"Peter the Great" is an atomic cruiser. Atomic missile cruiser Peter the Great: description

The main strike force of the Russian Navy is submarines, nuclear and diesel-electric. It is they who carry a difficult service far from their native coasts, unobtrusively demonstrating the vulnerability of potential enemies, from time to time deliberately letting themselves "spot". Appearing from the deep sea in the most unexpected moments, near the zones of maneuvers of foreign fleets, they show the commanders of their ships that, despite the invisibility, they still exist. In peacetime, this practice is considered normal, and in the event of war the presence of submarines is manifested in a different way. But the submariners have their own tactics, and the movement of surface ships can not be concealed, especially such as large aircraft carriers or cruisers with an atomic power plant. It seems that these giants are not afraid of anyone.

Is there a need for this giants?

This is how the nuclear-powered cruiser "Peter the Great" behaves in the sea. The Military Review, a site devoted to domestic and foreign weapons systems, acquaints visitors with many technical details of the design of this ship, its driving characteristics, but refrains from analyzing its combat effectiveness in the event of a serious sea or global conflict. At the same time, the cruiser, laid down in 1986, may no longer meet the requirements of the new millennium, it was designed without consideration of low-visibility technologies and is a large brightly shining target. It has merits, but it has a number of shortcomings, and the content of such a combat unit costs the Russian treasury a round sum annually. So is our fleet needing the nuclear cruiser Peter the Great, or is it better and cheaper to deal with traditional submarines, missile systems and naval aviation? How successfully will he be able to defend Russia's maritime borders in the event of special foreign policy circumstances? What are his rivals in the ocean?

These questions require detailed and detailed answers.

Orlan series

In those days, when the fleet of the USSR was commanded by Admiral Gorshkov, the general ideology of the naval strategy was based on large ships, both surface and underwater. The indestructible power of the Soviet Navy was symbolized by numerous submarines-nuclear ships and cruisers bristling with launchers, radar and antennas. Diesel power plants narrowed the radius of operational use of marine forces. Ensure the possibility of visible presence in any area of the world's oceans was laid at the Baltic plant "Yuri Andropov" (since 1998, "Peter the Great"). The nuclear cruiser was built not alone, despite the serious economic difficulties of the perestroika era, a series of four ships of the 1144 project, commonly known as the Orlan, began in the shipyards. The "brothers" of "Andropov" were "Kirov", "Frunze" and "Kalinin", also named after prominent figures of the Communist Party. Further events that began to occur in the country have shown that, setting such a large-scale task of re-equipping the Navy's surface forces, the country's leaders got a little excited. Currently, of the entire series, only one nuclear-powered cruiser "Peter the Great" is a combat-ready unit. What will happen to Admiral Lazarev (the former Frunze) and Admiral Nakhimov (Kalinin) is already clear, they are being modernized and will be put into operation by the end of the decade. The fate of "Admiral Ushakov" ("Kirov") is sad, the ship is waiting for utilization.

Sneaking up inconspicuously, he can not

This ship is not just big. It is larger than aircraft carriers only. He can be in years of autonomous navigation, making a scheduled replacement of personnel and replenishing supplies of food. The team consists of 727 sailors, foremen, midshipmen and officers, including 18 pilots and technical personnel serving helicopters. Speed 32 knots. Displacement of 26 thousand tons. It should be borne in mind that it is almost impossible to ensure the secrecy of its appearance in any part of the world's ocean. And it's not about the size, or rather, not only in them. Passage through the straits or canals disavows the low-tonnage ships, not that the nuclear cruiser Peter the Great. News that an aircraft carrier, destroyer or frigate has traveled through Suez, the Bosporus or the Dardanelles, instantly disperse around the world. So what is the task of this giant, if its location is always known, if not from television programs, then according to satellite surveillance?

A major goal

It's clear that when any such powerful ship appears on the coast, any likely enemy will be alert and announce a general alarm. The same will be the reaction of the commander of the naval unit, to which, for some reason, the heavy nuclear-powered cruiser Peter the Great will approach. If such an event occurs in peacetime, then everything will end with the usual "exchange of courtesies," the squadron politely grin with its shock and defense systems, "make a noise" by communication and disperse, "like ships in the sea." But in the event of war, things will go much more intensely and more dangerously. On a large target, the enemy will immediately open fire and do everything to let the cruiser to the bottom. What will respond to the launches of anti-ship missiles, torpedoes, air strikes and other hostile actions of "Petro Veliky"? And will he be able to deliver a preemptive strike if necessary?

Yes. For this, he has everything he needs.

Armament

It is unique not only in size. In the world there are not so armed non-navigating ships as "Peter the Great". The nuclear cruiser has on board a huge arsenal, including all possible means of fire damage and protection against air attacks, underwater attacks, mine threats and other dangers. "The main caliber" are the rockets "Granite", located in twenty launchers under the deck.

