Russian submarine: special purpose nuclear submarine

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

In 2019, the Russian Navy should include a unique special-purpose nuclear submarine K-329 "Belgorod". What is the uniqueness of the "special purpose" submarine fleet and why submarines are of such interest in the West? …

In 2019, the Russian Navy should include a unique special-purpose nuclear submarine K-329 Belgorod. A submarine of this type has already caused a stir among military experts in the West - the American magazine Covert Shores even published a possible scheme for equipping the submarine with special equipment and weapons. What is the uniqueness of the "special purpose" submarine fleet and why submarines are of such interest in the West - in the material of Izvestia.

Underwater observers

The command of the Russian Navy has always paid special attention to the preparation of units for tasks of particular importance. In addition to combat swimmers and a special submarine detachment, the Northern Fleet has a subdivision, the exact number and structure of which are still classified. For several decades, the tasks and geography of the GUGI ships (Main Directorate of Deep Sea Research) are concerned about the US naval forces and NATO countries. The ships, which, with enviable consistency, are officially associated with the GUGI by the Western media do indeed have great potential. For example, the lead ship of Project 22010 " Cruis"Is still referred to in the West as" secret data hunter "and" Internet killer ".

The "terrible" nickname is only partially true - an oceanographic research vessel " Amber", Built to perform the most difficult tasks in the waters of the World Ocean, really has impressive capabilities - there are deep-sea vehicles on board the ship." Rus" and " Consul", With the help of which operators can carry out remote access to objects at depth. With their help, the ship's crew can carry out almost any work on the study of the seabed, whether it be an assessment of geological features or the study of seismic activity in certain areas, but also check the integrity of military communication cables.

In 2019, a modernized ship of this type should be accepted into the special-purpose fleet of the GUGI. And although formally oceanographic research ships are built according to one project, the second ship of the series " Diamond"Will have serious differences from its predecessor. In addition to the futuristic appearance, the lead developer of the ships of this project, the Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau, noted that the new OIC with the same name will be 10 m longer, will receive new electronic and research equipment and will be able to perform a wider range of tasks.

The main feature of ships of this type is the practically unlimited cruising range - to continue continuous work and complete the assigned tasks, you only need to enter ports for refueling and replenishment of other supplies. At the same time, the navigation autonomy is 60 days, and the practical cruising range is up to 8 thousand nautical miles.

In addition to research and reconnaissance operations, the ships of the project 22010 can also perform special tasks, including the search for objects sunken at great depths. One of such operations was carried out by the Yantar crew relatively recently - at the end of 2017, a special-purpose ship, together with the Argentine Navy ships, was used to search for a submarine. San Juan Sunken in the Atlantic Ocean.

Special Purpose Atom

A year after the delivery of the research ship "Yantar" to the specialists of the GUGI, the Russian Navy accepted one of the most secret nuclear submarines into the fleet. BS-64 " Moscow suburbs ”Stood on the stocks of the shipyard for 16 years and during the lengthy reconstruction it turned from a strategic submarine into a special-purpose nuclear submarine. As part of the re-equipment, the submarine was deprived of the famous "hump" - a part of the hull designed to accommodate silos with ballistic missiles, and in its place a "docking compartment" of small-sized deep-sea vehicles appeared.

A number of sources noted that operators in special compartments can use several types of deep-sea vehicles to perform tasks, among which there are as "light" underwater reconnaissance vehicles " Harpsichord"And their modernized version" Harpsichord-2R-PM"And specialized nuclear deep-water stations of projects 1910" Sperm whale », 1851 « Halibut"And 10831" Losharik ».

There is no exact data on the composition of the electronic equipment of nuclear deep-sea stations, however, a number of sources report that with the help of devices of this type, the crew of a submarine will be able to carry out operations to "neutralize" any tracking systems, including deep-sea ones, and is able to deactivate any devices for collecting information, including hydroacoustic sensors for tracking multipurpose and strategic nuclear submarines, installed in the proposed areas of combat duty of strategic and multipurpose nuclear submarines.

