Prospects of "Admiral Kuznetsov": there is no dock, but you hold on there!
If you compile everything that is, in terms of information on this topic, the output will be, to put it mildly, ambiguous. Moreover, over time, more and more intimate details of the cruiser emerge.
The main problem of today is the dock. There is no Doc, moreover, he is not even foreseen in perspective, although there are some thoughts, prospects, and so on. But no wonder the question is still hanging in the air.
But let's start in order.
So, last year, "Admiral Kuznetsov" stood up for another repair, which would have to last right up to the 2021 year. Further, as everyone knows, the dock PD-50, in which the cruiser was standing, sank. And the Admiral Kuznetsov itself, although it was damaged, was towed to the wall of the 35 shipyard.
No, not to continue the repair, just there is his regular parking lot, if that.
To complete the begun operations on docking the cruiser you need a dock. Moreover, there is still one small nuance: by the time of the disaster, the propellers were removed from the Kuznetsov to provide some work.
As I understand it correctly (the Ministry of Defense, by the way, is not that silent, the Russian ceases to understand on this topic), Kuznetsov's propellers remained there ... In PD-50.
And the situation looks more than ominous:
1. Need to raise the old screws.
2. Urgently make new ones.
3. The dock in which these screws can be put back.
Actually, item number XXUMX kills everything, because there is no dock and is not expected.
Yes, we have PD-41. In the Far East. This dock was built in 1978 by order of the USSR in Japan, is based, of course, in Fokino, and is intended for the repair of combat ships of the Pacific Fleet.
How realistic is it to transfer the dock to the North? I think this is just pure science fiction. Doc, to put it mildly (see photo) is not in a position to travel through the Northern Sea Route.
And then, and the ships from the Pacific Fleet also have to drive to the north for repairs?
The situation is generally so-so. And without any particular prospects. More precisely, the prospect is the same: it is necessary either to raise the PD-50, or to build a new dock. Otherwise, no prospects.
But the matter is very difficult, as it were with the construction of a ship larger than a corvette of a problem, wherever you go. Moreover, the dock, the more enormous, which we have never built ourselves, hatching. Even in the period of the power of the USSR.
Japanese? It is doubtful that we had problems with PD-41. It was ordered 5 docks of this type, but the Japanese agreed to build docks only on the condition that it was not for the repair of warships. And as soon as ours, having received the first one, immediately on pleasures, the warship was driven there, the agreement was broken.
Well, as if Norway is unlikely to agree to build something for us.
I don’t even want to talk about lifting the dock. It is clear that there is generally salty sadness. We are unlikely to raise such a colossus, it is clear. But, unlike the Kursk submarine, which the Dutch were raising on the high seas, it’s more than doubtful to arrange such a show in Roslyakovo.
So today, the Ministry of Defense is seriously considering the cancellation of the cruiser, if it is not possible to resolve the issue with the dock. And since the prospects are very dubious, you inevitably start scratching your head, remembering that, in addition to Kuznetsov, we are part of the North fleet still a bunch of ancient ships of the 1st rank, which without a dock will be difficult to survive.
These are both TARK project 1144.2 “Peter the Great” and “Admiral Nakhimov”, cruiser project 1164 “Ustinov”, BOD project 1155 “Severomorsk”, “Levchenko”, “Kharlamov”, “Fists”, BOD project 1155.1 “Chabanenko”.
How to deal with them is also completely incomprehensible. To drive for repairs in Fokino - sorry, I don’t think that we will amuse the whole world. So you still have to do something.
Already thinking people gave the idea. History already, of course, but in 1988, we had laid the ship, which was supposed to replace the Krechetam. This is the so-called project 1143.7, ATAVKR "Ulyanovsk". This atomic heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser was cut right on the stocks at the metal in 1992 due to lack of funds.
But the ship was pretty much more than the “Krechet” and longer by as much as 18 meters. That is, the dock did not fit. And to service these ships, a dry dock was needed after all.
