"Karakurt" vs "Buyan": pro et contra
The reason to think about and then to voice their opinion was, firstly, the ongoing disputes about the simultaneous massive construction of small missile ships of two very similar and at the same time completely different types: Project 21631 Buyan-M and Project 22800 Karakurt, secondly, the proposed modernization and continuation of the production of the highly criticized in naval environment RTO "Buyan-M".
The main argument justifying the massive construction of RTOs with medium-range sea-launched cruise missiles is the violation of the US global monopoly on the possession of this class of missiles under the INF Treaty operation and compliance.
In the context of the termination of the INF Treaty, at present, our country has twelve MRKs (9 Buyans and 3 Karakurt) with ammunition of 96 missiles in the European theater of operations can only serve as weak consolation (if not criminal complacency) if the United States has the opportunity to organize permanent presence on a rotational basis in the Barents, Baltic and Black Seas, one destroyer or cruiser with a similar ammunition load.
The very information about the presence of several thousand missiles of this class in the US Navy's arsenal is an incentive and reason for continuing the construction of domestic MRK at an accelerated pace. Moreover, the possibility of deploying the CRSD on board a few corvettes, frigates and submarines of the Russian Navy can only be perceived as possible options for solving tactical problems in local conflicts. These universal ships, both in peacetime and in wartime, will have to solve the whole range of tasks of the naval specifics proper, for which the current RTOs are of little use.
In an economic war with world leaders such as the United States and the European Union, we cannot afford to build twelve MRCs or an equivalent universal destroyer in opposition to each enemy destroyer. The simplest and most effective answer is to further modernize the MRK pr. 21631 "Buyan-M", which, first of all, should be aimed at doubling the ammunition load of cruise missiles with a categorical requirement for a minimum increase in displacement and dimensions of the ship.
Let's conditionally call this version of the MRK pr. 21636 "Buyan-M2" (the six at the end of the digital designation has not yet been met by the author in the public media).
A visual representation of two UVP 3S14 in the top view of fragments of the existing and modernized ship designs in the longitudinal plane of the superstructure center does not give the entire picture of the restructuring of the internal structure.
Outwardly, the difference can be expressed in the expansion of the aft end of the upper part of the superstructure in the area of \ uXNUMXb \ uXNUMXbthe installation of large-caliber machine guns.
By the way, about machine guns.
Expansion of the superstructure in the indicated place may cause inconvenience during the combat operation of the CPV calculations.
On the one hand, the author is a supporter of the wider use of machine guns in the fleet of the 14,5 mm caliber, with the gradual and appropriate replacement of 12,7 mm machine guns. Still, the scale of target detection distances, the possible reaction time to them, the very size of targets, their number and security at sea rationally suggest the use of a larger caliber and the power of a bullet.
On the other hand, nothing is impossible for the 30-mm Gatling assault rifle present on board with a much wider field of fire.
In short, in order to save weight, space on the ship and reduce the crew, I consider it reasonable to reconsider the replacement of the existing five machine guns on board with three 12,7-mm Kord machine guns in a naval version on the modernized project, by analogy with the Karakurt.
The upgraded ship with 16 UVP can become a real alternative to the mobile coastal missile system "Bastion", which consists of 4 self-propelled launchers (2 missiles each) and 4 transport-loading vehicles (2 missiles each) with control and life support facilities.
Not only can the ship's on-call time be several times longer than the time on which the ground complex is on duty when performing anti-ship defense missions, in parallel, it can also keep the enemy's coastal infrastructure at gunpoint within the reach of those on board the KRSD.
It is necessary to take into account such an element of counter-battery warfare, the use of a PBRK presupposes its preliminary advance to a chosen position, deployment, watch and performance of a combat mission at a specific point of the terrain, folding and departure to the place of permanent deployment (if possible), the use of a missile weapons from the ship is supposed to be on the move and at any time upon receipt of the command.
In addition, the ship, as a complex of weapons, has its own air defense systems, anti-sabotage countermeasures, radar and electronic reconnaissance equipment with an electronic warfare system. At the same time, the use of both the ship and the PBRK assumes cover under the umbrella of the coastal regional air defense.
Readers should remember the time of dangerous cold and hot war balancing in Europe with the use of medium-range cruise missiles and ballistic Pershing IIs.
The terminated INF Treaty is secretly valid to this day. And in accordance with the provisions of this agreement, Russia has the right to have a sea-based KRSD and must certainly use it. And, no matter how bad the MRK pr. 21636 "Buyan-M2", like warships with vague tasks, the fleet will have to endure them and maintain them in a priority order to maintain and increase the strategic balance of the country's defense as a whole.
