Once, while still the US Secretary of Defense, Leon Edward Panetta said:
“Any fifth grader knows that the US AUG cannot be destroyed by any of the existing powers of the world”
Wait! But what about Russia! Personally, I have always and everywhere been told that the Russian army can deal with the US Navy - somehow, but it can. More advanced in this matter stated that: well, with the whole fleet, maybe not, even an aircraft carrier connection is possible - we won’t overcome it, but we’ll definitely be able to send one AUG to the bottom. Well, very few, all the same, agreed with the Americans in their bravado.
Let's look into this issue (it's interesting, really).
I must say right away that I will not overload the post with numbers and enumerations, there will be many links, by going through them, it will be possible to get all the numbers and performance characteristics from different sources. I won't go into detail either. Those. I count on some erudition of visitors in this matter, the rest, if something is not clear in the names or terms, can freely draw definitions through a search engine. Although I will try to give almost all the links.
Begin.
A typical US AUG is a grouping consisting of:
The flagship aircraft-carrying ship of the Nimitz-type (or Enterprise)-type nuclear power plant with a carrier-based aviation regiment (60-80 aircraft) based on it. As usual, an aircraft carrier, as well as a grouping carrier-based aviation regiment, are separate military units of naval aviation and are under the command of naval aviation officers with the rank of captain of the first rank (U.S. Naval aviation Captain).
The air defense division of the grouping is 1-2 KR URO of the Ticonderoga type. The basic armament complex of the missile cruiser division includes launchers for the Standard air defense system (SM-2, SM-3), and sea-based Tomahawk missile launchers. All Ticonderoga-class missile cruisers are equipped with the Aegis Maritime Weapons Control and Missile Firing System (AEGIS). Each of the cruisers of the division is under the command of a US Navy officer with the rank of captain of the first rank (U.S. Navy Captain).
PLO division of the grouping - 3-4 EM URO of the Arleigh Burke type with depth charges and torpedoes to combat submarines, as well as (part of the ships) with Tomahawk missile launchers on board. The PLO division commander is a Navy officer with the rank of captain of the first rank (U.S. Navy Captain), while each of the destroyers of the division is under the command of a US Navy officer with the rank of captain of the second rank (U.S. Navy Сommander).
Division of multi-purpose submarines - 1-2 submarines of the Los Angeles type with torpedo armament and Tomahawk cruise missiles (launched through TA boats) on board with the tasks of both anti-aircraft grouping and strikes against coastal (surface) targets.
Supply Vessel Division - 1-2 Supply transports, ammunition transports, tankers, other auxiliary ships
FMS Naval Aviation - up to 60 aircraft of the US Navy aviation, combined into strike AE, AE AWACS, AE PLO, AE MTS, etc. The FMS of the Navy is a separate military unit of the US Navy aviation. The Naval Aviation Administration, as well as the AVMA, is under the command of a Navy aviation officer with the rank of captain of the first rank or a USMC aviation officer with the rank of colonel (USMC Сolonel).
So, what can we do to counter this impressive power. Unfortunately, Russia does not have the resources to compete with the United States on an equal footing in the number of ships. In terms of aircraft carriers, the advantage of the United States is overwhelming, now the American has 10 aircraft carriers, we have one aircraft-carrying cruiser Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov, which can be qualified as a light aircraft carrier, but unfortunately, in fact, without aircraft. There are ten Su-33s in service out of the planned twenty-five, which they already want to replace with the MiG-29K. In 2013, in addition to the existing dryers, two MiGs were added. As for escort ships, the situation is also not the best.
Many will now say, why are there aircraft carriers, Russia has a lot of other things to destroy the AUG. I agree, in a situation of total superiority in ships, an asymmetric response is needed. So what is he?
The Russian Armed Forces see it in missile weapons, namely in anti-ship missiles. Those. in the effective delivery of a conventional or nuclear charge directly to the AUG ships.
First, I propose to familiarize yourself with the RCC carriers:
1. Project 1164 missile cruiser
2. Submarine project 949A "Antey"
3. Project 1144 heavy missile cruiser
4. Heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser project 1143.5
There are also small missile ships, aviation and coastal missile systems.
Since the US AUG has a powerful missile defense and air defense system, and of course a powerful aviation fist, the main characteristics for combating it and defeating it are the detection distance and a possible attack.
In order to hit the composition of the AUG: aviation, ships or submarines must ensure the timely detection of an aircraft carrier group, classify it, get close to the missile strike distance, while maintaining combat capability and launch missiles that, having overcome air defense and electronic warfare, must destroy the ships in the AUG .
Consider the option of attacking the AUG by surface ships of the Russian Navy in the oceans:
Unfortunately, the capabilities of Russian ships in the matter of detection are actually limited by the limits of the radio horizon, the helicopters on board the ships are of little use for solving this problem, due to the small number of these machines and the small radius of action. They can be effectively used only in the interests of issuing target designation of missile weapons, but before that, you still need to detect the enemy.
Of course, when missile cruisers were created, i.e. under the Soviet navy, their activities were to be carried out with the support of the naval intelligence system in the ocean theater. It relied on a developed system of radio-technical intelligence, which was based on ground centers located not only on the territory of the USSR, but also in other states. There was also effective space-based maritime reconnaissance, which made it possible not only to detect and monitor the ship formations of a potential enemy, but also to issue target designation to missile weapons practically throughout the entire territory of the World Ocean. Russia does not have all this at the current time. In 2006, they began to reanimate the system, but the end is still very, very far away.
Therefore, the AUG will see our ships, long before it itself is detected, the group constantly provides air control to a depth of 800 km, using Grumman_E-2_Hawkeye AWACS aircraft, and we will be attacked by 48 aircraft, of which 25 will carry the HARPUN anti-ship missile system, and electronic warfare will be provided by almost 8 pieces of Boeing_EA-18_Growler.