And work on the creation of this dock began simultaneously with the bookmark, but alas, no luck. “Ulyanovsk” was cut, and construction movements of the dock ended at the stage of the first stage of explosive planning works.
Nevertheless, it is possible that it is worth digging in the archives. It is clear that both 40 years ago, and today, we are not able to master the floating dock. However, maybe we are able to do a dry dock on the shore? There, at the northern tip of Cape Chalmpushka? On the development of the project it would be nice to save so much ...
There is another option, but it looks quite frivolous already.
On the other side of the same Kola Bay, the company Novatek is building the so-called Kola Shipyard. Quite a large site for construction, including floating LNG plants. A floating factory is a rather large structure, there is no dispute. And technically, the shipyard squares will be able to accept a large ship, but ...
But it’s a little unclear how much the Novatek shipyard will welcome contacts with our Ministry of Defense. And in case of what, what to do in case of emergency, when urgent repairs are needed, and the shipyard is busy?
I did not find Novatek’s readiness to discuss the possibility of repairing large warships of the Northern Fleet anywhere, to be honest.
Somehow, this possible rent of a private shipyard for repairing such ships looks strange. Including transfer of personnel to and fro, equipment and, most importantly, compliance with the regime of protection of state secrets.
But, as Izvestia was told, not everyone in the Ministry of Defense considers it appropriate and reasonable to continue the repair. Since we again have the factor of a “sudden” budget constraint, then, as it was said earlier by the representatives of the Ministry of Defense, there will be no major repair and modernization. No money left.
That is why many people are thinking today: is there a reason to make a garden? For 50 of billions is still money. This is almost a billion dollars, that is, the amount is quite normal, which you can safely add even more than one ship a class lower.
Replacing fuel equipment boilers is, of course, wonderful. But it turns out that the Granite guidance system did not work, so it will not work. So, from the abbreviation TAVKR, a couple of letters can be safely removed. This is no longer a heavy cruiser, this is a small aircraft carrier. Type of Thai.
In general, if someone forgot, this fall it will be possible to note with tears in his eyes the thirtieth anniversary of the Admiral Kuznetsov service.
Many will reasonably argue: 30 years is not a time limit for a ship. Oh yeah. Indeed, there are ships that serve longer. The only question is how effectively they are doing it and how much money they need to tumble into. How does the 100-year-old vessel “Commune” on the Black Sea serve, we are aware of.
It also produces some dissonance. On the one hand, an aircraft carrier seems to be needed, for prestige and all that. On the other hand, isn’t it enough money for prestige?
50 billion to ensure that this constantly breaking old ship served 10 for years?
By the way, what about the modernization of the aircraft of his wing? Yes, the MiG-29KR will be quite enough for themselves to be pulled back by the 10 years, since they will not really be used anywhere. But after all, Su-33 - already frank aviahlam. At the level of conventional MiG-29, which are in service with the Papuans and rogue who do not have money for planes.
Many experts "sentenced" Su-33. The reason for this is the Su-33 aiming complex, which is based on the essentially oldest “Sword” radar H-001, developed in the 70s of the last century. Many say that the modernization of the C-33, which is essentially the Su-27, is out of the question, since there is no physical or economic sense to put modern radars on these ancient machines.
No, maybe there is, but only if Kuznetsova is still paid up and sent for an honorary pension to the Black Sea Fleet. As a training ship.
By the way, a good idea, because the weather conditions are softer there, and there are simulators. It would be possible to train sea pilots without driving, as today, from the Murmansk region to the Crimea and back.
But this is good only if our military has a clear plan to replace Kuznetsov. Unfortunately, a clear-cut plan has never been announced, and the semi-fantastic projectors are somehow not very encouraging today. And 20 years, which will be needed to build a full-fledged nuclear aircraft carrier, "Kuznetsov" is clearly not stretch.
Yes, at one time there were bravura statements about work on the PAK KA (a promising complex of ship aviation), but today we are sober-minded people, and quite clearly observe how the multi-billion dollar games with PAK FA and PAK DA ended. We are selling Su-57 to China, and PAK YES and, in general, Putin canceled. I’m not sure that there will be something more meaningful in the PAK KA.
