Heavy nuclear missile cruiser "Peter the Great". Nuclear-powered missile cruiser "Peter the Great"

Carriers of the Granit anti-ship missile system, the only surface combatants with a nuclear power plant in the Russian fleet.

The history of Orlan was long and winding. At first, it was supposed to be a nuclear-powered BOD with great autonomy, designed to search for and destroy American missile-carrying submarines. And the actual nuclear missile cruiser with anti-ship weapons was supposed to be the Project 1165 “Fugas” ship.

However, the construction of two types of heavy ocean-going ships with a nuclear power plant was considered expensive, and the projects were combined and turned into an attack cruiser. This is how Project 1144 appeared in the form that was embodied in metal.

Developed by the Leningrad Northern Design Bureau. The lead cruiser was laid down on March 26, 1973. A total of four such ships were built: "Kirov" (now "Admiral Ushakov"), "Frunze" ("Admiral Lazarev"), "Kalinin" ("Admiral Nakhimov"), and already in Russian times, in 1996, it was completed " Peter the Great" (originally "Yuri Andropov").

Cruiser "Peter the Great" project 11442, Northern Fleet, 2010. Photo: Vitaly Ankov

The total displacement of the ship is 26,000 tons, length is 250 meters. Full speed 31 knots. The propulsion system is redundant: two steam-producing installations with water-cooled nuclear reactors and two backup diesel fuel installations. Unlimited cruising range, reserve autonomy 60 days. Crew 760 people, including 120 officers.

The main armament of the cruiser is 20 launchers of P-700 Granit anti-ship missiles. Long-range air defense is provided by 12 launchers anti-aircraft complex S-300F “Fort” (initially with 5V55R missiles, later with 48N6E). The role of self-defense air defense missile system on the first three cruisers of the series is played by the Osa-M complexes with 9M33 missiles (2×2 launchers), and on the Peter the Great by the Kinzhal (16 launchers) with 9M330 missiles.

The artillery unit of the short-range air defense is provided with four groups of two 30-mm six-barreled AK-630 M assault rifles (on the Kirov and Frunze) or the Kortik air defense system (on the Kalinin and Petra). In addition, there is traditional medium-caliber artillery - two 100mm AK-100 mounts on the Kirov and twin 130mm AK-130 mounts on three subsequent ships.

Launch of a 3 M45 "Granit" missile by the missile cruiser "Peter the Great" during firing training, 2013. Frame from RT TV channel

Anti-submarine weapons include: on the Kirov - a twin installation of the Metel guided missile complex, a twelve-barrel RBU-6000 bomb launcher and two six-barrel RBU-1000; on other ships - 10 launch complexes of Vodopad guided missiles, two six-barrel RBU-1000 and either RBU-6000 (Frunze) or ten-barrel RBU-12000 (Kalinin, Pyotr Velikiy). In addition, torpedo tubes are installed. The cruiser can carry two anti-submarine helicopters of the Ka-25 or Ka-27 type.

The ship carries armor (which is not often found on ships modern type). Thus, the missile compartment with “Granites” and the cellar of anti-submarine missiles are armored with 70-100 mm plates, and the main command post and the combat information post are armored with 75-100 mm plates.

Currently in combat strength Of the four ships, only “Peter the Great” (the flagship of the Northern Fleet) is located. The remaining three were actually withdrawn from the fleet and have been in disrepair since the mid-2000s. At the same time, a contract has been signed until 2018 with the installation of new missile systems and the replacement of avionics. There are also plans to modernize the Admiral Lazarev, although a contract for it has not yet been signed.

The cruiser was transferred to the fleet.

