The National Interest: Russian superavian carrier - a pipe dream
For many years, discussions continue on the possibility of building a new Russian aircraft carrier. Conversations on this topic are conducted at various levels, but so far the delivery of such a ship remains a matter of a very distant future. For obvious reasons, there are not only positive assessments of the future project, but also doubts about the possibility of implementing such plans. Moreover, negative forecasts occur in both domestic and foreign publications.
On July 8, the American edition of The National Interest published a new article on the development of Russian aircraft carrier fleet. In the publication “Russian Supercarrier Is a Pipe Dream” (The Russian Supercarrier - a pipe dream), referred to under The Buzz, an attempt was made to review current Russian plans and evaluate their realism. As follows from the title, the author of the article, Zachary Kek, strongly doubts the likelihood of a new Russian aircraft carrier appearing.
His article, the American author begins with a reminder of the latest information received from the Russian command. Not so long ago, Russia confirmed its plans to build a promising aircraft carrier. A new ship of this class will be created even in the face of a reduction in the defense budget.
As the Russian media reported last month, an important statement to this effect was made by the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Vice Admiral Viktor Bursuk. According to him, the navy really intends to build a new aircraft carrier. At the moment, various Russian design bureaus offer their own versions of the appearance of such a ship.
Z. Keck suggests that, speaking of the promising Russian aircraft carrier, Vice-Admiral Bursuk was referring to the new project 23000E, also known as “Storm”. This project, according to known data, proposes the construction of a large ship with a displacement of about 100 thousand tons, equipped with two nuclear reactors RHYTHM-200. In terms of its displacement, the new “Storm” will almost double the existing ship “Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov”, which in the near future will have to undergo repairs and upgrades. It is reported that a promising aircraft carrier will be able to take on board up to 90 aircraft for various purposes, while the Admiral Kuznetsov air group consists of just over three dozen airplanes and helicopters.
A displacement of 100 thousand tons will be associated with the large size of the ship. "Storm" should have a length of about 330 m and a maximum width of 40 m. The crew will be controlled by a crew of four thousand people. AT aviation the group will include MiG-29K carrier-based fighters and a special “naval” version of the promising T-50 / PAK FA. In addition, the ship will become a carrier of helicopters of various classes and types. According to the Global Security resource, the 23000E project provides for two launching sites with a springboard and two electromagnetic catapults needed to launch aircraft. To protect against air attacks, the aircraft carrier will be equipped with air defense and missile defense.
The author of The National Interest mentions a curious feature of the official reports on the development of the carrier fleet of Russia. Officials say such questions are being worked out from 2007 onwards. However, the 23000E Storm project developed by the Krylov State Research Center was first demonstrated only in 2015. In addition, previously published information was subsequently supplemented. Thus, it was originally claimed that Storm would receive the “traditional” main power plant, and information about nuclear reactors appeared later.
The cost of a new type of ship was originally estimated at least in 9 billion US dollars in ruble equivalent. Later, Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia Yury Borisov said that the contract for the construction of the lead ship of the new project will be signed in the middle of the next decade. To complete the construction of this aircraft carrier could be to the beginning of the thirties.
Having considered the well-known information about the new Russian project, Zachary Keck expresses his assumptions regarding his real prospects. In his opinion, there are serious reasons for doubting that Russia will indeed be able to build a new nuclear aircraft carrier in the foreseeable future. The author believes that the first reason for such doubts is not the fully understood potential of Russian shipbuilding. While it is impossible to say with certainty whether the industry will be able to solve very complex tasks arising in the context of such projects.
Back in 2015, shortly after the first publication of materials on the 23000 project, IHS Jane's authoritative publication noted that the Storm project and ships built on it “will become a quantum leap” both in terms of size and in terms of potential. They will be larger and more powerful than the only currently Russian aircraft carrier.
An additional problem for Moscow is the fact that all Soviet aircraft carriers were built at the enterprises of the Ukrainian SSR. Moreover, at one time the collapse of the Soviet Union dealt a painful blow to the aircraft carrier building program. Because of the separation of Ukraine, work was stopped on the Ulyanovsk aircraft carrier under construction. According to the project, this ship had a displacement of 85 thousand tons and was to become the largest Soviet aircraft carrier. There was also another ship on the stocks, later sold to China, completed, equipped and accepted into the PLA Navy under the name "Liaoning".
A prospective aircraft carrier should also have certain characteristics that were not used even in the times of the Soviet Union with its developed industrial potential. Thus, the USSR did not have time to build a single aircraft carrier with a nuclear power plant. Russian industry understands this problem and is already looking for ways to solve it. Previously unnamed sources in shipbuilding indicated that the experience necessary to build a nuclear reactor for an aircraft carrier is planned to be obtained when creating a promising destroyer with a similar power plant.
