NATO ships were helpless
The first to shoot is the one who shoots first, the rest is invented as an excuse.
(A. Azolsky)
(A. Azolsky)
The absence of anti-ship missiles on modern ships of NATO countries has no worthy explanation.
Dear readers may doubt the veracity of the statement. Pointing to existing Naval Strike Missile (NSM), Exocet or AGM-84 Harpoon. However, there are no contradictions here. All of the above samples of anti-ship missiles appear as nondescript products against the background of domestic ZM55 "Onyx" or ZM80 "Mosquito". Any of the comparisons will show significant differences in one or several indicators at once (range and flight speed, size, warhead power). The differences are too noticeable to be ignored.
The destroyer "Defender" should be armed according to the project with eight anti-ship missiles "Harpoon".
Have you noticed the PU on its upper deck?
As if confirming the expressed doubts about the combat value of anti-ship missiles, Western fleets are in no hurry to place them on ships. Allocated regular places have been empty for many years. Even on navy United States, with its unlimited budget, destroyers go into service without any anti-ship weapons!
The question arises - what will be the actions of NATO ships when they meet a surface enemy? Defender vs. Gorshkov. Too unrealistic? Imagine any situation where it becomes necessary to shoot a ship.
If naval battles are forever a thing of the past, why do our ships keep the Onyxes and the anti-ship Caliber (ZM14) in service?
Is there any doubt that one of the main purposes of the Navy is to conduct combat operations at sea? Participation in confrontation with other fleets.
In Western countries, the subject of anti-ship missiles (ASM) was developed with a 15-year delay. There were reasons for this, which we will discuss below. Another moment is surprising. After half a century, none of the foreign developments came close to the domestic ones. For some reason, the anti-ship missiles themselves began to disappear from the range of weapons of modern ships.
Let's turn to stories.
David and Goliath
In February 1957, the destroyer Bedovy made the world's first launch of an anti-ship missile system from a surface carrier.
The ship's projectile "Pike" (laconically - KSShch) could deliver 620 kg of warhead to a distance of tens of kilometers. In practice, the distance was determined by means of target designation. 40 km with line of sight and up to 100 km when receiving control center from external sources.
The first value was almost twice the distance from which record shots of naval artillery were fired (for example, during the sinking of the Glories). The second meaning lay far beyond the capabilities of the largest caliber.
The plump silhouette of the "Pike", with antennas sticking out everywhere and traces of connectors, did not even try to follow the requirements of aerodynamics. An engine from a Yak-25 aircraft with a residual engine life of 5 hours was used as a cruise propulsion system.
The main thing is that it flew and could sink ships. A real weapon of the "Russian barbarians"!
"Pike" rushed over the Black Sea training ground near Feodosia, chopping up target boats and the skeletons of unfinished and decommissioned ships. The history of the creation of the KSSh refers to the mid-1950s, when the fleet of the "potential enemy" consisted of projects from the war years. In such conditions, the 600 kg warhead was found to be ineffective with a normal hit on the freeboard. KSShch had a detachable warhead. Thrown into the water near the target, it hit below the waterline. This is how the concept of this weapon looked.
The combat capabilities achieved were impressive. The new class of naval weapons was immediately developed in the interests of the USSR Navy.
Domestic anti-ship missiles have always combined a set of extreme parameters:
A) Long range. Due to the inability to come close to the US aircraft carrier groups.
B) In many cases, supersonic speed. The enemy was very difficult. The path to the target ran through the lines of the echeloned air defense.
C) Combat equipment capable of destroying thousands of tons of metal structures. The ship is an outstanding target.
To successfully complete the task, the principles of humanism had to be rejected. Each attack was worth too much effort. And every hit that was achieved had to leave behind hot consequences. Complex P-5 - warhead weight 870 kg. P-70 "Amethyst" - the warhead weighed a ton.
During the 1960s, the fleet received eight anti-ship missile systems designed to equip ships and submarines. Subsonic and supersonic. With conventional and thermonuclear combat equipment. With a low-altitude profile and an underwater launch ("Amethyst").
