The photo shows the US Navy Carrier Strike Group, on this moment it is the most efficient in the world, after nuclear weapons, a tool of intimidation. Once, while still the US Secretary of Defense, Leon Edward Panetta, said: "Any fifth grader knows that the US AUG cannot be destroyed by any of the existing powers of the world"
Wait! But what about Russia! Personally, I have always been told that Russian army can deal with the US Navy - somehow, but it can. More advanced in this matter stated: well, with the whole fleet, maybe not, it’s even possible that we won’t overcome an aircraft carrier formation, but we can definitely send one AUG to the bottom. Well, very few still agreed with the Americans in their bravado.
By the way, a photo of a part of an aircraft carrier formation:
Let's look into this issue (it's interesting, really).
I must say right away that I will not overload the post with numbers and transfers, it will be possible to get all the data and performance characteristics from different sources. I won't go into detail either. Those. I count on some erudition of visitors in this matter, the rest, if something is not clear in the names or terms, can freely draw definitions through a search engine.
Begin:
A typical US AUG is a grouping consisting of:
The flagship aircraft-carrying ship of the Nimitz-type (or Enterprise)-type nuclear power plant with a carrier-based aviation regiment (60-80 aircraft) based on it. As usual, an aircraft carrier, as well as a grouping carrier-based aviation regiment, are separate military units of naval aviation and are under the command of naval aviation officers with the rank of captain of the first rank (U.S. Naval aviation Captain).
The air defense division of the grouping is 1-2 KR URO of the Ticonderoga type. The basic armament complex of the missile cruiser division includes the Standard (SM-2, SM-3) SAM launcher and the sea-based Tomahawk missile launcher. ). Each of the cruisers of the division is under the command of a US Navy officer with the rank of captain of the first rank (U.S. Navy Captain).
PLO division of the group - 3-4 EM URO of the Arleigh Burke type with depth charges and torpedoes to combat submarines, as well as (part of the ships) with Tomahawk missile launchers on board. The PLO division commander is a Navy officer with the rank of captain of the first rank (U.S. Navy Captain), while each of the destroyers of the division is under the command of a US Navy officer with the rank of captain of the second rank (U.S. Navy Сommander).
Division of multi-purpose submarines - 1-2 submarines of the Los Angeles type with torpedo armament and Tomahawk cruise missiles (launched through TA boats) on board with the tasks of both anti-aircraft grouping and strikes against coastal (surface) targets.
Supply Vessel Division - 1-2 Supply transports, ammunition transports, tankers, other auxiliary ships
FMS Naval Aviation - up to 60 aircraft of the US Navy aviation, combined into strike AE, AE AWACS, AE PLO, AE MTS, etc. The FMS of the Navy is a separate military unit of the US Navy aviation. The Naval Aviation Administration, as well as the AVMA, is under the command of a Navy aviation officer in the rank of captain of the first rank or a USMC aviation officer in the rank of colonel (USMC Сolonel).
For reference:
So what can we oppose to such an impressive power. Unfortunately, Russia does not have the resources to compete with the United States on an equal footing in the number of ships. In terms of aircraft carriers, the advantage of the United States is overwhelming, now the American has 10 aircraft carriers, we have one aircraft-carrying cruiser, Admiral Kuznetsov, which can be qualified as a light aircraft carrier, but, unfortunately, actually without aircraft. There are ten Su-33s in service out of the planned twenty-five, which they already want to replace with the MiG-29K. In 2013, two MiGs were added to the existing dryers. As for escort ships, the situation is also not the best.
Many will now say, why are there aircraft carriers, Russia has a lot of other things to destroy the AUG. I agree that in a situation of total superiority in ships, an asymmetric response is needed. So what is he?
The Russian armed forces see it in missile weapons, namely in anti-ship missiles. Those. in the effective delivery of a conventional or nuclear charge directly to the AUG ships.
First, I propose to familiarize yourself with the RCC carriers:
1. Project 1164 missile cruiser:
2. Submarine project 949A "Antey"
3. Project 1144 heavy missile cruiser
4. Heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser project 1143.5
Please note that on the deck of the Kuznetsov there are all the aircraft that are available, although according to the plan it should look no less full than the American aircraft carriers, although it is smaller - let's compare:
There are also small missile ships, aviation and coastal missile systems.
Since the US AUG has a serious missile defense and air defense system, and naturally a powerful aviation fist, the main characteristics for combating it and defeating it are the detection distance and a possible attack.
In order to hit the composition of the AUG: aviation, ships or submarines must ensure the timely detection of an aircraft carrier group, classify it, get close to the missile strike distance, while maintaining combat capability, and launch missiles that, having overcome air defense and electronic warfare, must destroy the ships in the composition AUG.
Consider the option of attacking the AUG by surface ships of the Russian Navy in the oceans:
Unfortunately, the capabilities of Russian ships in terms of detection are actually limited by the limits of the radio horizon; the helicopters on board the ships are of little use for solving this problem due to the small number of these machines and the small radius of action. They can be effectively used only in the interests of issuing target designation of missile weapons, but before that, you still need to detect the enemy.
Of course, when missile cruisers were created, i.e. under the Soviet navy, their activities were to be carried out with the support of the naval intelligence system in the ocean theater. It relied on a developed system of radio-technical intelligence, which was based on ground centers located not only on the territory of the USSR, but also in other states. There was also effective space-based maritime reconnaissance, which made it possible to detect and track the ship formations of a potential enemy, and to issue target designation to missile weapons practically throughout the entire territory of the World Ocean. Russia in this moment there is no time for all this. In 2006, they began to reanimate the system, but the end is still very, very far away.
Therefore, the AUG will see our ships long before it itself is detected. The grouping constantly provides air control to a depth of 800 km with the help of Grumman_E-2_Hawkeye AWACS aircraft, we will be attacked by 48 aircraft, of which 25 will carry the HARPUN anti-aircraft missile system, and almost 8 pieces of Boeing_EA-18_Growler will provide electronic warfare.
This myth still roams in numerous monographs on the Soviet aircraft carrier fleet. The designers of the "five" themselves argue that the creation of project 1143.5 was not the result of the evolutionary development of ships of the "Kiev" type, but the third attempt to implement the design of a real aircraft carrier that began back in 1971. The requirements for the new ship were revised with kaleidoscopic speed - the composition of the air group, aviation equipment, the number of anti-aircraft weapons and displacement changed. In 1980, the Minister of Defense of the USSR Dmitry Fedorovich Ustinov (1908-1984) demanded a reduction in the displacement of the aircraft carrier being designed by 10,000 tons, the removal of catapults and reorientation of it to short takeoff and landing aircraft, for the launch of which a springboard should be used.