Back in 2015, it was claimed that the power plant, considered in the context of the aircraft carrier project, will initially be created for the destroyer of the Leader project. Nevertheless, in the future, the program "Leader" faced certain problems, and the timing of its implementation shifted. It was initially claimed that the head destroyer would be built by the end of the current decade, but now this event is attributed to the mid-twenties, since the construction starts no earlier than 2019 of the year.
The electromagnetic catapults planned for use will also become a serious design challenge. All previous Soviet / Russian aircraft carriers were equipped only with a nose ramp.
The project of building a promising supercarrier also faces another serious problem, this time of an economic nature. At present, official Moscow is planning to reduce the defense budget. This year, Russian defense spending was reduced by about a quarter. IHS Jane's earlier edition wrote that this was the largest reduction in military spending since the early nineties, when the decrease in such costs was due to numerous problems in the country.
Z. Keck recalls that some experts previously challenged the possibility of reducing the defense budget, but argues that this development is expected and natural. The reality is that Russia, faced with the problem of low energy prices, can no longer maintain the military budget at a “wasteful” level.
In circumstances where the command needs to choose which military programs should be reduced, the promising aircraft carrier has every chance to be at the top of such a list. An argument in favor of such a decision may be the fact that Russia is traditionally a land power and therefore does not need a developed carrier fleet. The large costs of such a program can strengthen this argument.
The author points out that back in 2015, i.e. Long before the announcement of cuts in the defense budget, security experts warned of some of the problems in the context of building large ships. So, any attempt to build an aircraft carrier with the stated characteristics requires an extremely complex and costly modernization of shipbuilding enterprises. All this, first of all, leads to increased costs in the framework of rearmament programs.
The author of The National Interest reminds that the development of the carrier fleet is not only about building ships with an aviation group. To protect and supply the aircraft carrier during combat service requires a significant number of other ships and vessels for various purposes. The need to create such ship groups is quite capable of "exhausting" the navy of Russia. In this context, Z. Keck quotes the recent publication of The Diplomat. It stated that the Russian Navy did not have enough escort ships and supply vessels to form carrier strike groups. There are also no decked attack aircraft with a large combat radius and specialized electronic warfare vehicles.
The article “Russia's Premium Supercarrier Is a Pipe Dream” ends with the mention of another problem of a promising project. According to Z. Keck, it is not quite clear what tasks Russia plans to solve with the help of a new supercarrier. Unlike Washington, Moscow has a very limited need for such ships. As a result, limited financial capacity is better used for building new aircraft and missiles, since such weapons and equipment are more in line with Russia's current interests.
As a result, the author of The National Interest recognizes the new Russian project is not the most necessary. Given the existing problems, the construction of a promising aircraft carrier turns out to be an empty and unrealizable dream.
***
The recent publication of The National Interest, devoted to the Russian program for the development and construction of a new aircraft carrier, is of some interest and is worth familiarizing yourself with it. At the same time, the article "Russia's Supercarrier Is a Pipe Dream" does not contain any new information that was not previously disclosed. This applies to information about the project 23000E "Storm", and the alleged difficulties in the implementation of existing plans.
Recall, the project of the aircraft carrier "Storm" was first presented two years ago, and since then the model of a promising ship has repeatedly become an exhibit at various exhibitions. In addition, this project managed to become the subject of a mass of analytical publications in the domestic and foreign press. All previously published articles considered the draft submitted by the Russian industry, and also tried to predict its strengths and weaknesses.
It should be noted that all the problems of the Storm project mentioned by Zachary Kek have been repeatedly raised in domestic and foreign publications, and are also regularly mentioned in various discussions. Indeed, the construction of an aircraft carrier, including one equipped with a nuclear power plant, is a very difficult task, requiring special expenditure of effort, money and time. It is for this reason that for many years the question of building new aircraft carriers has been discussed at different levels, but the lead ship has not yet been laid.
For objective reasons, serious and fairly expensive preparation of industry is necessary for the construction of a new aircraft carrier or several similar ships. In addition, when planning the construction of aircraft carriers, it is necessary to take into account other intentions and desires in the field of the development of the surface fleet, since not all domestic enterprises have shops and liquid basins of sufficient size, and are already loaded with orders.
More recently, in the context of fleet development, including the construction of new aircraft carriers, a new problem has emerged in the form of a possible reduction in the defense budget. There was a lack of money, technical and technological problems before, but now their influence is too great to lay a new aircraft carrier right now.
In general, in the domestic program of building promising aircraft carriers in recent years, there has been some progress, but the results still do not give reason for optimistic forecasts. At the same time, at the moment - with all the existing difficulties and problems - there are no serious reasons to consider the new project as a "pipe dream", as indicated by the American author.
