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| One ship per month. Are the Russian Navy construction plans for 2024 realistic? |
| 2024-02-02 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Mikhail Zakharov [REGNUM] The Russian Navy will be replenished with 12 surface ships and 4 submarines in 2024, said Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Viktor Evtukhov as part of the ceremony of raising the Russian Navy flag on the Project 677 diesel-electric submarine Kronstadt. “Almost every month, either a surface ship or a submarine—nuclear or diesel-electric —is transferred to the fleet,” Evtukhov noted. “ We all understand that the navy is the basis for ensuring the national interests of our country, the basis for the security of sea routes, this is a strong negotiating position.” According to the deputy minister, the dynamics of construction of ships for the Russian Navy has accelerated significantly. Over the past 10 years, the fleet has received 40 surface ships and 24 submarines, compared with just three submarines a decade earlier, indicating an eightfold increase in the pace. In his speech, Viktor Evtukhov also emphasized that import substitution in the construction of ships for the Navy has reached 100%. “ Today, no sanctions can affect construction and delivery,” he stated. A LOT OF NEW Last year, the Navy received significant reinforcements from industry. It included, in particular, three submarines - the nuclear-powered submarine cruiser Emperor Alexander III, carrying Bulava ballistic missiles, the multi-purpose nuclear-powered submarine cruiser Krasnoyarsk, armed with Kalibr-PL cruise missiles and supersonic Onyx missiles, and also the multi-purpose diesel-electric submarine “ Mozhaisk” of the Varshavyanka project. “These formidable missile carriers, unparalleled in their class, are beginning service in our Navy,” President Vladimir Putin said in December at a ceremony to raise naval flags on nuclear submarines at the Sevmash plant. In addition, Russian shipyards handed over to the sailors the following surface ships: the frigate “Admiral Golovko”, the corvettes “Mercury” and “Rezkiy”, the small missile ships “Cyclone” and “Naro-Fominsk”, the sea minesweeper “Lev Chernavin”, the patrol ship “Neustrashimiy”. In general, the Navy in 2023 was replenished with 33 multi-purpose and raid boats, support vessels, 11 naval aircraft and helicopters, including anti-submarine and transport-combat ones. “ Work to increase Russia’s naval power will certainly continue,” noted the head of state. He also clarified that Russia will definitely implement plans for the construction of submarines and surface ships, quantitatively strengthen the combat readiness of the Navy, as well as naval power in the most important strategic areas of the world's oceans. The strengthening of the Russian Navy continued in the first month of 2024: thus, at the end of January, the Kola Flotilla of the Northern Fleet received the Project 677 diesel-electric submarine Kronstadt, armed with Caliber missile systems. At the same time, the transfer of another submarine of this project, Velikiye Luki, to the Baltic Fleet is also planned for this year. BIG PLANS According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, in addition to Velikiye Luki, the Russian Navy’s combat formation will also be supplemented by the small missile ship Burya, which is completing state tests in the Baltic, and the nuclear submarine Arkhangelsk of the Yasen-M project, intended for the submarine forces of the Northern Fleet. The fleet will also be replenished with several sea minesweepers and small missile and patrol ships to strengthen connections in the Baltic, Black Sea and Pacific Ocean. According to the Ministry of Defense, during 2024, the next nuclear-powered strategic missile submarine of the Borei-A project, Prince Pozharsky, the fourth frigate of Project 22 350, Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Isakov, and the corvette of Project 20,385, Provorny, will be launched, as well as a number of other warships of various classes. “Currently on the slipways, near the embankments of Russian shipyards there are five frigates, eight corvettes, thirteen small missile ships and more than 50 other ships of various classes, standing and working on them,” the country’s president said at the end of December. The pace of implementation of the state defense order suggests that this year and next the Navy will continue to receive new combat units to replace Soviet-built ships. “ Today, ships of new designs, such as frigates, patrol ships and universal landing ships, are constantly being added to the groupings of ships in the far sea zone on a regular basis,” noted the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Admiral Nikolai Evmenov, in January. According to the commander-in-chief, one of the priority areas for the fleet in terms of the development of submarine forces is the serial construction of multi-purpose nuclear and diesel-electric submarines. To increase combat capabilities, the