Fighting off the cruisers with their air defense, and even the Kuznetsov, with a dozen aircraft, is impossible.
Therefore, we will not be allowed to use the main weapon in the fight against the AUG, namely the P-1000 Volcano, a range of 550 km and the P-700 Granite, a range of up to 625 km, as you can see, we will not only be unable to direct these missiles, but even at a launch range extremely it's unlikely that we will.
But if, by some miracle, we still shot down enemy planes, then there will be a duel of anti-ship missiles and a struggle of electronics, if we are superior to the Americans as anti-ship missiles, then again there is almost no chance in electronic warfare. In the best case, our anti-ship missiles, some of which will pass through the AUG missile defense system, will either only damage the aircraft carrier and, in the extreme, sink some ships of the grouping, but all this based on the above, unfortunately from the realm of fantasy.
Also, a strike on the AUG with a nuclear weapon is also unlikely, again due to the fact that we simply will not have time to strike, since we will be discovered first.
The most advanced Russian anti-ship missiles today is Granit. Currently, there are no analogues of this rocket in the world. Its flight range is 625 km. This is a hundred kilometers longer than the range of the Tomahawk anti-ship modifications, almost three times the flight range of the main American Harpoon anti-ship missiles, and approximately corresponds to the range of the F / A-18 carrier-based fighters. The marching speed of the Granite is 660 meters per second, in the last section of the trajectory - a kilometer per second, which is three times the speed of the Harpoon and Tomahawk and twice the maximum speed of the F / A-18 fighter. "Granite" carry a warhead (warhead) containing 500 kilograms of powerful explosives, the TNT equivalent of which, according to various sources, is from 1000 to 1500 kilograms. The power of the “Granite” warhead significantly exceeds the 454-kilogram TNT warhead “Tomahawk” and the 227-kilogram warhead “Harpoon”. The power of "Granite" allows you to destroy any destroyer or cruiser with one hit. In addition, missiles of this type can be equipped with nuclear warheads, which do not require a direct hit to destroy a ship. Breakthrough of the enemy air defense "Granite" facilitates the reservation of the warhead and important nodes, which reduces the likelihood of destruction of anti-ship missiles by a close detonation of an anti-aircraft missile, and a low flight altitude. The Granit anti-ship missile is a highly intelligent weapon capable of carrying out “collective” actions, counteracting enemy air defenses and independently choosing the most important target. In the computer memory of missiles, there are so-called "portraits" of radar for all ships, information about all possible variants of orders is also laid down. The missiles attack along the most rational trajectory, forming a combat order and exchanging information among themselves. In a salvo of one Project 949A submarine, there are 24 missiles, each of which also carries its own decoys to break through missile defense. 23 missiles go low over the water, one rises higher, periodically turning on the radar to aim at targets. It determines the number of targets and distributes them among other missiles. If the “leader” is destroyed, the next missile takes its place. The largest target, that is, an aircraft carrier, in the ship order is automatically determined by missiles. After a breakthrough, the missiles distribute the targets by importance in order to ultimately ensure the destruction of the aircraft carrier. First, covering ships that stand in the way of missiles are destroyed, and then a strike is made on an aircraft carrier. But there is one big BUT, the missile requires accurate target designation until the GOS captures the target, and this aiming is achieved only with the help of aviation or spacecraft.
Conclusion: missiles are good, and we have them much better than American ones, but unfortunately flying electronics and AUG fighters nullify this advantage.
Now consider the option with a submarine, the Project 949A Antey missile boat, using its hydroacoustics, can detect AUG noise at a distance of more than 100 miles, i.e. being in the far zone of the anti-submarine defense of an aircraft carrier group, where the probability of its detection and destruction is very low. The boat is armed with 24 P-700 Granit, respectively, the boat is already in a state of attacking the AUG, since the range of the Granite is up to 625 km, and we remind you 100 miles from the aircraft carrier with escort. But here again the problem arises of insufficient awareness, again we need a specific system for issuing target designation, which can be provided either from space or by aviation, and this is currently absent in Russia, I repeat, and what is available from aviation sources of target designation quickly will be destroyed by AUG fighters. Based on the foregoing, “Antey” is an excellent machine, but it will not be able to classify and even more so determine the battle order of the enemy’s formation with the identification of the main order. To do this, it will be necessary to enter the middle anti-submarine defense zone of the group, where the probability of detection and, accordingly, destruction is already significant.
But that's not all, in order to destroy an aircraft carrier, it is necessary to hit it with 8-10 Granit anti-ship missiles with conventional equipment. When missiles break through to an aircraft carrier, it is also necessary to destroy up to half of the guard ships. Taking into account the anti-aircraft defense, for guaranteed destruction of the AUG, it is necessary to use 70-100 anti-ship missiles from all types of carriers in one strike.
Conclusion: one or even three submarines (there are only five of them afloat in Russia at the moment) will not be able to destroy the AUG alone, they can only work together with surface ships and aircraft. Which, again, in the current conditions of the state of the system for detecting and issuing information to the Russian Navy, is impossible. By the way, some refer to the “Shkval” missile-torpedo as a miracle weapon, which is futile to fight the American group, one has only to read its characteristics.
Coastal anti-ship missile systems can not be considered due to the fact that the AUG will not approach the coast at a distance of destruction of anti-ship missiles.
