Nuclear giant ship modification upgrade sword refers to the ocean
Not long ago, Russian media published photos of the Kirov-class nuclear-powered cruiser "Admiral Nasimov" at the Severodvinsk Shipyard. Judging from the picture, this 20,000-ton battleship has dismantled most of its surface equipment. Scaffolding all over the body shows the huge amount of modification work. So, what are the upgrades for this warship that plans to return to "Jianghu"? Can it meet the future operational needs of the Russian Navy? This article tries to do an analysis——
The "face value" rises steadily, focusing on practicing "inner skills"
The modification work of "Admiral Nasimov" has been carried out intermittently for 8 years since it was started in 2012. This is because, with the advancement of other naval ship projects in the Russian Navy, the cost for this nuclear giant ship is relatively tight and limited, making it difficult to strongly support its rapid completion of the upgrade plan. At the same time, the large amount of conversion works and the high technical requirements are also one of the reasons for its slow progress. However, as one of the large warships of the Russian Navy with refit value, its upgrade will continue to advance. Officials of the Russian Ministry of Defense predict that the ship will be re-commissioned in 2023.
Combined with the actual and future combat needs of the Russian Navy, the modification of the Admiral Nasimov reflects a strong pragmatic style, that is, under the circumstances of tight funds, the combat effectiveness is mainly improved by using existing mature technologies. From this, it can be preliminarily judged that the overall effect after the upgrade is completed: the "face value" rises slightly, the "inner skills" are practiced hard, the "ears" are "clear" and the "fists" are harder.
The upgrade and transformation of naval ships is generally mainly focused on the upgrading of software and hardware facilities such as shipboard weapons, radar systems, command and control systems, and rarely "damages" the ship's hull. The purpose of this operation is mainly to ensure the safety of the hull structure and navigation stability. Therefore, the upgraded "Admiral Nasimov" may have little change in the hull, the superstructure will be fine-tuned, and it still looks like "a rough and mighty warrior", and will not be transformed into A minimalist aesthetic genre like the Zumwalt class destroyer and the Type 45 destroyer. However, the relevant Russian shipyards will conduct a comprehensive inspection of the main hull structure and pipelines and cables, replace the aging components and cables, maintain the nuclear power system, and find ways to extend the life of the hull to help "Admiral Nasimov "The No. 1 battled the Ocean again for 10 years or even 20 years.
As a loyal practitioner of "firepower wins," Russia will continue the powerful firepower of "Admiral Nasimov". Judging from the photos and information disclosed on the refitting site, the original "Granite" anti-ship missile device on the front deck of the ship will be replaced with the current general vertical launch device of the Russian Navy, which can launch "caliber" series cruise missiles and carry bombs. The number increased to 4 times before. The air defense system has been comprehensively upgraded. The combination of the medium- and long-range anti-aircraft missile system of Rudout and the armored artillery and short-range air defense system will build a more reliable air defense force for the ship. The amount of anti-potential has also been enhanced. In addition to launching submarine-launched "caliber" cruise missiles, it will also be equipped with a "paper bag" -NK anti-submarine/anti-torpedo system to intercept and strike torpedoes and submarines at close range.
In addition, with the service of the hypersonic "zircon" anti-ship missile, it will also become a "hands-on" weapon carried by the "Admiral Nasimov", forming a powerful deterrent to the strategic opponent's aircraft carrier battle group.
The shipboard electronic system is the weakest link of the old Russian warships. The radar antenna that used to be majestic due to the tall and complex has now become a symbol of the "Admiral Nasimov" lagging behind in this respect. In recent years, Russia has developed and installed a number of new shipborne radars, such as the "5P-20K" X-band active phased array radar on the 22350 frigate, and the MR-650L band long-range warning radar on the destroyer Kerch. , The technology is relatively mature. Once this type of new radar is transplanted to the "Admiral Nasimov", this old battleship will make great progress in sea and air detection capabilities, so that its battlefield situational awareness ability has significantly increased.
"Body wide and fat" "heart" is good and has great potential
At present, in the Russian naval equipment sequence, there are not many large warships such as the cruiser "Admiral Nasimov". As Soviet Soviet nuclear-powered surface warships, the Kirov-class "Admiral Nasimov" and "Peter the Great" cruisers have a full-load displacement of more than 20,000 tons. With its powerful nuclear power, like the "Peter the Great" cruiser, the upgraded "Admiral Nasimov" can be deployed on the sea for a long time, and it has become a strategic platform for the Russian navy to carry out strike missions in the ocean.
