"Moscow", a missile cruiser. The Moscow missile cruiser "Moskva" is the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet

Since ancient times it has become so, that own fleet had exceptionally strong and rich states. This particularly applies to warships, the exploitation of which at all times was very expensive. Today this statement is extremely relevant. Ships are terribly expensive cars, and therefore the presence of their own fleet is incredibly reinforcing the international prestige of the state that has it.

Despite the vicissitudes of the 1990s, our country managed to preserve its navy. To date, it is gradually expanding and modernizing. Unfortunately, this process is rather slow, and therefore the ships put into operation in the last years of the USSR still remain of great importance. An example of this is "Moscow". The rocket cruiser with this name still represents a formidable force in the open spaces of the seas.

Basic information

About his capabilities, at least the nickname given to him by sailors, is "the killer of aircraft carriers." This is not only the flagship of the entire Black Sea fleet, but also one of the most powerful ships in all Russian fleets. Port of registration - Sevastopol. Before the well-known events, the Black Sea Fleet had a lot of inconvenience, since there was a constant debate with the Ukrainian side about the lease. Now all this is irrelevant.

Built "Moscow" (missile cruiser, of course) was in the city of Nikolaev. Initially, the ship was named "Glory."

Purpose, commissioning time

This cruiser is the main object in the project 1164 Atlant. As soon as the antisubmarine ship "Moscow" was decommissioned from the Navy of the USSR (built under the project 1123), the future flagship immediately got his name. Its main purpose immediately became the purposeful destruction of large ships of the probable enemy (for example, aircraft carriers), air defense of the coast and fire cover for its landing.

When was "Moscow" put into operation? The missile cruiser was launched in 1982, but its official use begins only in 1983.

Where was staying, what was the glory of the cruiser?

The main place of his service was the Mediterranean Sea. Repeatedly "Moscow" was seen in the ports of all states, whose coast it washes. When in December 1989 on the island of Malta Mikhail Gorbachev met with George Bush (senior, of course), it was this ship that provided security for the entire conference.

Modernization, combat use

In 1990 GRKR "Moscow" returned to his native Nikolaev for modernization. That's just because of the collapse of the Soviet Union it lasted exactly 8.5 years, and only on May 13, 1998 he received a new banner and the flag of the new country. In addition, at the same time, the Black Sea Fleet withdrew the guard ship Krasny Kavkaz, from which Moscow received a guards rank.

In 2003, there was an event at which the GRC "Moscow" shone for the first time on the international arena since the times of the USSR. It is about the teachings of Indra, which were jointly conducted by the Black Sea, Pacific Fleets and the Navy of friendly India. A year later he participated in the exercises "IONIEKS-2004", which were conducted jointly with the Italians. The beginning of 2008 met in the Mediterranean Sea in the company of the aircraft carrier "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov", as well as the accompanying ships.

In August 2008, the Black Sea Fleet represented by "Moscow" took part in the operation to coerce Georgia into peace, being in the waters of Ossetia. Early next year he participated in commemorative events dedicated to the anniversary of the terrible earthquake that occurred in Sicily a hundred years ago. Then the seamen of the Imperial Navy actively participated in the liquidation of the consequences.

The meaning of "Moscow" for the Russian Navy

In general, the ships, whose name was the name of the capital of the state, are always under close scrutiny. Moscow was not an exception. The missile cruiser repeatedly took on board the most powerful persons of both the USSR and other states. However, this did not prevent the new authorities of the country in the early 1990s to think about sending this ship to scrap.

We did not say for nothing that the cruiser had been standing on the stocks in Nikolayevsk for almost eight and a half years, while complicated bureaucratic delays were taking place. Fortunately, the ship was not cut into metal, and the Black Sea Fleet did not lose its legendary flagship.

About the need

In the middle of 1990, on the wave of "economical economy" and "cost reduction" in the domestic media, a lot of battles raged. "Experts" for a long time and heatedly discussed whether a country needs this ship. Many believed that holding such a cruiser on the Black Sea was economically disadvantageous, suggesting that it be "overtaken" by the Pacific Fleet. They were actively supported by foreign opponents. They were completely unimpressed by the idea that the "killer of aircraft carriers" would carry their combat duty in these waters.