Counter attack

In November 2018, sensational news went almost unnoticed - the Russian Ministry of Defense for the first time officially confirmed the formation of a crew for the most secret nuclear submarine in the Navy. And although detailed data on the crew of the K-329 "Belgorod", for obvious reasons, are not available, the nuclear submarine, capable of conducting both reconnaissance and strike missions, has already aroused great interest not only among domestic specialists, but also among the American military. The increased attention to the nuclear submarine K-329 is associated primarily with the "payload". The main strike armament of the nuclear submarine "Belgorod" will be the deep-sea complexes " Poseidon »With a cruising range of at least 10 thousand km.

The uniqueness of the strike system, the interception of which with modern ammunition is practically impossible, has already been noted by American experts. Covert Shores magazine even published a possible layout of the Poseidons aboard the K-329. If you believe the guesses of American experts, then on board there may be up to six ultra-high-speed "nuclear torpedoes" with a warhead of 2 megatons each. Deep-sea vehicles, judging by the published images, can be placed on the starboard and left side of the submarine in special cassettes, and their launch can be carried out "in a torpedo way."

Military expert Vasily Kashin In a conversation with an Izvestia correspondent, he noted that civilian and military specialists from the United States have been interested in the peculiarities of the design of the Russian submarine and wearable equipment for a long time.

"Poseidon" is a dangerous device, which, firstly, has a high speed, and secondly, a greater (much greater than that of conventional submarines) depth of travel, "- said Kashin. According to the expert, the impact potential of Poseidon is only a part the capabilities inherent in the design of the device, and there are still no direct analogues of the Russian deep-sea vehicle with a nuclear reactor on board in the armament of the US Navy and NATO countries.

The carrier of "nuclear" drones was rightly included in the category of reconnaissance and strike nuclear submarines. In addition to the Losharik nuclear deep-water station and the Harpsichord-2R-PM unmanned reconnaissance aircraft for operation at shallow depths, the nuclear submarine equipment includes a nuclear turbine generator unit (ATGU). Shelf », From which, if necessary, it is possible to power any electronic systems with high power consumption, including autonomous monitoring stations both on the shore and under water.

Faster and further

Separately, it is worth noting that in 2020, the second "reconnaissance and sabotage" nuclear submarine, capable of carrying out a number of operations at depth anywhere in the World Ocean, should be included in the special-purpose submarine fleet " Khabarovsk", Which has been under construction since 2014 according to project 09851. A distinctive feature of this type of submarine will be even greater automation and saturation with robotic vehicles intended, among other things, for work under the ice of the Arctic.

The Americans have also succeeded in creating special-purpose submarines, as well as deep-sea vehicles, although against the background of the declared characteristics of the "nuclear" Poseidon drone, the achievements of the US Naval Institute and the agency for advanced defense projects DARPA look ambiguous. The main "special boat" - the carrier of underwater vehicles in the US Navy remains USS Jimmy Carter - the third and last of the electric submarines of the Seawolf class. Given the design features of the submarine, Jimmy Carter is most likely used as an underwater laboratory for practicing the use of deep-sea vehicles, however, there is no data on the constant appearance of this nuclear submarine on alert.

The only direction in the development of the US Navy, on which reliable information cannot be found in open sources, is the creation and use of nuclear deep-water stations capable of diving 1000 m or more. An underwater drone is considered the only viable and working project in this direction. Boeing echo voyager, the experimental application of which in the waters of the Pacific Ocean began in 2017. However, the absence of a miniature nuclear reactor and a limited supply of fuel on board severely limit the functionality of such a device.

Considering the number and characteristics of specialized submarines in the US Navy, it can be cautiously concluded that Russia has achieved much more serious successes in the development of means for offensive submarine warfare, which is considered the main direction in the wars of the future.