Replenishment of the ship of the Ukrainian Navy: DSHK "Centaur"
Several "Centaurs"
At the end of May of this year, representatives of the Ukrainian forge enterprise Kuznya na Rybalskiy, within the framework of the next test phase, tested technical and seafaring characteristics of the Centaur assault boat in the Black Sea.
Thus, the ship of the Ukrainian Navy in the near future can be replenished with several boats of the "Centaur" type. The first, DShK-01, was solemnly launched on September 14 2018 of the year, the second, DShK-02, four days later.
Recall that the construction of boats was carried out with 2016 year. Terms of contracts have been repeatedly extended. So, initially, there was a delay in the transfer of foreign-made jet propulsion. Then there was a need to make some changes in the design of the hull and power plant, which required re-testing.
As a result of the modernization of the noise of the vessel has become much less. In addition, the maneuverability of the Centaur has improved significantly. So, in particular, we are talking about maneuverability at turns and on the go. For example, when the rudder is reloaded, the vessel turns almost in place. In addition, positive is the roll of the boat in 4 degrees. However, according to experts, at present the customer is not fully satisfied with the maximum speed of the boat, something they continue to work at the plant.
The creation of new assault boats was necessary from the point of view of a qualitative update of the naval staff of the Ukrainian Navy. There was a need for a version of the boat that would be distinguished by maneuverability, rapidity and stealth, could transport troops with uniforms and could be used for operations in coastal waters, on lakes and rivers.
From the Swedes and the Russian "Raptor"
The basis of the Ukrainian boat was based on the technology developed and tested by the Swedes, and also successfully used in the Russian boats of the Raptor project.
If we talk about the technical parameters of the boat, it should be noted that its displacement is 47 tons. The vessel reaches 24,3 m in length and 4,8 m in width. At the same time, it has a draft of 1 meter. With such dimensions, the boat is capable of speeds up to 40 nodes and has a range of 500 miles. "Centaur" can be in a state of autonomous navigation up to 5 days. The crew size is 5 people.
The boat has a welded steel hull, which is divided into several compartments. In the nose compartment there is an armored cabin, which contains all the controls for a power plant, surveillance, navigation and communications. In addition, here is the complex management of combat modules. Due to the high level of automation, crew members are able to control all onboard systems, including weapons, from the cabin, remotely.
Behind the wheelhouse there is a light mast with communication posts (satellite terminal Iridium Pilot) and radar antennas DRS4D-NXT. Residential compartment is located directly under the wheelhouse. Thanks to this arrangement, the crew members can quickly get to the post without leaving the upper deck.
The central part of the body is given under the landing compartment. It provides everything that is needed for the placement and transportation of 32 man landing with full uniforms. From this compartment you can go to the bow compartment, where, if necessary, the option of a safe landing of the landing force and crew through a retractable ramp is possible.
In the aft compartment there is also an engine room with the main power plant (two diesel engines with drives for two jet propulsion of the Hamilton Jet brand.
The advantage of this boat is the presence of an armored splinter hull, which protects the engine room, the landing compartment and the cabin, which allows the crew and landing force to remain safe. In addition, the cabin and the hull are structurally made using low-visibility technology (known as stealth).
Combat modules and other weapons
Ukrainian boat, in comparison with foreign counterparts, is better armed. Thus, its armament is two combat modules, located above the landing compartment and above the wheelhouse) with 40-mm grenade launchers and 12,7-mm machine guns. In addition, the boat is armed with 80-millimeter rotary reactive volley fire system, located above the engine room, in the aft compartment. The system was developed by the Ukrainian GAHK “Artem” (the enterprise is part of the Ukroboronprom state concern). It consists of two 20-stem units, which are mounted on one base.
The cabin roof is equipped with blocks for shooting smoke grenades. This suggests that the boat has a curtain system, the main task of which is reduced to the disorientation of the attacking missiles and laser irradiation.
If we talk about air defense, they are represented mainly MANPADS. And finally, the boat is able to transport and install sea mines barriers.
Let's dwell on the 80-millimeter MLRS installed on the boat. So, at the end of the summer of last year, it was reported that the next stage of state testing of 80-mm RS-80 (Oskol) missiles from air platforms had ended in Ukraine. This may indicate that in the near future, these NURSs will be adopted. Two years earlier, in 2017, state tests of these same missiles were conducted from a ground platform, including the Polish-Ukrainian mobile Daisy system “Daisy” (its analogue is currently installed on the Centaur dshk).
Due to the modern fire control system, this system can launch missiles with various warheads in several modes, not only against ground targets (armored vehicles, manpower, shelters), but also against air targets (helicopters and Drones). So, for example, after detecting and fixing an air target, the FCS calculates the trajectory of the target and directs the NURSs to the “meeting” point. Due to the supersonic speed of the RS-80 rocket, the flight time to an air target is minimal. Warhead detonation, carried out by a special electronic software fuse at a given coordinate point, creates a dense fragmentation cloud, which guarantees the destruction of an air target.
On ground targets, the range reached 7 km, and on air targets - about 4 km. In addition, in order to improve the effectiveness of firing missiles can be equipped with various types of fuses.
As a result of state tests, it was found that the Daisy rocket system has more advantages than existing air defense systems when firing at air targets, primarily because of its cheapness. According to experts, it is quite possible to assume that when conducting firing from the sea deck, the results will be very close if not similar.
Conclusion
Thus, the boat of Ukrainian production due to the armored hull and a larger number of weapons is approximately twice as large and heavier than its foreign counterparts, in particular, the Russian and Swedish ones, which have aluminum hulls. At the same time, the Centaur is better armed and able to transport more troops (32-36 man vs 20). Despite this, the Ukrainian airborne assault ship has approximately the same minimum draft (1 meter against 0,9 m), but at the same time it develops a lower speed: 40 nodes versus 48. The Centaur has an 500 miles cruise range in an economical turn against the 300 miles of its counterparts.
If all these characteristics are true, and only if the Centaurs are put into service, it will be possible to talk about strengthening the Ukrainian naval forces.
Information