TARK "Peter the Great" - who said it's time to landfill?
There was quite a noise around our heavy nuclear missile cruisers. Indeed, it is worth considering what is behind all this, because there is simply no smoke without fire, if it is not a smoke generator.
The situation is contradictory, because it is not entirely clear who is lying. TASS "sources" reported that they were allegedly working on the issue of withdrawing the Peter the Great TARK from the fleet, "sources" RIA "News' reported the exact opposite. RBC gathered its experts, who instantly calculated the benefits and lack thereof from the withdrawal of "Peter the Great" towards recycling.
At the same time, somehow the views focused on the "Peter the Great", which, we admit, is breathing its last and requires a major overhaul, which should, in theory, begin when the repair of the "Admiral Nakhimov" is completed. Meanwhile, it is worth considering both cruisers of project 1144 together, because in their nuclear reactors money will burn in billions of rubles
Many experts are right about one thing - the maintenance of two project 1144 monsters will cost the state much more than their real use.
Even on our pages, we often talked about how these ships can be of real benefit in the event of a conflict. Moreover, at one time, when analyzing the repair of the Nakhimov, I spoke out in the sense that it would be nice to reinforce the frankly poor capabilities of the Pacific Fleet with a ship whose salvo power would be about 50% of all the capabilities of the Pacific Fleet.
Apparently, everything is much worse, since the former commander of the fleet was sent to command the Yunarmiya, the value of which, apparently, is comparable to the capabilities of the Pacific Fleet.
The presence of a huge, albeit heavily armed ship in the fleet, of course, is better than its absence, but ... Let's see how much the same Admiral Nakhimov can do in a hypothetical battle between the Pacific Fleet and the Japanese navy. We have already done a similar analysis, from which one thing followed: the cruiser would simply pull missiles from Japanese ships onto itself, and this would be the end of its combat merits. The negative side of the moment lies in the fact that the ships of the Pacific Fleet that survived due to this will be able to portray something meaningful.
The value of "Varyag" after stories with the "Moscow" is more than doubtful, the "Atlantes" (however, like the "Orlans") are too old ships to demand something real from them. Former project 1155 BODs converted into two project 1155M frigates - not God knows what. Everything else - corvettes, small missile ships and missile boats - is only close to their shores. That is, the defense of the last frontier.
In general, when everything is so bad, then the modernized Admiral Nakhimov looks quite good. The whole problem is that the Admiral Nakhimov has not gone to sea since 1997, its repairs and modernization have been going on in Severodvinsk for 24 years. Here, after repair and modernization, it is just right to start a new repair, since in 30 years a lot of things can wear out by themselves.
Why so about 30 years? Yes, because the deadlines for the completion of repairs are constantly postponed. At first it was 2021, but then they announced 2023, but August 2022 brought a new date - 2024. So, at least, said Vladimir Korolev, Deputy General Director of the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) for military shipbuilding.
More than 200 billion rubles have already been spent on the repair of Nakhimov. This is a huge amount for which 4-5 new frigates of project 22350 of the Admiral Gorshkov type could be built. The ships are smaller in size, but in the aggregate of weapons they are in no way inferior to the Orlan, and in some ways even superior to it.
In what ways can frigates outperform a cruiser? In many ways. 32 launchers is a salvo of 32 missiles, whatever one may say. It is clear that the cells are clogged with all types of missiles, but even 16 anti-ship missiles are serious. 20 "Granites" at the cruiser of project 1144 - this, of course, looks significant, but ... the P-700 missile, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, has been studied in the West and there are countermeasures for it. The rocket is completely outdated, both physically and mentally, and is unlikely to frighten anyone.
And frigates that have at least 16 missiles in a salvo (out of 32 cells), if there are five of them, will issue 80 missiles. That is, more than the Nakhimov after modernization, since it will have only 80 cells.
However, all these calculations have already been made for the hypothetical battle of "Admiral Nakhimov" and two formations of Japanese URO destroyers at one time. And we have nothing to catch there.
In addition, there is also the human factor.
The crew of "Peter the Great", as our TV channels proudly declared, is about 1500 people. The crew of the frigate type "Admiral Gorshkov" - 210 people. That is, at the expense of "Peter the Great" it is possible to equip 7 frigates with crews.
So it turns out that on one side of the scale there is an old huge cruiser, armed not to say that with the latest technology, and on the other - 5 newest ships of a smaller class, but with no worse capabilities.
Two modernized cruisers - respectively, 10 frigates.
Plus, it should be understood that the maintenance and maintenance of the monsters of the 1144 project costs at least huge sums. And what is the "exhaust" from them - an open question. At least, the Orlans did not take part in any combat operation. Their entire service was reduced to exercises and parties abroad, where the cruisers showed the power of Russia to all sorts of Venezuelas and Syrias.
These ships also did not take part in the war in Syria. There was nothing; in general, small missile ships with cruise missiles worked on objects.
Why, then, in general, these huge, glowing half the world in all ranges, ships? It's clearly too expensive to "show the flag", especially given the upcoming budgetary problems associated with the cost of the war and the lack of income from the sale of resources.
Even the completely rabid patriots of Runet, in dozens of articles telling about some completed combat missions of "Peter the Great" as part of the Syrian campaign and (oh my God!) To disarm Syria
“And the role of the flagship of the Northern Fleet fell on the shoulders of“ Peter ”- hence the huge number of tasks, the highest combat readiness and its use in the hottest issues for the country. A vivid example of this is the Syrian campaign of the RF Armed Forces, as well as the assistance that preceded it in the elimination of Syrian chemical weapons - and there are many such episodes. Well, there is nothing to say about hundreds of exercises, exacerbations with the West and other nuances ... " is a quote from one such Zen masterpiece.
