Metamorphosis "Fearless"
In early September, this sensational news circled the English-language publications, as well as electronic media. And, in general, she deserved to draw attention to herself. This is a concept project of the future warship - Dreadnought 2050 (Т2050), the presentation of which was arranged by the research group Startpoint with the support of the British Department of Defense. The appearance of such a ship in the Royal Navy is expected, as you might guess, by 2050 year.
Obviously, the project developers deliberately called their brainchild Dreadnought (“Fearless”). The same name bore the battleship, replenished the Royal Navy in 1906 year. Its creation had a great influence on the military shipbuilding of all the leading powers at the beginning of the 20th century.
The battleship Dreadnought is the sixth of seven British ships that bore this name. His appearance is largely due to the Tsushima battle. British naval experts formed a special commission headed by First Sea Lord John Fisher and carefully studied the course and results of this battle. They concluded that medium-caliber artillery (152-254-mm), especially with centralized targeting of guns, is not necessary for battleships. Fisher even formulated a categorical principle: "The biggest big gun and the smallest small gun" ("The largest of the large-caliber guns and the smallest of the small-caliber"). The last caliber 75-130 mm then called "mine", that is, they were intended to repel the attacks of enemy destroyers.
The authors of the project battleship Dreadnought managed to fully comply with the principle of all-big-gun.
New ships, in the opinion of John Fisher and his associates, should have also had an enhanced reservation, covering the entire board, and reliable anti-torpedo protection. The British innovators were completely dissatisfied with the speed of the existing battleships. That is why instead of reciprocating steam engines, they proposed the use of turbine power plants.
All these ideas were put into practice by an old friend of the sea lord - shipbuilder Philip Watts. The sixth Dreadnought was built surprisingly quickly. It was laid on the Portsmouth Shipyard Portmouth Dockyard 2 in October 1905, launched the 10 in February 1906 in the year and put into operation the 3 in October of the same year, that is, it all took a year and one day. The ship with a total displacement of 20730 t and a length of 160,74 m developed the 21-nodal stroke, which allowed to reach four Parsons turbines, working on four lines of propeller shafts. The board defended the entire length of the armor thickness 179-279 mm. Due to the increase in the height of the freeboard, the Fearless had high seaworthiness. And by increasing the height of transverse watertight bulkheads above the constructive waterline and the autonomy of all compartments equipped with individual drainage devices, a high survivability of the ship was achieved. His weapons complied with the principle of "all-big-gun" ("only big guns"). The battleship carried five twin 305-mm Mark X guns, four of which could fire on one side, and twenty-seven 76-mm anti-mine guns.
Battleship Dreadnought in the sea.
The Dreadnought characteristics were so superior to the tactical and technical elements of all the other large battleships that after the appearance of the "Intrepid" new ships, built in his image and likeness, were called "dreadnoughts." The last in their row were the British Vanguard, withdrawn from the Royal Navy in 1960, and the American Iowa, decommissioned in the 2012 year.
Dreadnought itself was morally obsolete (so quickly did scientific and technical progress in military affairs) even before the outbreak of World War I, although during its course it was the flagship of the fourth battleship of battleships based on Scapa Flow. He was not able to participate in artillery duels with the German Dreadnoughts. And yet, on account of the sixth Fearless, there is a real battle victory. 18 March 1915 g. He rammed and sank the German submarine U-29, commanded by the famous Otto Weddigen, who sank the 22 September 1914, three English cruisers Aboukir, Hogue and Cressy.
Concept project of the XXII century frigate 22CF.
Despite this "anti-submarine" success, submarines, aircraft carriers, as well as ships equipped with rocket weapons, after the Second World War pushed dreadnoughts out of the seas and oceans. And now the time has come for the successor. But before we get closer to him, note that the Dreadnought 2050 has a much closer prototype.
Dreadnought 2050, view from the nose.
I did not even have time to begin the XXI century, when the British Ministry of Defense was concerned about the question: what should be the warship of the XXII century? The answer to this question was to indicate the directions of development of naval technologies for the near and far perspective.
Under the auspices of the military department of the United Kingdom, the efforts of a number of designers and engineers of leading British military-industrial companies were combined into the Naval Design Partnering team (NDP). They were tasked to develop the concept of a frigate of the beginning of the XXII century (22nd Century Frigate - 22CF), which could operate in any water area of the World Ocean to combat surface, air, underwater and coastal objectives. At 22CF, Richard Scott, project manager Simon Knight, told naval columnist for Jane's Naval International in 2010, had to find the embodiment of “the most advanced innovative dreams.” According to Simon Knight, the research was conducted in several main areas: materials of the hull and superstructure, sensors and communications, weapons, power plant and propulsion.