So what do we have in the end?
We have very dubious prospects for the entire Northern Fleet in the future. “Kola shipyard”, which Novatek is building, is good. There is a firm belief that the company will build a shipyard, Novatek is not the Ministry of Defense.
Another question is how much this shipyard can be loaded with works on warships? Which year after year do not grow younger, but exactly the opposite? But the company has its own tasks in terms of working with shipyards, rather than repairing warships. Fact.
I need my own military dock. Either build on the coast, at Cape Chalmpushka, or (forgot the text) to buy in China or South Korea. And it should be such a dock to take a ship of 1 rank or a couple of ships of lower rank.
But you have to do something. The Northern Fleet is the main shock unit of Russia at sea. And you need to treat it accordingly.
Modern problems in the infrastructure not only do not help to solve emerging issues, on the contrary, complicate matters. And, accordingly, undermine the fleet combat capability.
An example not to be unfounded? Easily! Repair TARK "Admiral Nakhimov" in the bulk pool "Sevmash". Sevmash is the main nuclear underwater shipbuilding enterprise. And so, in one fell swoop, it was not enough that the plant took away one of the most important workshops (No. 50), so they took away the workshop and the people working in the workshop for an incomprehensible amount of time!
And unfortunately, we have in many things so. All the same native army / navy mess. We will look for a year guilty in the accident with PD-50, and the crane will still stick out of the Kuznetsov deck. Indeed, what has the ship’s combat capability to do when it comes to finding the guilty, right?
Peculiar situation. Unfortunately, as a blueprint written. And most importantly - completely vague prospects.
Yes, you have to spend money. Moreover, it is necessary to spend huge sums. But on real business, on real army and navy, and not on expensive toys of the “Army Games” shooting gallery, exhibitions and modest churches for 6 000 visitors.
Money must be spent wisely. Then there will be a return, then there will be a perspective. But, I'm afraid, “everything as always” awaits us.
But we do not have another ministry of defense, we do not have another minister. We do not have another commander in chief.
The main problem of today is the dock. There is no Doc, moreover, he is not even foreseen in perspective, although there are some thoughts, prospects, and so on. But no wonder the question is still hanging in the air.
But let's start in order.
So, last year, "Admiral Kuznetsov" stood up for another repair, which would have to last right up to the 2021 year. Further, as everyone knows, the dock PD-50, in which the cruiser was standing, sank. And the Admiral Kuznetsov itself, although it was damaged, was towed to the wall of the 35 shipyard.
No, not to continue the repair, just there is his regular parking lot, if that.
To complete the begun operations on docking the cruiser you need a dock. Moreover, there is still one small nuance: by the time of the disaster, the propellers were removed from the Kuznetsov to provide some work.
As I understand it correctly (the Ministry of Defense, by the way, is not that silent, the Russian ceases to understand on this topic), Kuznetsov's propellers remained there ... In PD-50.
And the situation looks more than ominous:
1. Need to raise the old screws.
2. Urgently make new ones.
3. The dock in which these screws can be put back.
Actually, item number XXUMX kills everything, because there is no dock and is not expected.
Yes, we have PD-41. In the Far East. This dock was built in 1978 by order of the USSR in Japan, is based, of course, in Fokino, and is intended for the repair of combat ships of the Pacific Fleet.
How realistic is it to transfer the dock to the North? I think this is just pure science fiction. Doc, to put it mildly (see photo) is not in a position to travel through the Northern Sea Route.
And then, and the ships from the Pacific Fleet also have to drive to the north for repairs?
The situation is generally so-so. And without any particular prospects. More precisely, the prospect is the same: it is necessary either to raise the PD-50, or to build a new dock. Otherwise, no prospects.
But the matter is very difficult, as it were with the construction of a ship larger than a corvette of a problem, wherever you go. Moreover, the dock, the more enormous, which we have never built ourselves, hatching. Even in the period of the power of the USSR.
