Not "Granite" alone
In the first part of the material, we touched upon the topic of rearmament of a number of surface ships of the Russian Navy from old Soviet missiles to the new Zircon hypersonic missile. Which, according to the journalists, the military and the head of state, is now being tested and may soon be put into service.
Recall that we are talking about a product capable (again, according to open sources) to develop a speed of up to 8 M and hit targets at a distance of up to 500-1000 kilometers. With such a gigantic speed, intercepting missiles will be very, very difficult, even for the most modern air defense systems. And the declared range allows us to say that we have before us a weapon that, in theory, is capable of changing the balance of power at sea, although it will not make the Russian fleet the strongest on Earth. This is impossible without aircraft carriers.
The anti-ship missile P-700 "Granit" was called upon to destroy enemy aircraft carrier formations in the USSR. This is a real giant with a launch weight of seven tons and is capable of traveling at supersonic speeds up to 500-600 kilometers. "Granite" has never been used in battle, so its effectiveness can only be argued with a bit of convention. In general, this is a formidable weapon, which, nevertheless, is morally and physically obsolete today and needs to be replaced. It is being replaced, as already noted, by a hypersonic missile.
Timeless "Antey"
According to TASS, the first submarine to be equipped with Zircons will be the Project 949A Irkutsk multipurpose submarine. The agency refers to Deputy Defense Minister Alexei Krivoruchko: in the course of its modernization, the boat will receive universal launchers 3S14, which, in addition to the Zircons, will allow the use of the Caliber missiles already in service, as well as the Onyx. It is worth saying that these launchers are actively used by a number of surface ships, which, in theory, will allow them all to become carriers of new missiles.
Recall that as of 2017, the 3S14 was used on frigates of project 22350, frigates of project 11356, corvettes of project 20385, missile ships of project 11661, small missile ships of project 21631 and small missile ships of project 22800. As we wrote in the last material, the carrier of "Zircon" they also see a promising nuclear destroyer "Leader", but so far its prospects are more than vague.
However, now we are interested in submarines. As you know, the K-132 Irkutsk is a Russian nuclear-powered missile-carrying submarine, belonging to the same project as the infamous Kursk. That is, to the project 949A "Antey". According to the existing classification, this is a SSGN (nuclear submarine with cruise missiles), but for convenience after modernization it can be called "multipurpose".
According to previously announced data, the K-132 will undergo modernization at the Zvezda enterprise until 2022. And in 2020, they should complete the modernization of the K-442 Chelyabinsk, another submarine of the project 949A Antey. In addition to them, the fleet has six more Anteyas, each of which, in theory, can be upgraded to use the Zircon missile.
By the way, an interesting detail: the first submarine carrier of the Zircon missile is also the oldest submarine of Project 949A: it was put into service in 1988. In fact, this means that even in the future, Antey is seen as one of the main Russian nuclear submarines. Obviously, they intend to operate it on a par with the submarines of the last, fourth generation.
Generation F
The fourth generation of submarines is the one that now includes only the American multipurpose Seawulf and Virginia, as well as the Russian strategic submarines of Project 955 Borey and the newest project 885 Yasen multipurpose submarines. It is the latter that should de facto become the main carrier of "Zircons" in the submarine fleet. Let us remind you that Ash was developed on the basis of projects 705 (K) Lira, 971 Schuka-B: even outwardly, the submarine is very similar to its progenitors.
The first submarine of the fourth generation in the Russian fleet, armed with the "Zircon", should be the ship K-561 "Kazan". “In 2020, the project 885M Kazan multipurpose nuclear submarine will begin firing the Zircon as part of the tests of this missile from the surface and underwater,” a source in the military-industrial complex told TASS in March 2019.
There is, however, one "but". This submarine itself is not yet in the fleet: according to previously announced plans, they intend to transfer it to the Navy not earlier than the end of 2020. Let us remind you that we are talking about the second submarine of the Yasen project and the second submarine of this project, built according to the improved version of the Yasen-M. It is logical to assume that Zircon will eventually receive all eight boats of Project 885M.
Fifth generation and hypersound
Russia may become the first country in the world to receive a fifth generation submarine. At least for several years now, the media have been actively "exaggerating" the topic of developing a fundamentally new nuclear submarine. In April, it became known that the St. Petersburg Maritime Bureau of Mechanical Engineering "Malakhit" completed research work under the code "Husky", designed to determine the appearance of a multipurpose nuclear submarine of the fifth generation and began development work under the code "Laika" to create a boat fifth generation.
The boat will be built according to the double-hull architecture, which is customary for the domestic shipbuilding industry: a lightweight outer hull and a durable inner one. It will be smaller than the Project 885 submarine, and they also intend to use the latest materials for it. “These will be ships made of multilayer composite materials,” Valery Polovinkin, advisor to the general director of the Krylov State Scientific Center (KGNTs), told Izvestia in 2016. "Composite materials will be used to make hull covers, bow and stern rudders, stabilizers, cabin fencing, even propellers and shaft lines."
The fact that the promising submarine should become the carrier of the Zircon missiles has been known for a long time. Various sources reported about this at different times. Another question is when exactly the Russian Federation will have a new submarine. According to the most optimistic forecasts, the boat will be completed by the end of the 2020s. Perhaps, by that time, the Zircon will have already firmly established itself in the Russian fleet. Taking into account the latest statements by officials, this cannot be ruled out. However, it cannot be ruled out that they (these very statements) do not correspond to reality.
As for diesel-electric submarines, they clearly decided to save money on them. And if they will arm them with "Zircons", then in the last turn. “These submarines of the Lada class will be built without an air-independent power plant, because it has not yet been created. The newest Zircon hypersonic missiles will not enter service with these boats either, "said General Director of the Admiralty Shipyards, Alexander Buzakov, in July 2019, commenting on the contract for two diesel-electric submarines of Project 677 Lada.
Earlier, however, the head of the United Shipbuilding Corporation Alexei Rakhmanov said that the promising non-nuclear submarine Kalina will receive a number of advantages, in particular, it will be armed with the Zircon hypersonic missile system. But when exactly this submarine will appear (and whether it will appear), it is rather difficult to say. Recently, there is almost no news about this boat.
