The program of building new ships and modernizing existing ones is bearing fruit. By now, the Russian Navy is once again one of the largest and most powerful on the planet. At the same time, in a number of parameters, it differs significantly from the navies of other developed states, which determines the differences in combat potential and capabilities.
Quantitative indicators
Last year, the American organization Center for International Maritime Security (CIMSEC) published interesting statistics on the largest naval forces in the world. The "top 3" includes the fleets of Russia, China and the United States. It turned out that they all differ markedly both in the number of pennants and in other indicators.
The leader in quantitative terms is the PLA Navy. They have 624 combat units. In second place was Russia with 360 ships, submarines and boats. The US Navy is slightly behind it - 333 pennants. Thus, we are talking about quantitative parity between Russia and the United States, but both countries in this respect are almost twice as behind the PRC.
However, the calculation of the payroll does not reveal a lot of questions. CIMSEC also compared the total displacement of warships. The USA took the first place with 4.6 million tons. They are followed by China and its 1.82 million tons. The three leaders were closed by the Russian Navy - 1.2 million tons. This demonstrates serious differences in the structure of the combat strength and classes of ships.
It is easy to calculate that the average combat unit of the US Navy has a displacement of 13, 9 thousand tons, for Russia this figure is almost 3, 8 thousand tons, and for the PRC it almost reaches 3 thousand tons. These figures reveal even better the features of the military shipbuilding and the structure of the fleets of the three countries.
Fleet differences
The general and average indicators demonstrate the general features of the development of the fleets of the three countries and the difference in the ship composition. In general, we are talking about the fact that Russia and China in their current development plans give preference to smaller ships, while the United States operates and builds much larger combat units.
The most noticeable contribution to the total displacement of the US Navy is made by 11 aircraft carriers - more than 1 million tons. Moreover, they are the basis of the strike power of the fleet and ship groups are built around them. For comparison, the only Russian aircraft-carrying cruiser "Admiral Kuznetsov" has a total displacement of less than 60 thousand tons, and all this affects the overall performance of the Navy.
The most massive surface ships of the US Navy are the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers - almost 70 units. Depending on the modification, they have a displacement of 8, 3 to 9, 8 thousand tons. Also in this context it is necessary to mention the landing ships San Antonio - 11 units, a displacement of 25, 3 thousand tons. submarine fleet with dozens of ships with a displacement of 6 to 18 thousand tons.
The Russian Navy cannot boast of a similar number of first rank ships. There is only one heavy nuclear missile cruiser "Peter the Great" with a displacement of 25, 8 thousand tons, three missile cruisers of project 1164 (11, 4 thousand tons), etc. It is the small number of large surface warships that causes serious differences in total displacement. Unfortunately, it also affects the combat capabilities of the fleet.
The situation is better in the submarine fleet. The service is carried out by 10 strategic missile carriers with a total displacement of 10-25 thousand.tons and dozens of ships of other classes with less high performance - up to "small" diesel-electric "Varshavyanka" (3, 95 thousand tons).
The basis of the combat strength of the Russian Navy in terms of quantity is now made up of small missile ships, corvettes and frigates of several projects. Almost 40 pennants of modern construction has a part of all fleets. Despite their small displacement, such ships can effectively solve striking and defensive missions. They are complemented by 23 older missile boats.
It is necessary to take into account the presence of a sufficiently large amphibious fleet. In total, there are almost 50 large and small landing ships and boats. An important component of the Navy is artillery ships and boats, various minesweepers, anti-sabotage boats, etc.
The situation in the PLA Navy is broadly similar to that in Russia. However, at present, China is able to ensure the massive construction of ships of some classes, up to destroyers. Larger ships such as aircraft carriers are also being built, but require significant effort.
Since the beginning of the decade, 11 052D-class destroyers have been built and handed over to the fleet. Work is underway on the construction of serial ships "055", and the head one has recently begun service. There is some experience in the construction of aircraft-carrying ships of large displacement. Nevertheless, while the PRC is losing to the United States in some quantitative and qualitative indicators.
Forecast for the future
Knowing the approximate plans of the military departments of the leading countries, it is not difficult to predict the further development of the current situation. Obviously, there will be some changes in the number or displacement, but a cardinal change is not yet foreseen. However, China can again surprise their labor successes.
In the medium term, the United States plans to increase its combat strength by several dozen ships. It is proposed to do this at the expense of surface and submarine ships of the existing classes. Orders for additional units will appear, and the life of existing ones will be extended.
Russian plans for shipbuilding will significantly affect the overall performance only in the distant future. The construction of aircraft carriers has been postponed again, but this year two UDCs (25-28 thousand tons) will be laid. It is possible to start the construction of smaller ships of other ranks and classes.
Serial construction of frigates, corvettes and MRKs of several types continues. Work is also underway on new submarines of the main classes. The fleet is expected to be replenished with new landing ships and boats, minesweepers, etc. The construction of new ships is already overtaking the process of decommissioning old ones. There are also positive trends in the sphere of modernization of vessels. Thanks to this, the total number of combat personnel will grow. Together with it, the total displacement will also grow.
However, even with a favorable set of circumstances, the Russian Navy will still lag behind foreign leaders in some respects. The PRC is too far ahead in terms of the number of pennants, and the United States leads with a large margin in terms of total displacement.
Not only the displacement
It should be noted that the fighting qualities of a ship have long been determined not only by its displacement, and the potential of the fleet depends not only on the number of pennants. There are many other factors that can affect the combat effectiveness and compensate for the lag in the tabular numbers.
For example, the US Navy has 11 aircraft carriers - not the most numerous grouping. However, it is sufficient to operate around the world and perform a wide range of combat missions. Even a single aircraft carrier with a naval group is a serious force and threat, which is very difficult to resist.
You can also recall the Russian small missile ships pr. 21631 "Buyan-M" and pr. 22800 "Karakurt". With a displacement of no more than 850-950 tons, they carry eight Caliber or Onyx missiles and are capable of hitting targets at outstanding ranges. In addition, the emergence of new types of weapons compatible with MRK launchers is expected. New submarines of several types receive similar weapons, making them also an effective and formidable tool for the fleet.
Goals, desires and opportunities
It should be remembered that plans for the development of the fleet are determined by several factors. These are the capabilities of the state, its military strategy and related plans. Thus, the United States intends to maintain and maintain the status of the main force in the World Ocean, for which it requires a large number of high-ranking ships. The developed economy and industry make it possible to ensure the solution of such problems. The situation is similar in China, due to some restrictions, he has so far focused on small and medium ships.
The state of the Russian Navy at the moment makes it possible to protect the country's maritime borders and display the flag in some areas of the World Ocean. A full-fledged presence in remote regions is still a problem and requires further development of the fleet. Due to objective restrictions, the industry cannot yet massively build large ships like the United States or China.
The current plans, formed taking into account the existing capabilities and limitations, provide for the construction of submarines of all main classes, as well as ships of rank 2 and 3. Larger projects are already being developed, and their implementation will begin in the foreseeable future.
Thus, now and in the coming years, the Russian Navy will not be the world leader in terms of the number of combat personnel or the total displacement of ships. However, it is quite capable of increasing its potential within the framework of available opportunities and expanding the range of tasks to be solved. The Navy has a sober assessment of the situation and prudently relies on quality and efficiency, which depend only to a limited extent on tons and units.
