For well-known reasons, for many years the Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Navy remained in the shadow of other operational-strategic formations, distinguished by their large size and combat power. Nevertheless, not so long ago, the flotilla declared itself in the loudest way, at one point showing the highest strike power and great potential that could have the most serious impact on the nearby regions. Naturally, new opportunities did not appear immediately and were the result of long-term work on the modernization of the flotilla, first of all, the grouping of surface ships with shock weapons.
A loud reason for new discussions of the current state and future of the Caspian Flotilla appeared on October 7, 2015. On this day, four ships of the flotilla joined the fight against terrorists in Syria, sending 26 missiles to enemy targets. The strike with the use of Kalibr cruise missiles, which have not yet been used in real operations, naturally attracted the attention of specialists and the general public. In addition, an important topic of discussion was the indicators of the range of launched missiles, as well as the military-political consequences of the appearance of such weapons.
Patrol ship "Dagestan"
On November 20 of the same year, a group of four ships of two types again attacked the targets of illegal armed groups in Syrian territory. As reported by the Ministry of Defense, all 18 cruise missiles successfully hit these targets. Later, the missiles of the "Caliber" family were repeatedly used by Russian ships and submarines, but now the launches were carried out without the participation of the Caspian Flotilla. At the same time, it cannot be ruled out that missile ships serving in the Caspian Sea may at any time receive an order and carry out launches again.
Due to well-known factors, the development of the Caspian flotilla until recently was not a priority task for the military department. Nevertheless, a few years ago the situation changed noticeably, as a result of which the association received a lot of new material and equipment. 2014 and 2015 were record years in this respect - in just two years the flotilla received 10 ships and auxiliary vessels of different classes and types. Several small missile ships equipped with the most modern weapons were accepted into the combat composition of the flotilla. The existing ships, in turn, were being upgraded.
This update has produced remarkable results. According to official data, at the beginning of last year, the share of new ships, boats and vessels in the Caspian flotilla reached 85%. This had a corresponding effect on the combat potential of the operational formation. Of particular interest in this context are new missile ships that are distinguished by the highest combat qualities and wide capabilities.
The largest and most powerful in combat terms ships of the Caspian Flotilla are two patrol boats of Project 11661 "Gepard". On the last day of summer 2003, the lead ship of this type, named "Tatarstan", was accepted into the flotilla. At the end of autumn 2012, the flotilla received the second ship "Dagestan". It was built according to an updated project and therefore received a different set of weapons. This modernization has led to the fact that "Dagestan" in a number of combat characteristics, primarily in maximum missile firing range, is several times superior to "Tatarstan". As a result, it was the missile ship of the updated project that was involved in striking terrorist targets.
The ships of the basic and updated project "Gepard" have a total displacement of more than 1900 tons and a maximum length of 102 m. The largest width is 13.2 m. The hull and superstructure of the ships have a special shape, formed by a large number of straight surfaces. To facilitate design and reduce radar signature, aluminum and magnesium alloys are widely used.
The ships are equipped with a two-shaft main power plant, which includes diesel and gas turbine engines. To operate in cruising modes, ships must use a diesel engine with a capacity of 8000 hp. Full speed is achieved using two gas turbine systems with a capacity of 14,500 hp. The power supply of the onboard systems is provided by three diesel generators with a capacity of 600 kW each. The main motors are connected to two propeller shafts. The Gepard's economic speed is 14 knots, the cruising speed is 21 knots, and the maximum speed is 28 knots. The maximum cruising range reaches 4 thousand nautical miles.
Small missile ship "Uglich", July 26, 2015
The ships "Tatarstan" and "Dagestan" have different missile systems. Thus, the lead ship received the Uranus anti-ship system with X-35 missiles, capable of hitting targets at ranges of up to 260 km. There are two quad launchers on board. The modernized version of Project 11661 implies the use of the Kalibr-NK universal missile system, capable of using missiles for various purposes, including anti-submarine missiles and designed to destroy coastal facilities. The ship's ammunition consists of eight missiles. As the current Syrian operation has shown, Caliber missiles can be used against targets at distances of about 1,500 km.
