A strange turn of events for the Sarychi
Just like in a fairy tale, in a distant and now non-existent country, there once lived the "Sarych" destroyers. The Project 956 "Sarych" destroyers are a series of Soviet first-class destroyers with a guided missile. rocket Long-range maritime and ocean-going weapons. The last of the destroyer-class ships developed and implemented in the USSR.
They were built with an eye toward countering long-range maritime and oceanic combat, primarily against the US Navy's Spruance-class destroyers. In the 80s, this was NATO's primary destroyer, a remarkable ship, though not without its flaws, the main one being poor seakeeping and increased roll and flooding due to its narrow hull. In this regard, the Sarych-class destroyers were far superior to the Americans.
But in other respects, the Americans were perhaps more interesting. The Spruance's gas turbine power plant was a cut above the Sarych's boiler-turbine power plant. It was more compact, weighed less, was easier to maintain and repair, and had increased survivability in the face of shocks and combat damage. Furthermore, the Spruance's gas turbines reached full power from cold in just 12 minutes, while the Sarych's boilers required at least an hour and a half.
In terms of armament, the ships were ambiguous: the Sarych was superior to the Spruance in artillery (2x2x130mm versus 2x1x127mm), there was parity in anti-ship armament (8 Moskit versus 8 Harpoon), but the American ship had stronger anti-submarine weapons: 2 SH-60 helicopters versus one Ka-27, a more powerful AN/SQS-53 sonar, and an ASROC guided anti-submarine system. The Project 956 destroyers have a crew of 50 more than the Spruance-class destroyers.
And when the Spruences were upgraded with Mk-41 vertical launch systems, designed to carry Tomahawk cruise missiles, the Spruences gained an advantage, becoming truly more powerful and versatile ships.
And then they were replaced by the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, which were much more effective in every way than the previous generation of destroyers.
But it wasn't the emergence of new, more powerful opponents that killed the Sarychi.
The collapse of the USSR led to a sharp, more than 20-fold reduction in state orders for the Navy, including both the construction of new ships and the comprehensive repair of ships already in service. fleet.
Underfunding became the main enemy of warships, which ceased to exist due to a lack of funds. The Sarychs were no exception: construction of new destroyers was halted, only those already laid down were completed, and routine and mid-life repairs of those already built were either delayed or not carried out at all.
This resulted in most Project 956 Sarych destroyers being in service for less than ten years, despite their intended service life exceeding twenty. The record-holder was the destroyer Stoikiy, which served for five years, but her sister ships were not far behind. Okrylennyy served for six years, Bezuderzhnyy and Osmotritelnyy for seven, Bezuprechnyy, Gremyashchy, and Rastoropnyy for eight, and Boyevoy and Bezboyaznennyy for nine.
As a result, by 2002, of the seventeen destroyers built for the Soviet and Russian navies, only five were actually in service: Boyevoy, Burny, Bespokoyny, Nastoychivy, and Besstrashny. Today, only one Sarych-class destroyer remains in service—Nastoychivy—in the Baltic.
Three comrades are on their way to the cutting room:
The Admiral Ushakov was decommissioned in December last year, just three years after its overhaul was scheduled to be completed in 2022.
"Bystry" was sent to the reserves in 2021 and his return from there looks doubtful.
In 2013, the Burny was sent for repairs, which were stopped in 2023, and, apparently, this unfinished repair will lead to the scrap yard.
The boiler-turbine power plant is to blame for this dismal outcome. The main problem is that at the Kirov-Energomash plant in St. Petersburg, where the GTZAs were manufactured, turbine blade production has long since ceased, and there are no specialists left.
And that's basically it story The production of Soviet/Russian Sarych-class destroyers has ended. But not Project 956 ships at all.
In the book "The Soviet Superdestroyer of the Third Generation" by S.I. Ovsyannikov and V.I. Sviridopulo there are the following lines:
"Despite the fact that by 2010, Project 956 destroyers, when compared to new fourth-generation ships, were undoubtedly outdated, the project's excellent modernization capabilities make it possible to give it the combat qualities required in the new conditions by replacing outdated naval weapons systems with more modern ones."
New conditions have arrived for the Sarychi, it’s just a pity that they’re not here
Photos have arrived from China of the Project 956EM destroyer Taizhou, which has undergone extensive modernization.
At one time, China ordered two Project 956E ships from the USSR. They were laid down in 1988 and 1989, respectively, and entered service with the PLA Navy in 1999 (Hangzhou) and 2000 (Fuzhou). This protracted construction was due to the cataclysms that began in the Soviet Union, but China nevertheless received the ships and found them to be very useful. In 2002, two more ships of the modernized Project 956EM were laid down by order of the PRC.
It should be noted that this time construction proceeded much faster, and in 2005 the Taizhou entered service, and in 2006 the Ningbo.
Judging by all the calculations, these ships can already be decommissioned after 20 years, as their service life has already expired. However, China takes a slightly different view and is in no rush to decommission the ships.
This is interesting, but it turns out that the ancient boiler-turbine installation of the destroyers is not at all a hindrance for long-term operation by Chinese sailors and, after 20 years, is in a completely functional condition.
