Atomic drone "Poseidon": useless superweapon

Military lovers stories remember that Nazi Germany at a certain moment was obsessed with the ideas of creating super-weapons. "Super weapon" and "Weapon retaliation "became the axial concepts of German military propaganda.

I must say that the Germans did a lot. They massively used cruise and ballistic missiles, massively and for the first time they successfully used guided air bombs to destroy surface targets, and with a rather destructive effect, they also used jet combat aircraft. It was Germany that was the first to introduce an intermediate-cartridge based assault rifle into mass production, it was the Germans who first tested anti-tank and anti-aircraft guided missiles, the first to use tank night vision devices with infrared illumination. The German submarines of the XXI series became a genuine revolution. The first photo of our planet from a mark above the "Karman line" is Germany. The canceled projects are also impressive - a suborbital rocket-bomber, an intercontinental ballistic missile ...



The Germans didn’t have enough for a nuclear weapon, if they had a bit more foresight in the late thirties, everything could have gone differently. No, they would still have been crushed, of course, but the price would have been significantly higher. They lacked a little ...

Yes, and serial weapons were made on the same canons. Take, for example, the Tigr tank - the gun could reach T-34 or KV at a distance of a couple of kilometers, armor ruled out defeat of the tank "head on" by tank and anti-tank guns at the time of its appearance with the enemy , the tank could easily move along the spring and autumn fields and roads of the Eastern Front. Yes, we had to have spare rollers and carry a set of narrow tracks. But what power! And the "Panther" did according to the same criteria.

The result, however, was not very. Yes, the Russians gave several lighter T-34s for each Tiger and Panther, and then the Americans with their Shermans experienced the same thing. But the Shermans and T-34 were too many. More than the technically sophisticated Tigers and Panthers could win in battle, more than the huge and heavy 88-mm cannons could destroy, more than the German rocket launchers could burn out of Faustpron.

The number won. The Russians made tons of steel more weapons than the Germans, the Americans, too, the military economy of the allies was much more efficient, and they also had numerical superiority. But most importantly, their commanders and fighters learned to resist the German super-weapon. Yes, the "Royal Tiger" was 180 millimeters frontal armor. But the tank guards Colonel Arkhipov "carried" the first battalion of "Royal Tigers" "dry." On the T-34. And the staff bus was taken away from the surviving Germans, as if in mockery. Human will and intelligence can level the power of any weapon.

Over-weapon doesn't work. Or almost does not work. For example, a hundred US atomic bombs in 1944 would work. And in 1962 there is none. What matters is the number and "overall average level" of troops or forces. A lot of tanks and guns, a lot of ships, a lot of planes and soldiers. A lot of ammunition. Powerful economy capable of supplying all this. Trained personnel who can use all this.

It is important. And a separate sample of super-weapon will not give anything if it does not raise the destructive power of striking an enemy by orders of magnitude, like a firearm and an atomic bomb. Such a lesson gives us the story.

No, his, this sample, can be made. But not to the detriment of what is the basis of military power.

The latest news about what was previously known as the "Status-6" nuclear submarine crewless device "Poseidon" will be put on combat duty in the number of 32-x units, for which 8 will be specially built (or upgraded for this super-torpedo, which is less likely) of submarines, makes us recall the experience of the strategists of the Third Reich who put the wrong ones on those horses wherever possible.

What good will the creation of a group of such devices give Russia? What opportunities will take? Let's think about it.

But first, a technical caveat.

"Poseidon" is small in comparison with the size of submarines. For this reason, its detection by radar methods, which were mentioned earlier, will apparently be difficult. However, if you believe information about the giant torpedo speed, then it should be recognized that its detection and relatively accurate localization will be quite possible by acoustic methods - the noise from torpedo nodes going at speed in 100 will be heard from great distances as the Poseidon approaches the arrays US SOSUS / IUSS bottom sensors, it will be possible to send anti-submarine aircraft to the intended area of ​​torpedo movement and determine its location accurately. Next comes the question of defeating the target. Admittedly, technologically, the West is already able to quickly and inexpensively create weapons for this.

For example, the European MU-90 Hard Kill, the anti-torpedo capable of hitting targets at a depth of 1000 meters, can be the basis for an anti-torpedo capable of being dropped from an aircraft on a heading course. There are other candidates for antitrust, the same American CAT (Countermeasure anti-torpedo), already tested from surface ships and also optimized for the destruction of high-speed deep-water targets (which is interesting, to the detriment of the main purpose, we will return to this). It will, of course, have to be “taught” to be applied from an airplane at first, but this is not a big problem, after all, in the USA there are single torpedoes used both from surface ships and aircraft, they are able to solve such problems. A MU-90 from the plane is quite a flies.