The design thought moved on. Among the promising projects, the R-27K with a range of 900 km stood out. The world's first ballistic missile to attack ships from space. Radars and emitting antenna devices on board the ships of the aircraft carrier group acted as "radio beacons" for it.
The foreign navy had no idea of such a weapon. At that time, only Italians were testing their Nettuno with a launch range of 10 km.
Hope for aviation
The American way of dealing with surface ships has not changed. The aircraft still had every chance of destroying the ship with conventional weapons. Just like the Yamato and Musashi were drowned.
With the giants of the past we had to "tinker", hitting them with torpedoes in the underwater part. Modern aluminum superstructures could be destroyed with one hit. At the same time, "Phantom" could drop several tons of bombs on the target in one run - more than a squadron of piston aircraft near Midway.
The danger of such a threat was confirmed by the Falklands Conflict. Aviation bombed 12 ships. The losses of the attackers turned out to be small. Of those aircraft that were sent to attack from low level flight, 8 or 9 units did not return back. And this - if the British have shipborne air defense systems.
Attack of the Argentine Skyhawks. Without any complicated tricks. Fearlessly, head-on!
Skyhawk is a subsonic attack aircraft that took off in 1954. His partner "Dagger" ("Mirage V") was a simplified version of the "Mirage III" without a radar. A quarter of a century before this technique was at the disposal of Argentina, it formed the basis of the air force and aviation fleet of the navies of the countries of the "first world".
Fortunately, the story had no subjunctive mood. And our sailors did not have to see the combat approach of Skyhawks with white stars.
By the mid-1960s, the MK.80 series of pigguns could be accompanied by Wallay gliding bombs, Shrike anti-radar bombs and various radio suppression devices.
How realistic is the use of these weapons against ships?
In 1972, a pair of Shrikes zoomed in on the cruiser Warden off the coast of Vietnam. Nearby explosions damaged the setup. According to the commander, the cruiser lost 2/3 of its combat capabilities.
Little is known about the use of tactical air-to-surface missiles against ships. For example, once the Orion patrol fired Mavrik at a Libyan patrol ship.
In general, overseas did not feel the need for any "super rockets". In turn, the Soviet anti-ship complexes were an "asymmetric response" in the cold war.
The rest of NATO members at that time simply did not have the means to express their opinion on this issue.
And each of the rivals saw the positive features of their own decision. Until the sinking of the Israeli "Eilat" (1967) forced the whole world to take a fresh look at the use of anti-ship missiles.
Ships began to learn how to fight ships
A completely lost skill. How to fight if there is nothing?
The situation began to change in the first half of the 70s. The first anti-ship missiles appeared on boats of the Israeli Navy. The concept of the Gabriel anti-ship missile system contained an important feature: low-altitude flight. Otherwise, Israel made a rocket for its own tasks, so a range of 20-30 kilometers and a 100 kg warhead did not raise any special questions.
Burning "Ilya Mechnikov" after the strike of the Israeli Navy. The Soviet ship was hit by two Gabriel missiles (Tartus, 1973)
After a hot debut in the Yom Kippur War, "Gabriel" has become a commercially successful family of anti-ship missiles and entered service around the world. Azerbaijan and Estonia have chosen this missile among our neighbors. The Balts received the modern fifth generation "Gabriel" with completely different capabilities. The warhead is 240 kg and the launch range is 400 km.
Another anti-ship missile developed in Western Europe has become a real bestseller on the world arms market. More precisely, there were two of them. A joint Franco-Italian project that resulted in two similar (and dissimilar) missiles, Otomat and Exocet. The first even preserved in its name the memory of the origins of the project (OTO Melara MATra).
Otomat's whimsical look
Both were based on a balance between cost, compactness and fighting qualities. The projects had a commercial component, which meant export and compatibility with a wide range of media.
