French ships of the future. Projects SMX-25 and ADVANSEA
Among all the talk about the purchase by Russia of the French Mistral-class ships, a very obvious and logical idea is very rare. Its essence is that this cooperation, among other things, indicates a fairly good development of French shipbuilding. However, for some reason, the debaters prefer not to mention it. And, admittedly, France is really not lagging behind the rating of countries building their own warships. Moreover, the Fifth Republic does not forget about promising projects. Of these works, two ships are of the greatest interest, which will be discussed now.
SMX-25: submarine frigate
In the military-technical environment, from time to time there are some bursts of activity on the basis of universalism. So, for example, the same fighter bombers appeared. But the "unifiers" did not ignore the fleet, although the first experiments were not entirely successful. The British submarine X1, which entered service in the 1925 year, had very serious weapons for its class. These were six torpedo tubes and four 132-mm guns. In 29, the French launched their “Surkuf” equipped with 12 (!) Torpedo tubes and two 203 mm caliber guns, not counting anti-aircraft “trifle”. Nevertheless, both revolutionary projects were not successful, if only because it was easier to fight surface ships with surface ships, and submarines had to work as torpedoes and not be seen by the enemy. As a result, X1 in 36-m went "to the needles", and "Surkuf" in 42-m - to the bottom. The British, even before cutting up their boat, abandoned the idea of a “combined” surface-underwater ship. The French also did not develop the concept, but only for the time being.
From the middle of the 2000, information began to appear in various sources that France intends to return to the concept of surface-submarine ships, albeit adjusted for current technologies. All this remained only rumors before the Euronaval-2010 exhibition: at it DCNS presented a model of its “hybrid”, called SMX-25. This miracle ship with a length of almost 110 meters and with an underwater displacement of about three thousand tons, according to the creators, should combine all the best qualities of surface ships and submarines. Probably, you can talk a little bit and say something like “somewhere and we have heard it before”. At the same time, it must be admitted that the declared characteristics of the ship look quite plausible. The designers claim that the new powerful gas turbine power plant with three water cannons should accelerate SMX-25 on the surface to 35-38 nodes (quite at the level of modern surface ships) and to 10 nodes in the submerged position (significantly less than in modern submarines). The promised range is 2,000 nautical miles. This year, at the exhibition LIMA-2011 were updated characteristics of the ship. Chassis remained almost the same, but the displacement has changed. Now it is about 2850 tons in the surface and 4500 t in a submerged position.
Exterior SMX-25 very, very futuristic. It combines a thin streamlined body, facilitating underwater movement and a developed superstructure. The latter houses the command post, all the necessary antennas of various systems, as well as missile launchers in the number of 16 units. According to DCNS, both anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles can be located in vertical mines - as the customer wishes. However, the specific "menu" from which you can choose the composition of weapons, has not yet been published. Most likely, the developer himself has not yet decided on him, although this may be a hint of the ship’s compatibility with all available and available types of missiles. The classic torpedoes for submarines have not been forgotten either - four torpedo tubes are provided for them in the bow.
Tactically, according to DCNS, their ship should occupy the niches of frigates and “hunter” submarines. At the same time, the SMX-25 can also be used to transport troops, even if only ten people in full gear. In this case, the ship will be forced to approach the coast at the minimum possible distance, and then once again it will come in handy for stealth for enemy radars. It is stealth that explains the specific contours of the superstructure. In addition to patrolling or attacking enemy ships, the SMX-25 can perform reconnaissance: for this, it can be used Drones. True, their exact number and available types are also not yet disclosed.
At the moment, no country has yet become interested in the project enough to enter into contracts. DCNS, in turn, from the very view of the ship to the public constantly talks about the relatively low cost of the SMX-25. First, the authors of the project say, in this ship, not some transcendental, but exclusively existing and industrialized technologies are used. Secondly, one submarine frigate will cost much less than one separate frigate and one separate submarine. As for the “applied” data declines that are usual for such universalism, DCNS with French courtesy is silent on this account. You can, of course, assume that they could say about this, but educated people are not trying to get into other people's heads.