Japanese? It is doubtful that we had problems with PD-41. It was ordered 5 docks of this type, but the Japanese agreed to build docks only on the condition that it was not for the repair of warships. And as soon as ours, having received the first one, immediately on pleasures, the warship was driven there, the agreement was broken.
Well, as if Norway is unlikely to agree to build something for us.
I don’t even want to talk about lifting the dock. It is clear that there is generally salty sadness. We are unlikely to raise such a colossus, it is clear. But, unlike the Kursk submarine, which the Dutch were raising on the high seas, it’s more than doubtful to arrange such a show in Roslyakovo.
So today, the Ministry of Defense is seriously considering the cancellation of the cruiser, if it is not possible to resolve the issue with the dock. And since the prospects are very dubious, you inevitably start scratching your head, remembering that, in addition to Kuznetsov, we are part of the North fleet still a bunch of ancient ships of the 1st rank, which without a dock will be difficult to survive.
These are both TARK project 1144.2 “Peter the Great” and “Admiral Nakhimov”, cruiser project 1164 “Ustinov”, BOD project 1155 “Severomorsk”, “Levchenko”, “Kharlamov”, “Fists”, BOD project 1155.1 “Chabanenko”.
How to deal with them is also completely incomprehensible. To drive for repairs in Fokino - sorry, I don’t think that we will amuse the whole world. So you still have to do something.
Already thinking people gave the idea. History already, of course, but in 1988, we had laid the ship, which was supposed to replace the Krechetam. This is the so-called project 1143.7, ATAVKR "Ulyanovsk". This atomic heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser was cut right on the stocks at the metal in 1992 due to lack of funds.
But the ship was pretty much more than the “Krechet” and longer by as much as 18 meters. That is, the dock did not fit. And to service these ships, a dry dock was needed after all.
And work on the creation of this dock began simultaneously with the bookmark, but alas, no luck. “Ulyanovsk” was cut, and construction movements of the dock ended at the stage of the first stage of explosive planning works.
Nevertheless, it is possible that it is worth digging in the archives. It is clear that both 40 years ago, and today, we are not able to master the floating dock. However, maybe we are able to do a dry dock on the shore? There, at the northern tip of Cape Chalmpushka? On the development of the project it would be nice to save so much ...
There is another option, but it looks quite frivolous already.
On the other side of the same Kola Bay, the company Novatek is building the so-called Kola Shipyard. Quite a large site for construction, including floating LNG plants. A floating factory is a rather large structure, there is no dispute. And technically, the shipyard squares will be able to accept a large ship, but ...
But it’s a little unclear how much the Novatek shipyard will welcome contacts with our Ministry of Defense. And in case of what, what to do in case of emergency, when urgent repairs are needed, and the shipyard is busy?
I did not find Novatek’s readiness to discuss the possibility of repairing large warships of the Northern Fleet anywhere, to be honest.
Somehow, this possible rent of a private shipyard for repairing such ships looks strange. Including transfer of personnel to and fro, equipment and, most importantly, compliance with the regime of protection of state secrets.
But, as Izvestia was told, not everyone in the Ministry of Defense considers it appropriate and reasonable to continue the repair. Since we again have the factor of a “sudden” budget constraint, then, as it was said earlier by the representatives of the Ministry of Defense, there will be no major repair and modernization. No money left.
That is why many people are thinking today: is there a reason to make a garden? For 50 of billions is still money. This is almost a billion dollars, that is, the amount is quite normal, which you can safely add even more than one ship a class lower.
Replacing fuel equipment boilers is, of course, wonderful. But it turns out that the Granite guidance system did not work, so it will not work. So, from the abbreviation TAVKR, a couple of letters can be safely removed. This is no longer a heavy cruiser, this is a small aircraft carrier. Type of Thai.
Thailand's naval carrier Chakri Narubet (background) and the US Navy strike aircraft kitty science
In general, if someone forgot, this fall it will be possible to note with tears in his eyes the thirtieth anniversary of the Admiral Kuznetsov service.