Name	Commissioned into the Navy	Current status
Heavy nuclear missile cruiser "Kirov" ("Admiral Ushakov")	December 30, 1980
Heavy nuclear missile cruiser "Frunze" ("Admiral Lazarev")	October 31, 1984	It sucks. No decision has been made regarding disposal. The fate of the cruiser will depend on the result of the modernization of the cruiser Admiral Nakhimov.
Heavy nuclear missile cruiser "Kalinin" ("Admiral Nakhimov")	December 30, 1988	Under repair and modernization.
Heavy nuclear missile cruiser "Yuri Andropov" ("Peter the Great")	1998	In service. Northern Fleet of the Russian Navy.

Design

Hull and superstructure design

The ship has about 1,600 rooms, including 140 single and double cabins for officers and midshipmen, 30 cabins for sailors and petty officers (for 6-30 people each), 220 vestibules, 49 corridors with a total length of almost 20 kilometers, 15 showers, two baths, one sauna with a 6x2.5 m swimming pool, a two-tier medical block with isolation hospitals, a pharmacy, an X-ray room, an outpatient clinic, a dental office and an operating room. The power plant of the Project 1144 cruiser could provide electricity and heat to a city with a population of 100-150 thousand inhabitants.

Basic tactical and technical elements

Displacement

• Standard: 23,750 t
• Full: 25,860 t

Dimensions

• Overall length: 250.1 m
• Overall width: 28.5 m
• Dimension draft: 10.3 m

Travel speed

• Full - 31 knots (more than 55 km/h)
• Operational and economic - 18 knots (more than 33 km/h)
• Navigation autonomy: 60 days

Crew

• 759 people (including 120 officers)

Power plant

A nuclear power plant with KN-3 reactors (VM-16 type core), although created on the basis of OK-900 type icebreaker reactors, has significant differences. The most important thing is that the fuel assemblies (manufactured by the machine-building plant in Elektrostal) contain uranium with a high degree of enrichment (about 70%). The service life of such a zone until the next recharge is 10-11 years. The reactors are double-circuit, water-to-water, using thermal neutrons; high-purity water (bidistillate) is used as a moderator and coolant, which under high pressure (about 200 atmospheres) circulates through the reactor core, ensuring boiling of the secondary circuit, which goes to the turbines in in the form of steam.

Particular attention was paid to developing a scheme for using the ship's power plant, the shaft power of which reached 70 thousand hp. With . The complex-automated nuclear power plant was located in three compartments and included two nuclear reactors with a total thermal power of 342 MW, two turbo-gear units (located forward and aft of the reactor compartment) and two backup automated boilers KVG-2 installed in the turbine compartments. The steam supply system allows you to supply steam to any installation on any side. The main parameters of the boiler unit: temperature of superheated steam at a pressure of 66 kg/cm - 470 degrees, boiler efficiency up to 84%, dry boiler weight 50 tons. Steam capacity is 115 t/hour.

The cruiser's power plant included four 3 MW steam turbine generators and four 1.5 MW gas turbine generators from the Proletarsky Plant, located in four autonomous compartments. The motor life of each of them is up to 50 thousand hours.

Armament

Anti-ship missile "Granit P-700"

Over-the-horizon target designation and guidance can be carried out by the Tu-95 RC aircraft, the Ka-27 helicopter or the SATCOM space system (Legend-M). The missile is designed to combat aircraft carrier strike groups and is capable of operating not only against formations of ships of all classes during armed conflicts of any intensity, but also effectively hitting targets on the enemy’s coast with a conventional warhead. If necessary, ships with the Granit complex can serve as a reserve for solving the tasks of the Naval Strategic Nuclear Forces.

Twenty anti-ship missiles "Granit" are installed under the upper deck, with an elevation angle of 60°. The SM-233 launchers were manufactured at the Leningrad Metal Plant. Due to the fact that Granit missiles were originally intended for submarines, before launch, the launcher is filled with sea water. The modification of the Granit anti-ship missile system, installed on ships of the updated Project 1144(2) series, is not controlled after launch. In rapid fire mode, one missile, acting as a “gunner,” flies along a high trajectory to maximize the target acquisition area, while the other missiles fly along a low trajectory. During flight, the missiles exchange information about targets. If a "guider" missile is intercepted, then one of the other missiles automatically takes over its functions. The missile system is resistant to enemy radio interference. According to the experience of combat and operational training of the Navy, it is almost impossible to shoot down such a missile. Even if you hit the Granit with an anti-missile missile, the missile, due to its enormous mass and speed, can retain initial speed flight and, as a result, reach the target.