The ships are equipped with various barrel armaments. They carry one 76-mm artillery mount AK-176M and two anti-aircraft guns AK-630M. It also provides for the use of column mounts with heavy machine guns. Protection against an attack from the air is assigned to the Osa-MA-2 (Tatarstan) anti-aircraft missile system or the Palash system (Dagestan). There are also portable missile systems on board.
Unlike the newer "Dagestan", the patrol "Tatarstan" has an RBU-6000 anti-submarine bomb launcher, two twin torpedo tubes with a caliber of 533 mm and a helicopter pad.
At the moment, the Caspian Flotilla has only two Project 11661 Gepard missile ships. Earlier, the possibility of building new ships of this type was mentioned, but the corresponding contract has not yet appeared. Whether the construction of such ships for the Caspian Flotilla will continue is not yet clear.
In May 2010, a contract was signed for the construction of five Project 21631 Buyan-M small missile ships. In the future, it was planned to transfer three such ships to the Caspian Flotilla. In the summer of the same year, the laying of the lead ship Grad Sviyazhsk took place. A year later, the construction of two other ships began. In 2013-14, three Buyan-Ms for the Caspian flotilla were launched, completed and put into testing. At the end of July 2014, the Russian Navy was replenished with the ships Grad Sviyazhsk and Uglich. In December, Veliky Ustyug began its service.
Ships "Buyan-M" differ from "Cheetahs" in smaller size, but comparable in some combat characteristics. Project 21631 provides for the construction of ships with a length of 74 m with a maximum width of 11 m with a displacement of 950 tons. The hull contours correspond to the ideas of "river-sea", and the shape of the superstructure and openly placed units are made taking into account the reduction of visibility for radar systems.
The ships are equipped with four diesel engines with a total capacity of over 9800 hp. Such a power plant is connected through gearboxes to a water jet propulsion unit. Buyan-M is capable of speeds up to 25 knots. The maximum cruising range of 2500 nautical miles is achieved at half the economic speed. The sailing autonomy is declared at the level of 10 days.
RTO "Veliky Ustyug", August 5, 2016
Inside the superstructure of the ships of the project 21631 is placed a universal vertical launcher 3S14 with eight cells for transport and launch containers of missiles. The ship can use missiles of the Onyx or Caliber complexes as the main strike armament. The former are intended to attack surface ships, while the family of the latter includes products for various purposes.
Air defense is assigned to the Gibka-R complex, equipped with Igla missiles. Also for this purpose can be used two artillery complexes AK-630M-2 "Duet". A turret artillery mount A-190 with a 100 mm cannon is placed in front of the superstructure. Along the perimeter of the ship there are two pedestal mounts for heavy machine guns and three similar devices for rifle-caliber weapons.
The Caspian Flotilla includes three ships of the Buyan-M project 21631: Grad Sviyazhsk, Uglich and Veliky Ustyug. Two more such ships (Zeleny Dol and Serpukhov) were transferred to the Black Sea Fleet at the end of 2012. The sixth ship in the series has already been launched, and four more are at various stages of construction. There are contracts for two other missile ships. Thus, in total, the Russian Navy will receive 10-12 Buyanov-Ms in the foreseeable future.
All "Caspian" ships of Project 21631 have already taken part in a real combat operation. The missile strikes on October 7 and November 20, 2015 were carried out by a ship group consisting of the Dagestan patrol ship and three Buyan-M-class ships. During the first strike, four ships fired 26 missiles, during the second live fire - 18. It should be noted that the ships of Project 21631 from the Black Sea Fleet also did not remain without the opportunity to test their weapons. Serpukhov and Zeleny Dol fired at the enemy in August last year.