Aviation remains: Tu-22M, can strike X-22 anti-ship missiles at the group, and this is perhaps the most promising option for damaging the AUG, but out of the 150 Carcasses in service, only 40 can fly throughout Russia. Even if we assume that they all reach the enemy ships and strike, then this is only 40 missiles, which is clearly not enough to demolish an aircraft carrier with escort. But if you reduce the range from 2000 km to 1500 km and hang two missiles on the "Carcasses", then again, you can take out the AUG only if all the planes and missiles break through to the enemy, which again is unlikely, the group's air defense very much.
Based on all of the above, in the current situation of the state of the Russian army, Leon Edward Panetta is rather right that indeed no country in the world is capable of sinking the US aircraft carrier strike group. With the possible exception of a massive Tu-22 air strike with Kh-22 missiles, with a nuclear warhead, but do not forget: the US has more than one AUG, and we are capable of such a strike only once.
Therefore, for Russia, it is extremely important to develop all kinds of tracking, target designation and electronic warfare systems. Because we have the power to strike, but, alas, we will not be able to hit and / or hit.
The 44th Red Banner Brigade of anti-submarine ships of the Russian Pacific Fleet is located in the very center of Vladivostok, next to the sea terminal, opposite the building of the fleet headquarters. Four large anti-submarine ships of project 1155 stand in a row near the wall. From here, these ships go on combat duty to the Gulf of Aden, where they protect merchant ships from pirates. To the right of the four BODs is the Irtysh floating hospital, and to the left is the flagship of the Pacific Fleet, the guards missile cruiser Varyag.
Project 1164.1 missile cruiser "Chervona Ukraine" was laid down at the plant named after 61 Communards in Nikolaev on July 31, 1979 (serial number 2010), on November 5, 1982 it was included in the lists of ships of the USSR Navy, launched on August 28, 1983, entered into built on December 25, 1989, and February 28, 1990 included in the Pacific Fleet. After the collapse of the USSR, the cruiser went to Russia and in 1996, at the initiative of the ship's crew, it was named "Varyag" - in honor of the famous armored cruiser of the 1st Pacific Squadron of the Russian Navy, a participant in the battle of Chemulpo in 1904.
The main weapon of the cruiser is homing cruise missiles of the P-1000 Vulkan complex. The launchers of the SM-248 missiles are located on the sides of the ship, they look very impressive and it is easy to distinguish the Varyag from other ships by them. Project 1164 cruisers are also called "aircraft carrier killers" - in fact, they were created for this.
The scheme of missile action is impressive - after a volley from one side, all eight missiles, after opening their wings, form a single group, a "wolf pack" with a leader - a separately flying missile, which directs the entire group to the target, corrects the course for the rest of the missiles, dumping information to them. When approaching the target, the lead missile selects the largest object (aircraft carrier), directs one of the missiles with the so-called. "special ammunition" and divides the remaining objects between the rest of the "flock" missiles.
All missiles include homing heads and strike at objects. The mass of one rocket is almost five tons, the flight speed is about 2900 km / h. There is no chance for an enemy ship to stay afloat after being hit by such a missile. If they manage to shoot down the lead missile, another one, exactly the same, takes its place. The attack takes place without the participation of the ship's crew according to the "fire - forget" system. Interestingly, all this is the technology of the early 70s.
Well, what else to say? "Varyag" is a beautiful ship, a real flagship of the fleet.
Acquaintance with the "Varangian" begins with prosaic sacks of cabbage and carrots. The nearby Admiral Panteleev BOD is going on a trip to the coast of Africa and is loading a supply of food.
They go on sea trips for a long time and stock up on everything they need seriously. This is only a small part of the drinking water that is loaded into the holds of a warship.
The officer accompanying me advised me not to use a mobile phone: “If you have a smartphone, it’s better to turn it off, otherwise it might burn out.” I didn't believe it, but I turned it off just in case. The ship has a full set of radar weapons of the MP-152 "Koltso" complex for detecting working radio and location stations, homing heads of enemy missiles, their direction finding and suppression. Maybe there was a certain reason in the words of the officer.
On the tank of the Varyag is an AK-130 - a ship's automatic cannon. It fires a high-explosive fragmentation projectile at a speed of 90 rounds per minute and a range of up to 23 kilometers. Fully automatic - acts independently until the ammunition runs out. They say it has no analogues in the world. Something, but what shoots - we knew how to do. There were problems with consumer goods, but the guns were always excellent. AK-130 is no exception.
In the initial sketches of the ship, there were 12 launchers (six per board) and instead of one twin guns there were two single-barreled A-100s. In 1972, Admiral Gorshkov ordered the addition of four more launchers to carry out two full eight-missile volleys, and two AK-100s to be replaced with one double-barreled AK-130. The ship became much heavier, the speed and ammunition of artillery guns decreased (720 rounds against 2000).
Despite modern means of communication, the system of signal flags remains the main communication for watercraft in the fleet. The Russian navy uses a set of signals from the USSR fleet. 32 signal flags correspond to the letters of the Russian alphabet: Lead - “The course leads to danger”, Live - “Make a middle move”, Y - “Found a mine”, etc. In this picture - the place of the signalman on the cruiser. In a metal box are signal flags, which, if necessary, are raised on vertical halyards to the yard.
To the left of the box are black "balls of movement", which indicate the speed of the ship in the sea. The lower the “ball” is located, the higher the speed. By the way, "Varyag" can go at a speed of 32 knots. When he goes at such a speed, the breaker behind the stern is ten meters high.
"What's that little red bluish over there?" On the wall are the silhouettes of ships and planes of Russia and NATO countries. A hint for the signalman who is watching what is happening around the ship.
This is the ship's wheelhouse. From here they are controlled in everyday conditions. The felling is connected to the combat information center of the BIUS "Lesorub-1164" by the commander's elevator.
The place of the commander of the cruiser "Varyag", guard captain 1st rank Eduard Moskalenko.
