Absurdity and amphibious landings. The next turn of the epic with the "Mistral"
Interesting flow continues News, in one way or another connected with the change of leadership of the Russian Ministry of Defense. Recent reports concern the long-suffering Russian-French contract for the purchase of two and, possibly, two more universal landing ships of the Mistral project. Over the past few years, this topic has been one of the most discussed and now a new reason for debate has appeared.
A few days ago, at a meeting of the League of Assistance to Defense Enterprises, I. Kharchenko, a member of the Military-Industrial Commission under the Government of Russia, expressed a tough and ambiguous thought. In his opinion, the purchase of new ships from France not only does not benefit the domestic the fleet, but even harms the Russian shipbuilding industry, and the decision on it is simply ridiculous. In addition, Kharchenko said that the initiative of the former Minister of Defense A. Serdyukov, according to which the contract was signed, caused damage to shipbuilding and the state as a whole, and this is not the only action with similar consequences on the part of the ex-minister. However, Kharchenko did not give up the possibility of completing the already laid down landing ships. In favor of this, he cited the fact that the cessation of construction and the termination of the contract will cost our country more than the continuation of work. So in the end, summed up the member of the military-industrial complex, the first two Mistral for the Russian Navy need to be completed, and then determine their effectiveness.
Such statements of the responsible person look, at least, ambiguous. Moreover, in the light of recent events, they have an unpleasant subtext. One gets the obsessive impression that serious accusations towards Mistral have not real bases in the form of technical or tactical problems, but a desire to support the current trend. After the change of the Minister of Defense, a real wave of various news and rumors began, one way or another connected with criticizing or canceling the decisions of the old leadership of the military department. This wave has already taken the form of a real fashion, so every new message about the cancellation of any decision by Serdyukov or his subordinates looks more like an attempt to solve their “behind-the-scenes” interests lately, and not to pay attention to the country's defense. Of course, the previous leadership of the Ministry of Defense managed to do a lot, to put it mildly, bad things. However, it is necessary to deal with these problems, as they say, with feeling, sensibly and constellation. Now, sometimes the impression is created about the real problem-balancing, and not about their solution.
History with the Mistrals, it turns out to be an example of this situation. The purchase of these ships was planned on the basis of a number of certain features of the current state of our navy. Currently, the Russian Navy has about twenty landing ships of various types and about the same number of landing craft. In general, the quantitative composition of the amphibious fleet does not cause any complaints. However, disputes over its quality have been going on for a long time. So, the most massive class of domestic amphibious ships are large amphibious assault ships (BDK). BDK various projects are used by our fleet over the past decades. At the same time, in view of the geopolitical situation, such ships were mainly exploited only during exercises. The number of military operations with their participation can be counted on the fingers. While the Soviet and then Russian sailors and marines were only preparing for possible hostilities, foreign countries actively fought in various theaters of military operations. Thus, during the Vietnam War, the US military was once again convinced of the difficulty of carrying out the landing of an amphibious assault force using ships of various classes. In addition, at the same time, the concept of over-the-horizon landing was formed, when amphibious ships did not enter the zone of visibility from the shore.
In 1976, the US Navy put into operation the first ship of the new class, created based on the experience of recent hostilities. The universal landing ship USS Tarawa (LHA-1) had the ability to simultaneously transport personnel, light and heavy armored vehicles, landing craft and helicopters. In addition, the flight deck of the ship allowed, if necessary, to transport and ensure the combat work of aircraft with vertical takeoff and landing. Thus, one ship of the Tarawa project was able to provide over-the-horizon landing of a battalion of marines and armored vehicles for it. If necessary, the means of the transported equipment could support the troops from the air. It is not difficult to guess how the combat potential of new universal amphibious ships has increased in comparison with old ships of several types at once. In the future, “in the image and likeness” of the Tarawa project in the USA and other countries, several similar UDCs were created. Currently, the most advanced representatives of this class are the American project America, the South Korean Dokto, the French Mistral and the Spanish Juan Carlos I.