It's truly thought-provoking, especially when you look at all the upgrades the ship has undergone.
1. Instead of two quadruple launchers of the Moskit anti-ship missile, the Taizhou received two quadruple launchers of the Chinese YJ-12 anti-ship missile. The P-270 Moskit, of course, is quite effective even today. weapon, but it originates from the 70s—the "golden age" of weapons development. The YJ-12 is only 30 years younger and likely somewhat more effective.
2. Instead of the Shtil air defense missile system with a beam launcher, the ship was equipped with a Chinese HHQ-16 naval air defense missile system with H/AKJ-16 vertical launchers, with a total of 48 cells for HQ-16 medium-range anti-aircraft guided missiles and Yu-8 anti-submarine guided missiles.
The Shtil is a Buk missile system without its own radar, operating from shipborne radars. In our case, it has a single-boom missile launch system and a 12-missile ammunition load. A Project 956 ship can carry three launchers with a total of 36 missiles. In this day and age, that's frankly not enough.
The HQ-16 air defense system is equipped with four MR090 passive phased array radars. The missiles are housed in a 32-cell launcher rather than magazines, significantly increasing the rate of fire. The HQ-16 was developed based on the Shtil system and incorporated technology from the latest Buk air defense system modifications, making it a modern and predictably effective system.
3. Instead of two Kashtan air defense missile systems, two 11-barrel Chinese H/PJ-11 air defense missile systems were installed, as well as a 24-round launcher, which should have been from the modernized HQ-10A self-defense air defense system.
A perfectly logical replacement. The Kortik ("Kashtan" is the export name) is, again, from the 70s. The Kortik SAM system was deemed ineffective due to its heavy weight and size, and the fact that in practice, it was unable to finish off enemy anti-ship missiles damaged by its own missiles with automatic fire. Its heavy weight ultimately prevented it from being used in most cases in place of the AK-630M SAM system, and its electronic equipment was incompatible with more modern systems like the Redut.
The H/PJ-11 ZAK operates from its own radar, and although the effective range is somewhat closer than that of the Kashtan (approximately 1,000 meters), the more modern system has advantages.
The HQ-10A is one of the latest developments from the Shanghai Academy of Space Technology. It's a short-range air defense system with a range of up to 10 km. Its guidance system is reportedly an advanced infrared (IIR)-guided matrix seeker. However, the missile's front end features a pair of horn-like protrusions, which may indicate the presence of passive radar or semi-active radar seekers.
The launcher can be adapted to accommodate any number of missiles. Various configurations are possible: 8, 15, 18, and 24 missiles, which can be deployed on different warships depending on their size and purpose.
The PJ-11 + HQ-10A pair definitely looks more effective than the rather heavy and bulky Kashtan.
4. To top it all off, the ship received four 24-round launchers of the H/RJZ-726-4A jamming system.
5. In the “small details” category, the Soviet 533mm torpedo tubes were replaced with Chinese triple-tube 324mm anti-submarine torpedo tubes.
And three helicopters instead of one.
In general, the original set of weapons included 130-mm AK-130 artillery mounts.
In other words, we can say that 95% of the destroyer's armament has been replaced. Frankly, the 130mm guns' effectiveness is more than questionable these days, as they have virtually no targets left. Anything at a decent distance is easier to engage with missiles, and it's safer for the ship, but at close range, where unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) pose the main threat, the caliber is, to put it mildly, inadequate.
And here's where things get confusing. China is building ships today, to put it mildly, at a staggering pace. State-of-the-art. They're the envy of some, the hatred of others. The 052 is quite modern, while the 055 has nothing like it anywhere else in the world.
Against this backdrop, this modernization, the cost of which, naturally, in keeping with the neighboring countries, is not disclosed, appears quite peculiar. For starters, this massive amount of work will also require replacing a huge amount of electronic equipment to control the new weapons and interface them with the remaining old ones.
If China were waging a war, that would be understandable. If there was a problem with the availability of warships, even more so. But China has the most dynamically developing navy in the world, so that's not the issue.
How strange that our Sarych-class submarines, laid down at the same time as the ships for China, although built not in 10-11 years but in 3-4, are already in the dustbin of history or on their way there. They are beyond repair, with completely obsolete boiler-turbine propulsion systems, having exhausted their service life.
At the same time, the PLA Navy of the People's Liberation Army of China, operating almost sixty destroyers, is in no hurry to send four "old" Sarych destroyers to the scrap heap, arranging for them a more than serious modernization.
Stupidity?
If there's one thing our neighbors haven't been known for, it's stupidity of this kind. It's stupid to spend six years repairing a ship and then decommission it three years after the repairs are complete. That's stupid because either you don't decommission a freshly repaired ship, or you undertake a repair that leaves the ship in a state of disrepair.
A very strange and poorly understood story. Of course, it will be interesting to follow the further exploitation of the Soviet/Russian Sarych-class ships in the PLA Navy, because there are more questions than answers, and only the continued use of these ships can provide the answers.
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