In February 1982, the first Soviet aircraft carrier with a solid flight deck was laid down in Nikolaev, at the Black Sea Shipyard (ChSZ) under the name "Riga" (serial number C-105). However, a year later it was re-mortgaged under the new name "Leonid Brezhnev". Then sea trials took place under the name "Tbilisi", but when Georgia declared sovereignty, the ship was given the current name "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov". On August 1, 1990, state tests began. During the tests, 16,200 miles were covered, 454 aircraft flights were made. In May 1990, the ship was temporarily included in the 30th division of surface ships of the KChF, and on December 25, 1990, eight years, three months and 24 days after the laying, an acceptance certificate was signed. On January 20, 1991, he was officially enrolled in the Northern Fleet, and the naval flag was hoisted on him. On December 1-24, 1991, the cruiser made the transition around Europe to the place of permanent deployment in Vidyaevo, Murmansk region.
The main technical and technical characteristics are as follows: displacement 55,000 tons, speed 29 knots, length 304.5 m, width at the waterline 38 m, maximum width 72 m, draft 10.5 m, crew 1,960 people, air personnel 626 people. The main power plant is a boiler-turbine, with a total capacity of about 200,000 liters. With. Armament: 52 aircraft (MiG-29K, Su-27K fighters, Su-25K attack aircraft, Ka-27 helicopters), 12 launchers for anti-ship missiles, eight anti-aircraft missiles, eight six-barreled 30-mm machine guns, two jet bombers.
The ship has a through flight deck, which ends with a springboard in the bow. In the aft part of the flight deck, cable arresters are installed - when landing, the aircraft grabs the arrester cable with a hook installed under the fuselage and, experiencing an overload of up to 3.5 g, slows down, which reduces the mileage after landing to 80-100 m. vertical launchers of anti-ship missiles (ASM) "Granit", covered with armored covers flush with the flight deck.
The architecture of the TAKR project 1143.5, compared to its predecessors, has become “more carrier-based” - with a through flight deck with an area of 14,800 m², a springboard with a vanishing angle of 14.3 ° in the bow, two side 40-ton aircraft lifts on the starboard side to the bow and stern from the island 13-tier superstructure (height above deck 32 m). The presence of developed sponsons and displacement of the superstructure to the right made it possible to increase the width of the flight deck to 67 m. The entire surface of the flight deck and springboard has an anti-slip heat-resistant (up to 450 ° C) Omega coating, and three sections (10 x 10 m) intended for vertical landing of the Yak-41 were laid out with heat-resistant (up to 750 ° C) AK-9FM plates .
The fully welded hull has seven decks and two platforms in height. A continuous double bottom runs along the entire length of the ship. The main structural material of the hull, main watertight bulkheads, decks and platforms, sponsons and island superstructure is steel; for the manufacture of secondary enclosures and bulkheads, aluminum-magnesium alloys were used (with fastening to steel structures). Surface structural protection (SCP) is made according to the screening principle, internal protective barriers are composite structures (steel-fiberglass-steel type). The main material of NKZ is high-strength steel. To protect the fuel tanks and cellars of aviation ammunition, local box-shaped armor was used. For the first time in the practice of domestic aircraft carrier shipbuilding, underwater structural protection (SCP) was used to increase the survivability of the ship, which significantly increases the unsinkability characteristics. Based on the results of numerous research and field experiments, the depth of the onboard PKZ was taken in the range of 4.5-5.0 m. Of the three longitudinal bulkheads, the second one was armored (on the lead ship it was a package, i.e., multilayer, on the second - monolithic).
Hangar - closed type, with a total area of 3,980 m² (153 x 26 x 7.2 m) - about 50% of the length and 70% of the width of the ship, serves for storage and Maintenance up to 70% of the regular number of shipborne aircraft (LAC). It also stores marching tractors, ship gas-jet and fire engines, as well as a set of equipment for LAC deck maintenance. Transportation and placement of aircraft are provided with folded wing panels, and helicopters - with folded rotor blades. At all regular LAK parking lots in the hangar and at technical positions, they are moored and grounded. The hangar is equipped with a LAK semi-automatic chain transportation system, which makes it possible to refuse the use of tractors and exclude gas contamination of the interior with exhaust gases. Tractors are required only for LAC operations on the flight deck, when they are transferred from the hangar to the lift platforms and vice versa. The typical composition of the air group based on the project 1143.5 ship includes 52 aircraft: 18 Su-27K and MiG-29K aircraft and 16 Ka-27 helicopters.
To ensure the landing of high-speed aircraft on the deck, Svetlana-2 arresters are used - four cables stretched across the deck, located at a distance of 12 m from each other and connected through blocks with four brake hydraulic machines designed to extinguish kinetic energy. In the working position, the cables rise above the deck to a predetermined height to grab the landing aircraft with a brake hook, ensuring its complete stop after 90 m of run with a longitudinal overload of not more than 4.5 g. The fourth cable, counting from the stern, is combined with the Nadezhda emergency barrier. The cable of the first arrester is located 40 m from the stern cut. In the middle of the second arrester on the deck there is a white circle with a diameter of 17 m - the place recommended for pilots when landing to touch the aircraft brake hook.
The main power plant of the TAKR almost completely repeats the one used in project 1143.4: four-shaft, steam turbine, with a total capacity of 200,000 liters. With. The increased fuel supply made it possible to bring the cruising range to 18 knots. up to 8,000 miles. Power was increased by installing new boilers. Thanks to this, with an increase in the standard displacement by 10,000 tons, it was possible to obtain a full speed of 29 knots. Steam is produced by eight KVG-4 boilers with increased steam output. Steam for needs not related to the movement of the ship is obtained through selection from the main boilers, so an auxiliary boiler plant was not needed. The propellers of the ship are four bronze low-noise five-blade fixed-pitch propellers with a diameter of 4,260 mm and a mass of 12,524 kg each.
The Russian TAKR has powerful missile armament: the Granit-NK strike missile system includes 12 ZM-45 anti-ship cruise missiles located in below-deck silo-type launchers (the silo covers are flush with the deck). Anti-aircraft missile weapons - four modules of the Kinzhal air defense system (192 missiles) and eight modules of the Kortik anti-aircraft missile system (256 missiles and 48,000 30-mm shells), located on the side of the sponsons and providing the possibility of circular shelling of air targets. Artillery armament is represented by three batteries of six AK-630M 30-mm rapid-fire gun mounts (48,000 rounds). Initially, it was planned to place another battery of these machine guns under the nose edge of the take-off springboard for firing at bow heading angles. Two embrasure cutouts were intended for their installation (they are clearly visible in the photographs of the early stage of the construction of the lead ship), but they were abandoned.
