Shapkozakidstvo and the covenant of Admiral Makarov
UNIVERSAL SHIP OF THE OCEAN ZONE
"Admiral Makarova" - the third frigate in a series of six units - laid the 29 February 2012 of the year. His appearance in the Navy was planned for the end of 2015. However, for various reasons, the construction of the ship was delayed. Among them are untimely deliveries of equipment, weapons and other components by counterpart enterprises, as well as numerous changes in the management of the Kaliningrad plant itself. The frigate launched only 2 September 2015 of the year. 29 July 2016, he went to the factory running tests, which were quite successful. So, in September of the same year, the Admiral Makarov, with the Shtil-1 anti-aircraft missile system (SAM) in the Baltic Sea, successfully hit a cruise target missile launched by the Geyser small rocket ship.
In November, Admiral Makarov, already in the framework of the state testing program in the Barents Sea, completed testing of missile, anti-aircraft and artillery armament complexes, including successful shooting of the Caliber-NK multifunctional missile system at the coastal target. It seemed that the ship was about to fill up the fleet. But, returning to the Baltic, the frigate continued the tests of the air defense system. Last year they resumed. And almost every time it was reported that the shooting was successful. The command of the Navy announced that the "Admiral Makarov" enrolled in the fleet in May, then in September, then in November. But this happened, as we know, only at the end of December. What caused these numerous postponements and delays? Before answering this question, it is worth a closer acquaintance with the ship itself.
"Admiral Makarov" - the ship 2 rank far sea and ocean zones. It is intended for conducting combat operations against submarines and surface ships of the enemy, attacking coastal targets, repelling attacks of air attack weapons, both independently and as part of formations. Its full displacement - 4035 t, length - 124,8 m, width - 15,2 m. The twin-shaft gas-gas turbine power plant with a total power of 56 000 hp, consisting of two gas-turbine units M7H1 produced by the Ukrainian enterprise “Zorya-Mashproekt”, allows developing nodal full stroke. 30 nodes navigation range - 14 miles. The crew consists of 4850 people. Ships may additionally take on board up to 180 marines.
Home weapon - 24 anti-aircraft missiles "Calm-1" in a vertical cell launcher 3С90М providing all-round protection of the ship (firing sector - 360 degrees) and simultaneous firing from 2 to 12 air targets with a high probability of their destruction, and 8 airborne missiles complex "Caliber-NK". Instead of “ship-to-ship” and “ship-to-ground” missiles, or parts of them, supersonic Onyx or 3P anti-ship missiles can be placed in the 14С-91 launcher. It is possible that in the future the frigates of the 11356Р / M project will receive hypersonic Zircon missiles, which can be fired from all the same 3С-14 launchers. This arsenal is complemented by the universal automatic artillery installation A-190, two six-barreled 30-mm AK-630M assault rifles, two two-tube anti-submarine 533-mm torpedo tubes DTA-53-956 and the bomb-mounted system RBU-6000, designed for anti-rifle. Closer to the stern - the runway and the hangar for the anti-submarine helicopter Ka-27PL. Instead, the ship can take attack helicopter Ka-52 "Katran". A variety of electronic equipment of the ship. There are combat information management system, radar for various purposes, sonar complex (GAK), means of electronic warfare (EW). The architectural frigate is made using low-visibility technology.
On the first two ships of the series - "Admiral Grigorovich" and "Admiral Essen" - as part of the anti-aircraft missile complex "Shtil-1" anti-aircraft guided missiles (SAM) 9М317М with a range of aerial targets 2,5 – 50 km are used. But Admiral Makarov decided to test the latest modification of this anti-aircraft missile, the 9М317MFA with an active radar homing head, which provides a higher accuracy of hitting targets, and an increased range to 70 km. In other words, the Admiral Makarov was used as a test ship. This circumstance caused the annual delay in the transfer of the frigate to the fleet.
Obviously, the Admiral Grigorovich and Admiral Essen will be re-equipped with more effective 9M317MFA SAMs, which are distinguished by high-precision Caliber strikes against terrorist targets in the Syrian campaign. They will receive and three subsequent frigate series. However, their fate is still not completely determined, since there were problems with the completion of the ships.
WHAT PROFIT?
The events connected with the coup d'état in Kiev in 2014, the return of the Crimea to the bosom of Russia and the civil war in the east of Ukraine, led to a wave of Western states sanctions against Moscow. Ukraine joined them. Including the supply of gas-turbine units M7H1 were stopped, even though they were paid on time.
