The summer of 2012 was remembered for numerous Russian and foreign Internet observers for the unprecedented in the history of modern submarine fleets of cases of penetration of Russian submarines of the Borey and Shchuka-B classes into the near anti-submarine borders of the United States, which staged a real breaking of stereotypes in the heads of the US Navy command. as well as specialists-operators of sonar systems of submarines, submarines and anti-submarine aircraft regarding the "zero" acoustic stealth of strategic missile submarines of the USSR / Russian Navy. In particular, the strategic missile submarine cruiser (SSBN / SSBN) K-535 Yuri Dolgoruky (Project 955 Borey) was forced to ascend 1 km from Manhattan due to the sudden failure of the onboard navigation system Symphony-U (or "Scandium" equipped with a gyrocorrector). It is worth noting that the Symphony-U complex demonstrated the unique accuracy of its work back in 2002, when the multi-purpose nuclear submarine K-295 Samara, equipped with it, made a minimum positioning error of only 1852 m in 156 hours of underwater navigation (10 cables).
What caused the malfunction of the Symphony is unknown, but one thing is clear: not a single sonar system installed on US boats and ships of the littoral zone, as well as the RSL, present in the Long Island region, was able to track the sonar waves emanating from the approaching low-noise SSBN of the Russian fleet. This is not at all surprising, since the submarines of this project have a level of acoustic stealth comparable or even superior to those of the 885 Yasen multipurpose missile submarine cruisers. This is due to the presence of a water jet propeller, an improved design of shock-absorbing units, represented by vibration-absorbing laminated beams and pillers, as well as the use of modern sound-absorbing hull materials based on rubber coatings. All this reduces the noise level of Project 855 Yasen submarines to 45 - 55 dB, which is 15 dB lower than that of Project 971 Shchuka-B. It is also obvious that in the territorial waters of the United States, the submarine moved at a speed of 3-5 knots, and the US anti-submarine weapons did not at all anticipate such a development of events.
Some sources (including newsland.com), referring to the state media, do not indicate which side of Project 955 Borey approached the American coast, but proceeding from the fact that only the SSBN K- 535 "Yuri Dolgoruky", cruiser K-550 "Alexander Nevsky" could not be in the North Atlantic. Its avionics, power plant and navigation complex began to be tested only in 2011, while Yuri Dolgoruky has been tested since 2009. Data on the incident with the penetration of "Borey" deep into the anti-submarine lines of the American fleet are not the only ones in recent years.
So, for example, in August of the same year, according to the publication Freebeacon.com with reference to representatives of the US Navy, a low-noise Russian multipurpose submarine, project 971 "Pike-B" (class "Shark") was miraculously discovered in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. At the same time, American control equipment monitored the minimum acoustic noise from the submarine for several weeks, but could not identify the source. Upgraded submarines of the same class "Improved Akula" were repeatedly discovered a couple of hundred kilometers from the American coast and in 2009, which our Ministry of Defense presented as a proper response to the actions of the American submarine fleet off our coast. This was reported by the versia.ru resource with reference to the Russian defense department and the central US TV channels.
More than 5 years have passed since the Borey and Pike-B incidents, and the US Navy's anti-submarine concept in the North Atlantic has radically changed. Starting in 2013, the long-range anti-submarine aircraft of the new generation P-8A "Poseidon" began to enter service with the Naval Forces, the number of which reached 51 units by mid-2017! These machines, in comparison with the most massive patrol aircraft of the fleets of NATO member states P-3C "Orion" of various modifications, have a lot of flight technical and technological advantages, expressed in the promptness of arrival at a conventional sea / ocean theater of operations, as well as in multiple expanding the capabilities of electronic and optical-electronic reconnaissance not only for surface targets, but also for coastal targets.
Firstly, the anti-submarine aircraft built on the basis of the Boeing 737-300 jet has a cruising speed of 815 and a maximum speed of about 920 km / h, which allows Poseidon to arrive in the combat duty zone 1.35 times faster than Orion . Accordingly, the time required for the placement of a certain number of sonobuoy AN / SSQ-125 MAC, AN / SSQ-53, AN / SSQ-62D / E DICASS and AN / SSQ-101B ADAR is reduced by 35%. RSL data are distinguished by a huge total range of operating modes (active, active-passive, passive, as well as the above modes with different types of emitted acoustic signal, differing in frequency and intensity). The RSL data hydrophones have a range of operation from 5-10 Hz to 2.4-20 kHz, which covers almost the entire required range of hydroacoustic noise emanating from the moving mechanisms of power plants and propellers of surface ships, submarines (including the phenomenon of cavitation). The P-8A launch canister accommodates up to 120 sonar buoys in various ratios; located behind the center section of the anti-submarine.
