Projected aircraft carrier of Russia
Since a couple of years ago, the Russian military announced plans to create several new modern aircraft carriers, there are a lot of rumors about this project. Let's see what is known about the future flagships of our fleet.
The decision to develop and build new aircraft carriers was announced almost exactly 2 a year ago. Of course, in such a short time, one should not expect any serious breakthroughs. The challenge for designers and scientists, builders and the military is so ambitious that its solution will take much more time. After all, the project needs to be implemented almost from scratch, starting with the formation of the appearance and concept of the future ship, the construction of suitable docks and the infrastructure necessary for servicing.
It must be remembered that, until now, the fate of all projects to create aircraft-carrying maritime formations in the USSR and Russia turned out to be unhappy. The first such proposals were heard already in the 1920-s, but so far the Russian Navy cannot boast of these powerful tools of modern warfare.
Russia enters the race almost half a century late, and therefore our designers do not intend (at least so far) to chase the Americans and try to create a colossus of a hundred thousand tons with a displacement and wing of a hundred aircraft. About a year ago, the first important figures and parameters were presented to the public.
Thus, it was said that the projected wing of the projected ship would be 60-70 vehicles, which implies the creation of a vessel with a full displacement of up to 70-75 thousand tons and a length of about 300 m. This is slightly larger than the old Soviet TAKR Admiral Kuznetsov or future English aircraft carriers of the CVF series , but, of course, not too big in comparison with the American giants. It is stated that the power plant on the future Russian aircraft carrier will be nuclear (we compared it with an alternative, gas turbine, in an article devoted to the Peter the Great TARK - read: “Peter the Sea”).
Unlike previous domestic projects, the ship will not be equipped with anti-ship missiles. rockets. It is believed that this task will be taken on by other ships in the formation. The aircraft carrier's own armament will be limited to the means Defense and ASW (anti-submarine warfare). This is a missile-artillery systems for combating aircraft "on the ground", at a distance of up to 5-6 km, and anti-aircraft guided missiles with a range of tens of kilometers. This set will be supplemented by anti-submarine torpedoes and rocket launchers. It is possible that artillery installations firing guided projectiles will also be installed on the vessel.
The new ship will also need new (or well-developed old) specialized long-range reconnaissance aircraft, communications, anti-submarine, and, of course, the main strike wing. And this moment leaves a lot of questions today. Most likely, the military is counting on the completion of the parallel work on the creation of the Russian 5 combat aircraft. At least, existing planes are unlikely to serve as a full-fledged alternative as a strike deck aircraft. It is possible that a mixed wing will be used on the aircraft carrier, including up to 30-ti heavy machines of the 5 generation and some 20-ti light fighters. Not counting, of course, additional helicopters, UAVs and auxiliary aircraft.
There is no clarity yet on the question of exactly where these ships will be built. The Baltic Plant in St. Petersburg and the shipyard of the United Shipbuilding Corporation in Severodvinsk are called as possible options. In favor of the first, the experience of creating large-capacity civilian ships and warships with a nuclear propeller, while in Severodvinsk even similar works are currently under way - the modernization of the Admiral Gorshkov TAKR for the Indian Navy.
The military promise that the first ship of the series will be laid in 2012, and will be commissioned by 2018, and it is planned to create, according to various sources, from 3 to 6 aircraft carriers of a new type.
Information