The newly appointed commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral Vladimir Korolev, said that the combat strength of the Russian Navy by 2018 will be replenished with more than 50 ships. “I would like to emphasize that in three years - from 2013 to 2016 - we have added 42 warships to the permanent readiness forces. In the period from 2016 to 2018, we plan to add more than 50 ships to the Navy., including interspecific, practically in all strategic directions, - said the commander.
Heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser "Peter the Great". Photo: Lev Fedoseev / TASS
What directions will the Russian fleet cover? In fact, there are only two countries in the world - Russia and the United States, which are able to ensure their strategic interests in the entire water area of the world's oceans. However, the approaches to securing their interests are different. The United States is relying on carrier strike groups (AUG), Russia is actively updating its submarine fleet and adopting new missiles.
As a result of the Second World War, it became clear that from now on, the leading role in the sea would be played not by large artillery ships, but by aircraft carriers. The United States has become the world leaders in the number of large aircraft carriers and is still holding this palm. In the Soviet Union, it was decided not to launch its own program for the construction of aircraft carriers, since it was clear that there were no, or very few, convenient bases for ships of this class, from which it would be possible to immediately enter the world ocean, bypassing the inland seas. To achieve parity with the Americans, it was decided to develop the construction of the submarine fleet. It was an "asymmetric response". The large number of Soviet submarines did not allow NATO anti-submarine forces to track all their movements at the same time.
Despite some superiority that the NATO and US fleets possessed over the USSR, the ships of the potential enemy felt "under the gun" in all oceans. The global positioning of the USSR fleet was no coincidence: the country made it clear that the US fleet is not invulnerable. The current tasks of the Navy remain the same as during the Cold War - ensuring the security of the state and demonstrating its presence in the same waters as the US Navy.
Missile cruiser Moskva. Photo: Russian Look / Server Amzayev
Judging by the program for building the fleet, there is no room for aircraft carriers in the Russian Navy. Instead, they relied on large surface missile ships. It is planned to re-equip three Project 1164 cruisers with electronic systems: Varyag (flagship of the Pacific Fleet), Marshal Ustinov and Moskva (flagship of the Black Sea Fleet). Nuclear cruiser of project 1144 "Admiral Nakhimov" is undergoing modernization and is scheduled to be operational by 2018. Another most likely candidate for refitting is the Peter the Great cruiser. Today, the "main caliber" of the Peter the Great aircraft carrier is 20 Granit missiles, the main purpose of which is to fight large surface targets. It is stated that the Zircon hypersonic missiles may replace Granit.
"Zircon" allows you to play ahead and hit the target much earlier than the means of countermeasures are ready. Even if the launch is detected, the preparation of the interceptor missiles will take a long time."A lot" in this case is just a few seconds, which is just not enough. A number of sources in the armed forces reported on the beginning of full-scale tests of the latest Russian hypersonic missiles, which can be installed both on surface ships and on submarines. We are talking about a new project of the multipurpose nuclear submarine "Husky", which is being developed by the St. Petersburg design bureau "Malakhit".
Submarine "Vladimir Monomakh". Photo: Lev Fedoseev / TASS
However, surface ships are not the main carriers of nuclear weapons. The underwater component of the nuclear shield missiles is personified by the 667BDR Kalmar, 667BDRM Dolphin and 955 Borey submarines. By 2020, it is planned to build eight Boreyevs. Three ships have already entered the fleet - the lead ship Yuri Dolgoruky became part of the Northern Fleet, Alexander Nevsky and Vladimir Monomakh went to serve in the Pacific Fleet.
Project 885 Yasen submarines, which are planned to be equipped with torpedoes with a nuclear warhead, should support the actions of the new Boreyevs. Apparently, these submarines will become the only representatives of the class of "hunters" for nuclear submarines of a potential enemy.
Boat "Varshavyanka". Photo: Yuri Smityuk / TASS
For operations in the inland seas, it is planned to update and strengthen the grouping of non-nuclear submarines. Six Project 636.3 Varshavyanka diesel-electric submarines are currently under construction for the Black Sea Fleet. The first two submarines have already been handed over to the fleet, the delivery of the third and fourth is planned before the end of this year. The new word should be the boats of the project 677 "Lada", which is supposed to use a promising air-independent power plant. Projects of boats with a similar engine are today in the fleets of European states - France, Germany, the Netherlands. Work is underway in this direction in the United States. Such equipment will significantly improve the combat qualities of non-nuclear submarines due to the absence of the need for regular surfacing to recharge batteries. At the same time, this will allow the boats to maintain compact dimensions in comparison with nuclear submarines and maintain high stealth rates.
A separate topic is the failed purchase of the French Mistral helicopter carriers, which were transferred to Egypt. According to representatives of the defense department, the development of their own projects for helicopter carriers has begun. Actually, the talk about the fact that Russia is quite able to do without such global acquisitions of surface warships, was even when everything was fine with the deal. It is obvious that the new helicopter carriers will also enter service with the Black Sea Fleet.