Naturally, the speed of the Poseidon will complicate the interception, but the basing of anti-torpedoes on an aircraft will make it possible to attack an underwater drone on a head-on course, which will allow it to be “reached”, and the huge distance to the target, which drone will have to pass, will give the Americans hundreds of attempts.

Of course, it is possible that this device will actually sneak in a small way, for example, on 10-15 nodes, in the “problem” depth zone - no more than 100 meters, near the boundaries of the “jump layer”, or, if there are several such layers, between them. Then its detection will become much more difficult - the ocean is huge, and to provide the necessary forces and means everywhere will not work. Again, just below we will see that geography also "plays" on the side of the enemy. If the “Poseidon” goes along the route at a great depth, as promised, but at low speed, then this will reduce to zero the possibility of detecting it with non-acoustic methods (by radioactive trace or by thermal radiation, or by other known methods), but it will somewhat simplify Acoustic detection, although at low speed, it will be difficult to detect it.

We will not build our conclusions in the absence of accurate information about the performance characteristics of a nuclear drone. We will further proceed from the fact that the mode of its movement provides the necessary level of secrecy, that is, in any case, this is a small move.

Now we estimate the usefulness and justification of this super-weapon.

The first. When and if the Poseidons rush off the American coast, we will all be dead. This in a sense depreciates the investment. In reality, the sense of means of deterrence, and weapons, and the armed forces is that we still remain alive, preferably in such quantity that our culture is preserved. The bet on “doomsday machines,” even from the point of view of logic, looks flawless. According to the statements of some comrades in uniform, theoretical research on such a torpedo goes almost from Soviet times, and the final "go-ahead" for the project was given immediately after the Americans left the ABM Treaty. Elementary logic demanded that those in power ask themselves two questions. First, can the Americans, with the help of their missile defense, repel the strike of our strategic missile forces? Second - under what circumstances will the answer to the first question be positive?

The answer is one and he is known - missile defense is only missile defense when the United States managed to deliver a sudden disarming nuclear strike to the Russian Federation. In another case, the missile defense does not make sense. But with a missed strike - it has, because in the opposite direction a very small number of missiles will fly.

Then, the powers that be should have thought, the Americans must be preparing such a blow to the Russian Federation - otherwise, why would they need all this?

At this moment, the only real way to solve the “American question” should have been not the cost of a new deterrent, a plus to the existing ones, but political decision to destroy the United States, and to start preparing such an operation. We will not speculate on how to do this - the Americans are planning a disarming and decapitating strike in the first round, and, for about twenty minutes, a counter-force, with the destruction of all the Strategic Missile Forces deployed on the ground, and destruction with the help of anti-submarine aviation and our submarines of our SSBNs. The last teachings on the subject known to the author took place in 2014. Probably, they are also passing now.

The problem here is that even if it is a counter-attack, against our SNF and tactical nuclear weapons, they will have to break their warheads to destroy silo at the surface of the earth, and this will cause a radioactive contamination of such strength that the attack can be equated to the consequences. And we will not care whether these drones work or not.

We, in general, can be guided by the same logic and throw all the resources on solving the same tasks: a decapitating strike to gain time, a blow to communications with SSBNs, ICGS silos, Strategic Aviation Command air bases, SSBNs naval bases, air force bases capable of covering with their aircraft areas of SSBN combat patrols and, within the next few hours, destroying SSBNs themselves. To the Americans simply do not suicide to attack in response. This is certainly not easy, and very dangerous, but not impossible.

Americans, with their equipment, by the way, something “does not work” all the time at the maneuvers - one or two Russian submarines manage to “shoot”, the mission failed. But they train, learn. We could also, if we concentrated on the main task. On the other hand, the American society is now seriously split, full of contradictions, and, perhaps, the “American question” could be solved not by a direct military strike, but somehow, by organizing some sort of “get-together” inside their country and throwing it up. fuel "to all parties to the conflict to maximize losses. One way or another, if your neighbor is a crazy cannibal, determined to kill you, when the opportunity arises, then slapping him first is your duty, and the tactics of showing him all new and new rifles and carbines stored at your home is wrong it just waits for you to turn your back on it. And it can not wait for one day in fact.

We, with our super torpedoes, act exactly the opposite.

The second. Poseidon really adds nothing to our deterrence potential. Our missiles with a preventive or retaliatory strike against the United States are fully capable of tearing their country off the face of the Earth. They will actually survive there, but after that even Mexico will be able to conquer them. What gives also super torpedo? Maybe it increases the fighting stability of the NSNF? No, it does not increase, the Americans are grazing on the outs of our bases, and they hang on the tail of the SSBN for a long time. What will also prevent them from "spudding" several Poseidon carriers? Nothing.

