New Russian fleet: first UDC, frigates and submarines
20th for the first time in Russian stories laid universal amphibious assault ships - only two UDC of project 23900. In addition, two newest multifunctional nuclear submarines of project 885M, as well as two frigates of project 22350, were laid. It must be said that the start of construction was a bit late. Allegedly, a single day of laying down new ships and submarines was supposed to pass on the 16th: at least this was reported to TASS by an informed source in the military-industrial complex. However, this changes little. In any case, July 2020 can be considered the starting date of the history of the new Russian fleetwith fundamentally different capabilities.
UDC of the 23900 project
Characteristics (hypothetical):
Manufacturer: Zaliv shipyard.
Displacement (full): more than 25 tons.
Length: 220 meters.
Width: 33 meters.
Crew: 320 people.
Troopers: up to one thousand people, up to 70-75 pieces of equipment.
Armament: one 100-millimeter gun A-190, three anti-aircraft missile-artillery systems "Palash", two anti-aircraft missile systems "Pantsir-ME".
Air group: more than 20 Ka-29, Ka-27 or Ka-52K helicopters.
The most important point can be considered the laying of universal amphibious ships. They will receive the names "Ivan Rogov" and "Mitrofan Moskalenko". Previously, the country (this applies to both the Russian Federation and the Soviet Union) did not have such combat units, although various landing ships, of course, were built in the interests of the fleet.
It is worth saying that the very concept of the UDC originates from the experience of the Vietnam war, when the Pentagon clearly realized that they lacked combat units that would combine the qualities of various landing ships and support ships.
Russia decided not to lag behind. The country did not receive the French Mistral for obvious reasons, so it had to rely on its own capabilities. Recall that the signing of a contract for the construction of new Russian ships became known in May this year. The amount of the agreement, according to the source, was approximately 100 billion rubles (80 billion, according to other sources). It is believed that the price of two Russian ships is twice more the cost of the French Mistral. Given that the country does not have experience in creating such ships, this should not be ruled out, although there is and an alternative point of view. The first of the ships, according to previously presented data, may enter the fleet in 2027, the second - in 2028.
Multipurpose nuclear submarine project 885M "Yasen-M"
Characteristics (hypothetical):
Manufacturer: Northern Machine-Building Enterprise.
Displacement (underwater): 13800 tons (project 885).
Length: 139 meters (project 885).
Width: 13 meters.
Crew: 64 person.
Armament: eight torpedo tubes and ten launchers. The boat can carry Onyx anti-ship missiles, Caliber cruise missiles, torpedoes, mines and portable anti-aircraft missile systems.
The laying of new submarines can be considered the second most important event: given the fact that the fourth generation strategic submarines of Project 955 do not have adequate cover, the importance of building fourth generation boats can hardly be overestimated. “The nuclear submarines are named after the cities of military glory: Voronezh and Vladivostok,” said President Vladimir Putin.
We will remind, now Russia has only one submarine of project 885 - K-560 "Severodvinsk". All subsequent (K-561 "Kazan", K-573 "Novosibirsk", K-571 "Krasnoyarsk", K-564 "Arkhangelsk", "Perm", "Ulyanovsk" and the submarines laid down on July 20) belong to the modernized project "Ash -M ". They are smaller than the lead submarine. Presumably, these boats have not ten torpedo tubes, but eight, and the number of launchers, on the contrary, has increased: there were not eight, but ten.
There are questions about the armament of new submarines (this applies to all Russian boats). It is not entirely clear whether the fleet managed to overcome the notorious "torpedo crisis" and replace the old USET-80 torpedoes with something more advanced. According to some reports, the process is underway. At various times, the media talked about equipping Russian submarines with "Physicist" and "Case" torpedoes. The first should develop a speed of 50 knots and hit targets at a distance of 50 kilometers. For comparison: the range indicator of USET-80 is 18 kilometers, which is significantly less than that of modern Western counterparts.
Even more curious is the issue of arming the Ashes with the Zircon hypersonic missile, which has been talked about very often lately. According to some reports, the rocket will be able to reach speeds of up to Mach 8, and its range will be 400-600 kilometers.
Frigate project 22350
Features:
Manufacturer: Severnaya Verf.
Displacement (full): 5400 tons.
Length: 135 meters.
Width: 16,4 meters.
Crew: 180-210 people.
Armament: up to sixteen Onyx and Caliber missiles, 130-mm A-192M gun, anti-aircraft artillery, anti-aircraft missiles, anti-submarine weapons and mine-torpedo weapons.
Air group: one Ka-27 helicopter.
Another important event was the laying of two Project 22350 frigates: Admiral Yumashev and Admiral Spiridonov. They will be, respectively, the seventh and eighth ships of Project 22350.
This is one of the key programs of modern Russian shipbuilding. She is seriously "stuck": we recall that the lead ship "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov" was laid down back in 2006, and was commissioned only in 2018. In addition to him, the first serial ship was handed over to the fleet - "Fleet Admiral Kasatonov". The third ship, Admiral Golovko, is currently being tested.
It should be said that earlier there was information about the modernization of the frigate of project 22350. The displacement of the ship of project 22350M is going to be increased to 7000 tons, and the ammunition of the Onyx and Caliber missiles - up to 48 units. It is also assumed that Project 22350 frigates and upgraded ships will be able to carry hypersonic Zircons. Undoubted, hypersonic weapon can dramatically increase the combat potential of Russian surface ships, but in order for them to turn into a truly formidable force, you will need aviation cover. And with this, things are clearly not very good.
However, it is worth repeating, the laying of six powerful modern ships at once is a new milestone in the history of the Russian fleet. Their commissioning will significantly strengthen the potential of the Navy.
Information