The question quickly arose: what to do with the three unfinished frigates of the 11356Р / M project? The United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), which includes the Yantar SPS, decided to get rid of this “asset” as soon as possible. Especially since Yantar already had the sad experience of maintaining the unfinished hull of the Tuman ship of the 11540 project and the Novik frigate of the 12411 project. Apparently, this position has found understanding of the Ministry of Defense. The eyes turned to India, the naval forces of which are already successfully operating 6 frigates of the Talwar type of the 11356 project, on the basis of which the 11356P / M project was created for the Russian Navy. The first three of these frigates were built at the Baltic plant in St. Petersburg for 1 billion dollars, and the second at the Yantar plant for 1,6 billion dollars. The price difference is explained not only by the gradual devaluation of the US currency, but also by the fact that the second sub-series is somewhat different from the first composition of weapons.
20 – 22 September 2015 was visited by a delegation of Indian businessmen from Kaliningrad headed by Pundi Srinivasan Raghavan, the country's ambassador to Russia. After visiting Yantar, he said that the Indian authorities intend to buy three ships that are being built in Kaliningrad, and said: "We must find a way to put these frigates of the Indian Navy, and we will do it in every possible way." In turn, USC President Alexei Rakhmanov said: "We are so open to all projects of military-technical cooperation development, that if India has such an interest, then we will be happy to work with them."
In December, 2015, during the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Russia, a corresponding contract was expected to be signed. But it did not work out. It looks like they did not agree on the price. Moscow requested more than 3 billion dollars. Delhi, given the difficult situation of USC, wanted to buy ships at a price slightly higher than the cost of scrap metal.
Each side had weighty reasons. Firstly, the project required serious processing. And not only because the Russian ships use a number of systems that are not exported, but because the Indian side, in accordance with the motto “Make in India”, demanded to introduce as much weapons and equipment made Indian enterprises. “The frigates will be equipped with Indian equipment,” said then Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar. “This is a version of frigates with stealth technology, and we can take part in the design work.” By the way, the conversion of the “Indian” project 11356 into the Russian 11356Р / M also required a lot of time and money in due time. Secondly, Delhi wanted to finish the frigates in its shipyards. That is, they had to be delivered to South Asia through several seas and two oceans. But before that, the corresponding shipyard still needed to be found, and then modernized to complete the assembly of the ships. And this is all the money. And considerable ones.
On the other hand, the frigates Admiral Grigorovich and Admiral Essen were until recently the only new warships in the ocean zone in the Russian fleet. They are exploited, as they say, into the tail and into the mane, driving it in pairs, then separately into the Mediterranean Sea. And there is a high probability that they will simply be pounded like a horse. This has already happened with the Fearless patrol ship and the large anti-submarine ship Admiral Chabanenko. As a result of merciless exploitation, they flew gas turbine units manufactured by the Zorya-Mashproekt Ukrainian enterprise. Now they are under repair, and it is not known when they will leave it. That is why the demand for 11356Р / M project ships is extremely high. Admission to the Navy "Admiral Makarov" was perceived with enthusiasm. However, even three such frigates are clearly not enough for the normal functioning of the Mediterranean operational-tactical squadron of the Russian Navy.
The need for a costly deal to acquire ships of the 11356Р / M project for the Indian Navy is debatable. In accordance with the implementation of the Make in India principle, three 17 frigates have already been built in this country. They are a further development of the Talvarov, but they have a greater displacement and are equipped not with Ukrainian, but with more reliable LM2500 + gas turbines of the American corporation General Electric. At the same time, at the price they turned out even cheaper than the second three frigates of the 11356 project (360 million dollars per unit). Now, with the technical assistance of the Italian company Fincantieri, the 17A’s more advanced project with a length of 149 m and a full displacement of 6670 is next in turn. These frigates of the laconic Stelsov architecture will be equipped with the most advanced enemy detection equipment and armed with Russian-Indian cruise missiles “ship” class Ship and land-ship, Barak-8 SAM (LR-SAM) Israeli-made Israeli-Indian production with a target range from 0,5 to 90 km, and 127-mm artillery installation, anti-submarine torpedo tubes and two helicopters.
That is, initially neither Russia nor India would have benefited from a new frigate deal. With good reason it can be called mutually beneficial. Moreover, with regard to the Russian Navy, and therefore the Russian Federation, it would be an act of betrayal of national interests.
However, negotiations continued. "The issue of the transfer and resale of the troika (frigates - AM) is the highest priority of what we are doing now," said Alexey Rakhmanov in a meeting with the Yantar design team in March 2016. “We performed such a number of“ ritual dances ”around the Minister of Defense of the Indian Republic, which, by and large, the decision that they need these ships is there. And given the fact that the plant paid for what we have already built and there are no other options besides the transfer to the customer. ”
“In general terms, the plans are as follows: we are building two frigates for them ourselves,” explained Ilya Panteleev, head of the marketing department of the Yantar SPS, in April 2016, “plus transferring one hull with a high degree of saturation, another ship will be completely built at an Indian shipyard under our technical supervision. " According to Indian media, Delhi decided to purchase gas turbine engines directly in Ukraine. For "Dawns - Mashproekt" it would be a direct benefit. Yes, what! After all, at first this company received money from Russia and a second time for the same from India.
