The novelties described in the first part of the article, such as an electromagnetic catapult or a railgun, in one form or another, can be used on any large ship from among those in service. But what about fundamentally new developments? They are also available. The most unusual thing is that the most original concepts of surface ships were presented not by the Americans or even by the Chinese, but by European developers. Earlier, the British defense company BAE Systems presented its vision of the aircraft carrier of the future, or rather, the "drone carrier". The basis of the UXV Combatant aviation group should be combat UAVs. The logic of the developers is simple: if you remove a person from the plane, then its size can be reduced. And if the size of the decks will be smaller, then there is no need to create a huge floating "bridgehead". The UXV Combatant is reportedly to be roughly 150 meters long, more than half the length of today's largest aircraft carriers. The promising BAE Systems ship should receive a diesel power plant and an electric turbine, and its maximum speed will exceed 27 knots (50 kilometers per hour). The extensive automation that we can see in the latest aircraft carriers will peak with the UXV Combatant, with a crew of only 60, roughly comparable to the crew of modern patrol ships or corvettes.
In this case, the ship will only be half of the aircraft carrier. The front part is more like the front part of a cruiser, destroyer or frigate. UXV Combatant want to equip, in particular, missiles "ship-to-air" and "ship-to-ship". In the front part, you can see a 155mm cannon, which can be used to support ground troops or to fight other ships.
At the time of the presentation of the concept, the ship was seen as modular. This means that by changing the compartments, it could play the role of an aircraft carrier, an anti-submarine ship, a minesweeper and a supply base for ground forces. True, in recent years it has become clear to experts that the modular concept of warships, popular until recently, has not justified itself. Suffice it to recall the Danish patrol boats of the "Fluvefisken" type, which were created modular, but in practice they did not become. The fact is that removable modules (with weapons or diving equipment) need to be stored somewhere and maintained in a combat-ready form, which requires infrastructure with money. Simply put, so far the concept of "reusable" ships has proven to be technically complex and expensive. And how it will be in the future - only time will tell.
In general, the concept presented by the British is likely to remain a concept. Now the British War Department is trying to economize on literally everything, which is not least connected with the commissioning of two newest aircraft carriers of the Queen Elizabeth class. By the way, they also saved on them. If earlier the British wanted to use a catapult, which would allow launching heavy aircraft from the deck, now they decided to stop at the springboard, as on the aircraft-carrying cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov. Consequently, plans to use the F-35C are also a thing of the past, and the choice finally fell on the F-35B aircraft with a short takeoff and a vertical landing. These machines, although they differ from most of the deck ships in low radar signature, have a small combat radius, which is critical when it comes to the requirements of the Navy's carrier-based aviation.
However, apparently, Britain is haunted by the former status of "Lady of the Seas". In 2015, the British company Starpoint presented the concept of the future warship Dreadnought 2050 (T2050), which can be called the most unusual "naval" project of our time. The concept itself was developed at the request of the UK Department of Defense. Before us is a very large ship, created according to the trimaran scheme: it received three parallel hulls connected in the upper part. This scheme is sometimes used for pleasure or sports ships: it provides increased stability and good seaworthiness. Some compartments of the Dreadnought 2050 can be flooded to raise the waterline for stealth operations. In the design itself, they intend to widely use the latest composite materials, which also reduce the ship's visibility.
Noteworthy is the rear part, which makes the project similar to the universal landing ships. There is a retractable ramp that can be used to land the Marine Corps. Dreadnought 2050 should also carry a UAV: moreover, to compensate for the losses, the ship will receive a workshop with three-dimensional printers, where drones can be printed. In addition, the brainchild of Starpoint received a special probe, which is connected to the ship by a cable made of carbon nanotubes. It was proposed to install a powerful laser with a long range, which is likely to be able to perform the functions of strike weapons. At least in part. In addition, the developers proposed to install a railgun in the front part, so the Dreadnought 2050 should become a real treasure of new technologies.
Unusual solutions can also be found inside the ship. The control room of the Dreadnought 2050 should receive a huge holographic display, which will display all the most important information about the enemy and allied forces. "Total" informatization and automation will reduce the number of the ship's crew to 50 people, which is several times less when compared with the number of crews of modern destroyers or frigates. The developers, however, admit that so far much of the above lies in the category of science fiction, and it is not known what exactly will be implemented in practice.
In general, despite the failures of Zamvolt, the trend towards stealth in the creation of warships is too conspicuous. And, most likely, the leading world powers will not stop at the existing difficulties. The French from the well-known company DKNS presented their vision of "invisible" earlier. Back in 2010, they showed the world the SMX-25 surface submarine. It is assumed that the frigate will be able to very quickly reach any point on the planet due to the high surface speed, which is approximately 38 knots or 70 kilometers per hour. Despite the fact that the speed of the SMX-25 in the submerged position will be noticeably lower - 10 knots - it is supposed to strike the enemy from the submerged position, thereby providing maximum stealth. Above the water, the ship will move with the help of a gas turbine engine, and under water, with the help of electric motors. Of the armament, the SMX-25 will carry 16 missiles, as well as torpedoes housed in four torpedo tubes. All this will be served by an extremely small crew of 27 people.
The ship's displacement will be 3,000 tons, and the length will be 109 m. No one can confidently judge about specific plans for the future, but so far the SMX-25 is just a bold concept. If something like that appears, then, most likely, not earlier than the 2030s.
By the way, the concept of "diving" ships was developed in the USSR. Back in the 50s and 60s, Soviet engineers were actively working on the project of a small submersible rocket ship of project 1231. It is noteworthy that the author and initiator of the project is considered the then Secretary General of the USSR Nikita Khrushchev, who did not differ in particular favor for the fleet. The project was closed after the departure of this leader from the political scene. According to experts, even if Khrushchev had stayed, such a ship could hardly have been built and made an effective weapon.
Russian field of experiments
As for modern Russian developments, it is hard to call them revolutionary. Mainly because the fleet is not a priority. Land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles and the aviation component are much more important for the country. But if we talk about the Navy, then Russia's main hopes are associated with the new strategic submarines of Project 955 Borey and the multipurpose project 885 Yasen. And also with the promising multipurpose submarine "Husky", which in theory could become the world's first nuclear submarine of the fifth generation, and will also carry promising hypersonic missiles "Zircon", about which so far little is known. But, in theory, the use of hypersonic missiles can give the Russian fleet huge advantages, since it will be very difficult, or even impossible, to intercept such a missile after launch.
The project of the Russian aircraft carrier of the future deserves separate consideration, but now several important things can be noted. Firstly, this ship is hardly conceived as a leap in development in the context of the entire world shipbuilding. The experience of using the "Admiral Kuznetsov" in Syria is not conducive to bold experiments. Secondly (and this is even more important), the current economic situation clearly does not increase the chances of an early start of ship construction. Most likely, Russia will abandon full-fledged aircraft carriers altogether, relying on the submarines mentioned above and the "mosquito" fleet - small ships, such as Project 20380 corvettes.
In conclusion, it can be noted that the surface ships of the future will develop in several main directions:
- decrease in visibility;
- equipping ships with hypersonic weapons;
- more active use of UAVs, including drums;
- the use of weapons based on "new physical principles" such as combat laser systems or railguns;
- increased functionality. Combining combat units of several classes at once in one ship (aircraft carrier, destroyer, frigate, support vessel);
- widespread automation, reduction in the number of the crew.