It really does remind me of the 70s. Such reliable iron. "Warm tube sound". I tried my best not to photograph anything secret, but go figure out where it is.
"Tovs" - I love these naval words. Guys, biteng, tweendeck, southwest, coaming, sternpost, binnacle - all this smells of salty sea wind and excites beyond words.
Shifts were spread out across the workplace. The cavtarangs racked their brains: “What would you like to show you such an unclassified thing?”. We agreed on some screen number 22. Sailor Renat from Bashkiria sat down in the operator's seat and began to press buttons, turn on monitors - depict activities at a combat post. It looked quite believable.
The same Renat, who did not catch the eye of the officers at the right time, revived the premises of the ship's library, pretending to be sorting out the mail that had arrived on the ship. The library is good. Small, but everything is there. In general, the Varyag is a rather comfortable ship. The cabins are finished with wood, paintings hang, carpets on the floor. There is a swimming pool with a waterfall, healing showers, a large steam room, a sauna. There are air conditioners in the living cabins, there are four air refrigeration units on the ship.
A cruiser walk is long passages along endless corridors and sudden descents and ascents along vertical ladders. In the fourth compartment, we go down lower and lower, to where the sailors' quarters are. The weapon is certainly interesting, but I really wanted to see how sailors live on one of the most powerful cruisers in the world.
On the screen of the competition for the best cockpit, you can see, for example, that cockpit No. 14, who scored a bolt for the competition in December, apparently received a big star from the commanders and then became the front one, not falling below the rating of "four".
This is how the night shift rests in the now exemplary cockpit No. 14. I opened the door for a couple of seconds and took several pictures of the sleeping sailors.
In the next cockpit, a sailor was writing something important in a magazine. Next to him is a cage with a parrot screwed to the table. The parrot was in place and resting.
The holy of holies of the missile cruiser is the galley. The ceilings here are low and the sailor with a rag in his hand, putting things in order, walked with his head bowed, which gave his figure a sad look. Nearby, two other sailors began to open tin cans with a simple knife, for which they immediately received a scolding from the officers accompanying me. Everything should be perfect for someone else's eyes, I understand.
Ship's cat - an indispensable accessory of any combat ship for rodent control. Or, as they say here, "squirrels." Seals and vital cables in a metal braid - these are the conditions for the coexistence of people and rodents. There are several cats on the ship, they are brought in one at a time per warhead. The cats of the cruiser "Varyag" are popular with guests in different countries where the ship calls. It happens that they are given as a gift - one of the ship's cats now lives in an Orthodox church in Singapore. Mother, they say, was happy with such a gift. Another one was donated to a local admiral in Indonesia.
I wanted to take one life buoy as a keepsake. The circle was not given, state-owned, but they gave something else.
We had lunch with the officers, talked, then moved to the working cabin, where we talked some more. I did not want to leave, but time was running out - for them, and for me. Leaving, I took a few more pictures on the deck of the Varyag and on the shore.
It seemed to me that everything was in order on the cruiser. He goes to sea, conducts target practice. "Varyag" is a welcome guest in foreign ports, queues line up for him from those who want to take a tour of the ship. As the officers said: Nearby is the French "Mistral" - there is no one there, and to us - there is a queue for the entire pier, thirty thousand people come in a few days of the visit". It can be seen how the sailors are proud of their "Varyag", their service. They invited me on a hike - you have to think, I'm not friends with pitching, although I really want to, of course. Because this is real.
One of the most belligerent ships of the Russian Navy, the guards missile cruiser Moskva (project 1164 Atlant) may go for repairs and modernization in 2018. It is planned that the work will be carried out at the Zvyozdochka plant (part of JSC United Shipbuilding Corporation) in Severodvinsk. Some media outlets wrote about this, citing their sources in the industry. It was reported that the contract for the modernization of the ship is expected to be agreed before the end of 2017.
Recently, the repair of another cruiser of the same project, Marshal Ustinov, was completed at this plant. At the end of 2016, the ship left the water area of the enterprise and headed for Severomorsk, the main base of the Northern Fleet.
According to a source in the Navy, it is possible that during a possible repair, the Moskva cruiser could be replaced by the Marshal Ustinov.
This question is certainly worth it - who will replace the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet. Sevastopol (ships of the fleet) guards the Mediterranean Sea, its eastern part. And it is impossible, of course, to be without such a ship in the fleet. It is possible to assume that Ustinov will go there. Because in the north (Northern Fleet) there is a heavy nuclear missile cruiser "Peter the Great" Source in the Navy
The ships of the Atlant project were intended to combat the aircraft carrier groups of a potential enemy, which could be attacked while out of range of enemy aircraft. But today, according to military observer Viktor Litovkin, their armament no longer guarantees the fulfillment of such tasks.
And although our fleet has not set itself the task of fighting aircraft carrier groups for a long time, the armament of the ships of the Atlant project and their combat support systems - reconnaissance, navigation, communications, electronic warfare, as well as the power plant must be changed to the most modern. Including to strengthen our capabilities in the ocean and in the Mediterranean Sea, where the American 6th Fleet with cruise missiles on board "grazes". And his ships sometimes enter the Black Sea, approaching our shores.
BATTLE GEOGRAPHY
Initially, it was planned to build 10 Project 1164 Atlant cruisers, but only four managed to be laid. Three such ships were put into operation - "Moskva" (former "Slava"), "Varyag" (former "Chervona Ukraine"), "Marshal Ustinov". All of them are part of the three fleets of the Russian Federation - the Black Sea, Pacific and Northern.
The fourth ship - "Ukraine" (former "Admiral of the Fleet Lobov") - is at the plant in Nikolaev and is owned by Ukraine. According to some reports, its estimated readiness is about 95%. Negotiations were underway on its purchase by Russia for the Northern Fleet, but at the beginning of 2014 they were interrupted.