Over the past five years, the Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Navy has received four state-of-the-art ships with universal missile systems that allow them to solve a variety of combat missions. Such a renewal of the ship group was supposed to lead to an increase in the share of modern technology and weapons, positively affect the combat capability of the flotilla and affect the balance of forces in the region. All these results of the construction of ships were expected, but until a certain time only a narrow circle of military specialists could know exactly how the new ships could affect the situation.
It is hardly worth recalling what effect the Kalibr cruise missile launches had in October of the year before last. Until that time, there was no exact data on this weapon, and the published characteristics related to the export version of the complex. Already the first massive missile strike showed that the firing range of new missiles could reach 1,500 km. In addition, according to some reports, the maximum launch range is much greater. Thus, the relatively small ships of the Caspian Flotilla at one point turned into a powerful military-political instrument.
Two missile attacks on terrorist targets in Syria clearly showed the radius of the zone of responsibility of ships in the Caspian Sea. It turned out that, even without leaving this water area, Russian ships can attack targets in the Middle East or in other areas. The Kalibr missiles are capable of reaching a significant part of the Middle East region, the northern part of the Gulf of Aden or the Arabian Sea. Also, some regions of Central Asia and even part of Eastern Europe are under the control of the Caspian Flotilla.
Launch of the Kalibr rocket by the Caspian Flotilla ship, October 7, 2015
Earlier, the command of the Russian fleet spoke about the presence of missile weapons with a launch range of up to 2,600 km. If it was about the Caliber cruise missiles, then such characteristics allow them to reach the eastern regions of the Mediterranean Sea, Central Europe and Scandinavia. At the same time, the main area of responsibility of the Caspian Flotilla can be the southern and eastern directions, since the North and West can be more effectively controlled by the ships and submarines of the Black Sea Fleet.
Thanks to new ships with advanced weapons, the Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Navy has dramatically increased its combat and military-political potential, becoming a serious instrument of influencing the situation not only in the Caspian Sea, but also in a very large region around it. Continued operation and modernization of existing ships, as well as the construction of new ones, will allow maintaining and increasing the existing potential.
In addition, the crews of all attack ships need to practice the necessary skills and train regularly. The last training events with the use of airborne weapons took place just a few days ago. In the middle of last week, all three Buyan-M-class ships went to one of the Caspian naval ranges for firing practice. According to the press service of the Ministry of Defense, during these exercises, the crews were to destroy the naval group of the simulated enemy.
During the firing, surface, air and ground conventional targets were hit. At the same time, some of the targets were outside the line of sight. Some of the objects of the imaginary enemy were destroyed using the artillery systems on board. Others should have been attacked with Caliber missiles. It is curious that for reasons of economy, rocket firing was carried out using the electronic launch method. The crews completed all the necessary procedures for preparing the missile system for firing, but the launch and flight of the missile was simulated by the appropriate electronics. Real ammunition did not leave the launcher.
Already having experience in the real combat use of missile weapons during a full-fledged operation, the crews of the Grad Sviyazhsk, Uglich and Veliky Ustyug ships successfully coped with the training task. The naval group of the simulated enemy was successfully destroyed, and the sailors tested their skills and confirmed their skills.
Four new missile ships of two projects, capable of carrying uniquely high performance cruise missiles, will remain in service for the next several decades. In addition, it cannot be ruled out that in the future the grouping of such ships as part of the Caspian Flotilla will be replenished. Thus, the smallest operational formation of the Russian Navy, despite the known restrictions, has already become an effective instrument of a military and political nature, and will retain this status in the future.
The current modernization of the armed forces, which implies the development, production and delivery of new weapons and equipment, leads to very different results. First of all, an increase in the share of new models is achieved, which has a positive effect on the combat capability of the army as a whole. In the context of the development of the Caspian flotilla, the implemented programs led to more interesting results. Thanks to them, an updated and reinforced structure took over to protect the southern borders of the country.
