Russian gas station vs Pax Americana
If a drop of nicotine kills a horse, then a flock of mosquitoes can tear the Ford to pieces. And attempts to crush mosquitoes in mass cannot succeed by definition. This is precisely the fundamental difference between modern fleet from the fleets of the past. The Yankees, who, after the Second World War, captured the flag “Lady of the Seas,” to this day contain a dozen aircraft carrier squadrons, proudly poking everyone with their unique collection of scrap metal.
In Russia, having only two relatively large ships (an old aircraft carrier and a nuclear cruiser), naval life follows a completely different path.
The heavy nuclear missile cruiser "Admiral Nakhimov" in the loading basin of the Sevmash production plant, May 2017. Please note - above the installation site UKKS (universal ship shooting complex) stretched awning. This is especially for us - not to spy, but what's inside there.
So far, everything has been said that the Nakhimov will be equipped with the entire rocket complex weapons and EW facilities, all test versions of equipment and weapons, which will be put on the "killers" of the "Leader" series.
And it is very likely that the Navy will confine itself to two nuclear cruisers, on the basis of common sense - a new generation of rocket weapons has arrived that does not require enormous carrier sizes. There is no need for huge expenses. And to demonstrate the flag, which has always been the ocean fleet, Russia is more than enough available. Needless to say, will have to build a couple of new aircraft carriers.
It makes no sense for Russia to spend money on the analogue of American AUG - there are simply no combat missions for them - no one will go to fight the Falklands. And to combat such monsters, cheap platforms of small warships are effective, capable of working from a distance and under the guise of coastal forces. That has repeatedly demonstrated launches against targets in Syria from the Caspian Sea.
The 1144 project is a series of four cruisers built at the Baltic Shipyard in the USSR from 1973 to 1989. The only surface ships in the Navy with a nuclear power plant. According to the NATO classification, the project is designated as English. Kirov-class battlecruiser, that is, the "battle cruiser", because of its exceptional size and equipment. Today TARKR "Peter the Great" (photo below) is in the ranks.
The 1144 "Admiral Nakhimov" heavy nuclear missile cruiser is located at the Severodvinsk enterprise since 1999. In 2008, the spent nuclear fuel was unloaded from the ship, and in 2013, work began - Sevmash signed a contract with the Defense Ministry to repair and upgrade the cruiser, as a result of which it should become the most powerful ship of the Russian fleet. In 2014, the Admiral Nakhimov was moved to the Sevmash bulk basin. In 2016, the equipment was removed from the ship and new equipment was taken. Modernization of "Admiral Nakhimov" will end in a year.
Probably need to explain why the need for aircraft carriers with their AUG in dozens of pennants has disappeared. For waging local war away from bases and in the presence of ocean expanses, AUGs are applicable. What proved the same Falkland. But it was also proven otherwise - fighting should be conducted with a banana republic. In that war, Argentina proved that the heroism and courage of its pilots was several times reduced by exceptionally low technical equipment. Bombs, without exploding, pierced through the ships of the Royal Navy, and cruise missiles were stuck in the bulkheads. There is a catastrophic lack of Exocset anti-ship missiles and modern aircraft to gain superiority in cubic space. There were a lot of other problems, in fact, characteristic for an order of magnitude weaker adversary. Plus, the Yankees regularly supplied the British with intelligence.
In such a war, yes - AUG applicable. And then only on the condition that there is still a minimum of 1-2 groupings (depending on the remoteness of the theater), which regularly replace each other, if the fighting drags on for months. At the same time, all communications must be tightly controlled - to such an AUG, a continuous flow of cargo, jet fuel, ammunition (autonomy of the AUG 2 of the week in battle).
Now put it all on the air defense and anti-ship missile systems that Russia has today and which it sells for export. Today, the same Argentina would be able to place the regimental complex S-400 on its Malvinas Islands (Falklands), completely covering the sky from any deck aircraft aviation, helicopters and KR. And the cover of the S-400 "Carapace" in the near air defense zone allows you to create an umbrella that can be pierced only by the simultaneous launch of five hundred missiles. That will cause undoubted damage, but will not completely destroy either the air defense, or, especially, the covered objects. But it will completely use up the resources of all AUG pennants, including submarines.
And the same banana opponent is able to strike cheap RCC. The same flock. The most sophisticated "Harpoon 3 unit" cost less than 5 million dollars (and this is for the submarine). And so from the most primitive for 2 million to the most modern for 20 - "air-to-surface". The maximum export price of the "Caliber" 3М-14Е is 6,5 mln. So this is 450 kg of explosive delivered for 2600 km.
So it turns out that today any banana republic that has spent several billion dollars on missiles (not for a year or two) can threaten any AUG with irreparable damage. But the carrier group in dozens of pennants is worth not a couple of billions - 10 times more.
And the worst thing is the threat of losing face. Well, imagine that some Honduras in a salvo in 100 "Calibrov" drowns a dozen frigates and destroyers of cover, at the same time causing serious damage to an atomic aircraft carrier and a dozen more ships. Well, if without a nuclear accident will cost.
It turns out that when such AUGs already exist, like a Yankee, you have to keep your face and portray the mistress of the seas. And if you create from scratch - they are not needed by anyone and for nothing, except to show the flag.
And for Russia. The country has a gas station other tasks. To demonstrate the flag of a pair of aircraft carriers a couple of years through 10, not before. Each atomic cruiser, since they are also a couple of three "Leaders" that are being developed. Plus frigates and submarines, produced today. It is worthy for the ocean squadron. Oh yeah, also a helicopter carrier in the AUG shove.
Beauty!
And for the urgent needs of active defense - hundreds of pennants of mosquito forces, from corvettes to small boats with a pair of sea containers on the 2-4 missiles.
And you can chase these mosquitoes and peel them with an electron microscope until blue.
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