In the eyes of some experts, the "Admiral Nasimov" has been "dangling old", especially its tall superstructure, huge ship hull, basically did not use any stealth design, the noise is relatively large, even if carried out With a targeted upgrade, it is difficult to change its fundamental backwardness. Is this really the case? I'm afraid this may not be the case at all.
This involves a question of how to measure the advanced or backward standards of weapons and equipment. For weaponry, especially strategic weaponry, whether its design is excellent depends not only on the time of its launch, but on whether it can efficiently carry out strategic or tactical tasks at that time, and depends on its future upgrade How many interfaces are there and how much potential can be tapped.
The US military B-52 strategic bomber has been in the sky for 65 years and is still flying in the sky because it has the advantages and potential to rely on.
At this point, the cruiser "Admiral Nasimov" has the same features as the B-52 strategic bomber. Although its "age" is not small, it has plenty of space. It uses nuclear power and strong cruising power. It is a good platform for carrying weapons on the sea. Relying on as many as hundreds of advanced ship-based air defense missiles, cruise missiles and anti-ship missiles, it can be transformed into a more powerful "arsenal ship", so that Russia has a certain sea area air defense capabilities and long-range land strike capabilities.
As for the shortcomings such as poor stealth performance, although Russia is unable to fundamentally solve this congenital defect of the "Admiral Nasimov", in the modern war system confrontation, even the most advanced weapons and equipment cannot The power wins. As long as the ship is deeply integrated into the existing combat system of the Russian army and the defense and attack tasks are completed with the help of the system, its role as "arsenal ship" and strategic deterrence and command platform at sea can be fully utilized.
Take the Russian military operations in Syria as an example. Although most of the targets to be attacked are concentrated on land, the Russian military has also dispatched small and medium-sized frigates and old-style destroyers to carry out long-range strikes against Syrian terrorists. This "really good transcript" confirms from one side the possibility of "Admiral Nasimov" playing a role in the modern combat system.
When the "successor" will come, it is impossible to predict in the short term
But on the other hand, no matter how upgraded or improved, the hull and age of the cruiser "Admiral Nasimov" cannot be changed. Considering its design life, the Russian Navy has also been looking for the "successor" of Kirov-class cruisers for many years.
Ten years ago, the Russian economy recovered from the rising winds of world oil prices. Correspondingly, the Russian navy’s weapons and equipment have also begun a prelude to renewal. They have been equipped with a group of small and medium surface warships represented by 22350 frigates, 11356 frigates, 20380 frigates, etc., but large warships have been delayed. Appearance". However, what is certain is that Russia has not given up the design and research of large surface warships.
For a long time, the design of Russian warships has been independent, but in recent years it has gradually moved closer to the trend of Western warship design. This trend has already been reflected in the publicly displayed leader-level destroyer design. The leader-level destroyer design is quite modern and the performance index is not bad. According to relevant reports, it will use nuclear power, with a full-load displacement of nearly 20,000 tons, and the ability to cover targets within a 1,000-kilometre radius.
It is speculated that the future "successor" of the Russian Navy Kirov-class cruiser should also have some common characteristics of modern battleships. First, it will continue the "violent aesthetics" of Russian ship design, with a large tonnage probability of more than 10,000 tons, a full range of weapons, and a number of missile vertical launch modules that must exceed 100 to achieve the advantage of single-ship firepower over Western ships; Secondly, in the design of the ship body, it will pursue conciseness and clarity, and a large number of stealth technologies will be used; in addition, its shipboard electronic system will be more advanced to improve the maritime situation detection perception capability and response processing speed.
However, due to the prolonged downturn in oil prices in recent years, as well as the sanctions and suppression of Western countries’ “groups”, Russia’s economic situation is still not very optimistic, and the cost of weapons and equipment transformation will not be very large. In addition, the military operations in Syria are expensive, and naval equipment is also a large "gold-sweeping" household. Therefore, in addition to the continuous promotion of strategic deterrent equipment such as nuclear submarines, the construction of large Russian warships is likely to be slowed down, and the pace of upgrading and retrofitting old warships It may not be too fast.
Therefore, looking forward to the next few years, it can be expected that once the cruiser "Admiral Nasimov" is upgraded, it will soon take the armor out and become the main force of the galloping ocean. And when its "successor" will appear, will remain a question mark that is difficult to straighten in the short term.
Faced with the increasingly complex and severe maritime security situation, building the ocean-going navy and achieving naval revival has become a clear and urgent task and goal for the Russian army. It is believed that with the continuous efforts of the Russian Navy, the "successor" of the Kirov-class cruiser will surely come.
(Author of Liu Zhenglu: National Defense University)
Layout design: Liang Chen