In 1991, Slava (cruiser Moskva) was put on the stocks of the Nikolaev plant for partial modernization, but due to underfunding, the planned timeframe (no more than a year) turned into a long eight years. To complete the repair, the money was provided by the authorities of the Russian capital. In 1999, the ship was returned to the sea, but under a new name.
Its uniqueness lies in the fact that it (the Moskva cruiser) is the first hull of the ship of the Atlant project, in that it floats all the time ... and was once pulled out of repair.
Behind the stern of the cruiser are many long-distance cruises, three oceans (Pacific, Atlantic and Indian), performing important tasks in various regions of the planet: participating in the meetings of the heads of the USSR and the USA on the island of Malta in 1989, performing live firing (including in Atlantic Ocean), participation in large-scale international maneuvers.
A serious test for the ship was participation in the operation to force Georgia to peace in August 2008. The cruiser then acted as part of a ship formation of heterogeneous forces.
In 2013, the cruiser passed through the Panama Canal and entered the Pacific Ocean. Ships flying the St. Andrew's flag rarely enter this busiest waterway of the Western Hemisphere.
In March 2014, the cruiser, together with other ships of the Black Sea Fleet, carried out a blockade of the Ukrainian Navy on Donuzlav. And in the winter of 2016, he returned from military service in the Mediterranean Sea, where he covered the Russian air base in Syria.
The crew of the cruiser operated as part of a permanent formation of the Navy in the Mediterranean Sea, performed the tasks of covering the Russian Khmeimim air base in the Syrian Arab Republic with air defense systems.
The ship in the Mediterranean was replaced by the same type of missile cruiser "Varyag", the flagship of the Pacific Fleet. At the end of 2016, Moskva topped the list of the best ships of the Black Sea Fleet.
"ARGUMENTS" OF THE CRUISER
After the collapse of the USSR, these ships formed the basis of the heavy surface forces of the Russian fleet. This class was referred to in NATO as the "carrier killer".
REFERENCE. PROJECT 1164 MISSILE CRUISERS
Designed to strike at attack groups and large enemy ships, to ensure the combat stability of anti-submarine search and strike groups of ships, as well as to perform tasks of collective air defense of formations and convoys in remote areas of the World Ocean. Auxiliary tasks of ships of this class are fire support for landings, fighting submarines, shelling the coast occupied by the enemy.
The cruiser was designed for the P-500 Bazalt anti-ship missile, then it was re-equipped with the more advanced P-1000 Vulkan. There are 16 of them on the cruiser (eight twin launchers). The length of the rocket is almost 12 m, the mass without launch boosters is over 5 tons. The firing range is 550–700 km, depending on the chosen trajectory profile. Speed - up to Mach 2.5 (almost 3 thousand km / h). Warheads - high-explosive-cumulative (explosive charge of about 500 kg) or nuclear.
The cruiser's anti-aircraft missile armament consists of eight launchers of the S-300F Fort air defense system (ammunition load of 64 missiles) and two installations of the Osa-AK complex with an ammunition load of 48 missiles.
Artillery armament includes a 130 mm AK-130 gun mount and six six-barreled 30 mm AK-630 anti-aircraft guns. Introduced into service in the 1980s, the AK-130 remains the most powerful naval artillery system in the world today.
Anti-submarine armament consists of two torpedo tubes (ammunition load of 10 anti-submarine torpedoes), two RBU-6000 rocket launchers (ammunition load of 96 reactive depth charges) and a Ka-27 helicopter.
With its 11.5 thousand tons of displacement and impressive dimensions (186.5 m long and 20.8 m wide), the Moskva develops a speed of 32 knots (60 km / h). Crew - 510 people. Plus, unlimited seaworthiness, a large margin of autonomy, powerful weapons - in terms of their combat capabilities, they are far ahead of similar ships of other countries of the same class.
According to military experts, the updated Moskva can receive the latest Caliber cruise missiles. This weapon has already successfully proven itself during massive attacks on terrorist targets in Syria, and foreign customers are showing interest in it (for export options - the Club-N and Club-S systems. - Approx. TASS).
"Caliber" carry on board the frigates of project 11356 ("Admiral Grigorovich"), the submarines "Varshavyanka" and "Pike" - submarines can launch missiles from torpedo tubes at a distance of up to 1.5 thousand km.
Caliber-NK, of course, is not the only powerful weapon for Russian surface and submarine ships, but their effectiveness has been tested by high-precision strikes against terrorist bases, command posts and training bases for militants of the terrorist groups ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra (banned in the Russian Federation) in Syria . I think that on the modernized "Moscow" they will be very useful, as, it is possible, the Onyx anti-ship systems Viktor Litovkin TASS military observer
They talked about new weapons for Moskva back in 2015. Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the Navy for Military Science Captain 1st Rank Andrey Surov said that there would be modernization for new weapons systems, new communication, automation and control systems.
According to him, the fleet will retain this segment of ships "in the next 5-10, maybe 15 years", but it is being replaced by research and development of a ship of a similar displacement.
ABOUT NORTHERN ATLANTA
Repair of "Marshal Ustinov" began in 2011 by shipbuilders of the Zvyozdochka Ship Repair Center. Work was carried out on the hull of the ship, the mechanisms of the propeller group, the main power plant, and the general ship systems of the cruiser. Modernization of electronic weapons systems was carried out with the replacement of analog devices with digital ones.
The company noted that the experience gained by Zvezdochka during the repair of Marshal Ustinov will reduce the time for repairs of the same type of cruisers Moskva and Varyag.
