As you know, being rich and healthy is better than being poor and sick. The existing order of things, in which the fleet of one state in terms of quantity and quality is an order of magnitude ahead of the fleet of the other side, has generated a distorted understanding of the strength and weakness of the naval forces. It has become customary to admire the full power of the Sixth Fleet and laugh at the lonely Smetlivy SKR with air defense systems of the 60s. There is no doubt that it is easy and simple to think in terms of "battleship Yamato" versus eight aircraft carriers of the 58th Task Force, since the outcome of the battle is obvious in advance, without any complicated calculations.
Over the past 100 years, the oceans have plied many worthy fleets, each with its own characteristics and methods of warfare. It happened that they fought with each other - and then it was impossible to predict the outcome of the battle. At the moment, American sailors have no enemy equal in strength. But global hegemony is a temporary phenomenon. What will happen when the dashing Captains of Heaven run into the same reckless Saviors of the galaxies?
What if we compare the power of two modern ships of different classes, if both rivals are "advanced" combat units, created at the same technological level, with the most modern means of detection and weapons? Will there be a situation that, despite the 8-fold difference in size and cost, their combat value will be the same?
The purpose of this metaphysical comparison is to try to find an answer about the most efficient and balanced appearance of the fleet. The fleet to be built by Russia in the near future (regardless of the opinion of the author, the surface component of the Russian Navy needs to be updated as soon as possible).
Unfortunately, the equipment necessary for comparison is still available only on one side of the ocean - the supercarrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) and the strike stealth destroyer USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000). Launched in the fall of 2013, both ships represent the quintessence of the most advanced technologies in the field of shipbuilding, radio electronics, metallurgy, physics of composites and all related fields of science and technology.
Hammer of Storms
The largest and most expensive warship in the history of mankind. Its length is 337 meters. Full displacement 112 thousand tons. The crew is 4660 people.
Ford opened a new era in the history of supercarriers - an optimized layout with three lifts and a smaller island superstructure. Electromagnetic catapults EMALS. Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) landing system with "intelligent" energy absorption of the aircraft - which reduces the load on the structure of deck aircraft and allows you to safely land "drones". Nuclear reactor A1B, which does not require recharging for 50 years. Dual-band radar system DBR. The PAWDS plasma system for incineration of household waste is an important element for a ship with a crew of many thousands. Self-defense systems based on PU Mk.29 (ESSM), RIM-116 and automatic anti-aircraft guns "Falanx". Finally, a powerful air wing - multi-role fighters F-35B, F / A-18E / F, specialized electronic warfare aircraft EA-18G, reconnaissance and attack UAVs X-47B, AWACS aircraft E-2D, a squadron of anti-submarine and search and rescue helicopters of the MH- 60 … A formidable force!
The price of the issue is $ 17.5 billion. Taking into account all the R&D carried out, but excluding the cost of aircraft.
Dreadnought of the XXI century
An inimitable stealth destroyer, as if descended from the screens of science fiction films. The length of "Zamvolt" reaches 183 meters, full displacement - 14, 5 thousand tons. The regular crew is 142 sailors. Amazing external forms - a blockage of sides, a breakwater nose, the absence of masts and chimneys, a superstructure resembling a truncated pyramid in shape - "Zamvolt" as if shouts to an involuntary observer: Pay attention to me! Of course, this is a joke - all other things being equal, the radar signature of this ship should be several times lower than that of cruisers and destroyers of similar size in other countries. Enemy radars will not be able to detect Zamvolt's presence from a long distance. According to the Pentagon, its effective scattering area corresponds to the RCS of a fishing boat.
Due to the specific contours of the hull, "Zamvolt" will have a too dim and poorly expressed wake. The foam breaker will break off just aft of the ship, making the Zamvolt almost indistinguishable from space orbits. And the effective system of air supply to the lower part of the hull, coupled with streamlined contours and low-noise mechanisms, will make Zamvolt difficult to detect for submarine sound direction finders. The stealth destroyer will disappear without a trace against the background of the ocean.