Electric ADVANSEA
At the same Euronaval 2010 exhibition, DCNS presented another promising project called ADVANSEA (ADVanced All-electric Networked ship for SEA dominance - an advanced all-electric ship of maritime dominance). At first glance, an ordinary modern ship with a specific stealth appearance, but the most interesting is inside. The widest use in navy electrical systems have not surprised anyone for a long time. So the ship with a length of 120 meters and a displacement of 4500 tons will be powered by unsurprising electric motors. However, they will be powered not from a generator connected, for example, to a gas turbine engine, but from batteries. Most likely, these will be batteries with solid polymer electrolyte, although, until it comes to construction, the type of batteries can change. In addition, it is impossible to exclude the possibility that the batteries, even three times promising, will remove and put in their place the good old engines with generators. DCNS, it must be said, announced the approximate power consumption of the ship - about 20 megawatts. Based on this figure, batteries do not look like a very realistic option for a power plant. Unless the French will make some breakthrough in science and technology or, as promised, will use the phenomenon of superconductivity in engines.
Appearance "Edvansi", as in the SMX-25, quite futuristic, but still more familiar to the eye, although the body with a superstructure and made in the form of intersecting planes to reduce radar visibility. At least, by the appearance of ADVANSEA, we can immediately say that it is a surface ship. Not even embarrassed by the specific shape of the nose, which, according to the designers, improves driving performance and allows the ship to accelerate (according to a preliminary draft) to 28-30 units.
According to its purpose, "Edvansi" is a frigate and its weapons are appropriate. In the superstructure there are mines for missiles of various types and a small hangar shed with an elevator that will deliver them to the take-off area at the top of the superstructure. At the stern of the ship there is another large take-off platform designed for helicopters and airplanes with vertical take-off and landing, if any, of the customer. But the greatest interest is the "artillery" ADVANSEA. It is not by chance that the word is quoted: there will not be the usual barrel armament on the ship, of course, in addition to the standard weapons the crew. DCNS engineers are going to install laser systems on the Edvansi as anti-aircraft guns and machine-guns, and electromagnetic wunder-guns as long-range guns. What exactly - Gauss guns or railguns - they have not yet specified. In DCNS, they separately note that such “artillery” will allow to take on board much more projectiles, since combat electromagnetic boosters do not need powder, and therefore ammunition with the same efficiency is more compact. But lasers do not need anything other than electricity. That's just all these things require huge amounts of electricity. Whether the power plants of the ship will cope with them is a big question. Against the background of the above, the multifunctional radar, the unified weapon control system, the new EW complex and another ship’s “filling” promised by the developer are somehow lost. But all these things directly affect the practical prospects of the project. But apparently, DCNS decided to attract a potential client with fantastic things at the moment.
To achieve the planned results, the developer must solve a whole set of tasks. The DCNS themselves define them like this:
- engine. With small dimensions, it should have significant power. To achieve this, engineers plan to introduce new technologies, including those that are still found only in laboratory conditions.
- power plant. Accumulators must have an appropriate capacity and power, which becomes especially important in view of the ship’s declared armaments.
- A new management system. ADVANSEA has a radically new architecture of ship systems, which requires at least a new approach to automation and control of it. The developers of the ship believe that this will be the simplest of the tasks ahead of them.
In the context of the problems Edvansi has encountered, the author of this article considers it important to mention one more thing. In the past few years, there has been some progress in the field of shipborne laser systems. However, with rail guns and other electromagnetic things the situation is worse. The first tests of the shipborne railgun are scheduled only for the 2018 year. Will France manage to acquire their own similar weapons by the required time?
When?
With all the high degree of novelty of both projects, it is impossible not to recognize that they are of particular interest to countries wishing to possess a modern fleet, but not having the opportunity to build it themselves. However, both ADVANSEA and SMX-25 will not even be tested today or tomorrow. By adapting to existing technologies, the submarine frigate can be built by the 2015-17 year. But the first "Edvansi" with the full range of equipment, even according to the most optimistic forecasts, will be launched not earlier than the 20. DCNS themselves intend to do this in 2025. But in order to have time for this deadline, the developer will have to solve more than one task. Although, it should be noted, DCNS still has enough time to successfully cope with all the problems.