As a result, a concept-project of a stealth frigate of a trimaran type made of composites of 128 length, m, with outrigers collapsing inboard and “supporting” the main body, appeared, which improves the ship’s navigational qualities. The nasal extremity is “cutting the wave,” that is, the ploughfish, like on the American destroyer Zumwalt. This design reduces the wave resistance. High-speed automated controls are implemented on 22CF. Therefore, its main crew consists of only four people - the commander and three watch officers. Residential premises - a large volume. The main command post is under the upper deck in the midship area. On board the frigate can additionally be kneaded up to 23 people. They are designed to serve interchangeable weapons systems. However, what they mean by the details is not specified. Another 50 man - special forces soldiers or specialists designed to participate in humanitarian missions. Estimated autonomy 22CF - 150 day.
In the nose of the Dreadnought 2050 - electromagnetic gun with a firing range of more than 200 km.
On the walls of the superstructure - solar panels. They are designed to power general ship consumers. The blades of RIM jet propulsion units, which were created for use on destroyers of the Zumwalt type, also generate electricity in the generating mode due to the oncoming sea waves and oscillatory movements caused by rolling. As a propulsion for the economic course (up to 12 nodes), it is possible to use a sail-kite, which has already been tested on civilian ships.
In the traveling position, the quadrocopter is mounted on a low mast, crowning the superstructure.
The armament of the XXII century frigate, as proposed by the NDP team, should include an electromagnetic gun, directional energy systems (lasers and microwave weapons), supercavitating torpedoes (like the Russian "Squall") and submarines, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), crewless boats ( BEC) and uninhabited underwater vehicles (NPA) for various purposes, including mine. The runway for the UAV is supposed to be placed in the bow of the ship - before the superstructure. At the time when the runway is not in use, it is “shuttered” by an awning absorbing radar beams, which creates a protected volume from detection of aircraft maintenance. In the aft part of the frigate there is a “garage” and devices for quick launching and lifting BEC and NPA from it.
Of course, the NDP team paid much attention to the electronic equipment of the ship of the XXII century. High-performance systems for displaying the situation on the sea, on the nearest shores, in the air, and even in outer space are linked into a complex command and control system. Single “windows” for wide-aperture communication antennas and detection aids, multifunctional displays provide high situational awareness of the crew. A large satellite antenna is located at the top of the superstructure, and conformal communication antennas are located along the hull above the waterline.
The maximum 25-nodal stroke is provided by an electric power plant. Provides for a complete rejection of the use of organic or synthetic fuels. Electrochemical generators (ECH) powered by hydrogen or methanol will give energy.
The quadcopter for long-range target detection and the reflection of enemy missiles with laser weapons rises into the sky.
Here it should be noted that advanced technologies that are supposed to be implemented on 22CF either already exist or are at different stages of development. For the most part they are realizable. But their “docking”, of course, is very difficult and even problematic. A particularly difficult problem is related to energy sources. In the future, ECGs will be able to provide electric motors with the necessary power for the development of the 25 node node. But electromagnetic guns and weapons of directed energy in the literal sense of the word "devour energy", and the power of electrochemical generators for them is clearly not enough. That is why the NDP team does not exclude the possibility of using a nuclear power plant on the 22CF frigate. But then it will be a completely different ship, both in terms of size and cost. Its displacement will increase significantly, and operating costs will increase.
Runway with a UAV.
That is, the problem of energy supply has become for the 22CF developers the Achilles heel - practically insoluble. Anyway, bye.
And then a concept project called T2050 appeared, which for a more successful promotion was given the high-image name Dreadnought 2050. As we will see, he borrowed a lot from 22CF, but it also has significant differences.
Why is it now introduced to the general public? Anti-Russian hysteria in the spirit of the Cold War is gaining momentum in the United Kingdom every day. "Moscow from the sea threatens Great Britain!" That is why this is the most convenient time for knocking out new financial resources for military development. "Britain, although it has not ruled the seas for a long time, is capable of protecting itself from sea directions." This is approximately the logic of those who began to promote the Dreadnought 2050 project. But this is only one side of the propaganda campaign around the promising ship. Another is that, as we have already noted, specialists from several leading British military-industrial companies were involved in the 22CF work. And there they decided that there was nothing to wait for the end of the current century in order to proceed with the creation of the ship of the XXII century. They decided to speed up the process. Finally, one cannot fail to mention one more circumstance. “We want to attract the best young talents for the development and development of promising systems,” said Commander Steve Prest, who is responsible for the Royal navy for the development of robotics - so that they can find satisfaction in their ambitions. " This is undoubtedly the right approach when creating combat vehicles of the future.
Dock Camera for Launching and Receiving NLA and BEC.