August 2008 showed how much the country needs "Moscow". The Guards missile cruiser was the only "weighty word" that kept NATO from rash decisions. Now it is somehow not remembered, but during the "five-day war" in the Black Sea was a huge number of ships of the alliance. But Moscow (the capital) was surprisingly calm about what was going on.

The solution was simple: the Atlant project rocket could easily launch the entire surface group of NATO ships into scrap. All this was well understood, and therefore there was a kind of armed neutrality.

How it all began

How did the Russian missile cruiser project 1164 appear? The first ship of this class received the encrypted name "Aurora", and it was developed in the middle of the 70s of the last century. Initially A. Perkov was appointed to the post of chief designer, but later V. Mutikhin succeeded him. From the navy, A. Blinov, captain of the second rank, was appointed observer.

Before the team of designers there were really non-trivial tasks. The fact is that the military needed not just an appropriate class of warships, but a universal combat vehicle that could provide both local air defense of some part of the coast, and become an element of collective air defense along with coastal lines of fortifications.

However, with a very difficult task designers have coped with brilliance. They took the complex of the S-300 air defense system covered with combat glory, created its ship variant (it can be distinguished by the letter "F"), after which they installed it on a new ship. This armament still remains highly relevant and allows us to confidently reflect air attacks on the ships of the Black Sea Fleet.

What technical solutions were used?

In general, "Atlant" widely used well-proven solutions from the ships of the project 1134B. Of course, they were re-worked, but the main technical base remained without any changes. By that time, seven ships of the 1134B project had already been built, which in the fleet were nicknamed "bucari". So far, Kerch has remained in the ranks, which also belongs to the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation.

The main tactical characteristics of "Moscow"

The displacement of this magnificent vessel is 11,500 tons. The total length of the ship is 186 meters. With a width of 21 meters, its height is 42.5 meters. Not surprisingly, the sludge of such an impressive ship is 8.5 meters. The maximum achievable speed (we'll talk about this later) is 32 knots, the usual stroke is 16 knots. As power plants are just four gas turbines, the power of each of which is equal to 22500 liters. from. In motion, the ship is driven immediately by two propellers.

If we talk about a speed of 16 knots, then under these conditions, the range of autonomous navigation is 6,000 nautical miles (in translation into a metric system - about 12,000 km). As for the time, the food stocks are enough for exactly one month of autonomy. The number of crew is 510 people, in combat conditions the number of personnel can be increased. For support and reconnaissance, the Ka-27 multipurpose helicopter is used, the landing pad of which is located at the stern.

Basic technical information

All the ships of the Atlant project received an entirely new gas turbine propulsion system, which had not only one propulsion engine for each shaft, but also a pair of afterburner power plants. A new technical solution was applied when the heat from the engines was collected by a heat recovery circuit (TUK). It turned the liquid into steam, which rotated the auxiliary turbines of the power plant.

This gave huge advantages. Even at the cruising speed of 18 knots fuel efficiency increased by 12%. The maximum speed with the use of all engines from now on was as much as 32 knots, which for ships of this class is almost a record indicator.

Body features

Blinov, who watches from the Navy, achieved from designers a technical solution, in which the thickness of almost all the elements of the hull was not less than 8 millimeters. By the way, it was much more than required by calculated indicators. Due to such know-how, these military ships of Russia are distinguished by increased durability. But everything has its opposite sides: at the expense of used design solutions displacement (compared with the ships of the project 1134B) grew by 28% at once.

For the sake of justice it is worth noting that comparing these machines is not too correct in principle. The fact is that such Russian warships and antisubmarine vessels are very similar only in appearance and some technical solutions.

Initially, "Moscow" and other "Atlantes" were armed with P-500 "Basalt" missiles. The fire control system is Argon. Initially, there were 16 such missiles on ships. They were mounted in eight paired mines located on the upper deck. In the course of further modernization, the obsolete missile armament was replaced by the P-1000 "Vulcan". These missiles can hit targets at a distance of about 700 kilometers.

Basic information on combat systems

The fire control system allows a combat launch mode, including a one-stage start (to defeat one target) of all 16 missiles. By the way, such a salvo can not withstand any aircraft carrier in the world. How do these naval warships get the coordinates of the targets at such distant launches? Everything is simple: either from satellites, or from Tu-95 planes, or through the work of our own reconnaissance and targeting system.