In connection with the restructuring and the beginning of the collapse of the economy of the USSR, the commissioning of the ship was greatly delayed. Test pilot Viktor Georgievich Pugachev (b. 1948) made his first landing on the deck of an aircraft carrier on September 1, 1989, while combatant pilots began to master the Kuznetsov deck only in 1994 and already in the Northern Fleet. In 1996, the aircraft carrier made the first long-distance voyage from the Barents Sea to the Mediterranean. During the voyage, the tasks of combat training were worked out; in the Mediterranean Sea, Russian pilots exchanged visits of friendship with American colleagues from the air group of the aircraft carrier "America", however, the Americans did not dare to put on deck Russian ship their planes and sent a helicopter. From 1996 to 1998 was under repair, greatly delayed as a result of underfunding. In 1998, he took part in major exercises of the Northern Fleet.
In 1999, twice went to sea for combat training. In 2000, he participated in major exercises during which the K-141 Kursk submarine was killed, took part in a rescue operation, which canceled the cruiser's second campaign for military service in the Mediterranean Sea, which was supposed to take place at the end of 2000 2001 to 2004 was under scheduled maintenance.
In 2004, as part of a group of nine ships of the Northern Fleet, including the heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser Pyotr Veliky, the missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov, the destroyer Admiral Ushakov and support vessels, he participated in a month-long voyage to the North Atlantic. On December 5, 2007, as part of a naval strike group, he went on his second campaign for military service in the Mediterranean Sea, which lasted until February 3, 2008. According to representatives of the Russian Ministry of Defense, the aircraft carrier requires major repairs, but due to lack of finances, repairs are postponed for indefinite term. The seventh long-range cruise of the ship was completed in May 2014. From May 14 to August 20, 2015, the TAKR was under repair at the dock of the 82nd shipyard(Roslyakovo). November 6, 2016 TAKR went on a trip to the Mediterranean Sea as part of the Northern Fleet group.
Currently, the Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov is part of the Northern Fleet and is the only aircraft carrier of the Russian Navy. During cruises, the Su-25UTG and Su-33 aircraft of the 279th Shipborne Fighter Aviation Regiment (base airfield - Severomorsk-3) and the Ka-27 and Ka-29 helicopters of the 830th separate shipborne anti-submarine helicopter regiment (base airfield - Severomorsk-1). Thus, this aircraft-carrying cruiser can rightfully be considered a full-fledged aircraft carrier. Not the same, of course, as the American nuclear giants of the Nimitz type, but quite equal in combat potential, for example, to the latest French nuclear aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. And in terms of the number of naval air groups, Kuzya even has superiority: 52 aircraft versus 40 for the Frenchman.
In 1983, a decision was made to build a second ship, pr. 1143.5, named "Riga" (serial number C-106). The TTZ included the possibility of improving the project in case new types of weapons appeared and electronic means. Its construction began immediately after the launch of the head TAKR: a new order mortgage block (bow MKO) with two GTZA and four main boilers already mounted and covered was installed on the slipway with two 900-ton cranes. The ship was launched on November 25, 1988, and already during the completion it was renamed Varyag (June 19, 1990).
Initially, the 6th completely repeated the “five”, but already in June 1986 the Council of Ministers of the USSR issued a resolution to change some of the main elements of the cruiser, in particular electronic weapons (the ship was assigned the index pr. 1143.6). So, the Mars-Passat radar was to be replaced by a more effective new Forum, which included the Podberezovik radar with the ability to select air targets, two Fregat-MA radars and an information processing system, target distribution and target designation of the Poyma type. All this required the alteration of about 150 rooms, mainly in the superstructure. Also, it was necessary to correct a significant amount of design documentation, which led to a delay in the completion of the cruiser by about nine months. In addition, on the Varyag, unlike the lead ship, it was already supposed to provide the basing of the Yak-44RLD radar patrol and guidance aircraft (with the possibility of taking off from a distant starting position), which also caused a number of alterations. True, until the end of 1991, these works were not really started due to the lack of data on the aircraft from the OKB. Yakovlev.
The Varyag was built for the Pacific Fleet with a delivery date of 1993. Even after the collapse of the USSR, until the end of 1991, the completion went on in accordance with the schedule agreed and approved even before the abolition of the former USSR Ministry of Shipbuilding Industry. To ensure the basing of the TAKR at ChSY, they managed to manufacture and send to the Far East a special pontoon berth, similar to the one that was previously delivered to Vidyaevo for Admiral Kuznetsov. Taking into account the planned modernization on the superstructure, blocks of premises previously intended for the posts of the Mars-Passat radar station were cut off and foundations were installed under the Fregat-MA AP of the Forum radar station.
But soon the economic crisis in the former republics of the Union made itself felt at ChSY - the supply of cable by the Amurcable and Azovcable enterprises was disrupted, which, in turn, did not receive raw materials from Uzbekistan. Then there were problems with pricing and its impact on the cost of building a ship. In addition, as always happens during periods of collapse of large states, this was accompanied by landslide phenomena in the economy, rising prices and galloping inflation.
Despite the termination of funding (4th quarter of 1991), the Chernomorsky Shipbuilding ( CEO Yu. I. Makarov) completed the construction of the TAKR at his own expense, hoping that Moscow would later reimburse the costs (more than 700 million US dollars in 1980s prices). However, the former Soviet republics that became independent showed no interest in completing the Varyag. Russia, which announced in 1993 that it was ready to complete the construction of the ship, also did nothing for this, limiting itself to fruitless negotiations. In particular, according to the Varyag, it was proposed to create a special intergovernmental body with emergency powers that would coordinate the completion of the cruiser. Government delegations of Ukraine and Russia even came to Nikolaev for its inspection. But none of them, in the new conditions, had the means to complete the construction of such a complex ship.
Therefore, in March 1995, Russia officially refused to finance the construction of the Varyag, transferring it to ChSZ on account of debts to the enterprise 1 . Ukraine, after considering various options for the disposal of the ship, which was in 67% readiness, including the possibility of using it as a floating spaceport, was eventually forced to sell the unfinished aircraft carrier abroad. As a result of the work carried out in 1997-1998. In an international tender won by a Chinese company registered in Macau, Varyag was sold by the State Property Fund of Ukraine for only $20 million.
While its fate was being decided, the Varyag continued to remain at the plant, turning at the beginning of 2000 for ChSY into a “goose that lays golden eggs” - the Chinese paid the plant $ 5,000 per day for the TAKR parking. In the first half of 2000, it was expected to sign a contract with a Chinese company for the completion and conversion of the Varyag into a floating self-propelled entertainment and tourist complex (the contract amount was assumed to be 200-300 million US dollars). But plans changed, and on June 14, at 5.30 am, tugboats took the Varyag out of the factory water area and began towing to China. About his future fate will definitely be told in the corresponding issue of N&T.