I dug specifically, I wanted to find these very applications in “hot issues for the country”. Have not found. As well as about the participation of the cruiser in the disarmament of Syria from chemical weapons. Parade and exhibition service, which costs a lot of money. But for our patriots, who are not very interested in particulars, what is enough.
It is clear that such a weapon as the Project 1144 TARK will be very needed when the US Navy AUGs suddenly go to the coast of Russia. And then the cruisers will come out and ...
However, we still have to live up to this, but in general a topic for a separate discussion. But I repeat - "Granites" - this is not what ships of the US Navy will be afraid of today. The effectiveness of the P-700 today is more than doubtful.
With "Admiral Nakhimov" everything is more or less clear. Having spent so many years in time and billions in money, he will obviously be dragged to the end of the repair. Well, if only simply because these 200 billion somehow need to be justified. And really because the Pacific Fleet is a very dull sight from any angle.
That's why I talked about "Nakhimov" for so long, although it seemed like it was necessary to talk about "Peter the Great". "Nakhimov" - here it is, roughly speaking, 9 years of service, the remaining 26 are under repair. There is still a resource, unless something that was not affected by the repair fell apart and rotted during the repair.
In any case, "Nakhimov" will serve as a stuffed animal or a carcass, but they will lead. It's just that there is no one else to be a scarecrow for the West. Maybe this West shouldn't be so scared, but that's the concept.
As for the "Peter the Great", the ship was clearly out of luck. The resource was indeed wasted on God knows what. Teachings, visits, demonstrations... Of course, we have many representatives of the sect of the need to demonstrate the Russian flag to Venezuela, Vanuatu, Papua and other old and new Guineas, but we admit that there is zero sense in this.
Approximately the same sense will be from "Peter the Great" together with "Admiral Nakhimov" in the event of a war with NATO.
Two large and even very heavy cruisers will not be able to do anything, and not to some kind of joint NATO forces, everything is getting worse.
In order to destroy the Baltic Flotilla, the German fleet and Norwegian submarines will be enough. And that's it, DCBF will cease to exist.
The remnants of the Black Sea Fleet will not be able to do anything to the Turkish frigates.
Japanese destroyers (yes, Japan is not a NATO member, but really wants the islands) will effortlessly brush off the Pacific Fleet.
All this has been calculated for a long time and more than once. The Northern Fleet will remain, but it is even more interesting with it. It will remain there, in the harbors, it is simply blocked. Yes, nuclear submarines will be able to leave and do something like that, but surface ships, alas, will not show anything to anyone. And there will be no one to show it to, NATO will not put anything in there, except for submarines.
The combat value of Project 1144 cruisers is scanty today.
If we are talking about some hypothetical operations “on distant shores”, about which some of our politicians were cheerfully talking about two or three years earlier, then for such operations, and even in the light of at least a theoretical confrontation with NATO, this requires a little more than two old, albeit nuclear, cruisers and a half-dead aircraft carrier.
How such a campaign will end, you can study in detail in history. The clash between the Orlans and the US AUG will end in the same way as the story of the battleship Yamato ended in confrontation with the American aviation, except that our ships are cramming more planes.
Today, it’s not even stupid at all, but criminal to talk about some kind of naval battles with NATO on the other side of the world. Just look at the list of combat-ready ships of the oceanic zone of the Russian Navy, and you will understand what feelings Admiral Seiichi Ito experienced when he set off on his last trip to the Yamato.
If we talk about protecting our coast and operations not against the fleets of maritime powers such as China, Japan and NATO, then huge coffins of Project 1144 are not needed for this. Well, if only, again, like floating fortresses that will divert the attention of the enemy. It is much more convenient to defend your waters with the same corvettes and frigates.
Speaking about the “Trishkin caftan” of the Russian fleet, that is, about the endlessly repaired ships inherited from the Soviet fleet, it’s really worth considering whether these huge cruisers are needed, and if needed, then why.
In our case, yes, the fleet seems to need a flagship. To remove the constantly breaking cruiser "Admiral Kuznetsov" from this role is generally a charitable matter. Poseidon would have approved, and Kuznetsov from the other world too. I would breathe a sigh of relief, looking at how this tub is being deprived of the title of the flagship of the Russian fleet. For as the flagship is, so is the entire fleet.
It's ridiculous to talk about some kind of ambition, about "protecting the interests of Russia" on distant shores with the help of a pair of old Orlans.
Therefore, the question of whether it is worth further patching up “Peter the Great” and modernizing it so that it poses a threat to someone (the question is for whom) is no longer an issue for many today.
Definitely - no. The cruiser is not needed, not needed in the first place, because in order to fulfill its main combat mission, the destruction of the US AUG, it does not have escort ships, without which they will make a sieve out of the ship.
And yes, instead of another upgrade for 200-300 (prices are rising with import substitution!) billion rubles, it makes sense to build very good modern frigates of project 22350M.
That is, if there are still these billions. They trivially may not exist. The command of the fleet will not collect donations for the repair of ships, after all ... Although this can easily happen in our country, they buy Drones and thermal imagers of anyone except army supplies?
So the story, although it seems to have received a refutation, makes one think about the fact that the headquarters can think the same way. And send the worn-out "Peter the Great" not for repairs, but for scrap. And there will be a certain sense in this, because if the Nakhimov is being repaired for another two or three years, then the Peter the Great will be brought in to replace it, until everything necessary for repair and modernization is made, until the money is allocated ...
In general, somewhere in the region of 2040, something like this can happen. But here it will be a completely different story. And whether there will be a place for such ships in it is an open question.
Information