Anti-aircraft weapons of the cruiser

To effectively repel air attacks on the ship, two SAMs are mounted at once. The first, S-300F, is designed for a collective or zonal air defense system. The second, "Osa-M", is intended solely to repel attacks by aircraft, helicopters and enemy missiles on the ship itself.

For the S-300F SAM system, eight drum- type launchers are designed to produce relatively quick recharging and maintenance of missiles. They are located both in the area of the upper deck, and at the stern of the cruiser. To effectively manage the launching and targeting process, a special radar was included in the ship's gun system. Its feature is an antenna, made in accordance with the "phased array" scheme.

As we have already said, the "Osa-M" complex is used for self-defense of the ship, which allows confidently to hit targets at a distance of about ten kilometers. It consists of two PUs (with a homing system operating immediately in two planes). Unlike older ships, the self-defense kit also has its own control system. The total ammunition load of the two complexes of the "Osa" air defense system is exactly 48 missiles. Accordingly, 64 munitions are provided for the S-300.

Additional anti-aircraft systems

But the capabilities of anti-aircraft cruisers are not limited to this. To make it really a multifunctional combat unit, a universal (can also shoot on shore and sea targets) 130 mm installation (automatic, of course) AK-130 was included in the design. To increase its efficiency, the system of radar detection "Leo" comes with it.

Among other things, the ship has a whole battery of 30 mm six-barreled AK-630M guns. In the battery - two units, each of which is controlled by the guidance and tracking system of the target "Vympel". The "Flag" radar is responsible for the airspace near the ship itself, as well as for the supply of information to airborne anti-aircraft weapons, which includes two other radar installations: "Fregat" and "Voskhod". Their antennas are rigidly mounted on the fok and mainmast of the "Killer of aircraft carriers".

Struggle against enemy submarines

Soviet designers did not forget about what a formidable enemy can be underwater vessels. Despite the shock specialization, the cruiser is not badly protected from them: there is a well-proven "Platinum" sonar system, which includes a towed and bulb antenna. For the immediate attack of enemy submarines, two 533 mm vehicles for launching torpedoes are provided at once.

On the contrary, two installations of RBU-6000 (missile-bomb) are just designed to protect the ship from torpedo salvoes from the enemy side.

General evaluation of all project ships

Altogether, four ships were laid on the Atlant project. Only three of them were put into operation. Each of the ships is currently in service. They serve in the Black Sea, Pacific and Northern fleets. In principle, the project "Atlant" was really worthy and worthy of attention unlike the predecessors of type 1144 "Orlan". The ships of Project 1164 had a much smaller displacement, but they were no worse in armament, and in most cases better than their predecessors.

In addition, already at the time of creation, priority was given to offensive weapons. Despite this, the new cruisers have weak points. So, on the ships of the Orlan project there were 96 missiles for the S-300 complex, while the Atlantis had only 64 of them. In addition, the Osa-M missile systems were once the advanced means for self-defense of ships from air attacks, but at the time of the creation of the cruisers their capabilities were clearly not enough. Finally, on the ships of Project 1144 there were 16 PU "Dagger" at once.

Thus, the 1164 cruisers perfectly met all the requirements of the late Soviet doctrine of naval use, when warships were planned to be sent into battle only provided they were reliably covered from the air. Unfortunately, this doctrine corresponds badly to the current state of affairs. It is not always possible to provide ships with reliable protection from the air, so that their own air defense system becomes particularly important.

Main disadvantages of the project courts

The most significant drawback (apart from the nuances described above) is the presence of a single multi-channel radar ("Wave"), designed to capture and indicate targets complete with the S-300 complex. In addition, in the event of an installation failure, the ship is almost completely deprived of more or less adequate protection against attacks from the air, "Wave" can not repel attacks from more than one direction. If we talk about similar cruisers of Americans (built under the Ticonderog project), then on each of them four (!) Independent radars are mounted, which can automatically drive and shoot down targets in several directions at once.

Thus, the presence of only one radar station not only turns Atlantis into a relatively easy target for prospective enemy fighters, but also makes extremely dangerous anti-ship missiles of NATO, which in recent years have shown excellent opportunities in the field of multi-sector attack.

These ships were created in the city of Nikolaev. Shipyard is currently located not only in the territory of another country, but also in disastrous condition, so there such vessels are unlikely to be built there. It remains to hope only for the domestic military-industrial complex, which will be able to arrange the construction of something like this.