Initially, the cruisers of projects 1143.5 and 1143.6 were supposed to be equipped with steam catapults (one of them was even built and tested on land). But the developers failed to provide the necessary structural rigidity of the catapult track, and it turned out to be inoperable. Therefore, as a necessary measure, instead of catapults, the ships received springboards. In the summer of 1982, in the Crimea, at the Nitka complex, experimental work began on taking off the Su-27 and MiG-29 aircraft from the springboard, which ultimately ended in success.
In the springboard scheme used, takeoff from the deck is carried out by accelerating the aircraft with its own engines in afterburner mode. At the end of the takeoff run, the aircraft enters the springboard, which sets the required climb angle and somewhat facilitates takeoff. Until the engines reach full thrust, the aircraft is held on the deck by special grips on the landing gear, which are then strictly synchronously lowered below the deck, making it possible to start the takeoff run. To reflect the jet stream standing at the start of the aircraft, a protective shield-deflector rises above the deck.
"Kuznetsov" has three starting positions, two of which are located on the deck one after the other at a distance of about 85 m. But since takeoff is only from a springboard, several aircraft cannot take off at the same time. It is quite natural that in order to increase the speed of lifting aircraft into the air, a rapid alternation of starts from the left and right positions is used. The alternation speed is related to the speed of cleaning the shield-deflector of the near starting position. The absence of catapults did not allow cruisers to compare with modern US aircraft carriers in terms of the ability to quickly lift an air group into the air on alarm. The advantage of American aircraft carriers in this regard is that they are equipped with four catapults for launching aircraft, which are located in pairs at an angle to each other on the bow on the corner section of the deck. This scheme allows you to lift aircraft into the air with an interval of only 15 seconds between them.
In 1984, the main enemy of aircraft carriers, Ustinov, died. Almost immediately after that, the Nevsky Design Bureau was again entrusted with the design of a nuclear aircraft carrier with an increased displacement, a large number of aircraft and steam catapults. Despite the fundamental difference from the ships of the "Kyiv" type, the aircraft carrier still continues to be called the seventh TAKR - project 1143.7. When laying this ship on the slipway of ChSZ in Nikolaev on November 25, 1988, it received the name "Ulyanovsk". TTZ for its development in accordance with the arms program for 1986-1995. The NPKB received in December 1984. In 1986, the preliminary design was completed and approved, and in 1987, the technical design ( chief designer L. V. Belov, then Yu. M. Varfolomeev). In October of the same year, the main elements of the ATAKR were approved: an air group consisting of 70 aircraft (Su-27K and MiG-29K fighters, Yak-44RLD RLD and guidance aircraft, Ka-27 and Ka-31 helicopters), a springboard, two catapults, arresters , new SCRC "Bolid" (later replaced by "Granit"), air defense system "Dagger", ZKBR "Kortik", four-shaft nuclear power plant (280,000 kW), total displacement 73,400 tons, full speed 30 knots.
ATAKR was intended to impart combat stability to fleet formations in operationally important sea and ocean areas, as well as to destroy enemy ship groupings in cooperation with other fleet forces. Outwardly, it would differ from the ships of project 1143.5 in increased main dimensions, the presence of a third aircraft lift (from the stern on the port side), a superstructure reduced in length, and most importantly, the presence of two steam catapults. In general, continuity was also maintained - the ship was provided with a bow take-off springboard.
The creation of ATAKR was a qualitatively new stage in the development of the Soviet military shipbuilding and aircraft carrier fleet. There were no foreign analogues of the ATAKR project 1143.7. In terms of aviation equipment, it could be comparable to the American nuclear aircraft carrier J. Washington", and surpassed it in the presence of strike missile weapons and anti-aircraft weapons. On the ship, to the maximum extent possible, samples of weapons, mechanisms, equipment and materials previously provided for ships of project 1143.5 were used. 33 development work was carried out, 11 of which were carried out according to the plans of the Ministry of Defense (Navy and Air Force). The number and nomenclature of the naval air group increased. In particular, it was planned to create the Su-27KM multi-purpose aircraft, the Su-27KPP jamming aircraft, the Su-27KRTS target designation and reconnaissance aircraft, the Yak-44PLO anti-submarine aircraft and the Yak-44RLD radar patrol and guidance aircraft. A prototype of the Mayak steam catapult and a prototype of the energy complex that ensures its operation on superheated steam, consisting of a boiler unit, steam accumulators and condensers, passed preliminary tests at the Nitka complex and were recommended for operation. In general, according to experts, the new types of weapons of the ship pr. 1143.7 should have corresponded to the world level of 1995-2000.
The ship's power plant was created on the basis of mass-produced and successfully operated on missile cruisers type "Kirov" (pr. 1144) PPU KN-3 and GTZA-653. The introduction of nuclear energy promised to provide a significant reduction in the consumption of organic fuel, thereby providing the ship with an almost unlimited cruising range, the possibility of maintaining high speeds for a long time and more than doubling the reserves of aviation fuel and aviation ammunition. Aircraft landing conditions were improved due to the lack of a thermal plume, common for ships of previous projects with KTU. At the same time, the corrosion of aircraft located on the flight deck was reduced.
The ship was supposed to have the following main dimensions: the greatest length - 321 m, the length along the waterline - 280 m, the maximum width (with a corner deck and transitional bridges) - 79.5 m, the width along the waterline - 38 m; depth from the main line to the upper deck amidships - 27.5 m, in the bow - 33 m, overall height - 65.5 m; standard displacement - 62 580 tons.
The lead ATAKR, named "Ulyanovsk" (serial number C-107, senior builder P. S. Gerasimov), was laid down in Nikolaev on the slipway "O" on November 25, 1988. The slipway period was calculated for 36 months, total duration construction - 105 months, delivery date to the fleet - 1995. The cost of the order was estimated at 800 million rubles. It was supposed to start testing the ejection takeoff of the Su-27K and MiG-29K on the Nitka. In addition, they also planned to complete the construction of the previously mothballed BS-3 block for testing serial samples of catapults and arresters intended for installation on ships under construction by ChSZ.
The slipway work at Ulyanovsk was carried out according to progressive technology, with the formation of a hull on the slipway from 27 large blocks weighing up to 1,380 tons, saturated with mechanisms, devices and equipment. To ensure nuclear shipbuilding at ChSY, work began on the reconstruction and modernization of the entire production. It was necessary to build a number of special production units, for their placement in the waters of the Southern Bug adjacent to the ChSY, a fairly large area was washed up with sand.