The secrets of the "Pentagon's silver bullet" are not limited to stealth - the Yankees have achieved great success in creating detection equipment. One of the main know-how is the multifunctional AN / SPY-3 radar with three active PAR. In addition to tracking the horizon, the Reytheon radio-electronic miracle makes it possible to automatically scan the sea surface for mines and submarine periscopes, to perform the functions of a navigation radar and an electronic reconnaissance complex. Among other things, the SPY-3 performs the functions of a radar for guiding anti-aircraft missiles - radio command control of the autopilot on the marching sector and target illumination. And thanks to AFAR, the number of simultaneously highlighted targets can reach many tens!
… At this point, the plot about the super destroyer makes an unexpected turn, and we finally move into the genre of "alternative history". Although who knows - maybe not so alternative …
The fact is that the Zamvolta complex of electronic means of detecting was originally built according to the DBR (Dual Band Radar) scheme. This is not surprising - on warships, the functions of a general overview and search for low-flying targets are usually performed by two specialized radars. For "Zamvolt" these were supposed to be AN / SPY-3 (centimeter range) and survey AN / SPY-4 (decimeter, also with three AFAR). Working samples of both radars exist in reality, places were reserved for them in the superstructure of the destroyer - alas, in 2010, the Yankees faced the need for tough financial cuts.
It was decided to save money and abandon the AN / SPY-4, because there is no shortage of ships with early warning radars (AN / SPY-1 of the Aegis system) in the US Navy. As a result, "Zamvolt" is positioned as a strike ship with object air defense.
In our abstract comparison of a "whale with an elephant" I think it is permissible to assume that the "Zamvolt" was completed according to the original project - with a full set of radar stations for monitoring the far and near zones. Even if that adds hundreds of millions to the final cost of the ship, the destroyer will be able to provide zone-based theater of war air defenses - just as the Yankees anticipated, prior to the 2010 financial constraints. In the future, we will consider this particular option.
The same applies to ammunition - in reality, in the cells of the peripheral UVP Mk.57 there will be self-defense missiles RIM-162 ESSM, with a max. launch range of 50 km (longer-range weapons are useless, due to the lack of a long-range radar). But this does not mean a ban on equipping a destroyer with heavier and longer-range ammunition - the Mk.57 UVP can carry almost the entire range of missiles in service with the US Navy, including heavy 2, 7-ton containers with Tomahawks. In our case, "Zamvolt", as originally conceived, will be armed with SAM family "Stenderd" - with a firing range of over 200 km.
Now everything is in order, you can move on …
Price
The price is extremely high. The construction of Zamvolta cost the US budget $ 3.5 billion, and taking into account the development of the supership and its superweapons, it reached an incredible $ 7 billion!
The Advanced Electric Demonstrator is a mock ship built according to the Zamvolt program. Its cost is included in the final cost of the destroyer. With serial construction, R&D costs will not be so sensitive - the cost of destroyers should inevitably decrease
It would seem that the difference in the cost of an aircraft carrier (17.5 billion) and a destroyer is quite small. The aircraft carrier is 2, 5 times more expensive, with incomparable dimensions and combat capabilities. But this is just the tip of the iceberg …
Zamvolt, unlike an aircraft carrier, does not need an air wing - fifty Super Hornet fighters at a price of $ 80 million apiece (weapon cost FY2012). You can count the F-35C for the sake of interest - but then the calculation will take on a completely comical form.
It is worth considering that airplanes are an expensive consumable; in the 40-50 years of a ship's life, its wing will be renewed at least twice (moral and physical aging, accidents and combat losses). The red line shows the costs of aviation fuel, infrastructure, spare parts and man-hours of those. services, qualifications of pilots and their regular training. According to the calculations of the caperang of the US Navy Henry Hendrix, the cost of the bombs delivered in this way exceeds $ 2 million apiece - in local conflicts it is cheaper to shoot Tomahawks (despite the fact that there is an even simpler and more effective method, to which we will return a little below) …
It is curious that for the management of Zamvolt 30 times smaller crew required - what this means is probably self-explanatory. Salaries are one of the main expenses of the fleet, which is 100% staffed by contract soldiers.
