Small rocket ship "Grad Sviyazhsk" launches a missile of the "Kalibr-NK" complex
The Caspian Sea will always remain a strategically important area for Russia - both economically and militarily. Its natural resources and geographical position are in the priority area of the Caspian states.
As world practice shows, the struggle for survival, that is, for natural resources, always leads to military conflicts, and only the side that has powerful armed forces emerges victorious from such wars.
Russia, primarily as a great maritime power and as a state with a territorial outlet to the Caspian Sea, must be able to defend its positions in this region, and to solve such a task it is necessary to have powerful naval forces capable of promptly reacting to any current situation in the Caspian Sea, threatening in one way or another the interests of Russia and its territorial integrity.
Today, the Red Banner Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Navy is actually the only guarantor of the security of our state in this region. To strengthen its power, it is necessary to carry out work aimed at modernizing and strengthening its units and formations.
At the same time, it is necessary to take into account many factors of the specificity of the Caspian region, and the tasks that need to be solved here in the field of security.
The prospective composition of the forces and means of the flotilla is formed under the influence of a number of factors that determine the qualitative and quantitative composition, and also establish the tasks to be solved. The primary factor influencing the determination of the future composition of the flotilla is the presence in the Caspian Sea of naval forces of foreign states, which can be used in the event of any kind of conflict, for their complete defeat or for delivering a preemptive strike.
Based on the data on the quantitative and qualitative composition of the navies of the foreign states of the Caspian basin, the composition of the units and formations of the flotilla is formed, while a tactical calculation is carried out according to the balance of forces of the parties. Its goal is to create, within the flotilla, powerful sea and coastal components capable of being promptly deployed in a given area in the shortest possible time.
In order to conduct a full-fledged calculation of the balance of forces in the Caspian Sea, in peacetime it is necessary to conduct reconnaissance activities aimed at identifying quantitative changes in the ship composition of foreign navies, as well as their improvement in the field of combat capabilities. Only on the basis of these operational data is it possible to maintain its naval forces in the composition that is able to ensure the protection of the interests of their state.
Today, five states have territorial access to the Caspian Sea, and all of them have naval forces of different types and numbers. In terms of its combat strength and capabilities, the Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Navy is in first place, the Iranian Navy is in second, the Kazakh Navy is in the third, the Azerbaijani Navy is in the fourth, and the Turkmen Navy is last.
The total number of combat surface ships and boats of various classes and ranks in the Caspian Sea is about 200 units, of which less than 35 are the Caspian Flotilla. However, if we consider in more detail the composition of the navies of all the Caspian states with the exception of the Iranian naval forces, we will see that they are based on patrol and artillery boats protecting the water area, as well as mine and landing forces.
The most effective means of waging war at sea in the Caspian naval theater are ships and boats carrying strike missile weapons on board, designed to destroy both sea and coastal targets. With the support of the air force, such groups are virtually invulnerable.
Much attention is paid to this direction by the Iranian Navy, which contains about 5 tactical groups of missile boats, up to 15 units in number, in the Caspian Sea bases, while more than 100 Iranian Air Force strike and fighter aircraft are based at airfields near the Caspian Sea.
Missile boats are also in service with the navies of Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, built to order at Russian shipyards, but their number is insignificant.
It is worth noting the presence in the Turkmen Navy of two Project 12418 missile boats built in Russia, with a total salvo of 32 Kh-35 anti-ship cruise missiles.
How far has the Caspian flotilla gone in this respect? To answer this question, we will conduct a tactical analysis of the ships of the flotilla that entered service in recent years.
So, in the period from 2012 to 2014, the flotilla received 3 new attack ships designed to deliver missile strikes against sea and coastal targets. In December 2012, the flotilla receives a 2nd rank missile ship "Dagestan" of project 11661K, and a year and a half later two small missile ships of project 21631 - "Grad Sviyazhsk" and "Uglich". This group of ships has on board the latest Kalibr-NK missile system, which ensures the destruction of coastal targets at a distance of up to 2500 km, and sea targets up to 350 km.
Rocket ship "Dagestan" firing the "Caliber-NK" complex at a coastal target
At the moment, none of the navies of the countries of the Caspian basin have such strike capabilities, either in the sea or in the coastal component. This firing range allows the ships of the flotilla to strike at the enemy while in the inaccessible zone of their cruise missiles, while maneuvering under the full cover of their air and coastal assets.
It should also be noted that in September 2012, within the framework of the large-scale exercises Kavkaz-2012, a cruise missile of the Kalibr-NK complex was launched from the Dagestan RK from the Caspian Sea against a coastal target. The target was a 50x50 cm metal sheet that was installed on the landfill. After firing, the rocket hit the target at a distance of 5 meters from it, while the standard for such tests is 20-30 meters. This accuracy is a high indicator of the effectiveness of the complex.
In general, this state of affairs makes it possible to confidently assert that in terms of the naval strike component of the Caspian Flotilla there is no equal in its operational zone, however, it is worth noting that the closest potential enemy in terms of combat power, the Iranian Navy, is also gradually making steps forward in the development of its own Navy.