As we see, abroad, the class of universal landing ships showed its capabilities and therefore almost completely supplanted other classes of ships intended for landing troops on the coast. Moreover, almost all the development of foreign amphibious ships and boats is precisely in accordance with the concept of UDC. So, landing craft on an air cushion, for example, the American LCAC, are created precisely with regard to the use at the UDC. Boats like LCAC are made to deliver armored vehicles and personnel from the ship to the shore. Due to its design, such equipment is not demanding to the depth of the coast and can land fighters on almost any beach. Thus, a whole “infrastructure” has developed around UDC, which fully suits the foreign military and is unlikely to undergo major changes in the coming years.
Admittedly, attempts to make the UDC have been undertaken in our country. In the eighties of the last century, the Nevsky Design Bureau worked out the 11780 project, which involved the creation of a universal amphibious assault ship, remotely resembling the American Tarawa. Unfortunately, the requirements of naval sailors were constantly changing, which led to the processing of the appearance of a promising ship. Finally, the difficulties with the distribution of production facilities led to the freezing of the project, and the subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union and the transfer of the Black Sea Shipyard to an independent Ukraine put an end to the entire 11780 project. These UDCs, if they were built, could transport and support X-NUMX Ka-12 helicopters or similar, as well as four landing boats of the 29 project or two hovercraft of the 1176 project.
Thus, the Soviet Union still tried to catch up and get the ships of the modern class, but still could not do it. After the collapse of the Soviet Union on the sidelines of the Ministry of Defense, the issue of creating the first Russian UDC was raised several times, but then the matter did not go further than talk. The combination of capabilities of ships of this class attracted the attention of the military, but the country was no longer able to design and build something similar. It was the absence of their projects universal landing ships was one of the main arguments in favor of the purchase of the French "Mistral". The French ships in this case were considered as a way to close the need for such equipment for the coming years, while the development and construction of their own UDC will last. Of course, if such a project will be launched.
It will take several years to develop and build our own amphibious assault ships and it is unlikely that the lead UDC of its own project will be launched before 2020 of the year. In addition, in the course of its creation, various changes in appearance and other things that are not conducive to the early completion of work are possible. In this case, the purchase of French ships will help to learn in practice all the pros and cons of this class and take appropriate measures when creating your own UDC. As for the transfer of a number of technologies and documentation for the Mistrals, this will also be useful for Russian shipbuilding. However, at the moment, due to the specific approach of the parties to the coverage of the contract, it is not entirely clear which documents were handed over to Russian shipbuilders.
It is worth paying attention to the recent words of Deputy Prime Minister D. Rogozin. In his opinion, the UDC of the Mistral project is inoperative at temperatures less than seven degrees. This statement looks rather strange and raises a lot of questions. It is known that for use in the Russian Navy, the project of the French UDC has undergone a number of improvements, among which, obviously, were aimed at improving the simplicity of equipment for work in difficult conditions typical of some regions nearby Russia. In addition, high-ranking naval commanders participated in the negotiations on the Russian-French contract at one time and they would hardly have ignored such obvious and important things.
It is noteworthy that after all the statements of Kharchenko and Rogozin, the previous picture that has developed around Mistral for Russia has not changed. As it was reported a little earlier, Russia will receive the first two UDC in accordance with the current plan, and the other two ships will be ordered a little later. Thus, the current "round" of disputes around the topic of new amphibious ships is de facto useless. His only positive feature is the opportunity to once again analyze the situation and build assumptions about further events. Meanwhile, work is underway on the construction of the ships "Vladivostok" and "Sevastopol", and it is unlikely that any disputes will be able to stop this process. The Russian Navy will still receive its first universal landing ships, even if they are of foreign manufacture.