Indirect costs - not every berth will be able to support the basing of a 337-meter ship. An air wing requires a coastal air base to accommodate aircraft during docking and repair work on an aircraft carrier. Additional fees for the passage of the Suez Canal - for the escorting of a nuclear warship of monstrous size and the associated risks from the Americans will be "ripped off" in full. Etc. "little things" for all occasions.
Finally, the operating and maintenance costs of the Zamwalt are several times lower than those of the giant Gerald Ford - I don’t have exact numbers, but it’s obvious, as white and black.
Alien vs. Predator
2020 year. The place of action is the Sargasso Sea (it would be unfair to transfer actions to the northern latitudes in relation to the aircraft carrier).
In a "spherical vacuum", the battle between "Ford" and "Zamvolt" will resemble an attempt to checkmate with two knights. The lone black king can only lose by making a series of blunders.
The pursuit of "Zamvolt" is a deadly task: at any moment the hunter risks turning into a game himself. To see the stealth destroyer, early warning aircraft will have to approach it at a distance of less than 100 miles - flying at high altitude, the slow and clumsy E-2D Hawkeye will be an excellent target for shipborne air defense systems. Moreover, the destroyer itself can use passive systems for collecting information until the last moment, without giving away its presence in any way.
Having lost target designation, the strike group will find itself in a delicate position - to fly forward into the unknown means certain death - they will repeat the fate of the Hokai. A salvo of HARM missiles aiming at the radiation of an enemy radar means throwing several million green candy wrappers into the ocean - to launch a HARM, you need to know the bearing to the target with high accuracy. In the end, the HARM itself and its carrier can be destroyed by the ship's air defenses, and the HARM guidance system can be neutralized by switching the Zamvolt's radars to passive mode. The function of memorizing the coordinates of the place from which the radiation last came is useless - by the time the HARM reaches the calculated point, the ship will be many hundreds of meters away from it.
Light subsonic aircraft-based anti-ship missiles (and the Yankees have no others) will face similar difficulties, besides, they are even more vulnerable when the ship's air defense breaks through.
Using laser-guided bombs while the Zamvolta air defense system is not suppressed is suicide.
In turn, "Zamvolt" will also not be able to detect and catch up with "Ford" - the likelihood of their "close acquaintance" with each other tends to zero. Draw.
Much more interesting is the real situation: at the start of the attack, both opponents are at arm's length, within line of sight. This is how the Soviet strategists saw the sea battle - the Russian Navy practiced tracking the ships of the "potential enemy", constantly "holding the pistol" at the temple of the US Navy.
In just a few minutes "Zamvolt" will kill any enemy squadron from its cannons. Modern ships have nothing to oppose to six-inch shells - just one hit on the flight deck of "Ford" threatens that with a fiery catastrophe.
Ballad of the cannons
A superhero needs a superweapon! Shot! Shot! Recharge. Shot! In the automated cellars of Zamvolt, the tips of 600 shells gleam dully. There are 320 more of these deadly things stored in the extra stack.
According to statistics, 30% of the world's population lives no further than 50 km from the sea coast. More than half of the world's cities are concentrated in the coastal strip 200 km wide! Hamburg, Istanbul, Tokyo, New York, Shanghai, Madras, Rio de Janeiro …
The Americans admit that most of the operations in which the AUG participated in the past 30 years could have been successfully carried out with the help of naval artillery.
Two 155-mm AGS naval guns are capable of sending 24 rounds at the target every minute. Thanks to full automation and efficient cooling, the power of Zamvolta's artillery is equivalent to a battery of 12 land howitzers of the same caliber.
The declared firing range of AGS is up to 160 km (even if the actual firing range is four times less, this will be a decent result). Fire adjustment - TacP ground groups, drones and own shipboard control systems. It is scary to imagine what will happen to the coastal cities, ports and naval bases of the enemy if a squadron of five Zamwolts approaches its coast.
In comparison with the Ford aircraft, naval artillery loses in accuracy, but instead has a number of outstanding abilities: the cannons are equally effective day and night, they are not afraid of poor visibility, fog, snowstorms and sandstorms. They work promptly - they do not need to take off and gain altitude: a call comes in - in a minute the specified square will be mixed with stones and sand. They don't care about the enemy's air defense - the gunners will "roll out" the S-300 positions and burn any strategically important object (power plant, airfield, railway junction), regardless of all the measures taken to protect them.