SAM "S-300F"

SAM "Dagger"

Current status

According to Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Vladimir Popovkin, the Russian Ministry of Defense has developed a program for the restoration of heavy nuclear-powered missile cruisers. As of September 2009, the Russian Navy had one nuclear-powered missile cruiser, the Peter the Great, in service, and the possibility of restoring and modernizing the nuclear-powered cruiser Admiral Nakhimov, as well as the Admiral Lazarev, was discussed. “We have several such ships left from the Soviet fleet. We have developed a program to restore them,” Popovkin said. According to him, the Ministry of Defense considers it expedient to have up to three such ships in the Navy, despite the fact that one of them will be in the Pacific Fleet and two in the Northern Fleet. The need to use heavy nuclear missile cruisers is dictated by the tasks of long-distance cruises and exercises, the deputy minister explained.

As a high-ranking representative of the main headquarters of the Russian Navy told RIA Novosti: “All nuclear-powered missile cruisers of Project 1144 in reserve will be returned to the operational strength of the Russian Navy by 2020.”

The work will be carried out over the next five years. Then the ship will go to the Northern Fleet in tandem with the cruiser of the same project "Peter the Great". Work is currently underway to determine the parameters for updating power plants, radio equipment units and weapons. The choice is made in the direction of increasing the combat power of the ship. By the end of 2012, the Military-Industrial Commission under the Russian government will hear all options for modernizing the ship and decide which one to choose.

see also

Notes

1. Lenta.ru: Comments: Fire extinguishers “Peter the Great”
2. The 35th ship repair plant will receive 5 billion rubles to modernize production
3. Old cruisers will be turned into nuclear killers
4. Shlemov: the first Borei will go north, the second to the east
5. Commander-in-Chief of the Navy on the development of the Russian Navy in the near future
6. reactor installations operated on nuclear ships
7. A. S. Pavlov. Nuclear-powered cruisers of the Kirov class (Project 1144)
8. Website "ATRINA" Heavy nuclear missile cruiser pr.1144 "Orlan" type "Kirov", Kirov class

The idea of ​​​​creating large ocean-going ships, the role of a propulsion unit of which would be played, has haunted scientists and engineers almost since the appearance of the first experiments in the field of atomic splitting. Of course, the military dreamed of this most of all: unlimited cruising range and enormous autonomous sailing time - what else is needed for happiness? In general, this is exactly how the cruiser Kirov appeared in the USSR.

Prerequisites for creation

In 1961, the American fleet received an unexpected addition - the nuclear-powered cruiser Long Beach. This forced scientists to begin urgent research in the field of creating domestic nuclear-powered surface submarines. Naturally, such work could not begin immediately, and therefore the project officially started only in 1964. During this time, all the necessary theoretical data were obtained. The main task was formulated simply - the creation of a large ocean-going ship of the first rank, capable for a long time act both autonomously and as part of large groups, providing their support and cover.

Of course, this was “simple” only on paper, since the engineers immediately had to deal with a huge number of difficulties. So the cruiser “Kirov” can rightfully be considered the real crown of military engineering thought of that period. 1144 (project) was able to demonstrate to the world the true capabilities of the USSR. Ships of this class are still highly respected in the West.

Primary technical specifications

Initially, the terms of reference envisaged the creation of a large anti-submarine weapon whose weight would not exceed eight thousand tons. B. Kupensky, who had previously successfully created many anti-submarine vessels (such as the Komsomolets of Ukraine), was immediately appointed as the main supervisor of the project. From the Navy, captain of the second rank A. Savin was appointed observer.