Thus, the brigades of RTOs in the fleet will be akin to units of the ground forces equipped with Iskander missile systems, the need and importance of which, I hope, no one doubts.
In order not to repeat the nonsense from Wikipedia about the power plant of the first series of MRK pr. 21631 with German, Chinese and Russian diesel engines of various capacities, let's look at the future of the modernized project 21636 Buyan-M2.
If you look at the fellows in the class of "Gadflies" and "Karakurt" with 112-cylinder engines developed in the middle of the last century, then a pair of 16-cylinder diesel engines, similar to the frigate of project 22350, seem to be the height of perfection and a miracle of rationalism. There should be three of them on Buyan-M2 alone. Agree, MAZ or KAMAZ with a 56-cylinder small-sized more powerful engine, but more voracious compared to the traditional V-shaped eight, would look ridiculous.
I would venture to suggest that even with three water cannons and three diesel engines 10D49 (16chn26 / 26) with a total capacity of 15 liters. with. God forbid the modernized Buyan-M600 to conquer 2 knots. And this should be considered a quite acceptable decent result if he can go at a cruising speed of 24-16 knots with two units working and accelerate to 18-10 knots of economic speed with one engine.
Attacking enemy convoys and fighting enemy naval strike groups on the high seas should be a secondary task for this ship, and the availability of such an opportunity is rather a pleasant bonus.
If you search in historical In retrospect, analogs of such ships, they can be compared with the gunboat "Koreets" and ships of the same type of the Russian Imperial Navy. They had a few, but ultimately heavy weapons for their displacement, dimensions and seaworthiness, carried a patrol service and guarded fisheries, as well as stationary service in Japanese, Korean and Chinese ports, their habitats were the Finnish skerries, and the Gulf of Riga, shallow estuaries rivers from Europe to the Far East. Modern RTOs have a unique opportunity for inter-fleet maneuver from the White and Baltic Seas to the Black and Caspian Seas, and the available area of application in the European theater of operations is limited only by the Ural watershed.
According to various sources on all types of diesel 10D49, its specific fuel consumption (from 199,5 to 211 kg / kW * h) is 7-8 percent less than that of high-speed twin diesel engines of the M-507 (A-D) family (227 g / kW * h), which are installed on "Karakurt" and "Gadfly". The latter are lighter, more compact and have a higher power density, so they are preferable on light MRKs, missile and torpedo boats, minesweepers. These ships do not require a significant cruising range or autonomy.
Also, the indisputable advantage of 16-cylinder units in comparison with 112-cylinder engines is their operational reliability and resource: if the assigned resource before removing the pistons for 10D49 is 10-15 thousand hours, then only 507 will pass before the first complete bulkhead of the M-3 engine compartment hours.
Consider a hypothetical march of the modernized Buyan-M2 (and Karakurt) over a distance of 240 miles.
As is usually the case, at a given point the ships “should have been yesterday”, and they will go to the combat mission at maximum speed. Based on the indicated specific fuel consumption figures, each of the three engines of the ship will consume 800 (1) kilograms of fuel at full power.
The ships will arrive at the point in 10 (8) hours, having consumed 24 (31,2) tons of fuel. If we assume that the difference between the total and standard ship displacement of 99 (70) tons is mainly the supply of motor fuel and engine oil (the supply of fresh water, as a rule, is an order of magnitude less), then the "Buyan-M2" will have approximately ¾ of the possible, while in "Karakurt" - only about ½.
What is 240 miles?
This is the open sea, the ocean, 444 kilometers from the coastal air defense systems and fighter airfields, and will the advantage of the "Karakurt" written on paper matter there, in autonomy of 10 (15) days, at a maximum speed of 24 (30) knots, in conditionally better seaworthiness, if the risk of being left without fuel (read - without running, with the radar and communications off, de-energized weapons) is much higher than that of a competitor.
There is no point in comparing and breaking lances on the issue of ships' radar weapons. They are equipped with practically the same type of navigation and firing radars.
But the difference in the installation of antenna posts of active search radar complexes in height is about three meters. As you know, the height of the electrical center of the antenna directly affects the detection range of air targets at low and especially extremely low altitudes, at medium and high altitudes this is not so critical, because the curvature of the earth begins to affect.
And, oddly enough, Buyan-M has an advantage in this parameter. An antenna located above will make it possible to detect an anti-ship missile system or a helicopter at an extremely low altitude 1,5-2 kilometers further from the ship, under equal conditions with the Karakurt.