Our PLO forces have practically died, there are practically no underwater lighting systems (FOSS), we cannot even deploy existing submarines, several new ones will not change the situation from the word “absolutely”. It’s just that the last money will go to them, and it will be possible to solve the problem of “Poseidon” even by banal mining of the waters around the bases, against which we have no means. The SSBN, at least from the pier, can fire, and the Poseidon carrier will have to pass mines. Or to Poseidon himself.

If we do not miss the first blow from the United States, then the funds already available will allow the Americans to cause unacceptable damage. If we skip, then "Poseidons" will not solve anything - we will not, and they are not the fact that they will work. As James Mattis rightly pointed out, all these systems (Dagger, Avant-garde, Poseidon) add nothing to the Russian deterrent potential, and therefore the reaction from the United States does not require. In the latter, he was cunning, but he spoke about containment very precisely.

And really, is there a difference - a volley of one submarine in US cities, or an attack of a pack of super-torpedoes? The number of dead Americans will be comparable. The destruction, however, from the "Poseidon" will be more, but here comes the third "but."

Third. "Poseidon" quite intercepted system. Contrary to what the press claims, the search and detection of such a device is possible. If we assume that he is moving toward the goal at slow speed, then the Americans will have several days for the active part of the search and reaction operation. Even frankly, up to two weeks. If the device goes fast, then it will begin to hear sonar with all the consequences. At the same time, a significant part of the US anti-submarine forces can deploy in advance. Geographically, Russia is located so that the Poseidon can reach important cities in the United States only through narrowness or simply limited water area, which the enemy either controls now, or can take control with the beginning of the conflict - the English Channel, the Faro-Icelandic barrier, Robson Strait on the Atlantic theater; Bering Strait, the Kuril Passages, the Sangar and Tsushima Straits, the North-West Passage and a number of other narrow straits in the North-West of Canada in the Pacific. At the same time, NATO countries in the United States in the Atlantic, collectively possessing huge naval forces, and Japan in the Pacific theater, with its huge numbers and very powerful anti-submarine forces. In fact, we have only one naval base from which you can go directly into the ocean - Vilyuchinsk. But just there the Americans are conducting very intensive observation of our submarines, and to slip past them with our present state of the Navy is a serious problem.

Currently, the number of ships that can be mobilized by both the US Navy and the allies to fight the underwater threat is hundreds of units. Also, hundreds of units calculated fleet of anti-submarine aircraft, and this is a truly effective and modern aircraft with very experienced crews. The helicopter-carrying amphibious assault ships of the US, NATO, Japan and Australia fleets allow us to deploy hundreds of anti-submarine helicopters into the sea, plus those deployed on destroyers and frigates. The overlap of a few narrows by such forces is quite real. Under the conditions, when some of these places are covered with ice, it is quite possible to mine them with the help of submarines from under water, and try to intercept the drone with them, only later, with a hypothetical failure, “transferring” it to other forces. Again, this task does not look easy, but it also does not look unsolvable. Well, we must understand that some of those cities in the US, about which we say that they are “on the coast”, are really on the “specific” coast - it’s enough, for example, using the Google-card service to see how Seattle is located ( and the largest US Navy base is Kitsap there, nearby), or another naval base - Norfolk.

There it will be even easier to control the narrowness.

On the one hand, the final part of the Poseidon attack can be facilitated where the depth of the sea is sufficient to form an artificial Tsunami. Then he will jerk away from the shore. On the other hand, these places will be under the special scrutiny of the enemy, including with the possible deployment of additional bottom sensors on the ways of approaching them even in peacetime.

Thus, in order to use the Poseidon, the boat of the carrier, like the SSBN, will have to avoid the hunter boat hanging on its tail and survive the raids of the patrol aviation, then the super torpedo will have to leave them, then it will have to break through the comb anti-submarine ships and hydrophone fields in narrows, and in some cases the USA has the opportunity to resort to using low-frequency acoustic “highlight” over these fields, which makes any object under water visible, even completely silent, then erezhit many days hunting on the part of anti-aircraft may slip through minefields, and only then to the drone will be the last defense outline - PLO forces near large cities, breaking through which he will be able to fulfill its task. All this looks, to put it mildly, more complicated than launching a ballistic missile with SSBNs.

So, one wonders how the Poseidons change the military situation at sea in our favor? The fact that they can explode under AUG? But in conditions when nuclear weapons, and even high power, went into action, aircraft carriers will not be our biggest problem, to say the least. In addition, claiming that the Poseidons will heat the AUG, we must abandon the 100 fantasies on the megaton warhead and the initialization of the man-made Tsunami, because it will wash us too - the AUG will strive to be closer to the country under attack even before of war.