Moreover, in the coastal zone of the United States, the number of operating multipurpose littoral warships of the LCS-1 "Freedom" class is regularly increasing, on board of which unmanned underwater systems are located - "mine hunters" AN / VLD-1 (V) 1, represented by semi-submerged diesel vehicles RMV with towed sonar system AN / AQS-20A. Despite the fact that the complex was initially adapted to perform "mine action", the presence of three sonar systems on the AN / AQS-20A auxiliary apparatus at once, capable of operating in a passive mode, makes it possible to take bearings of nearby enemy submarines. But if the coastal zone of the East Coast of the United States is quite tightly covered by various sonar reconnaissance means deployed on underwater and surface carriers, as well as patrol aircraft, then the situation in the North Atlantic, especially in the Danish Strait and the Norwegian Sea, is completely different. Namely, this section is the main oceanic junction for the exit of multipurpose Russian SSGNs pr. 971 "Shchuka-B", 941A "Antey" and 885 "Ash" to the launch lines of the SKR 3M14T "Caliber-PL" at strategically important US facilities located on the East Coast The United States, as well as the aircraft carrier strike groups of the US Navy located in the Atlantic Ocean.
The fact is that in the area of the Danish Strait, as well as the North, Norwegian and Greenland Seas, the influence of the Icelandic minimum (an area of low pressure over the North Atlantic) is much more noticeable, which brings a mass of cyclones from the southwest, causing multi-day storms with hurricane winds. As a result, the hydrological situation is noticeably deteriorating, as is the detection range of enemy submarines by means of RSL, as well as hydroacoustic stations of submarines and surface ships. The crews of ultra-low-noise diesel-electric and anaerobic diesel-sterling electric submarines with an acoustic noise level of less than 40 dB will feel most at ease in this situation. This is exactly what the Norwegian defense department has oriented itself on when developing a long-term perspective for the renewal of the submarine component of the fleet.
So, on December 4, 2017, the British edition www.janes.com, with reference to the journalist of the “Jane's Navy International” division, Richard Scott, published an article about the adoption by the Government of Norway of a decision to launch military-technical cooperation with Germany. At the same time, the main emphasis was placed on interaction along the line of naval technologies, in particular, on the purchase of modernized Type 212C / D anaerobic diesel-electric submarines. Such an “internal NATO” deal will be extremely beneficial for both the Norwegian Navy, which will be able to replace the “ancient” diesel-electric Ula class submarines with new submarines, and the German shipbuilding company ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), which will receive a solid order for 6 - 8 "Type 212C / D" worth more than $ 8-9 billion. A rather important point of the upcoming contract is that the Norwegian fleet will receive a full-fledged improved modification of the Type 212A, which will undergo a full-fledged demagnetization of the hull, which can hundreds of times reduce the possibility of detecting the presence of a submarine by means of magnetic anomaly detectors installed on long-range anti-submarine Il-38N and / or Tu-142M3.
It will be extremely difficult for our anti-submarine weapons to locate the Type 214 C / D submarines in the area of Svalbard and northeastern Norway in difficult meteorological conditions already at a distance of 10-15 km, because their noise under normal hydrological conditions barely reaches 35 dB. Consequently, the command of the Allied Naval Forces of NATO can use them as a convenient and effective tool for blocking our SSGNs and SSBNs in the western part of the Norwegian and Greenland Seas. It will be much easier to conduct a covert pursuit of our nuclear-powered submarines with a noise level of the order of 45-50 dB by the quieter German Type 212C / D than, for example, the British Astute class submarines or the US Virginia class submarines.
Due to the equipment of the improved type 212 with an air-independent power plant of the AIP type based on an electrochemical generator, represented by a 306-kilowatt 9-module hydrogen fuel block, which provides the necessary power for 288 silver-zinc battery cells, the crew can remain under water for 2 - 3 weeks, without the need to enter an unsafe RDP mode, due to which the submarine can be instantly detected by means of a radar attached to the Novella-P-38 radio complex or a 30-fold optical-electronic turret complex capable of operating in optical-electronic and thermal imaging channels sightings. This equipment is on board the Il-38N anti-submarine aircraft.
If in the area of the northern coast of Norway (the western part of the Barents Sea) Norwegian anaerobic submarines cannot rise to the surface due to partial control of the surface space by the Northern Fleet of the Russian Navy, then this procedure (to recharge batteries from a diesel generator) in the Norwegian Sea will be significantly easier, since this area with 100% probability will represent the surface and aerospace zone "A2 / AD", covered by the air defense and missile defense of a couple of American AUGs. To change the situation with the domination of "quiet" submarines "Type 212C / D" in the North Atlantic could be promising anaerobic options for non-nuclear submarines pr.677 "Lada", equipped with a unique air-independent power plant that generates hydrogen by reforming diesel fuel.
But even in the event that in the next 3-5 years the specialists of CDB MT Rubin will still be able to create and finally bring to mind a promising power plant, the fuel for which will be the same diesel as for the diesel generator used in the RDP, the estimated range of which is 800 - 1200 nautical miles, is unlikely to make it possible to play cat and mouse with the Norwegian Type 212C / D off the coast of Iceland, since at least one ascent will be required to recharge the batteries using the DG installation. Under the conditions of the enemy's domination, such an action can become deadly. In the western part of the Barents Sea, both Lada and the good old Varshavyanka / Halibuts will be able to maintain underwater dominance, with the ability to operate and return without the need to exit the RDP mode, because the distance, for example, to Bear Island is no more than 700-720 km … As for the "breakthrough" of the anti-submarine "barrier" formed by the renewed submarine fleet of the Norwegian Navy, it remains to be hoped that the modernized Yasen-M submarine submarines will receive a water-jet propulsion unit, after which they will be able to compete at least a little with the German "air-independent hunters".
