Feature 1 | RUSSIA Russia’s Navy: a fair wind into a storm?


Te Russian Navy has got off to a fairly good start to its 5 trillion rouble (roughly US$171 billion) 10-year re-equipment programme, although there is a hint that its predecessor’s problems remain a hurdle still to be overcome.


O


n 1 February 2012, DCNS began cutting steel for the first of the two Mistral-class Universalnyi


Desantnyi Korabel (Universal Landing Ships) for the Russian Navy. Delivery to the Pacific Fleet is scheduled for 2014, the second ship being delivered the following year, both being a year behind schedule. Work on adapting the French design to meet Russian requirements began in November 2011, and it is planned to build another two ships at the Admiralty Shipyards from 2014 with deliveries in 2016-17. The Mistrals will radically improve


the Russian Navy’s amphibious warfare capability, currently based upon a score of tank landing ships (LSTs) designated Bolshoi Desantny Korabl (Large Landing Ships). The four Alligator-class (Project 1171) units are 46 years old and the 15 Ropucha- class (Project 775) were built in Poland some 38 years ago. While there is a move to modernise this fleet, with the Modified Alligator-class (Project 11711E) RFS Vitse Admiral Ivan Gren scheduled to be delivered by the Yantar yard in Kaliningrad with five more to follow, these have limited over-the- horizon capability, even with Landing Craſt Air Cushion (LCAC) vehicles. As Russian Deputy Premier Dmitri


Rogozin admitted in February, chronic under-funding means many ships are serving beyond their useful service lives, and the Russian Navy needs urgent modernisation and is coming under a degree of foreign influence to achieve this. Another sign was the order placed with


Yantar Shipyard for what Russia officially described as Krivak IV but which are actually versions of the Indian Navy’s Talwar class. Yantar had a contract for three, with construction of the first-of- class, RFS Admiral Grigorovich, beginning in December 2010, with the keel of the second, RFS Admiral Essen, laid in August. Tese ships will be delivered by 2014, but


18


Russia continues to add new vessels to its fleet but progress has been hampered by industrial problems.


in September the yard received a contract for another three with deliveries from 2016 onwards, as Moscow seeks to meet a relative modest objective, by the standards of the glory days of Admiral Sergei Gorshkov, of 14 ‘frigates’ and 35 ‘corvettes’ during this decade.


Legacy problems The economy’s difficulties producing electronics and weapon systems, inadequate funding and poor organisational skills in both ministry and yards continue to cause problems. Most new Russian frigates were supposed to be Admiral Gorshkovs (Project 22350), built at the Severnaya shipyard in St Petersburg. However, RFS Admiral Gorshkov is three years late, and although she is scheduled to join the fleet this year no-one is holding their breath as the cost rises from 7 billion to 18 billion roubles. Little wonder the order has now been cut to six units, and may be cancelled by an exasperated Admiralty which wanted all of the vessels by 2018.


Te yard claims it will deliver the Admiral Gorshkov and second ship RFS Admiral Kasatonov this year. It laid down the third, RFS Admiral Golovko, in February and she will join the fleet in 2017. Tere are believed to be contracts for a total of eight ships. Te Severnaya yard is producing three


2200tonne Steregushchiy (Project 20380) class light frigates (having produced the first-of-class in 2007) which, like the Gorshkovs, have ‘stealth’ features to reduce ship signature and are described by Russia as ‘corvettes’ to replace the Grisha (Project 1124) class. Te second ship, RFS Soobrazitelny was delivered in October and work continues at Severnaya on RFS Boiky and Stoiky, while the Komsomols yard produces RFS Sovershenny. It is reported that Russia is seeking a total of 30 of these multi-role vessels. In February the yard announced it had laid down a sixth Steregushchiy, RFS Gremyashchy, but she is an improved version and, unlike most ships which have dedicated weapon control


Warship Technology May 2012


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36