Following the meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Goa 15 in October 2016, an intergovernmental agreement was signed on the construction of 11356 frigates for the Indian Navy. But, as it soon turned out, it was not a firm contract, but something like a protocol of intent. And again the negotiations stretched. But the parties still could not agree on the value of the transaction.
ZIGZAGI MARKETING
On the eve of last year’s St. Petersburg International Navy Salon, Alexei Rakhmanov suddenly announced a sensational news that the final assembly of the frigates "Admiral Butakov", "Admiral Istomin" and "Admiral Kornilov" of the 11356P / M project will still be carried out for the Russian Navy according to the revised project with equipping with domestic GTU produced by NPO Saturn. This information on IMDS-2017 was also confirmed by Deputy Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy for Vice-Admiral Viktor Bursuk.
On ships, it is planned to deploy an all-main power unit consisting of two gas turbine units, each of which will consist of two M70FRU gas turbine engines with a maximum power of 14 000 hp. each. That is, the total power of the power plant will be 56 000 hp It would seem that common sense prevailed!
But it turned out that rejoice prematurely. The statements about the completion of the frigates for the Russian Navy were a kind of marketing step, or rather, a zigzag. The calculation was made on the fact that under the influence of information about the "transfer of arrows" on the ships of the 11356P / M project to the Russian customer in Delhi, they falter and make concessions to Moscow. But obviously, our "marketers" have forgotten that the Indians began to engage in trade for several thousand years before the first Slavic tribes appeared. And to beat them in this field is extremely difficult.
Negotiations sluggishly continued. But without result - until it became known about the start of construction of the head frigate of the 17A project at the Mazagon Dock shipyard. His official bookmark took place on December 28 last year. It is planned to build a 7 of such ships, including 3 at the Garden Rich Shipbuilders and Engineers. But these frigates are very expensive. Each of them will cost about 1 billion dollars. And it seems that the government of India used the negotiations with Russia to put pressure on domestic producers so that they would somewhat drop the prices for their products.
As a result, as Director General of Yantar PSZ told Edfaks news agency at the end of last year, “for today, the Yantar contract with the Defense Ministry continues to operate, but the construction of the Admiral series is suspended pending the Russian-made engines or some other decision of the customer ".
AND ABOUT THE HOUSES
The past year was not only unsuccessful, but a failure for Russian shipbuilding. Only two (!) Combat ships entered service: the frigate “Admiral Makarov” and the corvette “Perfect”, which, as we know, is not completed with armament (see “Whether the new Tsushima is waiting for us”, “NVO” from 22.12.17). The fleet has been replenished with 8 special-purpose combat boats from the 03160 Raptor project and the 21980 anti-sabotage Rook project with a displacement from 23 to 140 t. 6 10-ton assault assault boats of the 02800 project can be added to them. Very sparsely.
Not impressive and the supply of fleet support vessels. The only timely replenishment in accordance with contractual obligations is the auxiliary icebreaker “Ilya Muromets” of the 21180 project. The rescue tugs “Polar convoy” (SB-736) and SB-737 of the 02980 project, as well as the rescue and towing vessel SB-739 of the 22870 project were transferred from the 2016 program of the year. The remaining 9 of the so-called support vessels are small tugboats and diving boats.
The large landing ship Ivan Gren, the 14 year under construction (!), The Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov under construction, which 1 will celebrate 12 the year since the launch date, the logistics ship Elbrus of the 23120 project, did not come into operation laid down in November 2012 of the year with a contractual obligation to transfer to the fleet before 25 of November 2014. Unfortunately, this list goes on and on. Meanwhile, 18 of December last year, USC President Alexei Rakhmanov said in an interview with Ekho Moskvy radio station: “This year, we most likely will not have time to deliver one ship through our line, or more precisely, one ship we are building for the Navy. To date, four have been commissioned (obviously, ships. - AM), two more will be handed over and two will remain “in debt.” Do you understand anything?
All this is a consequence of the usual hijacking by the leaders of the shipbuilding industry and the lack of proper control and skillful management by the relevant units of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. Admiral Stepan Makarov - an outstanding theorist of naval construction and the practice of naval art, after whom the frigate was named, who recently joined the Navy, did not get tired of reminding his subordinates Latin wisdom: “Si vis pacem, para bellum -“ If you want peace prepare for war. ” This covenant is now choking in a sea of speeches, bravura marches and parade shows.
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