The generally accepted opinion that Russia is a purely continental country, a land power, but this is not true. Especially in the 20th and 21st centuries, when the means appeared to overcome the difficulties of the Russian North.
Naval aviation, icebreaker fleet, nuclear submarines make the Arctic Ocean a full-fledged space. In addition, our northern and eastern borders are two oceans, the western border goes to the Baltic and Black Seas. And, you also need to take into account such basins as the Sea of Azov, the Caspian Sea, many large rivers, for example, the border along the Amur.
And most importantly, according to most experts, the North and Pacific Oceans in the 21st century will be the arena for a host of events. Perhaps even large military conflicts.
Therefore, Russia urgently needs to have an “instrument” of influence, “a hand on the seas and oceans, if it wants to survive the turbulent 21st century. Already now a lot of neighbors are claiming our lands (Kuril Islands) and shelves. The presence of powerful naval forces is becoming a factor in the survival of the entire civilization; it is impossible to solve the tasks of maintaining their positions and possibly strengthening them by ground forces alone.
After the collapse of the USSR, the Russian Federation was unable to preserve a significant part of the rich inheritance. According to the former commander of the Russian Navy, Admiral of the Fleet Vladimir Kuroedov, the financing of the Russian Navy in the period from the mid-1990s to the beginning of the 2000s, in general for more than 10 years, was carried out at the level of about 12-14% of the total budget of the Russian Ministry of Defense. During this time, a huge number of warships that could, with proper repair and maintenance, still serve Russia, were written off for "needles", some were sold abroad for scrap (literally for a penny). In addition, the fleet often did not even receive all the planned funds. In fact, this policy can be called the destruction of the fleet.
In fact, only the naval component of the Strategic Nuclear Forces was preserved. They were financed on a separate line, which made it possible to implement plans for the repair and even partial modernization of all strategic submarine missile carriers of projects 667BDR and 667BDRM, which remained in the combat composition of the Russian Navy after the landslide reduction of the fleet that followed in the 90s. At the same time, programs were launched to create a new generation nuclear submarine strategic missile carrier and a new strategic missile complex with a submarine-launched ballistic missile Bulava. As a result, they were even able to build the first nuclear submarine, but without missiles, since the Bulava was not yet able to become a full-fledged combat unit. But, at the same time, with the financing of the West, the nuclear submarines of project 941 were destroyed.
But, the naval component of the strategic nuclear forces is very vulnerable without the general-purpose naval forces and naval aviation, and here the matter is deplorable.
State armaments program 2011-2020
GPV for 2011-2020 contains many tempting promises. On March 21, 2011, Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov clarified the amount of expenses, stating that 5 trillion will be allocated for the modernization of the Russian Navy. rubles, previously the figure was 4, 7 trillion. rubles.
The government and military leaders promise that during this period 8 nuclear submarines equipped with Bulava ICBMs and about 100 ships of various classes - multipurpose nuclear submarines of the Yasen type, diesel submarines, frigates, corvettes, and landing ships - will be built. In addition, the appearance of a new multipurpose nuclear submarine of the 5th generation and a destroyer of a new project is being developed. Moreover, the ships' armament will be unified - they will be armed with the Kalibr shipborne missile system, which includes both anti-ship cruise missiles (3M-54) and long-range cruise missiles (3M-14) to destroy enemy ground targets. A plan to create a Zircon-S shipborne missile system with a hypersonic missile was announced.
But, the sore point is whether the program will be implemented, if not, Russia will finally cease to be a maritime power. Its shores will be defenseless, it will have nothing to defend its interests in the Pacific region and in the Arctic. What happens to countries that cannot kick in the teeth, we see at the present time on the example of the Arab world.
In addition, the program for the restoration of naval aviation has not been announced - on the contrary, part of the naval aviation by April 1, 2011 will be transferred to the subordination of the air force. There is no program for strengthening (at least it was not announced) of the coastal troops, although there are excellent complexes such as "Bastion", "Ball", which, given the limited time to prepare for the Great War, could strengthen our positions in threatened areas.
True, there are also positive signals:
- So the Main Headquarters of the Navy plans in 2011 to repair the missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov. And after repairs, it will be transferred from the Northern Fleet to the Pacific Ocean to strengthen the Pacific Fleet.
- Negotiations are underway on the transfer of the same type of cruiser “Admiral Lobov” (“Ukraine”) by Kiev to the Russian Federation, the construction of which was started in Ukraine in 1984 under Project 1164. According to various estimates, the ship's readiness is 50-95 percent.
- According to Interfax, the Russian Navy will begin a program to modernize the Project 1144 Orlan heavy nuclear missile cruiser Admiral Nakhimov in 2011. This ship was delivered for repairs in 1999, but the work was never started. For years, the cruiser had been idle at the pier of the Severodvinsk enterprise "Sevmash." After the repair and modernization of the "Admiral Nakhimov" are completed, the ship will enter service with the Pacific Fleet.
Reference: Project 1144 cruisers "Orlan" - a series of four heavy nuclear missile cruisers of high autonomy, built at the Baltic Shipyard in the USSR from 1973 to 1989, the only surface ships with a nuclear power plant in the Russian Navy. According to NATO classification, the project is designated as English. "Kirov-class". The chief designer of the project was V. Ye. Yukhnin. As of 2010, only one of the four built cruisers, the Peter the Great TARK, is in service. At the moment, the Peter the Great TARK is one of the most powerful ships not only in the Russian navy, but throughout the world.
Following Admiral Nakhimov, two other Project 1144 ships, Admiral Ushakov and Admiral Lazarev, will pass through the modernization program. The missile cruisers are expected to replace outdated analogue electronic equipment and install computer equipment. The ships will also be equipped with new weapons. According to the agency's source at the United Shipbuilding Corporation, work has already begun on dismantling equipment and weapons at the Admiral Nakhimov. Earlier, the Sevmash enterprise announced that the modernization of missile cruisers will be carried out according to the type of Peter the Great, the only ship of the Orlan project in service with the Russian Navy and performing combat missions as part of the Northern Fleet. Funds for the repair and modernization of "Admiral Nakhimov" have already been allocated, but the exact amount is still unknown.
These heavy cruisers, together with existing and standing nuclear submarines with ICBMs and multipurpose ones, can become the core of the Russian fleet. Only, in conditions when the "breath" of the Great War, felt by all sane people, with one dismissal and transfer to another job, you will not get the job done. Showcase hangings are needed to build discipline and morale. This is a question of Russia's survival.
LLC "PKF" ALLES "- delivery of machine tools, equipment and tools to all regions of Russia, delivery is free of charge in many large cities of Russia. If you need lathes for metal, visit the site allstanko.ru.
