While on Sunday evening, March 12, heated discussions "flared up" on Russian and Western analytical forums about the origin of the first more or less promising Iranian main battle tank "Karrar", which is a very high-quality copy of our T-90MS "Tagil" with a similar design a new tower and the same thoughtful dense arrangement of DZ modules, there was a great desire to consider another, much more important issue for our defense capability.
According to the statement of the Deputy Minister of Defense Yuri Borisov, made to the media on March 7, 2016, the facilities of the Far Eastern Zvezda plant will begin a program of upgrading the anti-aircraft nuclear submarine cruisers of Project 949A Antey with modern multi-purpose missile systems of the Caliber family. It is quite clear that in order to free up space for "Caliber" submarines, long-range anti-ship complexes 3K45 "Granit" (P-700) will be dismantled along with inclined integrated launchers SM-225 / A for supersonic anti-ship missiles 3M45 "Granit". But can this be considered positive news? Will the light and unobtrusive "Caliber-PL" functionally completely replace the 7.5-ton nine-meter 3M45? Theoretically, relying on the richest range of promising "Club-S", such a replacement is quite expedient, because we know very well what are known among the modifications: anti-ship 3M54E (in the final 20-kilometer section they accelerate to 3100 km / h), strategic cruise missiles 3M14K / T, as well as anti-submarine missiles 91RT2. It would seem that the caliber ammunition is more than preferable, because the Granites have neither anti-submarine versions, nor "strategists" for working on ground targets, but in practice everything is much more complicated.
First, let's take a look at the principles of operation of the power plants for both missiles. The anti-ship 3M54E uses a solid-propellant launch booster, which provides an initial height of 150 m and acceleration to 900 km / h. Then the main turbojet engine TRDD-50B with a thrust of 270 kgf is launched, maintaining this speed on a trajectory of 200 km, and only in the final 20-kilometer section a powerful solid-propellant rocket engine of the combat stage is turned on, accelerating the anti-ship version of the "Caliber" to 3M. This suggests that over 200 km 3M54 has a subsonic speed and is very vulnerable to modern anti-aircraft interceptor missiles. During the development of the 3M54E in the Novator ICB, the main emphasis was placed on the fact that the missile would be detected by the enemy's KUG / AUG shipborne radar only after leaving the 25-kilometer radio horizon, and after that a supersonic maneuvering stage would come into play, which would be intercepted it will be very difficult.
But this was axiomatic only against the outdated American missiles with semi-active radar seeker types RIM-7, RIM-67 / 156A, which did not have over-the-horizon shooting capabilities. Now, when the Aegis destroyers / frigates / cruisers are equipped with the promising RIM-174 ERAM missiles with active RGSN from AIM-120C missiles and the ability to destroy over-the-horizon air attack weapons by targeting E-2D AWACS aircraft, the tactical and technical "focus" with a supersonic stage will no longer work: RIM-174 ERAM (SM-6) will be able to intercept a 3M54E submarine launched from a submarine at a distance of more than 100 km (where the rocket will fly at subsonic speed), receiving target designation from any radar complex with a data transmission channel " Link-16 ". A much more expedient solution would be to re-equip the Antey submarines with the P-800 Onyx anti-ship missiles, whose missiles throughout the entire trajectory have a high supersonic speed of 2, 6M, as well as much greater maneuverability to overcome ship missile defense systems.
Someone may try to dispute the above, pointing to the ultra-small effective scattering surface of the 3M54E "Caliber" (from 0.05 to 0.1 m2), but do not rush to delude yourself, since the radar with AFAR AN / APY-9 (E-2D) will be able to to see our rocket for 120-150 km and such a huge gain due to the small RCS in this case is unlikely to be achieved. P-800 "Onyx", exactly like the P-700 "Granite", due to the constant supersonic speed for these tasks are much more suitable. The maximum low-altitude speed of the Granit anti-ship missile system is about 1900 km / h. Moving on.
As you already understood, the anti-ship version of the "Caliber-PL" 3M54E with a supersonic stage has a maximum range of no more than 220-230 km, regardless of the flight profile. For the 3M45 Granit rocket, this range is 200 km with a low-altitude trajectory at a speed of 1, 6M, 625 km - along a combined flight path "low-altitude-low-altitude" and 700-750 km - with an altitude flight profile at an altitude of 17-20 km … And this is about 3-3, 5 times more than the anti-ship version of the "Caliber". It has the P-800 anti-ship missile system and a mode of operation for onshore and onshore facilities. Similar tasks were worked out during the final check of the combat readiness of the Federation Council on October 16, 2016. Then the multipurpose nuclear submarine cruiser (SSGN) "Smolensk" inflicted a surgical precision strike on the conditional coastal target on the island. North of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago, the P-700 "Granit" anti-ship missile system was used as a strike weapon.
To date, the 3M45 Granit missile is the highest-speed anti-ship missile with a range of over 500 km. And, despite the decent RCS (about 1m2), it has a lot of advantages in addition to supersonic speed. Firstly, it is the most powerful ogival high-explosive-penetrating warhead weighing up to 750 kg. One such hit is enough to sink a Nimitz or Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier, or to destroy a well-defended enemy ground stronghold. Secondly, a two-meter physical dimension formed by a radio-transparent fairing, an active radar homing head, an INS, as well as a radio correction unit. This control module is also a kind of armor protection of the warhead, which is located in front of the air duct to the compressor of the KR-93 turbojet engine.
This armor protection of warheads is becoming more and more relevant due to the presence on enemy ships of such short-range self-defense systems as ASMD (SAM RIM-116B) or ZAK Mark 15 "Phalanx" CIWS. So, if RIM-116B is launched at the missile defense missile Caliber that has broken through the umbrella, a successful hit will most likely destroy both the missile and the combat equipment (the strength and thickness of the structural elements are minimal). To initiate the Granit warhead, 2-3 RIM-116 SeaRAM missiles will not be enough, and the Phalanx line will not be enough either. Even after the destruction of the bow of the hull, a heavy thick-walled warhead may not miss and a huge supply of kinetic energy will do its job. Moreover, the 3M45 rocket could go through the modernization program, having received a more anti-jamming ARGSN, or an even more effective two-channel AR / IR-GOS, as well as a more powerful and wide-range onboard electronic warfare station (all Granites are equipped with the REP 3B47 Quartz complex).
Thirdly, the Granit missiles can be considered advanced network-centric elements of a modern maritime theater of operations, since they have a highly intelligent system of group "star raid" on a sea / coastal target, using a low-altitude flight profile of a group of missiles with the ability to "jump" one of them for a "fluent »Search for the enemy's KUG of its own ARGSN with the subsequent transfer of target designation to the INS of other missiles hiding in the" shadow "of the radio horizon. For the formation of this tactics in the process of supersonic flight, 4 high-performance on-board computers are responsible.
Based on the realities of the modern naval confrontation, as well as evaluating the advanced defensive anti-missile weapons of the enemy used in it, it becomes clear that it is quite risky to completely write off the Granit anti-ship missile systems, because the products to this day differ in an extremely unique set of parameters that are not typical for most modern anti-ship missiles.