Difficulties and overcoming them

The Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, S. Gorshkov, immediately fell in love with this project and constantly inquired about the progress of work on it. But the creation of a unique ship took a long time and was difficult, since the designers had to solve many problems on the go. In particular, almost from the first months of research it became clear that the displacement would have to be increased, since the steam-conducting installation of a double-circuit reactor simply did not fit into the initially proposed hull design. If the engineers were given the go-ahead for this project, the nuclear-powered cruiser Kirov would be three times larger than it is now, and the ship is already quite big!

As a result, the project grew to completely indecent proportions; there was simply no room left for missiles and other weapons. The solution was found to be logical, but difficult: to design new installation, specifically designed for long-range combat ships. Difficulties were also added by Gorshkov’s categorical demand for the mandatory presence of a power plant using diesel or other organic fuel. However, everyone agreed with this immediately and unanimously: the cruiser "Kirov" 1144 is not a pleasure boat, we have always had problems with the location of such vessels (after all, this is not the USA with its colossal reserves of convenient coastline), and the experience of operating such installations was small.

"Armed disputes"

From the very beginning, it became clear that the cruiser “Kirov” would be able to perform all the tasks assigned to it only if it was structurally designed to have phenomenal combat stability. Simply put, the ability to repel various types of aggression in all possible conditions. The American successes in creating aviation immediately attracted attention: these aircraft would certainly have become the main threat to the ship. It was necessary to introduce a huge amount into the design anti-aircraft weapons, which would allow the creation of a deep, layered missile defense system.

Oddly enough, anti-ship missiles were not included in the project right away. The fact is that the USSR simply did not have sufficient experience in their creation and use. Even the ships we had in those years did not carry serious weapons of this class, which sharply reduced their combat effectiveness in the event of a possible conflict with America. But there things were much better with anti-ship missiles: they had already begun to equip all suitable warships en masse. Thus, it became clear that the future Kirov cruiser should become a multifunctional heavy missile cruiser, TAKR.

Completion of design

In 1973, the design was completely completed, and the next year the ship was laid down. It was from then that the cruiser “Kirov” traced its history, in 1992 renamed “Admiral Ushakov”. As you might guess, construction proceeded slowly and not very uniformly, since nothing like this had been built before. In 1977 it was launched, and for another two years it was completed in a “floating” mode. Only in 1980 did it pass all the tests and was solemnly transferred to the Northern Fleet. In 1984, the construction of the Frunze (Admiral Lazarev) was completed, four years later the Kalinin appeared. Well, the Yuri Andropov, also known as Peter the Great, was able to be transferred to the fleet only in 1998.

The uniqueness of the domestic project

Our cruisers of this class certainly have no analogues in the world: the closest American version, Virginia, is 2.5 times smaller in displacement. The Long Beach mentioned above is generally one and a half times smaller. In addition, these cruisers have received maximum unification with land-based weapons, which theoretically allows them to replenish ammunition at almost any base that has coastal defense systems. However, this is especially noticeable in the example of the second and subsequent ships, since these technologies have not yet been sufficiently tested on the Kirov.

Power point

But the main highlight is the truly unique nuclear power plant. There are two of them, power - 70,000 l/s. The engines are powered by turbines, which receive energy from diesel units in the backup power plant. Full speed - up to 30 knots, on reserve engines - at least 14. Engineers managed to halve the size of the crew (compared to the battleship "October Revolution"). It consists of 655 people. Of these, 105 have the rank of officer, 130 are midshipmen, and the rest are rank and file. By the way, the heavy cruiser Kirov (like other ships of this series) is still a desirable place of service for sailors. The reason for this is simple - comfort.

The ship has comfortable wardrooms, many single cabins for officers and midshipmen, and spacious and comfortable quarters for enlisted personnel. The equipment of the local medical office can be the envy of an average city hospital, and in the gym you can easily maintain excellent physical fitness due to a considerable selection of simulators. Is it worth mentioning the on-board sauna with a swimming pool and several spacious showers? Perhaps, until that time, comfort of this class was available only to submariners and aircraft carrier crews.