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A few days ago, at a meeting of the League of Assistance to Defense Enterprises, I. Kharchenko, a member of the Military-Industrial Commission under the Government of Russia, expressed a tough and ambiguous thought. In his opinion, the purchase of new ships from France not only does not benefit the domestic the fleet, but even harms the Russian shipbuilding industry, and the decision on it is simply ridiculous. In addition, Kharchenko said that the initiative of the former Minister of Defense A. Serdyukov, according to which the contract was signed, caused damage to shipbuilding and the state as a whole, and this is not the only action with similar consequences on the part of the ex-minister. However, Kharchenko did not give up the possibility of completing the already laid down landing ships. In favor of this, he cited the fact that the cessation of construction and the termination of the contract will cost our country more than the continuation of work. So in the end, summed up the member of the military-industrial complex, the first two Mistral for the Russian Navy need to be completed, and then determine their effectiveness.
Such statements of the responsible person look, at least, ambiguous. Moreover, in the light of recent events, they have an unpleasant subtext. One gets the obsessive impression that serious accusations towards Mistral have not real bases in the form of technical or tactical problems, but a desire to support the current trend. After the change of the Minister of Defense, a real wave of various news and rumors began, one way or another connected with criticizing or canceling the decisions of the old leadership of the military department. This wave has already taken the form of a real fashion, so every new message about the cancellation of any decision by Serdyukov or his subordinates looks more like an attempt to solve their “behind-the-scenes” interests lately, and not to pay attention to the country's defense. Of course, the previous leadership of the Ministry of Defense managed to do a lot, to put it mildly, bad things. However, it is necessary to deal with these problems, as they say, with feeling, sensibly and constellation. Now, sometimes the impression is created about the real problem-balancing, and not about their solution.
History with the Mistrals, it turns out to be an example of this situation. The purchase of these ships was planned on the basis of a number of certain features of the current state of our navy. Currently, the Russian Navy has about twenty landing ships of various types and about the same number of landing craft. In general, the quantitative composition of the amphibious fleet does not cause any complaints. However, disputes over its quality have been going on for a long time. So, the most massive class of domestic amphibious ships are large amphibious assault ships (BDK). BDK various projects are used by our fleet over the past decades. At the same time, in view of the geopolitical situation, such ships were mainly exploited only during exercises. The number of military operations with their participation can be counted on the fingers. While the Soviet and then Russian sailors and marines were only preparing for possible hostilities, foreign countries actively fought in various theaters of military operations. Thus, during the Vietnam War, the US military was once again convinced of the difficulty of carrying out the landing of an amphibious assault force using ships of various classes. In addition, at the same time, the concept of over-the-horizon landing was formed, when amphibious ships did not enter the zone of visibility from the shore.
USS Tarawa (LHA-1)
In 1976, the US Navy put into operation the first ship of the new class, created based on the experience of recent hostilities. The universal landing ship USS Tarawa (LHA-1) had the ability to simultaneously transport personnel, light and heavy armored vehicles, landing craft and helicopters. In addition, the flight deck of the ship allowed, if necessary, to transport and ensure the combat work of aircraft with vertical takeoff and landing. Thus, one ship of the Tarawa project was able to provide over-the-horizon landing of a battalion of marines and armored vehicles for it. If necessary, the means of the transported equipment could support the troops from the air. It is not difficult to guess how the combat potential of new universal amphibious ships has increased in comparison with old ships of several types at once. In the future, “in the image and likeness” of the Tarawa project in the USA and other countries, several similar UDCs were created. Currently, the most advanced representatives of this class are the American project America, the South Korean Dokto, the French Mistral and the Spanish Juan Carlos I.