They gained experience in repairing surface ships even earlier when they modernized the Fearless ship of the 956th project (in 2004 it changed its name to Admiral Ushakov. - Approx. TASS). Then they made an aircraft carrier. It is clear that this repair period will be shorter given this experience, which was obtained earlierIgor KasatonovAdvisor to the Chief of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces, Admiral
At the end of October 2016, Marshal Ustinov went to sea to carry out the program of factory sea trials. Numerous checks of the systems and mechanisms of the cruiser in sea conditions, which lasted about a month, confirmed the high operational characteristics of the ship.
Livejournal user drugoi writes: The 44th Red Banner Brigade of anti-submarine ships of the Russian Pacific Fleet is located in the very center of Vladivostok, next to the sea terminal, opposite the building of the fleet headquarters. Four large anti-submarine ships of project 1155 stand in a row near the wall. From here, these ships go on combat duty to the Gulf of Aden, where they protect merchant ships from pirates.
To the right of the four BODs is the Irtysh floating hospital, and to the left is the flagship of the Pacific Fleet, the guards missile cruiser Varyag.
Project 1164.1 missile cruiser "Chervona Ukraine" was laid down at the plant named after 61 Communards in Nikolaev on July 31, 1979 (serial number 2010), on November 5, 1982 it was included in the lists of ships of the USSR Navy, launched on August 28, 1983, entered into built on December 25, 1989, and February 28, 1990 included in the Pacific Fleet. After the collapse of the USSR, the cruiser went to Russia and in 1996, at the initiative of the ship's crew, it was named "Varyag" - in honor of the famous armored cruiser of the 1st Pacific Squadron of the Russian Navy, a participant in the battle of Chemulpo in 1904.
The main cruiser is homing cruise missiles of the P-1000 Vulkan complex. The launchers of the SM-248 missiles are located on the sides of the ship, they look very impressive and it is easy to distinguish the Varyag from other ships by them. Project 1164 cruisers are also called "aircraft carrier killers" - in fact, they were created for this.
1. The scheme of missile action is impressive - after a salvo from one side, all eight missiles, after opening the wings, form a single group, a “wolf pack” with a leader - a separately flying missile, which directs the entire group to the target, corrects the course for the rest of the missiles, dumping information to them. When approaching the target, the lead missile selects the largest object (aircraft carrier), directs one of the missiles with the so-called. "special ammunition" and divides the remaining objects between the rest of the "flock" missiles. All missiles include homing heads and strike at objects. The mass of one rocket is almost five tons, the flight speed is about 2900 km/h. There is no chance for an enemy ship to stay afloat after being hit by such a missile. If they manage to shoot down the lead missile, another one, exactly the same, takes its place. The attack takes place without the participation of the ship's crew according to the "fire - forget" system. Interestingly, all this is the technology of the early 70s.
2. Acquaintance with the "Varyag" begins with prosaic bags of cabbage and carrots. The nearby Admiral Panteleev BOD is going on a trip to the coast of Africa and is loading a supply of food.
3. They go on sea trips for a long time and seriously stock up on everything they need. This is only a small part of the drinking water that is loaded into the holds of a warship.
4. The officer accompanying me advised me not to use a mobile phone: “If you have a smartphone, it’s better to turn it off, otherwise it might burn out.” I didn't believe it, but I turned it off just in case. The ship has a full set of radar weapons of the MP-152 "Koltso" complex for detecting working radio and location stations, homing heads of enemy missiles, their direction finding and suppression. Maybe there was a certain reason in the words of the officer.
5. On the tank of the Varyag is the AK-130 - a ship's automatic gun. It fires a high-explosive fragmentation projectile at a speed of 90 rounds per minute and a range of up to 23 kilometers. Fully automatic - acts independently until the ammunition runs out. They say it has no analogues in the world. Something, but what shoots we knew how to do. There were problems with consumer goods, but the guns were always excellent. AK-130 is no exception. In the initial sketches of the ship, there were 12 launchers (six per board) and instead of one twin guns there were two single-barreled A-100s. In 1972, Admiral Gorshkov ordered the addition of four more launchers to carry out two full eight-missile volleys, and two AK-100s to be replaced with one double-barreled AK-130. The ship became much heavier, the speed and ammunition of artillery guns decreased (720 rounds against 2000).
6. Despite modern means of communication, the system of signal flags remains the main communication for ships in the fleet. The Russian navy uses a set of signals from the USSR fleet. 32 signal flags correspond to the letters of the Russian alphabet: Lead - “The course leads to danger”, Live - “Make a middle move”, Y - “Found a mine”, etc. In this picture - the place of the signalman on the cruiser. In a metal box are signal flags, which, if necessary, are raised on vertical halyards to the yard. To the left of the box are black "balls of movement", which indicate the speed of the ship in the sea. The lower the “ball” is located, the higher the speed. By the way, "Varyag" can go at a speed of 32 knots. When he goes at such a speed, the breaker behind the stern is ten meters high.
7. "What's that little red thing turning blue?" On the wall are the silhouettes of ships and planes of Russia and NATO countries. A hint for the signalman who is watching what is happening around the ship.
8. This is the wheelhouse of the ship. From here they are controlled in everyday conditions. The felling is connected to the combat information center of the CICS "Lesorub-1164" by the commander's elevator.
9. The place of the commander of the cruiser "Varyag", the guard captain of the 1st rank Eduard Moskalenko.
10. Here, really, everything reminds of the 70s. Such reliable iron. "Warm tube sound". I tried my best not to photograph anything secret, but go figure out where it is.
11. "Tovs" - I love these naval words. Guys, biteng, tweendeck, southwest, coaming, sternpost, binnacle - all this smells of salty sea wind and excites beyond words.
