The international exhibition of arms and military equipment IDEX-2017, which took place in Abu Dhabi, Emirates, from February 19 to 23, 2017, marked for our military-industrial complex a rather positive dynamics of advancement in the Central Asian arms market. So, for example, representatives of the Ministry of Defense and the Air Force of the United Arab Emirates are interested in purchasing multifunctional super-maneuverable Su-35S fighters, as announced by Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov and General Director of the Russian state corporation Rostec Sergei Chemezov. Moreover, the UAE Ministry of Defense has entered into a strategic agreement with the Russian Federation on the development of military-industrial cooperation, which includes a program for the development of a 5th generation stealth fighter. From our side, its participants will be PJSC United Aircraft Corporation, Sukhoi Company, as well as RSK MiG, which will present their developments on airframes, types of power plants and avionics of twin-engine and single-engine fighters with a small radar signature. Despite the fact that the UAE is one of the main allies of the West on the Arabian Peninsula, as well as a member of the "anti-Iranian axis" in the "Arabian coalition", military-technical cooperation with this state, as well as with Egypt, has been going on for many years, and it would be very foolish to lose the lucrative site of the arms market at the present time. Moreover, the accelerated growth of the combat potential of such "players" as the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait will automatically spur the interest of the Iranian Armed Forces in contracts for the purchase of Russian MiG-35 and Su-30MKI / Su-35S fighters, as well as other defensive systems, including anti-aircraft - missile systems and means of electronic warfare.
The IDEX-2017 exhibition was also noted with various promising novelties of the Chinese defense industry. In particular, the Chinese foreign trade association China Shipbuilding Trading Company Limited (CSTC) presented a model of a new generation coastal zone warship using stealth technology. The promising littoral combat trimaran, for the production of which the state shipbuilding corporation China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) is preparing, is a conceptual analogue of the American littoral combat ship of the LCS-2 USS "Independence" class, in the same turn, there are some design differences and a significant difference in naval weapon systems.
The American trimaran LCS-2 "Independence", adopted by the US Navy on January 19, 2010, has a maximum displacement of 2784 tons, a length of 127.8 m, a width of 31.4 m and a draft of 4.6 m. some of the sides have an angular return obstruction with applied radio-absorbing coatings. For the same purpose, the upper part of the stem also has a reverse obstruction, ending directly at the deck. The upper part of the stem is formed by two ribs that sharply merge into the edges of the deck. The angular deckhouse also has characteristic "stealth" curves and is integral with the trimaran hull. The power plant of the American ship is 2 LM2500 gas turbine units with a total power of 59,000 hp, as well as 2 12203-horsepower MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH 20V 8000 M90 diesel engines. The total power of the power plant reaches 83,406 hp.(like the missile cruisers URO class "Tikonderogo"), which with a 3 times less displacement allows you to reach a speed of 45-50 knots (up to 90 km / h!). A very important point is the excellent seaworthiness of the LCS-2, confirmed during sea trials at 2, 6 meter waves and wind speeds of 35-45 km / h. Under these conditions, "Independence" is able to reach the maximum speed and maintain it for a long time: the excellent stability and stability of the three-hull scheme of the ship have been confirmed.
According to the statements of representatives of the CSTC association, the Chinese "coastal" will have a smaller displacement (about 2450 tons), but a longer hull (142 m). Due to this, it will have a noticeably longer front deck. The width of the ship (with outriggers) will be 32.6 m, and the draft will remain at the same level as that of the American ship (up to 5 m). The bow of the Chinese littoral ship, according to the layout, will also receive reverse blockages of the sides and stem, but here they are less developed, and are formed by rounded edges, which does not have a very good effect on the ship's radar signature. The power plant of the Chinese littoral warship, on the contrary, will be more appropriate for use in the conditions of using modern highly sensitive sonar systems of multipurpose nuclear submarines, diesel-electric submarines / diesel-electric submarines and RSL. The trimaran will be equipped with a low-noise diesel-electric installation, with a diesel generator on a special sound-absorbing platform that isolates the transmission of vibration from the diesel engine to the ship's hull. In terms of quietness, this engine configuration is several times better than that of the American Independence. Like the American ship, the Chinese one will use water-jet propellers, but in the amount of three units (4 water cannons are installed on the LCS-2). In the same turn, due to the installed diesel-electric power plant, it will be necessary to sacrifice 10-15 knots of speed: the Chinese "coastal worker" will have a maximum speed of about 35 knots, cruising speed - 25-30 knots (65 km / h).