Work on the formation of the hull on the slipway progressed quite quickly. In total, they managed to install structures with a total mass of about 27,000 tons. At ChSY, almost everything was ready for the installation of APPU, a technical department for special energy was formed, responsible for the installation and physical start-up of the nuclear plant. It was supposed to mount four reactors on the ship, combined into two 1,400-ton zone blocks - for the bow and stern engine groups. For their assembly, a floating autonomous workshop with a retractable roof was specially built and installed on the ground at the stern of the slipway "O". Upon completion of the assembly, the blocks were supposed to be lifted by 900-ton cranes and installed on the ship. The shells of four tanks of metal radiation protection were welded, the shell of which was filled with lead. In 1990-1991 CSY received reactor vessels, steam generators, pumps, filters and pipelines. One of these blocks was welded, the second was assembled and prepared for welding. There were no problems or delays during the construction of the Ulyanovsk, and the ship could well have been delivered on time. The construction of the second ATAKR (S-108) was also planned, the laying of which was scheduled for 1992.
By November 1991, the readiness of the ship was 17-20%. After the collapse of the USSR and the cessation of funding, the slipway turned out to be blocked by the ATAKR corps, which did not allow it to be used for its intended purpose. Based on a real assessment of the situation, on February 4, 1992, an order was issued by the Prime Minister of Ukraine on the disposal of Ulyanovsk, and on February 5, an order for ChSY to stop work on the S-107 (and S-108) order. The dismantling of the hull was completed by November 2. Thus, an end was put to the evolution of domestic aircraft carriers ... And Russia's place in the elite club of nuclear aircraft carriers was taken by France, which in 1995 launched its first such ship, the Charles de Gaulle.
Since 1991, in Russia, the implementation of projects for the construction of aircraft carriers has been suspended. Approximately in 1990 (1991?), the article “Do we need an aircraft carrier” appeared in Moscow News. This topic was picked up by dozens of "very specialized publications" - "Moskovsky Komsomolets", "Echo of the Planet" and others. Only the lazy did not write about it. On their pages, "experts" expressed only one thought - "the new democratic Russia does not need AB, it's better with this money ...". The result of this company was the reduction, and then the complete curtailment of the aircraft carrier program. But this does not mean that under the new conditions there were no grounds for having such ships in the Russian Navy. The press noted that after the collapse of the Warsaw Pact, the defense efforts of states were transferred to the interethnic space.
As is known, the length of Russia's maritime borders is 38.8 thousand km (for comparison, the length of the land border is 14.5 thousand km), the area of the continental shelf is 4.2 million km2. A 200-mile exclusive economic zone with an area of more than 6.3 million km2 stretches along the entire maritime border, in which it is necessary to ensure the sovereign rights and jurisdiction of the Russian Federation and protect its interests.
On these gigantic sea and ocean expanses, there should be constantly or periodically (on call, with an aggravation of the situation, etc.) the forces of the Navy, ships of various purposes, classes, types, including aircraft carriers. That is why, taking into account the increasingly increasing shortage of organic types of ship fuel in the near future, it will be necessary to recognize that there is no alternative to nuclear power plants for military shipbuilding of industrially and economically developed states for the next few decades. Of course, shipboard nuclear power plants require a high level of service culture, strict compliance with nuclear safety requirements (structural, operational, environmental, etc.). Such experience and, most importantly, the system for operating nuclear power plants in the Navy and the country's icebreaker fleet are available.
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A new aircraft carrier "Storm" will be built in Russia. The ship is an aircraft-carrying complex that can accommodate up to 90 aircraft, including Su-57 fighters. At the same time, the new aircraft carrier will be able to transport six tons of fuel and four thousand military personnel. It is expected that it will complement the combat "park" of the Russian Navy, on the balance of which so far only one aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov" is listed. How "Storm" will differ from its older brother, "360" understood.
What do you know about Storm?
A new aircraft-carrying complex will be built for the Russian Navy, said Nikolai Maksimov, head of the Institute of Shipbuilding and Armament of the Naval Training and Research Center of the Russian Defense Ministry. “The construction of an aircraft carrier complex is envisaged, which will include the aircraft carrier itself, an air wing and a basing system,” he said in the program of the Zvezda TV channel.
The new aircraft carrier will combine a springboard and an accelerating device necessary for aircraft to take off, Vladimir Pepelyaev, head of the department for advanced planning of ships of the Russian Defense Ministry's Navy Training and Research Center, told the TV channel. “If we combine a springboard and an accelerating device, then we will increase the aircraft's takeoff weight capabilities,” he said.
The development of an aircraft carrier under the working title "Storm" is carried out by scientists from the Krylov State Research Center together with engineers from the Nevsky Design Bureau. According to Valentin Belonenko, head of the surface ship design department of the Krylov State Research Center, the Russian fifth-generation fighter Su-57 will be able to be based on board the aircraft carrier.
For the "Storm" they plan to develop ship versions of promising anti-aircraft guns. missile systems S-500, which will be able to detect aerodynamic and ballistic targets at ranges up to 800 kilometers and at speeds up to seven thousand meters per second.
According to the project plan, the new ship will be 330 meters long, 40 meters wide and 11 meters deep. It will be able to carry up to 90 aircraft and helicopters, as well as receive aircraft long-range radar patrol. In addition, the ship will be able to carry up to six thousand tons of fuel and accommodate up to four thousand people. The speed of the aircraft carrier will reach 30 knots.
Second aircraft carrier
At the moment, only one aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov" is on combat duty. It was built at the Chernomorsky shipyard in Nikolaev and put into operation in 1991. In February last year, the ship set off on the longest voyage in its history - to the Mediterranean Sea to participate in a military operation in Syria. After the business trip, the aircraft carrier, by decision of the Ministry of Defense, was sent for modernization.
The new aircraft carrier Shtorm is almost twice as large as its counterpart, Konstantin Sivkov, a military analyst and corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Missile and Artillery Sciences, told 360.
The ship will have two decks for aircraft to take off: from the first, aircraft will take off in the same way as from the Admiral Kuznetsov, along a springboard, and from the second, with the help of a special catapult, which are used to increase the aircraft carrier's ability to throw into the air immediately more planes
Konstantin Sivkov.
Although the Russian navy is now building up its combat "park", the forces in terms of aircraft carriers with the United States are unequal. There are 11 aircraft carriers on combat duty in the US Army. The last one, the Gerald Ford, was launched in 2017. Its construction cost the US Treasury $13 billion. Another aircraft carrier should appear in the US by 2023.
19 trillion for a new army
Photo: RIA Novosti / Evgeny Pakhomov
Funds for the development of an aircraft carrier Russian government plans to allocate within the framework of the new state armaments program (GWP), which is designed for 2018-2027. According to Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, the program has already been approved by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Rogozin noted that in recent months the draft program has been supplemented by data that were obtained during the operation in Syria. According to him, a comprehensive assessment of weapons and equipment in combat conditions was carried out, the effectiveness of the combat use of new systems and complexes was evaluated under extreme external factors. In total, more than 200 types of weapons and equipment were involved.