So, in 2013, the newest destroyer of the Jmaran-2 type was launched carrying 4 anti-ship missiles with a firing range of 170 km. In fact, it will be the first and so far the only destroyer in the Caspian Sea.
It is known that the Iranian Navy, if necessary, has the ability to transfer a large number of Sina-class missile boats from the Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea bases, in this case, in the shortest possible time, more than 10 tactical groups of missile boats of 30 or more units may appear in the Caspian.
With the support of aviation, such a formation is able to resist any naval forces of the Caspian basin, including the Caspian flotilla. The most dangerous issue in the truest sense of the word is the actively developing work of the Iranian Navy to create a group of small submarines in the Caspian Sea basin. As of today, there are no effective anti-submarine forces in the Caspian Sea, since there are no submarines as such here. The emergence of Iranian submarines in this region poses a new task for the Caspian Flotilla - the creation of a full-fledged sea and air anti-submarine component capable of effectively solving the tasks of an ASW. Taking into account the experience of creating anti-submarine forces by our defense complexes, it can be assumed that the creation of ASW forces as part of the Caspian Flotilla will not be a difficult task.
Small submarines of the Iranian Navy of the "Ghadir" type, taken into service in 2012
As you know, within the framework of the State program for rearmament of the army and navy until 2020 "GPV-2020", by 2018, the ship composition of the flotilla should be updated by 80%, while modernization and the arrival of new weapons are noted not only in relation to the naval component, but and coastal. In the period from 2006 to 2014, about 10 newest warships were accepted into the flotilla, which is 30% of the total ship composition. A gradual renewal of the auxiliary naval forces of the flotilla is underway. So, in the period from 2005 to 2013, more than 10 support vessels, as well as hydrographic and emergency rescue services, were accepted into the flotilla. It is difficult to say here that such a quantitative composition of the arrival of new units provides a solution to all problems in this area, nevertheless, the flotilla is gradually renewing its forces. The main directions in the field of prospects for the development of the Caspian Flotilla include:
1. Creation of a permanently operating powerful naval strike group of surface ships and boats as part of the flotilla, capable of quickly deploying in a given area and effectively fighting the surface enemy. In the coming years, this group will be based on Project 11661K missile ships and Project 21631 small missile ships.
2. If necessary, the creation of a permanent anti-submarine component, which will include both surface ships and naval aviation. This issue will be developed if foreign submarine forces appear in the Caspian basin.
3. Further improvement of the amphibious assault forces of the flotilla, capable of carrying out the transfer of the landing force in the shortest possible time to the required area. This goal will be achieved through the adoption of project 21820 and 11770 into the high-speed landing boats. In the future, it is planned to work out the issue of the possible creation of a special mobile air group of aircraft to ensure the landing of troops.
4. Further improvement of naval anti-mine forces, which is very important in modern combat at sea. Unfortunately, their technical and quantitative condition in the Caspian Flotilla is of low efficiency today, with limited capabilities. It is necessary to introduce new mine-sweeping ships into the flotilla, and to improve their basing system. Obviously, the base minesweeper of the Alexandrite type of project 12700 will become a promising project.
5. Gradual renewal of the rear parts of the flotilla and the Auxiliary Fleet, as well as hydrographic and rescue services. Without the reliability of these components, further effective actions of the combat forces of the flotilla are not possible. Special attention should be paid to the rescue forces of the flotilla.
6. Further improvement of the coastal troops of the flotilla, namely, the introduction of the latest models of equipment and small arms into the formations. In the future, the final transition to the coastal missile systems "Ball", as well as the arrival of the latest "BTR-82" and other pieces of equipment in the marines. It should be noted and the improvement of parts of electronic warfare, as well as early detection systems for air and sea targets. So in 2013, the flotilla adopted the Podsolnukh radar station located in the Republic of Dagestan. It is designed to detect air and surface targets at a distance of more than 500 km, and is capable of providing target designations to the flotilla forces at a given distance.
7. An important element in the effectiveness of the actions of the forces of the flotilla is the availability of the necessary infrastructure for the basing and deployment of units and formations, as well as their further improvement. For example, at the moment, work is underway to create a powerful heterogeneous grouping of forces and troops of the Caspian Flotilla in the Republic of Dagestan - the extreme border region of Russia in the Caspian Sea. It is planned to deploy a powerful strike sea and coastal component here, to ensure the repair of berthing facilities for the further basing of ships, as well as to modernize the military camps of the coastal forces.
8. It is known that at the moment a study is underway on the creation of submarine forces within the Caspian flotilla, which will mainly be armed with small submarines designed to solve sabotage and reconnaissance tasks. The appearance of this type of force in the composition of the flotilla will greatly expand its capabilities and will allow solving problems of a narrower and more complex direction.
General view of the coastal radar station "Sunflower"
The newest small missile ships of project 21631 during the testing period in Makhachkala
