into the restricted areas of the Federation Council exercises, in violation of all safety standards and prohibitions of the Russian side.
"Maryata" is formally under the control of the Norwegian Intelligence Service (NIS), but in fact performs tasks in the interests of the Pentagon, American specialists regularly appear in its crew (naval intelligence, NSA?).
The "Maryata" under construction will become the fourth generation of the legendary sea scouts, who have been spoiling the nerves of Russian sailors for half a century. At the moment, a ship of the previous generation, built in 1995, is spying in the Arctic waters - also to some extent a shipbuilding masterpiece.
The metacentric height of this "iron" is 16 meters, which allows the RCS to maintain stability even in the stormy North Sea with heavy icing on the upper deck. The Mashka is ideally suited for reconnaissance in the harsh conditions of the Arctic. A colossal margin of stability, insulated casings of antenna devices, a minimum level of intrinsic noise, a huge 12-meter GAS antenna that allows you to “hear” the entire hydrology of the Barents Sea …
"Maryata" poses a real threat to the interests of Russia. It is not for nothing that our sailors, when the Norwegian RZK appears, break their voices to a wheeze, shouting into the microphone: "Norgi, go home!"
"Masha" at the Norfolk Naval Base (Virginia)