Range requirements were determined by the purpose and available means of the control center. The Italian "Otomat" had large values (150-180 km) due to the use of a turbojet engine. Exocet used a solid-propellant rocket engine (TTRD). The launch range from surface carriers did not exceed 40 km. No unnecessary details, time-consuming prelaunch preparation and in-flight data exchange. Shot - and forgot.
The French rocket turned out to be so practical that it entered service with 30 countries of the world. And its early and successful use in hostilities further strengthened the position of "Exocet" in the world arms market. The rocket was purchased by everyone, from the British and German navies to the Cameroon navy.
Many customers were interested in the aviation version of the anti-ship missile system for use by tactical aircraft. Here the solid propellant "Exocet" (AM.39) was simply out of competition. This variant was the first to be thrown into battle and the first to achieve success.
The base variant (MM.38) was used to arm ships of any class, from boats to destroyers. Among the little-known examples - MM.38 was used as part of the Excalibur coastal complex, which defended the approaches to Gibraltar.
In addition, an option was created for launching submarines from torpedo tubes (SM.39)
As for the Italian Otomat missile, it exists only as a weapon for surface ships.
The listing of all placement options and possible carriers of "Exoset" deserves a separate article. Currently, there is a tendency towards the gradual abandonment of anti-ship missiles on board ships. Already not the most powerful missiles are being actively reduced. For example, the French elegantly removed two "Exocets" from their destroyers' arsenals (they installed six instead of the eight missiles planned for the project).
"Otomat" and "Exocet" are subsonic missiles. Effective overcoming of air defense in both cases is achieved due to high secrecy. The missiles approach the target at ultra-low altitude, flying over the crests of the waves.
Here again the solid fuel Exocet has an advantage. Its engine runs stably at minimum height, whatever the weather. Despite the splash and storm warning.
The French adhered to their principles for a long time and gave up only with the onset of a new century. In 2004, Exocet (MM.40 Block 3) was introduced with a traditional turbojet engine. The flight range increased to 200 km. And everything fell into place. Once the most original anti-ship missile system has disappeared into many faceless projects.
The creators of Exocet did not plan to sink an aircraft carrier with one hit. The target did not have to be torn apart. To "scratch" a flimsy destroyer or frigate built according to the standards of the 60s, a warhead the size of a medium-caliber bombs should have been enough.
In reality, the warhead of French missiles did not explode in half of the cases. Fuse problems are an all-time combat classic. Those who bought "Exocet" did not notice any malice here. The popularity of French weapons only increased, buyers were already impressed by the very fact of hitting the target. Moreover, the meeting with the "Flying Fish" has never passed without consequences.
Here is an unexploded warhead of the Exocet anti-ship missile, recovered from the insides of the Stark frigate. Funnels are visible on the warhead body - a real "cumulative shotgun"!
In fact, the cumulative effect requires funnels of a different shape, and the cumulative jet itself is useless in open space, when exposed to the interior of the ship.
The developers of Exocet probably meant the fragmentation of the warhead with the formation of heavy fragments in the chosen directions. Shock core? Such a comparison would be incorrect. The term "shock core" belongs to ammunition of a special, exotic design.
Just a high-explosive fragmentation warhead. Graceful notches on the hull are made so that the 165 kg thing could leave more noticeable scratches on the ship.
As practice has shown, all these games were not worth the candle. The warhead was too weak. And the main threat came from a running engine and fuel residues. The twice attacked frigate Stark was much more fortunate than the destroyer Coventry, which was hit by the only Exocet.
In the case of Stark, the explosion of the second rocket extinguished the fire from the Exocet stuck in the hull. By significantly reducing the area of fire.
These wonderful missiles have entered service with dozens of countries around the world. They were ideal for hitting targets in local conflicts. But this had little to do with the naval confrontation of the real "superpowers".
We will talk about how events developed in the future and what this led to in the second part of the article.
The anti-ship capabilities of the Forbin frigate are represented by the Exocet anti-ship missile system.
A worthy weapon for a modern ship with a displacement of 7000 tons!
The missile of the P-1000 Vulcan complex. Photo: Dmitry Stogniy
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