"Robotics, intelligent systems, strike and reconnaissance UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles - ed.), protection of aircraft from fire damage - all this is in the new SAP," the Deputy Prime Minister concluded. In total, the state plans to spend 19 trillion rubles on re-equipping the army and navy under the new program.
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The first plans to build their own aircraft carrier in the USSR appeared in the thirties, but they were postponed due to more pressing defense tasks.
One of the active supporters of the appearance of aircraft carriers in the Soviet Navy was Fleet Admiral Nikolai Kuznetsov, who served as People's Commissar, and then the Minister of the Navy. Thanks to him, the construction of aircraft carriers after the Great Patriotic War was included in the arms renewal program. But the subsequent disgrace of Kuznetsov, as well as the coming to power Nikita Khrushchev, who advocated massive reductions in conventional weapons, again led to the fact that the plans were not implemented.
Project 1123 "Condor" can be considered the first domestic class of ships, which, with some stretch, can be called the forerunner of aircraft carriers.
In fact, it was about anti-submarine cruisers designed to search for and destroy enemy strategic nuclear submarines in remote areas of the oceans as part of a group of ships.
The aviation group of ships consisted of anti-submarine helicopters of the Ka-25PL and Ka-25PS modifications. On board one cruiser-helicopter carrier could be up to 14 aircraft units.
The initiator of the creation of the ships of project 1123 was Admiral Sergei Georgievich Gorshkov, Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. This man, who led the fleet for three decades, was the creator of the nuclear missile fleet of the USSR, as well as Soviet aircraft carriers.
Initially, within the framework of Project 1123, it was planned to build three cruisers, but in reality only two were created, which served the Russian fleet faithfully for three decades.
Anti-submarine cruiser "Moscow": cut into metal in India
The lead ship of Project 1123 was laid down in 1962 at the Nikolaev Shipyard. The ship received serial number 701. On January 14, 1965, the Moskva anti-ship missile was launched. The ship entered the combat fleet in 1967.
On account of "Moscow" 11 combat services as part of the Mediterranean squadron of the Soviet Navy. In 1972, for the first time in the history of the Russian fleet, a Yak-38 aircraft with vertical takeoff and landing landed on the deck of the Moscow. These aircraft were subsequently equipped with Soviet aircraft carriers of the next project.
On May 26, 1993, the last exit of the Moskva anti-ship missiles took place on combat duty in the Black Sea.
In the year of the tercentenary Russian fleet the first domestic anti-submarine cruiser was decommissioned, and on November 7, 1996, the Naval flag of the USSR was solemnly lowered from the flagpole, which was never replaced by Andreevsky.
The Moskva anti-ship missile was sold to India for scrap and in May 1997 set off on its last voyage. The former pride of the Soviet fleet was disposed of in the bay of the Indian town of Alang.
Anti-submarine cruiser "Moskva". Photo: RIA Novosti / Mikhail Kukhtarev
Anti-submarine cruiser "Leningrad": cut into metal in India
The second ship of project 1123 was laid down at a shipyard in Nikolaev in January 1965, and put into service on April 22, 1969.
"Leningrad" defended the interests of the USSR in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic, participated in the rescue of the crew of the K-19 submarine, in the demining of the Gulf of Suez, the Red Sea and many other operations.
In 1990, it was planned to put "Leningrad" for major repairs, but a sharp reduction in military spending led to a completely different decision.
On June 24, 1991, the ship was expelled from the fleet, and on New Year's Eve the crew was finally disbanded. The flag lowering ceremony took place on December 5, 1992, after which the dismantled cruiser was towed deep into Severnaya Bay: to the berths of Troitskaya Balka.
On the night of August 24, 1995, the ship was taken in tow to India, where it was cut into metal in the bay of the city of Alang.
Anti-submarine cruiser "Leningrad". Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
New Generation
On the basis of Project 1123, the development of a new ship began: a well-armed anti-submarine cruiser, on which it was supposed to use airplanes rather than helicopters as an aviation group.
Powerful weapons are hallmark all, without exception, Soviet aircraft carriers. If in the US Navy an aircraft carrier performs exclusively the role of a floating airbase, and its cover is provided by a powerful group of warships, then in the Soviet Navy preference was given to aircraft-carrying cruisers capable of standing up for themselves.
The tasks of the ships of project 1143 "Krechet" were to include:
- air defense of a ship and (or) a group of ships escorted by it;
- ensuring the security of strategic submarines in combat patrol areas;
- search and destruction of enemy submarines as part of an anti-submarine group;
- detection, guidance and destruction of enemy surface forces;
- ensuring the landing of amphibious assault.
Project 1143 ships were classified as heavy aircraft-carrying cruisers (TAVKR).
Heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser "Kyiv": a floating hotel in China
The lead ship of the project was laid down in Nikolaev in the summer of 1970, launched in December 1972, and included in the fleet in December 1975.
The aviation group of "Kiev" and all other ships of this type consisted of Yak-38 vertical take-off and landing attack aircraft (12 units), as well as Ka-25 and Ka-27 anti-submarine helicopters (12 units). The aviation group "Kyiv", flying the Yak-38, became the first combat unit of carrier-based pilots in the Soviet Navy.
"Kyiv" successfully performed combat missions in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic until 1991. In 1985, for success in combat training, the cruiser was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
June 30, 1993 "Kyiv" was withdrawn from the Russian Navy due to a lack of funds for operation and repair, a significant development of the resource of weapons, mechanisms and equipment.
For $1.6 million, the aircraft-carrying cruiser was sold to "unidentified individuals" who resold it to the Chinese government for $8.2 million.
On May 17, 2000, the ship was towed from the Vidyayevo base to the port of Tianjin, where it was later converted into an amusement attraction. In September 2003, the ship became part of theme park"Binghai". In 2011, the ship was completely converted into a luxury hotel with 148 rooms of various categories, including the presidential class, for which about $15 million was spent. Sailors' cabins were converted into guest rooms.
Heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser "Kyiv". Photo: www.globallookpress.com
Heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser "Minsk": an entertainment attraction in China
Laid down at a shipyard in Nikolaev in December 1972, commissioned into the fleet in 1978. He served in combat service as part of the 175 brigade of missile ships of the Red Banner Pacific Fleet. In 1986-1988 served as senior assistant commander of the TAVKR "Minsk" Vladimir Vysotsky, future admiral and commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy.
From the beginning of 1991, preparations began for the TAVKR "Minsk" to move to Nikolaev to the Black Sea Shipyard for an urgent medium repair, which was never carried out.
The decision to withdraw "Minsk" from the fleet was made on the same day as a similar decision on "Kyiv": June 30, 1993.