Dreadnought 2050 - trimaran. Its length is 155 m, that is, 27 m is longer than that of 22CF, width is 37 m, and the maximum speed is 50 nodes, twice as large as that of 22CF. The creators of the mid-21st century ship project carefully avoid the power plant, although they are talking about an electric propulsion system based on electrochemical generators. Electric propulsion is also on American destroyers such as Zumwalt and English type 45. But the source of energy for them is organic-powered gas turbines, which is contrary to the concept of the Dreadnought 2050. It is alleged that he will have an unlimited cruising range, and this means that an atomic power plant is foreseen for him. In some publications, this is directly indicated. Therefore, it is hard to believe the words of the representative of the Startpoint company, Muir MacDonald, that the price of the future super ship will be lower than the frigates currently under construction.
"Operating room" Dreadnought 2050.
The Dreadnought 2050 case will be made of acrylic. The body of the underwater vehicle C-Explorer 3, designed and built by a Dutch company, is made of the same material.
U-Boat Worx, where President Vladimir Putin did not dive into the 82-meter depth in Balaklava Bay. In Dreadnought 2050, to improve low visibility, it will still be coated with graphene.
In the arsenal of the ship appear electromagnetic gun with a firing range of more than 200 km, supercavitation torpedoes with a submerged speed of 300 nodes, laser guns and hypersonic missiles. The highlight of this arsenal is a tethered quadrocopter, which not only allows you to expand the view of the surrounding space and direct weapons to long-range targets, but also is the carrier of a laser weapon designed to destroy enemy attacking missiles. A cable made of carbon nanotubes supplies power to the quadrocopters for sensors and a laser. In the stowed position, the device is mounted on a low mast, crowning the superstructure.
Newspaper The Daily Mail published the layout of weapons and other systems on Dreadnought 2050:
1) electromagnetic instrument; 2) launchers for shooting supercavitating torpedoes; 3) hypersonic missile launchers and directional energy combat systems; 4) deck and hangar for UAVs; 5) thermonuclear reactor or low-noise turbines to provide current to electric motors and jet propulsion; 6) dock for NLA and BEC; 7) graphene-coated acrylic case; 8) quadcopter with laser weapons; 9) "operating room" with 3D holographic center.
1) electromagnetic instrument; 2) launchers for shooting supercavitating torpedoes; 3) hypersonic missile launchers and directional energy combat systems; 4) deck and hangar for UAVs; 5) thermonuclear reactor or low-noise turbines to provide current to electric motors and jet propulsion; 6) dock for NLA and BEC; 7) graphene-coated acrylic case; 8) quadcopter with laser weapons; 9) "operating room" with 3D holographic center.
The runway and hangar, located not in the bow, but in the stern, allow you to receive and place a manned medium-class helicopter. But mainly a variety of UAVs will be used. New ones if needed Drones can be made directly on board the ship using 3D printers.
In the aft part there is a “moon pool” (moon pool) - a docking chamber for launching and receiving NPA and BEC, as well as boats of the landing party. There is also a room for the preparation and equipment of these devices.
The key element of the Dreadnought 2050 is the “operating room” (operations or “Ops” room), that is, a command post from which five people can control the entire ship and its combat assets. Its main component is the 3D holographic center of lighting, communications and command. With it, you can monitor what is happening at sea, on the coast, in the air and under water thousands of miles from the ship, the information on which comes not only from its own sensors, but also from numerous external sources. The holographic center is built on the principle of the new-fashioned Google Glass gadget, in which information is reflected on a transparent display, made in the form of glasses, and for controlling which there is enough voice.
Crew Dreadnought 2050, depending on the tasks performed - from 50 to 100 people. And the range of these tasks, as we have seen, is very wide. Compared to this ship, the 26 type frigates, the head of which is planned to be laid for the Royal Navy next year, look, to put it mildly, obsolete galoshes.
But for now Dreadnought 2050 is a crane in the sky and even a “naked king”. If you look through newspapers and magazines over the past century and a half, then you can find in them a lot of projects of futuristic ships, stunning the imagination, but which have never been built. It is impossible not to draw attention to the fact that the famous battleship Dreadnought, created by the team of John Fisher, had a clear and distinct ideology. He was supposed to be the strongest of all, armed with the guns of the main caliber, compared with his rivals more reliable booking and anti-torpedo protection, as well as high speed. Both the frigate 22CF and Dreadnought 2050 are still a collection of promising technologies, often unrelated to the unity of purpose.
And nevertheless, the technological initiatives of the British military department and military-industrial companies cannot be treated as a waste. A number of innovations proposed by them will certainly be realized sooner or later. Therefore, we should not brush off global trends in order to keep up with our western “partners” in technological development.
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