Article "Russia's Supercarrier Is a Pipe Dream":
http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/russias-supercarrier-pipe-dream-21468
On July 8, the American edition of The National Interest published a new article on the development of Russian aircraft carrier fleet. In the publication “Russian Supercarrier Is a Pipe Dream” (The Russian Supercarrier - a pipe dream), referred to under The Buzz, an attempt was made to review current Russian plans and evaluate their realism. As follows from the title, the author of the article, Zachary Kek, strongly doubts the likelihood of a new Russian aircraft carrier appearing.
His article, the American author begins with a reminder of the latest information received from the Russian command. Not so long ago, Russia confirmed its plans to build a promising aircraft carrier. A new ship of this class will be created even in the face of a reduction in the defense budget.
As the Russian media reported last month, an important statement to this effect was made by the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Vice Admiral Viktor Bursuk. According to him, the navy really intends to build a new aircraft carrier. At the moment, various Russian design bureaus offer their own versions of the appearance of such a ship.
Z. Keck suggests that, speaking of the promising Russian aircraft carrier, Vice-Admiral Bursuk was referring to the new project 23000E, also known as “Storm”. This project, according to known data, proposes the construction of a large ship with a displacement of about 100 thousand tons, equipped with two nuclear reactors RHYTHM-200. In terms of its displacement, the new “Storm” will almost double the existing ship “Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov”, which in the near future will have to undergo repairs and upgrades. It is reported that a promising aircraft carrier will be able to take on board up to 90 aircraft for various purposes, while the Admiral Kuznetsov air group consists of just over three dozen airplanes and helicopters.
A displacement of 100 thousand tons will be associated with the large size of the ship. "Storm" should have a length of about 330 m and a maximum width of 40 m. The crew will be controlled by a crew of four thousand people. AT aviation the group will include MiG-29K carrier-based fighters and a special “naval” version of the promising T-50 / PAK FA. In addition, the ship will become a carrier of helicopters of various classes and types. According to the Global Security resource, the 23000E project provides for two launching sites with a springboard and two electromagnetic catapults needed to launch aircraft. To protect against air attacks, the aircraft carrier will be equipped with air defense and missile defense.
The author of The National Interest mentions a curious feature of the official reports on the development of the carrier fleet of Russia. Officials say such questions are being worked out from 2007 onwards. However, the 23000E Storm project developed by the Krylov State Research Center was first demonstrated only in 2015. In addition, previously published information was subsequently supplemented. Thus, it was originally claimed that Storm would receive the “traditional” main power plant, and information about nuclear reactors appeared later.
The cost of a new type of ship was originally estimated at least in 9 billion US dollars in ruble equivalent. Later, Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia Yury Borisov said that the contract for the construction of the lead ship of the new project will be signed in the middle of the next decade. To complete the construction of this aircraft carrier could be to the beginning of the thirties.
Having considered the well-known information about the new Russian project, Zachary Keck expresses his assumptions regarding his real prospects. In his opinion, there are serious reasons for doubting that Russia will indeed be able to build a new nuclear aircraft carrier in the foreseeable future. The author believes that the first reason for such doubts is not the fully understood potential of Russian shipbuilding. While it is impossible to say with certainty whether the industry will be able to solve very complex tasks arising in the context of such projects.
Back in 2015, shortly after the first publication of materials on the 23000 project, IHS Jane's authoritative publication noted that the Storm project and ships built on it “will become a quantum leap” both in terms of size and in terms of potential. They will be larger and more powerful than the only currently Russian aircraft carrier.
An additional problem for Moscow is the fact that all Soviet aircraft carriers were built at the enterprises of the Ukrainian SSR. Moreover, at one time the collapse of the Soviet Union dealt a painful blow to the aircraft carrier building program. Because of the separation of Ukraine, work was stopped on the Ulyanovsk aircraft carrier under construction. According to the project, this ship had a displacement of 85 thousand tons and was to become the largest Soviet aircraft carrier. There was also another ship on the stocks, later sold to China, completed, equipped and accepted into the PLA Navy under the name "Liaoning".
A prospective aircraft carrier should also have certain characteristics that were not used even in the times of the Soviet Union with its developed industrial potential. Thus, the USSR did not have time to build a single aircraft carrier with a nuclear power plant. Russian industry understands this problem and is already looking for ways to solve it. Previously unnamed sources in shipbuilding indicated that the experience necessary to build a nuclear reactor for an aircraft carrier is planned to be obtained when creating a promising destroyer with a similar power plant.