At the end of 1995, the ship was towed to South Korea for cutting its body into metal. The ship was later resold in Shenzhen to the Chinese company Minsk Aircraft Carrier Industry Co Ltd. In 2006, when the company went bankrupt, the ship became part of the Minsk World military park in Shenzhen.
Until February 2016 theme park Minsk World, created on the basis of the ship, was located in Shenzhen. The park was then closed and the ship was towed to Zhoushan for repairs, after which, according to the owners, it will be moved to a new theme park in Nantong.
Heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser "Minsk". Photo: www.globallookpress.com
Heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser "Novorossiysk": cut into metal in Korea
"Novorossiysk" was founded at the plant in Nikolaev in September 1975. Compared to previous projects, it was planned to increase the air group and abandon torpedoes. As a result, the Novorossiysk aviation group consisted of 18 aircraft and 18 helicopters.
The ship entered the combat structure of the USSR Navy in November 1982, received distribution to the Pacific Fleet.
The first combat campaign of the ship took place in 1983, the last - in 1991. In total, during the service, 1900 aircraft takeoffs and 2300 helicopters were made from the deck of the ship. Due to funding cuts, in 1991 it was laid up in Postovaya Bay near Sovetskaya Gavan in the Khabarovsk Territory.
On June 30, 1993, Novorossiysk shared the fate of its brethren: it was expelled from the Russian Navy.
In 1994, it was sold to the South Korean company "Young Distribution Company" for 4.314 million US dollars. In 1997, it was disposed of as scrap metal in Pohang, South Korea.
Heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser Novorossiysk. Photo: RIA Novosti / Vladimir Rodionov
Heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser "Baku": an aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy
The last of the Project 1143 ships changed names several times. Initially, it was planned to call it "Kharkov", but then it was given the name "Baku" in honor of the leader of the Project 38 destroyers.
"Baku" was laid down in December 1978, and further processing of its project continued during the construction period.
The ship was released into the wild in 1982, but due to various changes and delays in the supply of equipment, it entered the fleet only in 1987. The Baku air group included 20 aircraft and 16 helicopters.
"Baku" was supposed to serve in the Northern Fleet, but the command decided to combine the transition to the home base with military service in the Mediterranean. In the summer of 1988, the cruiser carried out constant monitoring of the American nuclear multi-purpose aircraft carrier Dwight Eisenhower. December 17 "Baku" arrived in Severomorsk and was enlisted in the 170 brigade anti-submarine ships 7 operational squadron.
In the future, the ship no longer entered combat service, although combat training continued.
In 1990, he was renamed "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov".
In 1994, negotiations began on the sale of the aircraft-carrying cruiser to India. The negotiations lasted six years, after which the main documents were signed in 2000. But that was only the beginning. Coordination of the cost of the ship, its modernization, equipping with Russian aircraft lasted almost a decade. The actual modernization continued even longer.
On November 16, 2013, the ship was handed over to the Indian Navy, and in 2014 arrived at a new duty station. Estimated term the service of the aircraft carrier, which received a new name ("Vikramaditya"), is 30 years.
Aircraft carrier Vikramaditya. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
Empire's last project
During the operation of aircraft-carrying cruisers of project 1143, it was concluded that vertical takeoff and landing aircraft are inferior to their "classic" counterparts. In this regard, it was decided to build new aircraft carriers to base conventional aircraft. This required a significant modernization of project 1143. It was decided to abandon part of the weapons in favor of the aviation component. Nevertheless, the new ships, according to the classification, are not aircraft carriers, but aircraft-carrying cruisers.
This ship bore the following names: "Soviet Union" (project), "Riga" (bookmark), "Leonid Brezhnev" (launching), "Tbilisi" (tests).
The cruiser is considered a Project 1143.5 ship. His predecessors, respectively, had numbers from 1 to 4 in their code.
"Admiral Kuznetsov" is intended to destroy large surface targets, protect naval formations from attacks by a potential enemy using aircraft carriers and a large number of submarines. It also has the task of supporting landing operations. The construction of the ship began in September 1982.
The ship differed from its predecessors by providing for the first time the ability to take off and land on it traditional aircraft, modified versions of the land-based Su-27, MiG-29 and Su-25. To do this, he had an enlarged flight deck and a springboard for taking off aircraft. For the first time in the USSR, the construction was carried out by the method of forming a hull from large blocks weighing up to 1400 tons.
On October 21, 1989, the unfinished and understaffed ship was put to sea to enable the pilots to conduct a cycle of flight design tests of aircraft intended to be based on board. As part of these tests, the first takeoffs and landings of aircraft were made. The first pilot to land an aircraft on a ship according to the classical scheme was test pilot Viktor Pugachev.
The aviation group of the ship is about 50 aircraft and helicopters.
During the collapse of the USSR, the Ukrainian authorities tried to claim their rights to the aircraft carrier, however ship commander Viktor Yarygin decided to follow the orders of the command of the Northern Fleet and took the ship away from Sevastopol. From December 1 to December 24, 1991, the aircraft-carrying cruiser made a transition around Europe to a permanent base in Vidyaev, Murmansk region.
Flight personnel from the Naval Aviation Regiment No. 100 under the command of Timur Apakidze, remaining on the shore, refused to take the oath to Ukraine and formed the core of the 279th naval aviation regiment of Russia. The flight crew, who took the oath of allegiance to Ukraine, was dismissed in connection with the disbandment of regiment No. 100 due to the lack of aircraft carriers in Ukraine.
To date, the Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov is the only operating aircraft carrier in the Russian Navy. This is the only aircraft-carrying ship in the world that can be located in the Black Sea, since under the Montreux Convention the passage of "clean" aircraft carriers through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles is prohibited, and the Admiral Kuznetsov, which has missile weapons, as has been repeatedly said, is considered an aircraft-carrying cruiser. From November 2016 to January 6, 2017 "Admiral Kuznetsov" performed combat missions as part of the operational formation of the far sea zone of the Russian Navy off the coast of Syria. During this campaign, for the first time in history, a domestic aircraft carrier took part in real hostilities.
In 2005, the ship was put up against the wall shipyard in Dalian. Over the next 6 years, it was subjected to intensive modernization and completion. June 8, 2011 General Chen Bingde, Chief of the PLA General Staff, for the first time officially confirmed that the ship would be commissioned as an aircraft carrier, while emphasizing that the main task of the ship would be to serve as a training and experimental platform for the future construction of China's own aircraft carriers. On September 25, 2011, the aircraft carrier was officially accepted into the PLA Navy under the name "Liaoning" and tail number 16. Aircraft carrier Liaoning. Photo: www.globallookpress.com The construction of the ship at the plant in Nikolaev began in November 1988. By mid-1991, its readiness was about 18%. In November 1991, funding for the project ceased. In early 1992, both Russia and Ukraine announced that they were abandoning plans to complete the ship. On February 5, 1992, the cutting of the Ulyanovsk hull structures began. In 2015, at the International Naval Show in St. Petersburg, the project of the multi-purpose heavy aircraft carrier "Storm" was presented. According to President of the Academy of Geopolitical Problems, Captain 1st Rank Konstantin Sivkov, based on the priorities of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the construction of an aircraft carrier will begin no earlier than 2025-2030.
Heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser "Ulyanovsk": cut into metal at the construction stage
Afterword
Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Krylovsky State science Center» completed the development of a concept for the Russian Navy. The head of the center Pavel Filippov announced this on the first day of the International Naval Salon in St. Petersburg.
The displacement of such an aircraft carrier will be 40 thousand tons, the construction will take five years, and the cost of the project is estimated at 200 billion rubles. Pavel Filippov said that the Russian Ministry of Defense would give the center an assignment to develop a technical project in 2023.
RT managed to talk with the scientific director of the Krylov Center Valery Polovinkin, who spoke about the development of a promising aircraft carrier. According to him, the center aims to improve the three main characteristics of warships: propulsion, seaworthiness and controllability. The solutions being developed at Krylovskoye also make it possible to increase the ship's deck area, Polovinkin noted.
"Deck area warship regardless of its purpose - from a corvette to an aircraft carrier - determines the possibility of placing weapons. The larger the deck area, the more weapons can be placed, ”said in an interview with RT scientific adviser center.
Despite the "light" displacement of 44 thousand tons, the aircraft carrier of this project will be able to carry up to 40 aircraft and helicopters. In addition, they believe in the center, by the time the aircraft carrier is delivered, it is possible that naval versions of the Okhotnik-type UAV will be developed, which can also be included in regular aircraft.
Subject to a special modification, the new aircraft carrier will be able to be based on the latest Russian fighters fifth generation Su-57.
“Theoretically, it is possible to take a certain number of these aircraft on board, provided they are “sealed”, that is, lightening the weight, changing some structural elements. When working on the adaptation of the aircraft, this is possible, ”said Pavel Filippov.
A military expert, retired colonel Viktor Litovkin, noted in a conversation with RT that fifth-generation fighters simply need to be equipped with the necessary equipment that allows aircraft to take off and land on the deck of an aircraft carrier.
“In order to adapt the Su-57 to work on aircraft carriers, it is necessary to strengthen the landing gear, install landing hooks, and so on,” the expert explained.
Non-atomic features
In a conversation with RT, the scientific director of the center, Pavel Polovinkin, noted that today a search is underway for original solutions that, with a minimum volume and displacement, make it possible to obtain a full-fledged aircraft carrier. This was achieved with the help of a semi-catamaran hull design.
“With the help of original solutions, hull tests, calculations of combat effectiveness, we will achieve that it will be a full-fledged aircraft carrier. The main characteristic of an aircraft carrier is the composition of aircraft. All types of aircraft will be presented there - from reconnaissance and electronic warfare to bombers and attack aircraft, ”Polovinkin said.
According to the project, this will allow the aircraft carrier to carry up to 24 Su-33 heavy fighters or MiG-29K light fighters, four RLDN aircraft and 12 Ka-27 multipurpose helicopters. New solutions in terms of the design of the hull contours, as well as an increase in the deck area, will allow parallel placement of launch positions for aircraft.
Another distinctive feature of this aircraft carrier was a gas turbine power plant with a capacity of 80 MW. This will provide the ship with full electric propulsion, similar to the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers under construction in the British Navy. The duration of autonomous navigation of the Russian multi-purpose aircraft carrier will be 45 days.
According to Pavel Polovinkin, an aircraft carrier with a gas turbine plant is in no way inferior to nuclear counterparts in this respect. In addition, the use of GEM will minimize possible risk during the destruction of a nuclear plant.
“All over the world, high-precision weapons with high penetrating power are emerging that can hit any target and pass through any obstacle. As hypersonic weapons spread, the safety of aircraft carriers with nuclear power plants will be a big question, ”said the scientific director of the center.
At the same time, Polovinkin emphasized that at the moment nuclear energy is the best way ensure the autonomy of heavy warships.
“But you have to keep up with the times. Once such a weapon has appeared, we must evaluate whether we can counteract it and defend ourselves against it. We need to develop alternative options,” he said.
A nuclear power plant allows aircraft carriers not to enter ports and increases autonomy, Viktor Litovkin recalled in an interview with RT.
“It can operate for several years without additional maintenance, while a gas turbine requires fuel replenishment all the time. Besides, nuclear plant more powerful than a gas turbine,” the expert emphasized.
Storm Project
Today, the Russian Navy has only one aircraft carrier - a heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser, commissioned in 1991. It is undergoing modernization and will return to active service in 2021.
At the same time, the Admiral Kuznetsov surpasses American aircraft carriers of the same age as the Nimitz-class ships.
- US Navy Nimitz-class aircraft carrier
- Reuters
- U.S. Navy
These carriers are virtually incapable of repelling enemy attacks, except in very limited air operations, and require a formidable escort squadron of destroyers, cruisers, and submarines. "Kuznetsov" is equipped with anti-aircraft and missile systems, which can repel any attacks from the air.
The Krylov Center is developing another multi-purpose heavy nuclear aircraft carrier - Project 23000 Storm. The ship of this project will have a displacement of 100,000 tons and will be able to navigate autonomously for up to 120 days.
The Shtorma aviation group will comprise up to 90 aircraft: carrier-based fighters, long-range aircraft radar detection and helicopters.
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The aircraft carrier of the Storm project will be designed to perform various tasks in the far ocean zone. Its own weapons and onboard aviation group will make it possible to strike at enemy ground and sea targets, and, like the Admiral Kuznetsov, it will be able to independently provide air defense airborne air defense systems.
Such projects will be put into operation no earlier than 2030, Viktor Litovkin believes. At the same time, he noted that new squadrons, destroyers, frigates and cruisers would be required to escort Russian aircraft carriers.
Also, according to military observer Viktor Barants, Russia will also need appropriate coastal structures.
“I think that a Russian aircraft carrier, which will be in no way inferior to an American one, will be built when the country has coastal structures for a huge ship,” the expert said in an interview with RT.
At the same time, he noted that, unlike, for which aircraft carriers are weapons of aggression, Russia does not need a large number of such ships, since the Russian Navy performs the tasks of protecting and defending the country.
“The United States today has 12 aircraft carriers in service, while in Russia there is only one aircraft-carrying cruiser, which is now under repair and cannot perform combat missions. Russia, in principle, does not need such a number of aircraft carriers, since it is not going to conduct operations around the world and influence some countries, ”the expert noted.