12. Shifts went to work places. The cavtarangs racked their brains: “What would you like to show you such an unclassified thing?”. We agreed on some screen number 22. Sailor Renat from Bashkiria sat down in the operator's seat and began to press buttons, turn on monitors - depict activities at a combat post. It looked quite believable.
13. The same Renat, who caught the eye of the officers at the wrong time, enlivened the premises of the ship's library, pretending to sort out the mail that had arrived on the ship. The library is good. Small, but everything is there. In general, the Varyag is a rather comfortable ship. The cabins are finished with wood, paintings hang, carpets on the floor. There is a swimming pool with a waterfall, healing showers, a large steam room, a sauna. There are air conditioners in the living cabins, there are four air refrigeration units on the ship.
14. Walking along the cruiser is long transitions along endless corridors and sudden descents and ascents along vertical ladders. In the fourth compartment, we go down lower and lower, to where the sailors' quarters are. The weapon is certainly interesting, but I really wanted to see how sailors live on one of the most powerful cruisers in the world.
16. On the screen of the competition for the best cockpit, you can see, for example, that cockpit No. 14, who scored a bolt for the competition in December, apparently received a big star from the commanders and then became the best, not falling below the rating of "four".
17. This is how the night shift rests in the now exemplary cockpit No. 14. I opened the door for a couple of seconds and took some pictures of the sleeping sailors.
18. In the next cockpit, a sailor wrote something important to a magazine. Next to him is a cage with a parrot screwed to the table. The parrot was in place and resting.
19. Holy of holies of the missile cruiser - galley. The ceilings here are low and the sailor with a rag in his hand, putting things in order, walked with his head bowed, which gave his figure a sad look. Nearby, two other sailors began to open tin cans with a simple knife, for which they immediately received a scolding from the officers accompanying me. Everything should be perfect for someone else's eyes, I understand.
20. Ship kote - an indispensable accessory of any combat ship for rodent control. Or, as they say here, "squirrels." Seals and vital cables in a metal braid - these are the conditions for the coexistence of people and rodents. There are several cats on the ship, they are brought in one at a time per warhead. The cats of the cruiser "Varyag" are popular with guests in different countries where the ship calls. It happens that they are given as a gift - one of the ship's cats now lives in an Orthodox church in Singapore. Mother, they say, was happy with such a gift. Another one was donated to a local admiral in Indonesia.
21. I wanted to take one life buoy as a keepsake. The circle was not given, state-owned, but they gave something else.
22. We had lunch with the officers, talked, then moved to the working cabin, where we talked more. I did not want to leave, but time was running out - for them, and for me. Leaving, I took a few more pictures on the deck of the Varyag and on the shore.
24. It seemed to me that everything was in order on the cruiser. He goes to sea, conducts target practice. "Varyag" is a welcome guest in foreign ports, queues line up for him from those who want to take a tour of the ship. As the officers said: “The French Mistral is standing nearby - there is no one there, but to us there is a line for the entire pier, thirty thousand people come in a few days of the visit.” It can be seen how the sailors are proud of their "Varyag", their service. They invited me on a hike - you have to think, I'm not friends with pitching, although I really want to, of course. Because this is real.
One of the most belligerent ships of the Russian Navy, the guards missile cruiser Moskva (project 1164 Atlant) may go for repairs and modernization in 2018. It is planned that the work will be carried out at the Zvyozdochka plant (part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation JSC) in Severodvinsk. Some media outlets wrote about this, citing their sources in the industry. It was reported that the contract for the modernization of the ship is expected to be agreed before the end of 2017.
Recently, the repair of another cruiser of the same project, the Marshal Ustinov, was completed at this plant. At the end of 2016, the ship left the water area of the enterprise and headed for Severomorsk, the main base of the Northern Fleet.
As a source in the Navy told TASS, it is possible that the cruiser Moskva could be replaced by Marshal Ustinov during a possible repair.
This question is certainly worth it - who will replace the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet. Sevastopol (ships of the fleet. - Approx. TASS) guards the Mediterranean Sea, its eastern part. And it is impossible, of course, to be without such a ship in the fleet. It is possible to assume that "Ustinov" will go there. Because in the north (Northern Fleet) there is a heavy nuclear missile cruiser "Peter the Great"
Source in the Navy
The ships of the Atlant project were intended to fight the aircraft carrier groups of a potential enemy, which could be attacked while outside the range of enemy aircraft. But today, according to TASS military observer Viktor Litovkin, their armament no longer guarantees the fulfillment of such tasks.
And although our fleet has not set itself the task of fighting aircraft carrier groups for a long time, the armament of the ships of the Atlant project and their combat support systems - reconnaissance, navigation, communications, electronic warfare, as well as the power plant must be changed to the most modern. Including to strengthen our capabilities in the ocean and in the Mediterranean Sea, where the American 6th Fleet with cruise missiles on board "grazes". And his ships sometimes enter the Black Sea, approaching our shores
Viktor Litovkin
TASS military observer
BATTLE GEOGRAPHY
It was originally planned to build 10 Project 1164 Atlant cruisers, but only four managed to be laid down. Three such ships were put into operation - "Moskva" (former "Slava"), "Varyag" (former "Chervona Ukraine"), "Marshal Ustinov". All of them are part of the three fleets of the Russian Federation - the Black Sea, Pacific and Northern.
The fourth ship - "Ukraine" (former "Admiral of the Fleet Lobov") - is at the plant in Nikolaev and is owned by Ukraine. According to some reports, its estimated readiness is about 95%. Negotiations were underway on its purchase by Russia for the Northern Fleet, but at the beginning of 2014 they were interrupted.
