The Russian fleet is being revived. Sailors, creators of marine technology of all generations and ordinary citizens of Russia greet the Day of the Navy, which the country will celebrate next Sunday, with optimism.
On the eve of the Day of the Navy, a new nuclear submarine "Novosibirsk" was laid down at the Sevmash enterprise in Severodvinsk. This missile carrier will be the third in the line of multipurpose atomarines of the Yasen project, developed by the Malakhit St. Petersburg Maritime Bureau of Mechanical Engineering.
"Ash" with a displacement of over 13 thousand tons with mine, torpedo and missile weapons can submerge to a depth of 600 meters and move at a speed of about 30 knots, remaining almost invisible to potential enemies. The first serial submarine of the project, Kazan, is already being built in the slipway shop of Sevmash, and the main order, Severodvinsk, together with the strategic nuclear submarines Alexander Nevsky and Vladimir Monomakh of the Borey project, is undergoing state tests. This year, all three missile submarines are to take up combat duty. The lead "Borey" - the cruiser "Yuri Dolgoruky" - is already in the fleet. In the boathouse of Sevmash - the fourth missile carrier, "Prince Vladimir". 170-meter, with a displacement of 24 thousand tons "Boreas" - the brainchild of the Central Design Bureau of Marine Engineering "Rubin" - with intercontinental ballistic missiles "Bulava", capable of diving to 450 meters and a speed of 29 knots, will become the basis of Russia's nuclear naval forces until the middle of the present century; "Ash" - the main multipurpose submarines.
As Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said: "As a result of the implementation of the state armament program until 2020, the fleet should receive eight missile submarine cruisers, 16 multipurpose submarines, 54 surface combat ships of various classes." True, in the "golden age" of domestic shipbuilding in the early 1980s, only Russian shipyards annually replenished the naval forces by 45 combat units. But the current pace is evidence of a real revival of the industry, and hence the fleet.
The State Armaments Program until 2020 provides five trillion rubles for the renewal of naval equipment. Such spending is understandable and understandable. And not only because the fleet, which was almost left on its pins and needles in the 90s, needs to be revived in principle - Russia is surrounded on all sides by the sea. Unlike other countries, we have to simultaneously defend five large naval theaters (including the Caspian Sea), and the state, accordingly, maintain five independent fleets, the consolidation of forces of which is practically impossible at once. But it is also necessary to ensure the security of the Russian economic zone, and to represent the interests of the state, showing the St. Andrew's flag, in all regions of the World Ocean. Other naval powers, unlike Russia, did not limit the construction of their fleets. And now they are very zealously watching our activation. Doesn't this explain the decision made in the United States to build a series of nine new Arleigh Burke-class destroyers by 2017? The command of the US Navy has already signed the corresponding contracts with the shipbuilding companies General Dynamics and Hungtington Ingalls in the amount of 6, 1 billion dollars.
Alexey Bykov and Kirill Rozhin, leading experts from the Research Institute of Shipbuilding and Weapons of the Navy, note the following modern trends in world surface shipbuilding: the number of combat units is not decreasing, the air defense of naval equipment is increasing, the role of unmanned vehicles is increasing, the fight against terrorism and the growth of drug trafficking forces an increase in the number of patrol ships. Such global features, of course, are taken into account in the formation of the image of the modern Russian fleet, with an eye to ensuring that it remains effective, formidable and competitive for a long historical period.
The combat composition of the surface universal cruisers, which is headed by "Peter the Great", will replenish one more similar missile carrier - "Admiral Nakhimov". A decision was made to overhaul and modernize it. The project will be carried out by the Northern Design Bureau, where a series of these world's largest universal surface nuclear-powered ships (length 250 meters, displacement of 25 thousand tons) was developed. 70% of the equipment is subject to replacement. As a result, in 2018 the Admiral Nakhimov will become the most modern surface missile carrier equipped with the latest weapons.
Just a few days ago, the shipbuilders of the Zvezdochka Ship Repair Center completed an important stage in the modernization of the non-nuclear missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov of the Atlant project (length 186 meters, displacement 11,500 tons). The ship will return to service in 2015. Following him will be reconstructed the flagships of the Black Sea and Pacific fleets, the missile cruisers Moskva and Varyag.
Developed by the Northern Design Bureau, frigates - patrol boats of the far sea zone, with a displacement of more than three to four thousand tons, are being built at the Kaliningrad plant "Yantar" and the St. Petersburg "Severnaya Verf". The lead frigate - "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov" - has entered the factory mooring trials and will soon enter service. Starting from 2016, Severnaya Verf plans to deliver one frigate a year, while six units are planned to be built.
On the eve of the Day of the Navy, the first serial corvette, the ship of the near sea zone, "Provorny", was laid down at Severnaya Verf. The head - "Boyky" - enjoyed increased attention at the last Naval Show. Relatively compact (2,000 tons displacement, about 100 meters long), fairly high-speed (27 knots) ships, developed by the Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau, are equipped with effective weapons, a modern control system and on-board automation. Thanks to Stealth technology, they are considered invisible to potential opponents. “Severnaya Verf, starting from 2015, plans to transfer to the fleet also one corvette per year.
The company's order portfolio includes two high-tech communication vessels. The firstborn - "Yuri Ivanov" - is preparing to launch. The developer, the Iceberg Central Design Bureau, tried to accommodate a maximum of highly intelligent equipment in a relatively compact building (with a displacement of 2500 tons) and create maximum conditions for the work of a crew of 120 specialists during trips of about 8000 miles. The vessels of this project belong to the class of large reconnaissance ships and are designed to monitor the components of the American missile defense system.
The Almaz shipbuilding company, the Srednenevsky and Zelenodolsk shipyards, the Nizhny Novgorod "Krasnoye Sormovo", the Far East "Zvezda" and other shipyards, each according to its own program, supply the fleet with ships and boats of various types and purposes.
The most gratifying thing is that not only specialists, but also residents of the country, from Moscow to the very outskirts, are rooting for the future of the Russian fleet and its flagship. This spring, a group of Petersburgers turned to the president with a proposal to raise funds from the whole world for the development and creation of a series of new Russian aircraft carriers. Moreover, modern electronic technologies make it possible to make the collection and spending of money absolutely transparent, so that not a single ruble goes “to the left”. They proposed to name a special all-Russian program "People's Aircraft Carrier". The letter from the Presidential Administration was sent for study to the Ministry of Defense, from where the answer came that the proposal deserves attention and will be taken into account when the aircraft carrier project takes on a more visible shape. It won't be long to wait.