The reaction time and engagement range for a countermeasure complex of 100-mm A-190, 30-mm AK-630M2 missiles and Igla or Verba missiles is not much different from similar parameters of the countermeasures complex with 76,2-mm AK-176MA and 30 -mm submachine guns with missiles ZRAK "Pantsir-M".
In terms of a combination of conflicting characteristics and factors (such as: a high rate of fire of the main battery; lower height and length of the ship; the presence of an additional millimeter-wave radar and the ability to fire several targets at the same time in the ZRAK; greater power of warheads and the range of destruction of 57E6E missiles) superiority in the effectiveness of air defense the ship must be given to "Karakurt" with "Pantsir-M".
The initial version of the "Karakurt" without the ZRAK, with the usual pair of AK-630s, was in no way superior to the "Buyana-M" air defense.
The "militarists" have a natural desire to install on the modernized "Buyan-M2" ZRAK "Pantsir-M", which will inevitably lead to an increase in displacement, but does he need it?
If there is a modernization of the MRK project with the installation of a second UVP 3S14 UKSK, then this will entail the need to find in the hull and superstructure an additional volume of 90 cubic meters for a weight of about 50 tons in the appropriate configuration. And this is not a trivial task anyway, provided that the dimensions and VI of the ship are kept at the level of its predecessor. It is enough to look at the land version of the "Pantsir" to understand that the "Pantsir-M" is several times heavier and more voluminous than the "Duet".
The method of struggle to maintain displacement is simple and obvious.
Following the example of civilian budgetary organizations, this is the optimization and reduction of the crew to 35 military men with a redistribution of duties at the discretion of the commander, in the end, it is necessary to increase the level of automation of the processes of operation and control of the ship and weapons (besides, the reduction of machine gun barrels is written above). Replacing four diesel generators on the modernized project with three more powerful ones will also save volume and weight.
Further, the proposals are not so obvious and, of course, not indisputable.
We have already mentioned the relatively high location of the antenna post of the Pozitiv radar on the MRK pr. 21631 at a height of about 15 meters, which is at least three meters higher than the placement of the antenna post of the active radar of a similar purpose on the MRK pr. 22800. The weight of this product is 1 kg, that, together with the radio-transparent fairing and the weight of its actual bearing mast support of appropriate strength and rigidity, it turns into a significant factor that worsens the already not outstanding seaworthiness characteristics of a ship shallowly sitting in the water.
It is offered at the customer's choice: either simply reduce the height of the antenna post by a couple of meters, or perform it with the possibility of folding by 90 degrees according to the model and likeness, as is done on the machine of the self-propelled command post of control and communications of the coastal missile complex "Bal".
The author is inclined to give preference to the second option.
The ability to fold the top of the ship's antenna-mast device (AMU) will give a significant expansion of geography, where the ship can go without stricter height restrictions. In other words, the ship will have access to rivers and lakes in the European part of the country, which its predecessors could not stick to due to restrictions on passage under the lower spans of bridges over the navigable sections. This will seriously expand the capabilities for strategic concealment of the deployment of units of such ships.
In terms of seaworthiness, the ability to curtail the AMU in stormy conditions will help the crew in the fight against the elements, and in calm weather, decent capabilities will be retained as a radar patrol ship.
The experts can also submit a proposal to amend the underwater part of the bow of the ship.
If the "Gadflies" had purely cutter hull contours, then the "Karakurt" is considered to have a kind of transitional type of hull, more adapted to the near sea zone, provided that high speed characteristics are maintained.
"Buyans" were initially positioned as ships of the "river-sea" class without any claims to outstanding speed characteristics. Their highlight should be fuel efficiency and economy across the entire range of available speeds. This can be helped by the nasal bulb in front of the underwater part of the nasal tip. While maintaining the original dimensions of the ship, this device will not only improve fuel efficiency, but also have a positive effect on seaworthiness, which has been criticized in many publications.
If you understand objectively and without personal prejudices, then the accusations against project 21631 of poor seaworthiness are perhaps the only drawback of these ships, which for some reason is usually exaggerated.
Looking at the outlines of the hulls of ships belonging to the class of corvettes, it is difficult not to notice their practical identity in the underwater part. "Buyans" from the Black Sea go to Mediterranean and serve there, where, by definition, Israeli corvettes are registered. These corvettes, according to the parameters shown in the figure, are 15-25 percent higher than our RTOs, but the freeboard in the bow is equal to both the Saar and Buyan, and even the Karakurt, which is 10 percent lighter and smaller. " Buyana ". But in the direction of "Saarov" and "Karakurt" reproaches in poor seaworthiness are not heard.