modernization of nuclear submarine cruisers with cruise missiles in the Navy also continues. As for surface ships, as Evmenov says, the main strength of the Navy in the near sea zone will be modern multi-purpose ships, combining the capabilities of anti-submarine ships and ships with strike missile and defensive weapons, such as corvettes of the Steregushchy and Gremyashchiy type, as well as small missile ships type "Grad Sviyazhsk". For 2024, it is also planned to strengthen the Russian naval aviation with new heavy attack drones "Okhotnik" and "Pacer", and supplies of naval weapons, long-range sea-based cruise missiles "Caliber", "Uran" and "Zircon", anti-ship and anti-submarine missiles will continue. In 2023, the fleet received more than 7,700 units of such weapons. WE KNOW HOW TO BUILD Military experts interviewed by Regnum news agency agree that the plans for replenishment of the Russian Navy, especially in the field of surface ships, voiced by Viktor Evtukhov, look realistic. We are mainly talking about ships mastered by industry, the construction of which is not very difficult, says military analyst, captain of the first rank of the reserve, Sergei Ishchenko, in an interview with Regnum news agency. “ The number of shipbuilding factories, labor collectives, logistics and technological support makes it possible to build and deliver 12 ships a year,” military expert, first-rank reserve captain Vladimir Gundarov agrees with his colleague. Things are also going quite well in the area of submarine construction, adds Ishchenko. “ As for nuclear submarine cruisers and diesel-electric submarines, especially the Varshavyanka project, we have learned how to make them, and we make them quite quickly,” he says. The devil, as always, is in the details. The forecasts for 2024 are about relatively small ships of small displacement, comments Sergei Ishchenko. “ We are now talking about ships that are adapted to operate mainly in inland seas. But we simply don’t have enough ships in the ocean zone, and we build them at the rate of a teaspoon per hour,” the expert notes. Of the large surface ships, if we talk about the new Project 22 350 frigates of the Admiral Gorshkov type, Ishchenko recalls, only three frigates have been built so far - Admiral Gorshkov, Admiral Kasatonov and Admiral Golovko, the rest are under construction. “ That is, we are building large ships very slowly, very few, and there are clearly not enough of them,” says the analyst. The fleet’s needs for large ships, including aircraft carriers, are limited not by the country’s geopolitical interests, but by its production and economic capabilities, explains Vladimir Gundarov in a conversation with Regnum news agency. Here, in his opinion, the lack of shipyards suitable for this purpose and the necessary industrial cooperation, the high price, and the need for additional considerable investments in the development of the fleet as a whole play a role. Not everything is so good with import substitution, experts believe. On the one hand, there has been a certain shift in the positive direction in turbine construction, in engines, in large units, Gundarov notes. On the other hand, there are questions about dependence on a number of other components, in particular, mechanics and chemistry, says military expert, third-rank reserve captain Maxim Klimov, in an interview with IA Regnum. In addition, the number of imported parts should not affect their quality, for which there are also complaints so far. Nevertheless, there has been progress in this area since the start of the CWO, and sanctions from Western countries really no longer pose such a danger as they did in 2022. |
| Posted by:badanov |
| #3 ^Now, they want him out twice as much - bullies, doncha know? |
| Posted by: Grom the Reflective 2024-02-02 09:11 |
| #2 Orban of Hungry has caved. "Nevertheless, on Thursday, the Hungarian leader lifted his veto on the EU’s €50 billion ($54 billion) package of economic aid to Ukraine, claiming that he had been “blackmailed” by Brussels into accepting the deal after months of resistance." They still want him out. |
| Posted by: Dale 2024-02-02 09:04 |
| #1 It is my observation of Russian history that they always underestimate their own abilities and so offer a more moderate or basic production estimates. 1800's, WW11 Russia always produced more than estimated. With Putin they have continually upgraded production and have the people with the technical skills to utilize. They are ready for war. Russians always gave the West a lofty perch to admire but reality in the world today Russia has truly developed into a superpower. The Nuland's of the world want endless wars everywhere and dream God like powers in the world order of things. So some country does not comply as with NATO completely or USA, Greece, Russia,Italy, Cyprus and now Hungary face crushing blows to economy or leadership change as in Hungry today. The West has fallen in many areas. They talk a good fight but will the check clear. |
| Posted by: Dale 2024-02-02 08:51 |