It is well known that three modifications of the American Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are by far the most successful and large-scale types of surface ships in the modern history of the world's naval forces. Even though the lead ship DDG-51 USS "Arleigh Burke" of the "Flight I" version left the stocks of the Bath Iron Works shipyard just 28 years ago (September 19, 1989), the multibillion-dollar injections into the program allowed during this period launch 62 ships into service with the American fleet in the variants “Flight I” (DDG 51-71), “Flight II” (DDG 72-78), “Flight IIA” (DDG 79-113). And the end of the series is still far enough away. In particular, the Flight IIA series will continue and end only on the DDG-123 destroyer, after which it is planned to work on an even newer version of the Arley Burkes - Flight III. Here we will encounter a completely new surface ship, only structurally similar to the previous "Flights".
The main event of recent months is the resumption of construction of the Arleigh Burke Flight IIA destroyers. The decision to re-commission production facilities at two shipyards at once (Bath Iron Works, as well as Ingalls Shipbuilding) has quite deep roots associated with the possible weakening of the US Navy's combat potential against the background of mass production of Chinese Type 052D multipurpose destroyers. promising EM URO Type 055, Russian frigates pr. 22350 / 22350M and deep modernization of the heavy nuclear missile cruiser pr. 1144.2M "Admiral Nakhimov".
This is not surprising, because the auxiliary Aegis component in the form of 22 Ticonderoga-class missile cruisers is not eternal, and by 2026, half of the ships (11 units) will be decommissioned. In this situation, 73 "Aegis" air defense ships of the main classes would remain in service with the US Navy, which is not quite enough for confident superiority over the anti-ship potential represented by hundreds of supersonic anti-ship missiles of the 3M54E1 "Caliber-PL / NK", 3M55 "Onyx" types, 3M45 "Granit", 3M80 "Mosquito" (X-41) and X-35U "Uranus" deployed on all surface ships equipped with universal vertical launchers 3S14 UKSK, SM-225A (multipurpose nuclear submarine cruisers of project 949A "Antey"), SM-233A (aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov"), SM-255 (heavy atomic RRC pr. 1144), KT-152M (EM pr. 956, RK pr. 1241.1 "Molniya-M" and BOD pr. 1155.1 "Udaloy- II "). Even dimmer, this number of "Arley Burkes" and "Ticonderogs" (with the flaws inherent in the radar architecture of the Aegis BIUS) would look against the background of the YJ-18 supersonic anti-ship missiles, which have been mass-produced in China for more than 2 - 3 years. … Moreover, the series of unobtrusive destroyers URO "Zamvolt" has been reduced to only 3 ships, and their individual anti-aircraft and anti-missile qualities remain at an extremely low level, requiring target designation from third-party radar or optical-electronic means.
"Blindness" of the combat information and control system "Zamvoltov" TSCEI on the centimeter multifunctional X-band radar AN / SPY-3, which has 3 antenna arrays with a much smaller aperture than the AN / SPY-1A / D canvases, destroyer-"iron" only to highly effective fight against low-altitude air attack, as well as high-altitude objects, but at a much shorter range than "Arleigh Burke" and "Ticonderoga". For the full use of the entire range of weapons of the universal built-in Mk 57 launchers (after "processing" the cells can be adapted to use the SM-3 antimissiles and SM-6 missiles), the BIUS operators of these ships can rely solely on target designation from AWACS and ships with SPY-type radars -1.
It is quite logical that for the continuation of the serial production of deeply improved modifications of the "Arley Burke", the Americans will "grab hold of their hands and feet." For example, the completion of the series of destroyers of the so-called "Stage II" ("Flight IIA") will make it possible to compensate for the decommissioning of 11 Ticonderoga air defense missile cruisers and, as a result, to maintain today's superiority over the Russian and Chinese fleets taken together., in terms of anti-aircraft capabilities and the ability to carry out a massive missile strike with strategic sea-based cruise missiles RGM-109E "Tomahawk Block IV". The disadvantages of the Aegis system associated with one target channel of the AN / SPG-62 tracking and illumination radars (3 RPNs on the Arley Burke EM and 4 units on the Ticonderogs) are already partially compensated by the introduction of ultra-long-range anti-aircraft guided missiles RIM-174 ERAM. By equipping missiles with modernized large-aperture versions of the ARGSN URVB AIM-120C-7, the firing process can be implemented bypassing the SPG-62, based only on the coordinates transmitted from the decimeter AN / SPY-1D (V) or airborne radar equipment via the radio channel " Link-16 ".
The upgrade program for the Arleigh Burke destroyers to the level of “Stage 4” (“Flight III”) is already a much more promising and ambitious action than “Flight IIA”. It is designed to ensure not only numerical, but also technological superiority over the ships of our and Chinese fleets. The main range of work on "Flight 3" will be entrusted to the shoulders of specialists of the company "Raytheon", specializing in the development and production of anti-aircraft missile weapons, launchers, air combat missiles, tactical and strategic missiles, as well as radar systems for various purposes and basing.
The main part of the destroyers "Arleigh Burke Flight III" will be a fundamentally different configuration of radar equipment. Its heart will be the advanced AN / SPY-6 AMDR dual-band multifunctional radar. The new brainchild from Raytheon will be represented by an upgraded 4-sided S-band antenna post AMDR-S (with a frequency of 4-6 GHz) based on the AN / SPY-1D (V) radar, as well as a completely new 3-sided antenna post X-band AMDR-X (with a frequency of 8-12 GHz). Four canvases of active phased antenna arrays of the decimeter range of the AN / SPY-1D type form the old X-shaped radiation pattern, which allows achieving a 360-degree view with a reserve overlap of "lobes". This means that in the event of failure of one of the canvases, its field of view will be partially compensated by neighboring antenna arrays. The decimeter antenna post is designed for detecting and tracking objects, as well as for targeting missiles with active radar seeker.