Comparing the domestic project 20386 corvette with a draft of 4,3 m with the "Karakurt" (4 m), which is more than three times heavier and one and a half times longer than MRK, we probably will not hear reproaches against him for poor seaworthiness only because of for a relatively low draft.
While reproaching the Buyans for their poor seaworthiness, one must understand that the ship is not bad, it was made that way to gain in other parameters, as a result of compromises and setting the required priorities.
And what about "Karakurt"?
Never mind!
Nothing bad, as for a ship of the Russian Navy. And nothing good in comparison with the ships of a potential enemy.
From the positive.
The ship was quickly designed using the existing technological backlog, is being built at several factories in different regions of the country at an unprecedented pace in the new Russia, will replace the "workhorse" of the Soviet Navy MRK "Ovod", which were on stream from 1967 to 1992. For thirty years we have changed the generation of missiles from "Malachite" to "Onyx" / "Caliber" and SAM "Osa-MA" to "Pantsir-ME". And we also reproach the domestic auto industry for the long thorny path from "penny" to "Kalina".
The picture shows a Swedish corvette of the Visby class, the very Swedes whom Peter the Great called his teachers. Each of the five ships of the project (in size something between the "Gadfly" and "Karakurt") was built in a purely Russian way: from 12 to 18 years.
Let us briefly compare the miracle of enemy technology with the pride of our fleet.
The hull of the Swedish ship is made of a hybrid composite material using Stealth technology, which is 50 percent lighter than the hull of the same dimensions of our ship made of traditional materials.
The combined diesel-gas turbine power plant of the corvette consists of two diesel engines (2920 * 1400 * 1290 mm each; 4170 kg) with a total capacity of 2600 kW and four gas turbines (1395 * 890 * 1040 mm each; 710 kg) with a total capacity of 16000 kW, which provide travel speed, respectively, 15 and 35 knots, similar data for our MRK in the tables.
In addition to anti-ship missiles, anti-aircraft guided missiles and artillery, the Swedes managed to integrate two two-pipe 400-mm torpedo tubes (say hello to our "Packet-NK" with a NATO caliber of 324 mm) with detection and control equipment and put on the deck a full-fledged helicopter with all the ensuing capabilities of this machine ...
But our RTOs, "if you're lucky and let the aircraft carrier go to the bottom" (a quote close to the original from a film about national fishing).
Conclusions
It's time to draw obvious and unpleasant conclusions.
If the ways of modernizing the MRK pr. 21631, outlined in the article, are realistic, cost-effective and feasible if there is goodwill and agreement in the leadership of the country and the fleet, then MRK pr. 22800 is a dead-end branch of the development of the good old "Gadfly".
Most likely, an attempt to modernize with the deployment of a second UVP 1 * 8 UKSK at Karakurt is doomed to failure. A more realistic option is to replace one 1 * 8 UVP with three 1 * 4 UVPs, and then in this case, in terms of ammunition, it will be comparable to the rejected version of the Gadfly upgrade to Project 1234.7 with Onyx inclined launchers.
The direction of modernization of the power plant of the project is most likely unpromising, the M-507 engines were very good for their time, and our industry is not yet able to create anything similar with similar characteristics at a new technological level, and no free capacities are expected.
Judging by how the implementation of the integrated tower-mast structure of the Zaslon multifunctional radar complex on corvettes is progressing, the IBMK for domestic MRKs, similar to the Swedish one, will have to wait until the first series of ships are decommissioned. A seemingly simplified lightweight version of the multifunctional radar based on aviation PFAR or AFAR should be in the basic configuration of a modern MRK, which is positioned as a small corvette.
Naturally, since contracts have been signed for the construction of 18 small missile ships of project 22800 "Karakurt", the directions and programs for their modernization should begin with the acquisition of operating experience for the first three copies that have already entered service. The release of a series of 12 MRK project 21631 ends on a wave that set the teeth on edge, the company of import substitution of the power plant of ships.
The projected increase in ammunition and equipping the upgraded version of the Buyan-M21636 small missile ship of the project 2 with domestic engines gives the prospect of creating two brigades of missile ships, consisting of eight of the same type MRK, in the Baltic and Black Sea fleets. These units will not become a big burden on the naval budget according to the cost-effectiveness criterion and will serve to increase the strategic weight of naval formations.
The contract for the construction of 16 ships must be signed in the interests of the country and the fleet.
Readers in solidarity with the author, get accustomed to the coronavirus so that together every six months you can enjoy new ships!
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