Now let's compare the armament of the two ships. Like any coastal warships (littoral warships), the LCS-2 trimaran and its future Chinese conceptual sistership are designed to carry out operations in the near sea zone. The list of tasks usually includes:
Littoral warships are not designed to deliver massive anti-ship strikes against enemy ship and aircraft carrier strike groups, and also do not have multi-channel shipborne self-defense air defense systems to repel "star raids" of enemy anti-ship missiles, and therefore operate alone, without cover from ground air defense systems or cruisers / EM URO, these ships are strictly contraindicated. This can be clearly seen in the armament complex of the American LCS-2. The main artillery armament is the 57-mm AU Mk.110 ("Bofors Mk.3") with a range of 17 km and a rate of fire of 220 rounds per minute with an initial projectile speed of 1025 m / s. Can be installed and anti-ship complex "Harpoon", but only as part of 2x2 inclined launchers Mk-141 (4 anti-ship missiles RGM-84G / N "Harpoon"), placed on a special weapons platform on the bow deck.
A short-range ASMD ("SeaRAM") complex with RIM-116B "RAM" anti-aircraft missiles housed in a 1x21 rotating inclined launcher EX-31 is used as a shipborne self-defense air defense system. SAM "SeaRAM" has a range of 10 km and a relatively low target speed of 2520 km / h. This complex is not able to reflect the impact of anti-ship missiles such as "Onyx", "Mosquito" or YJ-81. The RIM-116B missiles are equipped with a highly sensitive infrared-violet seeker POST-RMP from the FIM-92B "Singer" missile defense system, but the low-power solid-propellant rocket engine from the "Sidewinder" URVV does not allow long-term maneuvering in dense tropospheric layers: after launch from a ship launcher and fuel burnout. charge, the RIM-116B rocket quickly loses speed.
The Chinese project also involves equipping combat trimaranes with a similar self-defense air defense system of the FL-3000N (HHQ-10) type, but only as part of 2x24 launchers for 48 anti-aircraft guided missiles. SAM complex FL-3000N is an improved version of the Chinese helicopter air combat missile TY-90. The difference is that the anti-aircraft modification is equipped with two nasal radio interferometers in the bow, which can correct the guidance to the emitting ARGSN of the enemy anti-ship missile in the event of malfunctions in the IR / UV seeker. The ship will also be equipped with a promising Type 1130 anti-aircraft artillery system, represented by an 11-barrel 30-mm cannon with a rate of fire of 165 rounds per second. In short-range air defense / missile defense missions, this gun is about 1.5 times more effective than our AK-630M and American Mark-15 "Phalanx CIWS". Based on the highest accuracy and rate of fire of the 11-barrel H / PJ-14 cannon, as well as the advanced X / Ku-band guidance radar, this ZAK can destroy non-maneuvering targets at speeds up to 4300 km / h with a probability of about 99%.
But the main "highlight" of the Chinese coastal combat trimaran is the initially envisaged by the project a universal built-in bow launcher for 16 or 32 TPKs. These cells can house a huge range of missile weapons (from the supersonic YJ-18 anti-ship missiles to the promising DK-10A anti-aircraft missiles, which are the anti-aircraft version of the PL-12A). DK-10A are equipped with an active radar seeker, which will allow the Chinese combat trimaran to install an all-aspect multi-channel missile defense system. The American LCS-2 does not possess such qualities, and therefore the Chinese project, announced at IDEX-2017, has much broader prospects both in picking up the AUG of the Chinese Navy in terms of the likely replacement of the functions of frigates and destroyers, and in the export direction.