Universal landing ship LHA 6 America, launched on the company Ingalls Shipbuilding. In the background is the LPD 24 Arlington-type San Antonio LPD XDUMX docking shipyard that is being completed at the shipyard. Pascagula, 05.06.2012 (c) Ingalls Shipbuilding
South Korean UDC Dokto
Spanish UDC Juan Carlos I
As we see, abroad, the class of universal landing ships showed its capabilities and therefore almost completely supplanted other classes of ships intended for landing troops on the coast. Moreover, almost all the development of foreign amphibious ships and boats is precisely in accordance with the concept of UDC. So, landing craft on an air cushion, for example, the American LCAC, are created precisely with regard to the use at the UDC. Boats like LCAC are made to deliver armored vehicles and personnel from the ship to the shore. Due to its design, such equipment is not demanding to the depth of the coast and can land fighters on almost any beach. Thus, a whole “infrastructure” has developed around UDC, which fully suits the foreign military and is unlikely to undergo major changes in the coming years.
LCAC
Admittedly, attempts to make the UDC have been undertaken in our country. In the eighties of the last century, the Nevsky Design Bureau worked out the 11780 project, which involved the creation of a universal amphibious assault ship, remotely resembling the American Tarawa. Unfortunately, the requirements of naval sailors were constantly changing, which led to the processing of the appearance of a promising ship. Finally, the difficulties with the distribution of production facilities led to the freezing of the project, and the subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union and the transfer of the Black Sea Shipyard to an independent Ukraine put an end to the entire 11780 project. These UDCs, if they were built, could transport and support X-NUMX Ka-12 helicopters or similar, as well as four landing boats of the 29 project or two hovercraft of the 1176 project.
Model UDC project 11780
Thus, the Soviet Union still tried to catch up and get the ships of the modern class, but still could not do it. After the collapse of the Soviet Union on the sidelines of the Ministry of Defense, the issue of creating the first Russian UDC was raised several times, but then the matter did not go further than talk. The combination of capabilities of ships of this class attracted the attention of the military, but the country was no longer able to design and build something similar. It was the absence of their projects universal landing ships was one of the main arguments in favor of the purchase of the French "Mistral". The French ships in this case were considered as a way to close the need for such equipment for the coming years, while the development and construction of their own UDC will last. Of course, if such a project will be launched.
It will take several years to develop and build our own amphibious assault ships and it is unlikely that the lead UDC of its own project will be launched before 2020 of the year. In addition, in the course of its creation, various changes in appearance and other things that are not conducive to the early completion of work are possible. In this case, the purchase of French ships will help to learn in practice all the pros and cons of this class and take appropriate measures when creating your own UDC. As for the transfer of a number of technologies and documentation for the Mistrals, this will also be useful for Russian shipbuilding. However, at the moment, due to the specific approach of the parties to the coverage of the contract, it is not entirely clear which documents were handed over to Russian shipbuilders.
UDC of the Mistral project
It is worth paying attention to the recent words of Deputy Prime Minister D. Rogozin. In his opinion, the UDC of the Mistral project is inoperative at temperatures less than seven degrees. This statement looks rather strange and raises a lot of questions. It is known that for use in the Russian Navy, the project of the French UDC has undergone a number of improvements, among which, obviously, were aimed at improving the simplicity of equipment for work in difficult conditions typical of some regions nearby Russia. In addition, high-ranking naval commanders participated in the negotiations on the Russian-French contract at one time and they would hardly have ignored such obvious and important things.
It is noteworthy that after all the statements of Kharchenko and Rogozin, the previous picture that has developed around Mistral for Russia has not changed. As it was reported a little earlier, Russia will receive the first two UDC in accordance with the current plan, and the other two ships will be ordered a little later. Thus, the current "round" of disputes around the topic of new amphibious ships is de facto useless. His only positive feature is the opportunity to once again analyze the situation and build assumptions about further events. Meanwhile, work is underway on the construction of the ships "Vladivostok" and "Sevastopol", and it is unlikely that any disputes will be able to stop this process. The Russian Navy will still receive its first universal landing ships, even if they are of foreign manufacture.
http://ria.ru/
http://rg.ru/
http://lenta.ru/
http://arms-expo.ru/
http://globalsecurity.org/
http://navy.mil/
http://bmpd.livejournal.com/
http://twower.livejournal.com/
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