In 1991, Slava (cruiser Moskva. - Note TASS) was put on the stocks of the Nikolaev plant for partial modernization, but due to underfunding, the planned timeframe (no more than a year) turned into a long eight years. To complete the repair, the money was provided by the authorities of the Russian capital. In 1999, the ship was returned to the sea, but under a new name.
Its uniqueness lies in the fact that it (the Moskva cruiser) is the first hull of the ship of the Atlant project, in that it floats all the time ... and was once pulled out of repair
Igor Kasatonov
Behind the stern of the cruiser are many long-distance cruises, three oceans (Pacific, Atlantic and Indian), performing important tasks in various regions of the planet: participating in the meetings of the heads of the USSR and the USA on the island of Malta in 1989, performing live firing (including in Atlantic Ocean), participation in large-scale international maneuvers.
A serious test for the ship was participation in the operation to force Georgia to peace in August 2008. The cruiser then acted as part of a ship formation of heterogeneous forces.
In 2013, the cruiser passed through the Panama Canal and entered the Pacific Ocean. Ships flying the St. Andrew's flag rarely enter this busiest waterway of the Western Hemisphere.
In March 2014, the cruiser, together with other ships of the Black Sea Fleet, carried out a blockade of the Ukrainian Navy on Donuzlav. And in the winter of 2016, he returned from military service in the Mediterranean Sea, where he covered the Russian air base in Syria.
The crew of the cruiser operated as part of a permanent formation of the Navy in the Mediterranean Sea, performed the tasks of covering the Russian Khmeimim airbase on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic with air defense systems.
Vyacheslav Trukhachev
Representative of the Black Sea Fleet, captain of the 1st rank
The ship in the Mediterranean was replaced by the same type of missile cruiser "Varyag", the flagship of the Pacific Fleet. According to the results of 2016, "Moskva" topped the list of the best ships of the Black Sea Fleet.
"ARGUMENTS" OF THE CRUISER
After the collapse of the USSR, these ships formed the basis of the heavy surface forces of the Russian fleet. This class was called "aircraft carrier killer" by NATO.
REFERENCE. Project 1164 missile cruisers
Designed to strike at attack groups and large enemy ships, to ensure the combat stability of anti-submarine search and strike groups of ships, as well as to perform tasks of collective air defense of formations and convoys in remote areas of the World Ocean. Auxiliary tasks of ships of this class are fire support for landings, fighting submarines, shelling the coast occupied by the enemy.
Continuation
The cruiser was designed for the P-500 Bazalt anti-ship missile, then it was re-equipped with the more advanced P-1000 Vulkan. There are 16 of them on the cruiser (eight twin launchers). The length of the rocket is almost 12 m, the mass without launch boosters is over 5 tons. The firing range is 550–700 km, depending on the chosen trajectory profile. Speed - up to Mach 2.5 (almost 3 thousand km / h). Warheads - high-explosive-cumulative (explosive charge of about 500 kg) or nuclear.
"TV channel" Zvezda "/YouTube"
The anti-aircraft missile armament of the cruiser consists of eight launchers of the S-300F Fort air defense system (ammunition load of 64 missiles) and two launchers of the Osa-AK complex with an ammunition load of 48 missiles.
Artillery armament includes a 130 mm AK-130 gun mount and six six-barreled 30 mm AK-630 anti-aircraft guns. Introduced into service in the 1980s, the AK-130 remains the most powerful naval artillery system in the world today.
Anti-submarine armament consists of two torpedo tubes (ammunition load of 10 anti-submarine torpedoes), two RBU-6000 rocket launchers (ammunition load - 96 reactive depth charges) and a Ka-27 helicopter.
With its 11.5 thousand tons of displacement and impressive dimensions (186.5 m long and 20.8 m wide), the Moskva develops a speed of 32 knots (60 km / h). Crew - 510 people. Plus, unlimited seaworthiness, a large margin of autonomy, powerful weapons - in terms of their combat capabilities, they are far ahead of similar ships of other countries of the same class.
According to military experts, the updated Moskva can receive the latest Caliber cruise missiles. This weapon has already successfully proven itself during massive attacks on terrorist targets in Syria, and foreign customers are showing interest in it (for export options - the Club-N and Club-S systems. - Approx. TASS).
"Caliber" carry on board the frigates of project 11356 ("Admiral Grigorovich"), the submarines "Varshavyanka" and "Pike" - submarines can launch missiles from torpedo tubes at a distance of up to 1.5 thousand km.
According to him, the fleet will retain this segment of ships "in the next 5-10, maybe 15 years," but it is being replaced by research and development of a ship of a similar displacement.
ABOUT NORTHERN "ATLANTA"
Repair of "Marshal Ustinov" began in 2011 by shipbuilders of the Zvyozdochka Ship Repair Center. Work was carried out on the hull of the ship, the mechanisms of the propeller group, the main power plant, and the general ship systems of the cruiser. Modernization of electronic weapons systems was carried out with the replacement of analog devices with digital ones.
The company noted that the experience gained by "Zvezdochka" in the repair of "Marshal Ustinov" will reduce the time for repairs of the same type of cruisers "Moskva" and "Varyag".
They gained experience in repairing surface ships even earlier, when they modernized the Fearless ship of the 956th project (in 2004 it changed its name to Admiral Ushakov. - Approx. TASS). Then they made an aircraft carrier. It is clear that this repair period will be shorter given this experience that has been gained previously
Igor Kasatonov
Advisor to the Chief of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces, Admiral
At the end of October 2016 "Marshal Ustinov" went to sea to carry out the program of factory sea trials. Numerous checks of the systems and mechanisms of the cruiser in sea conditions, which lasted about a month, confirmed the high operational characteristics of the ship.
Roman Azanov