Back in 2015, it was claimed that the power plant, considered in the context of the aircraft carrier project, will initially be created for the destroyer of the Leader project. Nevertheless, in the future, the program "Leader" faced certain problems, and the timing of its implementation shifted. It was initially claimed that the head destroyer would be built by the end of the current decade, but now this event is attributed to the mid-twenties, since the construction starts no earlier than 2019 of the year.
The electromagnetic catapults planned for use will also become a serious design challenge. All previous Soviet / Russian aircraft carriers were equipped only with a nose ramp.
The project of building a promising supercarrier also faces another serious problem, this time of an economic nature. At present, official Moscow is planning to reduce the defense budget. This year, Russian defense spending was reduced by about a quarter. IHS Jane's earlier edition wrote that this was the largest reduction in military spending since the early nineties, when the decrease in such costs was due to numerous problems in the country.
Z. Keck recalls that some experts previously challenged the possibility of reducing the defense budget, but argues that this development is expected and natural. The reality is that Russia, faced with the problem of low energy prices, can no longer maintain the military budget at a “wasteful” level.
In circumstances where the command needs to choose which military programs should be reduced, the promising aircraft carrier has every chance to be at the top of such a list. An argument in favor of such a decision may be the fact that Russia is traditionally a land power and therefore does not need a developed carrier fleet. The large costs of such a program can strengthen this argument.
The author points out that back in 2015, i.e. Long before the announcement of cuts in the defense budget, security experts warned of some of the problems in the context of building large ships. So, any attempt to build an aircraft carrier with the stated characteristics requires an extremely complex and costly modernization of shipbuilding enterprises. All this, first of all, leads to increased costs in the framework of rearmament programs.
The author of The National Interest reminds that the development of the carrier fleet is not only about building ships with an aviation group. To protect and supply the aircraft carrier during combat service requires a significant number of other ships and vessels for various purposes. The need to create such ship groups is quite capable of "exhausting" the navy of Russia. In this context, Z. Keck quotes the recent publication of The Diplomat. It stated that the Russian Navy did not have enough escort ships and supply vessels to form carrier strike groups. There are also no decked attack aircraft with a large combat radius and specialized electronic warfare vehicles.
The article “Russia's Premium Supercarrier Is a Pipe Dream” ends with the mention of another problem of a promising project. According to Z. Keck, it is not quite clear what tasks Russia plans to solve with the help of a new supercarrier. Unlike Washington, Moscow has a very limited need for such ships. As a result, limited financial capacity is better used for building new aircraft and missiles, since such weapons and equipment are more in line with Russia's current interests.
As a result, the author of The National Interest recognizes the new Russian project is not the most necessary. Given the existing problems, the construction of a promising aircraft carrier turns out to be an empty and unrealizable dream.
***
The recent publication of The National Interest, devoted to the Russian program for the development and construction of a new aircraft carrier, is of some interest and is worth familiarizing yourself with it. At the same time, the article "Russia's Supercarrier Is a Pipe Dream" does not contain any new information that was not previously disclosed. This applies to information about the project 23000E "Storm", and the alleged difficulties in the implementation of existing plans.
Recall, the project of the aircraft carrier "Storm" was first presented two years ago, and since then the model of a promising ship has repeatedly become an exhibit at various exhibitions. In addition, this project managed to become the subject of a mass of analytical publications in the domestic and foreign press. All previously published articles considered the draft submitted by the Russian industry, and also tried to predict its strengths and weaknesses.
It should be noted that all the problems of the Storm project mentioned by Zachary Kek have been repeatedly raised in domestic and foreign publications, and are also regularly mentioned in various discussions. Indeed, the construction of an aircraft carrier, including one equipped with a nuclear power plant, is a very difficult task, requiring special expenditure of effort, money and time. It is for this reason that for many years the question of building new aircraft carriers has been discussed at different levels, but the lead ship has not yet been laid.
For objective reasons, serious and fairly expensive preparation of industry is necessary for the construction of a new aircraft carrier or several similar ships. In addition, when planning the construction of aircraft carriers, it is necessary to take into account other intentions and desires in the field of the development of the surface fleet, since not all domestic enterprises have shops and liquid basins of sufficient size, and are already loaded with orders.
More recently, in the context of fleet development, including the construction of new aircraft carriers, a new problem has emerged in the form of a possible reduction in the defense budget. There was a lack of money, technical and technological problems before, but now their influence is too great to lay a new aircraft carrier right now.
In general, in the domestic program of building promising aircraft carriers in recent years, there has been some progress, but the results still do not give reason for optimistic forecasts. At the same time, at the moment - with all the existing difficulties and problems - there are no serious reasons to consider the new project as a "pipe dream", as indicated by the American author.
Article "Russia's Supercarrier Is a Pipe Dream":
http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/russias-supercarrier-pipe-dream-21468
Information