SMX-25: submarine frigate
In the military-technical environment, from time to time there are some bursts of activity on the basis of universalism. So, for example, the same fighter bombers appeared. But the "unifiers" did not ignore the fleet, although the first experiments were not entirely successful. The British submarine X1, which entered service in the 1925 year, had very serious weapons for its class. These were six torpedo tubes and four 132-mm guns. In 29, the French launched their “Surkuf” equipped with 12 (!) Torpedo tubes and two 203 mm caliber guns, not counting anti-aircraft “trifle”. Nevertheless, both revolutionary projects were not successful, if only because it was easier to fight surface ships with surface ships, and submarines had to work as torpedoes and not be seen by the enemy. As a result, X1 in 36-m went "to the needles", and "Surkuf" in 42-m - to the bottom. The British, even before cutting up their boat, abandoned the idea of a “combined” surface-underwater ship. The French also did not develop the concept, but only for the time being.
From the middle of the 2000, information began to appear in various sources that France intends to return to the concept of surface-submarine ships, albeit adjusted for current technologies. All this remained only rumors before the Euronaval-2010 exhibition: at it DCNS presented a model of its “hybrid”, called SMX-25. This miracle ship with a length of almost 110 meters and with an underwater displacement of about three thousand tons, according to the creators, should combine all the best qualities of surface ships and submarines. Probably, you can talk a little bit and say something like “somewhere and we have heard it before”. At the same time, it must be admitted that the declared characteristics of the ship look quite plausible. The designers claim that the new powerful gas turbine power plant with three water cannons should accelerate SMX-25 on the surface to 35-38 nodes (quite at the level of modern surface ships) and to 10 nodes in the submerged position (significantly less than in modern submarines). The promised range is 2,000 nautical miles. This year, at the exhibition LIMA-2011 were updated characteristics of the ship. Chassis remained almost the same, but the displacement has changed. Now it is about 2850 tons in the surface and 4500 t in a submerged position.
Exterior SMX-25 very, very futuristic. It combines a thin streamlined body, facilitating underwater movement and a developed superstructure. The latter houses the command post, all the necessary antennas of various systems, as well as missile launchers in the number of 16 units. According to DCNS, both anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles can be located in vertical mines - as the customer wishes. However, the specific "menu" from which you can choose the composition of weapons, has not yet been published. Most likely, the developer himself has not yet decided on him, although this may be a hint of the ship’s compatibility with all available and available types of missiles. The classic torpedoes for submarines have not been forgotten either - four torpedo tubes are provided for them in the bow.
Tactically, according to DCNS, their ship should occupy the niches of frigates and “hunter” submarines. At the same time, the SMX-25 can also be used to transport troops, even if only ten people in full gear. In this case, the ship will be forced to approach the coast at the minimum possible distance, and then once again it will come in handy for stealth for enemy radars. It is stealth that explains the specific contours of the superstructure. In addition to patrolling or attacking enemy ships, the SMX-25 can perform reconnaissance: for this, it can be used Drones. True, their exact number and available types are also not yet disclosed.
At the moment, no country has yet become interested in the project enough to enter into contracts. DCNS, in turn, from the very view of the ship to the public constantly talks about the relatively low cost of the SMX-25. First, the authors of the project say, in this ship, not some transcendental, but exclusively existing and industrialized technologies are used. Secondly, one submarine frigate will cost much less than one separate frigate and one separate submarine. As for the “applied” data declines that are usual for such universalism, DCNS with French courtesy is silent on this account. You can, of course, assume that they could say about this, but educated people are not trying to get into other people's heads.