In the winter of 1983-84. years, the US Navy aircraft carrier strike group was unable to suppress the positions of the Syrian air defense systems in the Bekaa Valley (Lebanon). The battleship "New Jersey" was called to the rescue - shooting at a distance of 45 km, the veteran fired 300 shells along the coast, and smashed everything there, including the command post with the commander of the Syrian contingent in Lebanon.
Finally, the cost of ammunition delivered in this way turns out to be two orders of magnitude lower than the cost of air bombs and cruise missiles.
The pilots of the aircraft carrier "Ford" only snap their teeth in frustration.
The last two advantages of the Ford air group remain - increased efficiency when attacking moving targets and the ability to strike inland. But the Zamvolt is not simple either - it has 80 rocket launchers on board, each of which can store a Tomahawk. The warhead of the rocket is 340 kg of powerful brizant. Low-altitude flight profile. A dozen attack algorithms. The launch range is 1200 … 1600 km.
In the end, fighting in the depths of land is the prerogative of the army and the air force, and the sailors have their own, no less important tasks. For example - anti-submarine defense. However, Ford is useless for this task. For an effective PLO, a sonar station with a sub-keel and towed low-frequency antenna, as well as a set of anti-submarine missiles (in this case, RUM-139 ASROC-VL), is required. All this is on board the destroyer. No helicopter can match the ASROC in response time, and no buoys and lowered GUS can match the sensitivity and reliability of the sonar in the destroyer's bow bulb. By the way, speaking of helicopters, two anti-submarine SyHouk are based on board the Zamvolt.
Of the additional capabilities of the Zamvolt destroyer, it should be noted:
- the ability to integrate into the missile defense system, launch interceptor missiles to destroy targets in near-earth orbits;
- increased level of security in the form of peripheral armored UVPs, which play the role of a kind of "armored belt";
- the presence of UAVs and unmanned underwater vehicles on board - for reconnaissance, making passages in minefields, and other specific functions;
- spacious helipad in the aft part of the destroyer;
- powerful and economical power plant, built according to the FEP type (full electric propulsion);
- this quality will be important for Russia - unlike the classic AUG, the missile and artillery "Zamvolt" is able to operate successfully in the waters of the Arctic and other regions of the world with extreme climatic conditions;
- non-nuclear "Zamvolt" can move without restrictions in the waters of the Black and Baltic Seas. The destroyer cleverly bypasses all international bans, moreover, it poses almost a greater threat than the "Nimitz" and "Ford" combined.
Epilogue
Developing the idea of the US Navy caperang Henry Hendrix, one should ask the following question: how much will the combat potential of the fleet increase if instead of one nuclear supergiant Gerald Ford five destroyers Zamwalt are built - at the same program cost and the life cycle of the ships.
Destroyers are autonomous combat units. Unlike an aircraft carrier, a formation of five of these ships will not require any additional escort. They are an escort themselves - any Aegis destroyer will envy their capabilities in terms of air defense / anti-aircraft defense. They have no equal in terms of the effectiveness of fire support and bombing of the enemy coast (in this they will be surpassed only by the old battleship New Jersey, which has been mothballed since 2001 on the Delawer River).
As for the classic naval battle, in this issue, "Zamvolt" and "Ford" are equally ineffective. Submarines, invisible and merciless killers, are ready to deal with any enemy in no time at sea.
Of course, now there will be an authoritative opinion that for a "balanced" fleet it is necessary to have both "Zamwalt" and "Gerald Ford". It remains only to remind the popular wisdom that being rich and healthy is undoubtedly better than not being. It should be understood that in terms of the capabilities of the military-industrial complex, Russia is obviously inferior to the United States, which builds a fleet with money from the whole world and therefore think little about its cost. We will have to compromise. Carefully choose the best of the best - so that you have comparable capabilities at a lower cost.
Gerald R. Ford in November 2013