Many will reasonably argue: 30 years is not a time limit for a ship. Oh yeah. Indeed, there are ships that serve longer. The only question is how effectively they are doing it and how much money they need to tumble into. How does the 100-year-old vessel “Commune” on the Black Sea serve, we are aware of.
It also produces some dissonance. On the one hand, an aircraft carrier seems to be needed, for prestige and all that. On the other hand, isn’t it enough money for prestige?
50 billion to ensure that this constantly breaking old ship served 10 for years?
By the way, what about the modernization of the aircraft of his wing? Yes, the MiG-29KR will be quite enough for themselves to be pulled back by the 10 years, since they will not really be used anywhere. But after all, Su-33 - already frank aviahlam. At the level of conventional MiG-29, which are in service with the Papuans and rogue who do not have money for planes.
Many experts "sentenced" Su-33. The reason for this is the Su-33 aiming complex, which is based on the essentially oldest “Sword” radar H-001, developed in the 70s of the last century. Many say that the modernization of the C-33, which is essentially the Su-27, is out of the question, since there is no physical or economic sense to put modern radars on these ancient machines.
No, maybe there is, but only if Kuznetsova is still paid up and sent for an honorary pension to the Black Sea Fleet. As a training ship.
By the way, a good idea, because the weather conditions are softer there, and there are simulators. It would be possible to train sea pilots without driving, as today, from the Murmansk region to the Crimea and back.
But this is good only if our military has a clear plan to replace Kuznetsov. Unfortunately, a clear-cut plan has never been announced, and the semi-fantastic projectors are somehow not very encouraging today. And 20 years, which will be needed to build a full-fledged nuclear aircraft carrier, "Kuznetsov" is clearly not stretch.
Yes, at one time there were bravura statements about work on the PAK KA (a promising complex of ship aviation), but today we are sober-minded people, and quite clearly observe how the multi-billion dollar games with PAK FA and PAK DA ended. We are selling Su-57 to China, and PAK YES and, in general, Putin canceled. I’m not sure that there will be something more meaningful in the PAK KA.
So what do we have in the end?
We have very dubious prospects for the entire Northern Fleet in the future. “Kola shipyard”, which Novatek is building, is good. There is a firm belief that the company will build a shipyard, Novatek is not the Ministry of Defense.
Another question is how much this shipyard can be loaded with works on warships? Which year after year do not grow younger, but exactly the opposite? But the company has its own tasks in terms of working with shipyards, rather than repairing warships. Fact.
I need my own military dock. Either build on the coast, at Cape Chalmpushka, or (forgot the text) to buy in China or South Korea. And it should be such a dock to take a ship of 1 rank or a couple of ships of lower rank.
But you have to do something. The Northern Fleet is the main shock unit of Russia at sea. And you need to treat it accordingly.
Modern problems in the infrastructure not only do not help to solve emerging issues, on the contrary, complicate matters. And, accordingly, undermine the fleet combat capability.
An example not to be unfounded? Easily! Repair TARK "Admiral Nakhimov" in the bulk pool "Sevmash". Sevmash is the main nuclear underwater shipbuilding enterprise. And so, in one fell swoop, it was not enough that the plant took away one of the most important workshops (No. 50), so they took away the workshop and the people working in the workshop for an incomprehensible amount of time!
And unfortunately, we have in many things so. All the same native army / navy mess. We will look for a year guilty in the accident with PD-50, and the crane will still stick out of the Kuznetsov deck. Indeed, what has the ship’s combat capability to do when it comes to finding the guilty, right?
Peculiar situation. Unfortunately, as a blueprint written. And most importantly - completely vague prospects.
Yes, you have to spend money. Moreover, it is necessary to spend huge sums. But on real business, on real army and navy, and not on expensive toys of the “Army Games” shooting gallery, exhibitions and modest churches for 6 000 visitors.
Money must be spent wisely. Then there will be a return, then there will be a perspective. But, I'm afraid, “everything as always” awaits us.
But we do not have another ministry of defense, we do not have another minister. We do not have another commander in chief.
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