Electric ADVANSEA
At the same Euronaval 2010 exhibition, DCNS presented another promising project called ADVANSEA (ADVanced All-electric Networked ship for SEA dominance - an advanced all-electric ship of maritime dominance). At first glance, an ordinary modern ship with a specific stealth appearance, but the most interesting is inside. The widest use in navy electrical systems have not surprised anyone for a long time. So the ship with a length of 120 meters and a displacement of 4500 tons will be powered by unsurprising electric motors. However, they will be powered not from a generator connected, for example, to a gas turbine engine, but from batteries. Most likely, these will be batteries with solid polymer electrolyte, although, until it comes to construction, the type of batteries can change. In addition, it is impossible to exclude the possibility that the batteries, even three times promising, will remove and put in their place the good old engines with generators. DCNS, it must be said, announced the approximate power consumption of the ship - about 20 megawatts. Based on this figure, batteries do not look like a very realistic option for a power plant. Unless the French will make some breakthrough in science and technology or, as promised, will use the phenomenon of superconductivity in engines.
Appearance "Edvansi", as in the SMX-25, quite futuristic, but still more familiar to the eye, although the body with a superstructure and made in the form of intersecting planes to reduce radar visibility. At least, by the appearance of ADVANSEA, we can immediately say that it is a surface ship. Not even embarrassed by the specific shape of the nose, which, according to the designers, improves driving performance and allows the ship to accelerate (according to a preliminary draft) to 28-30 units.
According to its purpose, "Edvansi" is a frigate and its weapons are appropriate. In the superstructure there are mines for missiles of various types and a small hangar shed with an elevator that will deliver them to the take-off area at the top of the superstructure. At the stern of the ship there is another large take-off platform designed for helicopters and airplanes with vertical take-off and landing, if any, of the customer. But the greatest interest is the "artillery" ADVANSEA. It is not by chance that the word is quoted: there will not be the usual barrel armament on the ship, of course, in addition to the standard weapons the crew. DCNS engineers are going to install laser systems on the Edvansi as anti-aircraft guns and machine-guns, and electromagnetic wunder-guns as long-range guns. What exactly - Gauss guns or railguns - they have not yet specified. In DCNS, they separately note that such “artillery” will allow to take on board much more projectiles, since combat electromagnetic boosters do not need powder, and therefore ammunition with the same efficiency is more compact. But lasers do not need anything other than electricity. That's just all these things require huge amounts of electricity. Whether the power plants of the ship will cope with them is a big question. Against the background of the above, the multifunctional radar, the unified weapon control system, the new EW complex and another ship’s “filling” promised by the developer are somehow lost. But all these things directly affect the practical prospects of the project. But apparently, DCNS decided to attract a potential client with fantastic things at the moment.
To achieve the planned results, the developer must solve a whole set of tasks. The DCNS themselves define them like this:
- engine. With small dimensions, it should have significant power. To achieve this, engineers plan to introduce new technologies, including those that are still found only in laboratory conditions.
- power plant. Accumulators must have an appropriate capacity and power, which becomes especially important in view of the ship’s declared armaments.
- A new management system. ADVANSEA has a radically new architecture of ship systems, which requires at least a new approach to automation and control of it. The developers of the ship believe that this will be the simplest of the tasks ahead of them.
In the context of the problems Edvansi has encountered, the author of this article considers it important to mention one more thing. In the past few years, there has been some progress in the field of shipborne laser systems. However, with rail guns and other electromagnetic things the situation is worse. The first tests of the shipborne railgun are scheduled only for the 2018 year. Will France manage to acquire their own similar weapons by the required time?
When?
With all the high degree of novelty of both projects, it is impossible not to recognize that they are of particular interest to countries wishing to possess a modern fleet, but not having the opportunity to build it themselves. However, both ADVANSEA and SMX-25 will not even be tested today or tomorrow. By adapting to existing technologies, the submarine frigate can be built by the 2015-17 year. But the first "Edvansi" with the full range of equipment, even according to the most optimistic forecasts, will be launched not earlier than the 20. DCNS themselves intend to do this in 2025. But in order to have time for this deadline, the developer will have to solve more than one task. Although, it should be noted, DCNS still has enough time to successfully cope with all the problems.
Information