The second antenna post AMDR-X is located on an additional superstructure (approximately 7-10 meters above the S-band). Its antenna arrays form the so-called "reverse" Y-shaped spatial scanning zone, in which the front hemisphere is processed by one antenna sheet located on the front face of the additional superstructure, and the side and rear hemispheres - by 2 rear sheets having a 40-degree camber from the longitudinal axis ship. This 3-way multifunctional radar is built on the basis of active phased array using gallium nitride (GaN), which will significantly increase the radiation power and improve the signal-to-noise ratio. Gallium nitride transceiver modules can operate at temperatures from 300 to 400 ° C (melting temperature is about 2500 ° C, while gallium arsenide modules have a critical operating temperature of about 180 ° C and a melting point of 1240 ° C. In contrast from single-channel CW radars AN / SPG-62, each AMDR-X antenna is multichannel and is capable of simultaneously linking hundreds of air target tracks and capturing more than 10 targets.
For the first time in the history of the existence and modernization of ships with the combat information and control "Aegis" on board, a full-fledged ability to simultaneously intercept 22 or more air targets using medium-range missile interceptors RIM-162 ESSM equipped with semi-active radar seeker will be achieved. Recall that the US "Aegis" in the existing versions are capable of simultaneously firing at 3 or 4 air targets, depending on the number of single-channel "searchlights" AN / SPG-62, while the number 18 is the number of simultaneously corrected AN / SPY-1A / D (V) anti-aircraft guided missiles awaiting distribution to one of the "released" AN / SPG-62 RPNs. AN / SPY-6 AMDR completely eliminates this problem, and this is another nuisance for our anti-ship missiles. The fact is that in addition to the high throughput and fire performance of the AMDR, a 4 times larger arsenal of small-sized RIM-162 ESSMs is added.
These missiles have a diameter of 254 mm, so that in the number of 4 units they can be placed in special unified containers Mk 25, installed in a certain number of cells of the universal VPU Mk 41. So, in 29 free transport and launch cells, the bow UVPU Mk 41 can fit 116 ESSM interceptor missiles + 61 RIM-174 ERAM missiles. Only the anti-aircraft "equipment" of heavy nuclear missile cruisers of projects 1144.2 "Peter the Great" and 1144.2M "Admiral Nakhimov" can surpass such an arsenal. The latter is a priority, because thanks to the introduction of the new Polyment-Redut complex with super-maneuverable anti-aircraft guided 9M96DM with a diameter of 240 mm, the ammunition in the places of the old revolving PU B-204A can be increased exactly 4 times (from 94 to 376 missiles)! Recall that the ammunition load of the 5V55RM and 48N6E2 anti-aircraft missiles S-300F "Fort" and S-300FM "Fort-M" in the TARK pr. 1144.2 is 48 and 46 units, respectively. At the same time, the situation with the 9M96DM interceptor missiles, which have no analogues among Russian-developed interceptor missiles, has not been clearly defined to this day. There is no information about the regular successful tests of missiles of the 9M96E2 family both from the sides of the corvettes of the project 20380 and the frigate of the project 22350 "Admiral Gorshkov", and from the launchers of the S-400 "Triumph" air defense missile system, and time does not stand still anti-aircraft missiles such as RIM-162 "Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile" increases exponentially. What kind of threat to the potential of our Navy may lie in this missile?
To ensure the interception of sophisticated air attack weapons carrying out anti-aircraft maneuvers with overloads of about 18 - 20 units, the RIM-162 ESSM are equipped with a gas-jet thrust vector deflection system, represented by 4 heat-resistant rotary planes in the rocket nozzle channel. This auxiliary control unit makes it possible for the rocket to maneuver with an overload of 50 - 60 units. (but only at the moment of burnout of a two-mode solid propellant charge). During this period, RIM-162 is quite capable of intercepting such anti-ship missiles as Onyx with a 30-40% probability and such heavy anti-ship missiles as P-1000 Vulcan and P-700 Granit with an 80% probability.
Many may turn on jingoistic patriotism and start interested in the sources from which this information was extracted. Nevertheless, a technically savvy person will be able to understand that both "Volcanoes" and "Granites", in addition to powerful kinetic energy, also have a large mass, which does not allow maneuvering with overloads of more than 15 units. Consequently, to intercept the ESSM anti-missile missile, it will be enough to reach an overload of 40 - 45 units. It is for this reason that today we are witnessing a transition from the above anti-ship missiles to more compact and "nimble" "Onyxes", which can also boast an order of magnitude and a half less radar signature. Not looking at the fact that in terms of technology, our new frigates pr. 22350, the modernized cruiser "Admiral Nakhimov", as well as the improved multipurpose nuclear submarines pr.949A "Antey" (despite the many times larger ammunition load of anti-aircraft missile and anti-ship weapons) should noticeably outstrip the leading American destroyers "Arleigh Burke Flight III", the number of series of our warships will be 7-8 times lower. Against the background of significant delays in fine-tuning the 9M96DM missile defense system, this only indicates that the temporary key to solving the problem lies in the transition of the majority of submarines and diesel-electric submarines to the supersonic anti-ship missiles 3M54E1 "Caliber-NK" and 3M55 "Onyx" with the earliest intensification of work on the "Zircon", in order to continue to stay on the crest of the wave.