There is a feeling that it would be simpler and cheaper to invest in existing NSNFs, to increase the operating voltage ratio and increase the time on duty (this is not particularly difficult, since for many boats the second crews are formed, and, generally speaking, it is not clear what keeps them in the bases), and their anti-submarine and anti-mine support, in training crews of multi-purpose submarines "insuring" SSBN, in exercises for submarine torpedo firing, in modern hydroacoustic countermeasures, in new controlled torpedoes, in contrast zling aircraft and aircraft refueling for them in the interceptor squadron to protect the airspace over the areas of deployment of SSBNs, and complete modernization "Kuznetsov" and its wing, for the same.
In the end, on the Caliber missiles, so that the fleet could work them out at the locations of anti-submarine aviation identified by intelligence.

Instead of something from this list of useful things, we got a thing in ourselves. And worst of all, they are going to spend extra money on it. Thirty-two "Poseidon" is from four new nuclear submarines carrier. Inapplicable in a non-nuclear war. And as vulnerable as now, in the conditions of the collapse of the Navy, the submarines we already have are vulnerable.

The Marine Nuclear Deterrence Force is one of the pillars of our security. Unlike land-based ballistic missiles, submarines, when properly used and properly equipped by combat services, have real secrecy. The enemy, if we organize everything correctly, either will not know at all where the submarine is, or will know approximately, and definitely will not be able to approach it. In a pinch, will not be able to approach all of them and thwart a missile attack completely. The nuclear torpedo "Poseidon" does not increase the potential of the NSNF, but requires large expenditures of public money, which, frankly, no. It is precisely these funds that are probably not enough to reduce the vulnerability of our NSNF to a level at which the Americans will no longer be able to fantasize about disarming attacks on our country. But they will be squandered on Poseidons, which do not reduce this vulnerability per se, and the potential for deterrence does not increase. With all its destructive power (theoretical).

And now what are they cunning about NATO?

Actually, they knew and knew about the project for a very long time, most likely when the tactical-technical assignment for this drone was released, and maybe even earlier, when various research projects were being done on the topic. In any case, the pictures of “the future Russian unmanned nuclear submarine” in the United States were painted before 2015. And a number of parameters knew. Taking into account how many fans of the American way of life among the intelligentsia (including technical) (remember the recent “plums” in the US of information about hypersonic weapons - hopefully, the runner will die in prison in some bad way) expect something the other was very naive. And by a strange coincidence, for Western anti-torpedoes, the defeat of high-speed deep-water targets became a kind of “common place”. Given that such an anti-torpedo is not optimal for defeating “normal” torpedoes. And this is true for CAT, and for MU-90 Hard Kill. Did they agree?

No, just before Vladimir Vladimirovich announced the existence of our miracleRobot out loud, the West already knew everything, and was preparing to intercept these torpedoes. And it's cheap to catch. And this, among other things, may mean that they are really afraid of the use of these devices. This means that they consider the situation when we will launch them very likely, and in the near future. So, they are planning ... well, then think for yourself what they are planning, which will cause the mandatory launch of Poseidons in the foreseeable future. However, it really can be some kind of fatal coincidence.

How, in theory, it is necessary to properly dispose of this miracle weapon? Well, firstly, the money that has already been spent on it, can not be returned. At the same time, it must be admitted that the largest technological breakthrough has been achieved. In the correct version, you need to limit yourself to the number of Poseidon carriers that are already in place or incorporated, especially since those boats and besides the Poseidons are full of tasks of particular importance. At the same time, the drones themselves must, of course, continue to experience and bring to readiness for mass production, but not so much to build it, but in order to develop the received technologies into something useful - for example, we didn’t stop would be a compact low-noise nuclear turbogenerator for diesel submarines. The combination of such a device with a diesel-electric power plant and a lithium-ion battery would make the diesel-electric submarines more autonomous than those of the NPS, at a disproportionately lower price. Of course, such boats would not have been able to replace full-fledged nuclear, but, at least, they would no longer have to stand under the RDP and “beat the charge”, roaring at the whole ocean. This would be an important step in the development of the diesel-electric submarines. Yes, and unmanned combat vehicles with small-sized nuclear power plants - the direction is very promising. Especially armed. And the technological backlog of "Poseidon" may well be used to work on their creation.

And davanut on the United States with the help of several built prototypes is quite possible. Send the CBG to the Carbibe Sea, and it is significant to catch such a “fish” from the water, not far from Florida. The effect in some cases could be quite good - before the meeting of our president with the American one, for example. To not forget with whom he is talking.

But to build a whole fleet of such drones, and carriers for them, as well as refitting existing submarines for this super-weapon (removing them for a long time from service - and for what?) Will be a monstrous mistake. This program received funding in the most difficult years and “ate” a lot of what our Navy is now very short of — with zero, as we see, result. You can not repeat this mistake, replicating and scaling it in a shrinking budget.

Super weapons do not exist and can not be invented. Remember this phrase. I would like to hope that we will remember this history lesson and will not scatter the last money on non-military projects.

Although in the light of the current epidemic completely irrational decisions related to naval construction in the last five to six years, this hope seems very weak.