Attack of schools of these shells can not withstand, they have an integrated-autonomous control system. The flight is coordinated by the "leader" who has risen above all other missiles, and in the event of his defeat by the enemy's anti-missile systems, an automatic "appointment" of a new leader takes place. In combination with radio interference and false objects, the impact of the Granites can be considered irresistible.

The S-300F air defense complex (in the sea version) is supplemented by anti-air systems "Dagger" and "Kashtan". These technical means protect the TARK from the impact of anti-ship missiles launched even from aircraft. Moreover, they are capable of hitting even ultra-precise laser guided bombs.

The attack of torpedo and missile boats will not succeed either. In addition to this missile weaponry, there is also artillery of the 130th caliber capable of hitting a distance of up to 22 kilometers. To combat enemy submarines, the nuclear heavy cruiser Peter the Great is equipped with ten Vodopad launchers with four dozen RGB-40 anti-submarine guided missiles, and the Ka-27 helicopters will help to find them, two of them. And that is not all.

In general, there are a lot of weapons. Both the barrier and offensive fire are from what to lead.

The ghost of the eighties?

However, all this does not mean that the Tark Peter the Great can be called an unsinkable ideal cruiser, against which the enemy is powerless. Such weapons simply do not exist, especially since the ship was designed for a long time, nearly three decades ago. During this time, the concept of military shipbuilding has changed, the silhouettes of combat ships have become different, the unusual outlines of the sea "Stells" have appeared, the complex interlacing of antennas has disappeared, the forms have become simpler, the lines of contours have become broken. Some experts in the field of armaments "Peter the Great" (a heavy nuclear missile cruiser of Project 1144) seem to be an archaic ghost of the era of the seventies and eighties. Already at it resonant lattices, radar and communication antennas are many. And lead such experts as an example of the American "Orly Burke" - destroyer, built with all modern requirements for low-visibility and information support.

American rivals

Yes, the American destroyer strikes with its ultra-modern appearance. It's just a robot transformer of some kind, it does not have protruding parts, and the computer complex provides (according to representatives of the Pentagon) early detection and very rapid adoption of operational decisions. There is a concern about how successfully the nuclear cruiser Peter the Great can operate against the Aegis system, which is equipped with destroyers of the Orly Burke type.

But not everything is so sad. The fact is that the American newest ships were created on the basis of two main principles: maximum integration of control systems and minimization of costs.

The Aegis system

The AN / SPY-1 radar station, installed on the "Orly Burke", uses four phased arrays fixed to the superstructure as an antenna. The whole system is closed to a single processing center, which, of course, gives certain advantages in terms of noise immunity, but at the same time narrows the range of detection and tracking distances. Especially this defect is manifested when it is necessary to repel the attacks of low-flying supersonic anti-ship missiles, which Pyotr Veliky possesses. The nuclear cruiser thanks to its size can carry a lot of weapons, and its high-level antennas provide for the long-range detection of even such unobtrusive objects as ships of the Orly Burke class (which can not be called invisible anyway).

On the antennas of "Peter the Great"

Yes, there are many antennas, and it is because of them that it is so clearly visible on the screens of the radar "Peter the Great". The nuclear cruiser is equipped with three radar stations, each of which performs its part of the work. "Sunrise" (МР-600), fixed on the foremast, performs an overview function. Below, at the grotto, there is a radar "Frigate M 2" (MR-750), it defines all three coordinates of the target. The antenna "Podkata" (MP-350) is mounted on the foremast, it is able to detect low-flying targets - this is just the element that is lacking in the harmonious chain of anti-aircraft defense equipment of the American system "Aegis". "Rolling" works in a two-coordinate system and has a high scanning frequency in combination with a small elevation angle, which ensures the necessary speed. Thus, despite its prominence, the Tark Peter the Great has every chance to hit a much more modern ship of a probable enemy, bringing down its entire arsenal. It will be possible to detect the enemy in advance, and consequently, a sudden attack does not threaten him. Reflect rockets, he is also quite able, for this he has everything you need.

Prospects

History knows examples when warships served in the fleet for many decades. Well-made hulls, good running and maneuvering qualities and large displacement create a basis for the modernization of the vessel and its implementation in accordance with the requirements of the current moment. There are all signs that the nuclear-powered cruiser "Peter the Great", whose technical characteristics can certainly be called outstanding, will be used for a long time. There are no analogues to it, even other similar ships with a nuclear power plant, such as Virginia or Long Beach, are substantially inferior to our flagship ship of the Northern Fleet in terms of displacement, and therefore, in terms of modernization potential. Unique also is its power plant, which includes two fast neutron reactors and auxiliary steam boilers, which increase power to 300 megawatts.

It is significant that this miracle of domestic shipbuilding bears the name of the creator of the Russian Navy, who started this good deed by building a modest boutique.

It is possible that decades will pass before the nuclear missile cruiser Peter the Great is removed from the Navy's arsenal, which will be replaced by new ships of the third millennium.