Russia has something to drown American aircraft carriers
Cheaper and more efficient!
The US military budget is larger than the next nine countries combined. Russia in this list of states in terms of expenditures for military defense needs is only the fifth line. Sergei Shoigu, Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, well and accurately explained this phenomenon.
“Gigantic money is being spent in the USA on private military companies, on aircraft carrier groups. But does Russia really need its five to ten aircraft carrier groups, if we are not going to attack anyone? We need funds that could potentially be used against such enemy carrier groups in the event of aggression against our country. And it is incomparably cheaper and more effective! And such weapon in the arsenal of the RF Armed Forces ”,
- said Shoigu.
Russia is indeed engaged in the design and development of these types of deadly anti-ship weapons. The latest Russian-built hypersonic missiles can also be used against surface targets of any size or displacement. Moreover, due to the speed exceeding the speed of sound by an order of magnitude, it is technically impossible to shoot down such a missile at the moment. And such a bulky vessel as an aircraft carrier could hardly avoid it.
At the same time, the cost of an aircraft carrier and a hypersonic missile, even their kit, are incommensurable. So, the leader of the carrier group of the US Navy Gerald Ford (USS Gerald Ford) costs about forty billion dollars. But he is vulnerable to modern percussion instruments. aviation and artillery of the RF Armed Forces. In the event of war, such iron monsters will be sunk in the first place, or they will not be used in combat operations at all.
In addition to cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles are moving to the forefront of a formidable weapon for ships. China and Iran say they will soon be ready to sink US warships with combat drones - these are the same kamikaze aircraft, only without the suicide pilot himself. The recent attack by the Houthis on Saudi oil refineries using UAVs is a convincing example of this.
Convincing example
The Saudis are protected by the modern American Patriot air defense systems, and not one of their sets: the defense in depth missile and air defense are built on their basis. It turns out that Saudi Arabia paid in full for protecting its sky and oil resources, but the American defense did not work: the refineries were successfully attacked and then burned for several days, like torches. No wonder Riyadh after this incident immediately became interested in the Russian S-400 Triumph air defense systems.
According to independent military experts from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the attack on the Saudi refineries is a frank signal to the Pentagon that the era of American dominance on the ground and in the air of the Persian Gulf is over, and the United States now has a monopoly on ultra-precise powerful weapons. No. Moreover, we are talking about semi-handicraft UAVs of the Houthi production. These drones are made according to Iranian technology, but not by the Iranians themselves, who are now rightly called "masters of drones».
Noteworthy Imbalance
Noteworthy in this situation is a significant imbalance between expensive and cheap weapons. On the one hand - penny, but deadly drones and cruise missiles. On the other - fabulously expensive air defense systems and the latest generation aircraft, which in fact turned out to be helpless in front of inexpensive Hussite unmanned aerial vehicles. It turns out that there is no need to work significantly on expensive types of weapons if the simplest missiles and drones put them checkmate, especially in case of an unexpected attack.
Russia has the Onyx anti-ship missile, and the Chinese have the Dongfeng 26. Both of them are considered real fighter ships, including especially large craft such as aircraft carriers. These killer missiles make the whole US naval strategy worthless. And the Pentagon has no other for the near future.
Moreover, we must remember that in the arsenal of the RF Armed Forces there is also a Zircon rocket, whose speed exceeds the speed of sound six times. In addition, the naval military of the design bureau of Russia is actively developing underwater unmanned vehicles, some of their models will be equipped with nuclear power plants. These half-submarines are also a deadly weapon against the carrier groups of a potential enemy.
Technically undeveloped Hussite rebels carried out a successful attack on Riyadh's oil infrastructure. They not only halved the production of black fuel in the SA, but showed how vulnerable the United States and all its allies in the Middle East, and the North Atlantic Alliance, too.
This incident, unpleasant for the whole Western world, was accurately described by the ex-diplomat of Her Majesty Alastair Crooke. He called this puncture of American air defense systems "a targeted and accurate blow to the authority of the United States." Indeed, it is difficult to disagree with this.
- Oleg Orlov
- nationalinterest.org/blog
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