Missile weapons and armor

The main weapon is the Granit long-range missile system. They are completely autonomous, have a complex approach to the target, and are protected from possible jamming. Ship's missile silos are armored, so even in the event of a direct clash with the enemy, the risk of damage to them is minimal. And further. Like other Project 1144 vessels, the heavy nuclear cruiser Kirov is unique in having good armor.

No, during World War II it was not something out of the ordinary, but with the advent of the missile era, warships lost their armor. In principle, Soviet engineers would hardly have returned to their “roots,” but the situation was special: a nuclear cruiser, and even with a supply of serious missile weapons on board! It was impossible to allow any trivial blow or other impact to disable the ship.

Because of this, the main armored belt, which protects the ship from stern to bow, has a thickness of 100 mm. Missile silos, diesel fuel reserves, a reactor, a command center, and a helicopter hangar are separately protected.

Characteristics of other weapons

They decided not to get too carried away with the air defense system, leaving behind well-proven systems. Basics artillery weapons- a pair of 100-mm automatic installations with radar detection of potential targets. It must be remembered that the Kirov cruiser of Project 1144 was the first and last ship on which these weapons were installed. After it, they began to mount 130-mm twin automatic artillery mounts. Eight six-barreled automatic guns are used.

Starting with Nakhimov, self-defense artillery and missile systems were combined, making the ship's missile defense system much more reliable. The target is also detected by radar, but not only artillery, but also missile weapons are aimed at it. We can assume that the nuclear-powered cruiser Kirov has two-level air defense, while the other ships in the series have three levels.

Anti-submarine weapons

The Polynom multifunctional hydroacoustic complex is responsible for detecting enemy submarines. The compartment for its towed external antenna is mounted at the rear of the ship. Also available torpedo launcher"Blizzard" (which was replaced by "Waterfall" on other ships in the series). Note that the Kirov missile cruiser is, to some extent, much weaker protected than its descendants. This is easily explained: all of them (theoretically) no longer belong to the 1144 project, but to the 11441 series, which implies significant modernization and replacement of updated equipment and weapons directly during construction. Again, only “Peter the Great” fully meets this requirement.

Subsequent ships were already equipped with universal missile and bomb systems, which significantly increased the combat stability of these ships. These installations can be used both for firing missiles and torpedoes. Unfortunately, the cruiser "Kirov" (there is a photo of the ship in the article) is not so well protected, but it is far from defenseless.

Other means to combat enemy submarines

The set of means for combating potential enemy submarines is complemented by the Udav missile and bomb systems. Unlike previous types of weapons, they are not designed to attack, but to repel enemy torpedo salvoes. Starting with the third cruiser of the series, the effectiveness of these systems was noticeably increased due to the installation of the latest types of anti-submarine weapons. In addition, the ship has a helicopter hangar, which can simultaneously accommodate up to three anti-submarine helicopters.

The Kirov nuclear-powered missile cruiser can carry: Ka-27, Ka-27PS, Ka-31 and Ka-39. It should be noted that they can be used not only in anti-submarine, but also in rescue and search options, which significantly increases the number of scenarios for the effective use of these ships. For their placement and maintenance there is not only an armored helicopter hangar, but also separate tanks with fuel reserves and an ammunition depot. This significantly increases the safety of helicopters.

Finally

In recent years, all remaining cruisers have been equipped modern means Electronic warfare and on-board electronics were replaced with new models, which are distinguished by expanded functionality and an increased degree of reliability. “The last” - because the Kirov itself was sent for disposal in 1999... due to lack of funds for repairs.

Thus, the nuclear cruiser "Kirov Project" 1144 has absorbed all the advanced achievements of Soviet engineering. There is no doubt that TARKs of this type are the best in the entire class and are still very relevant in the vast expanses of the World Ocean.

I read what I thought was an interesting article about the missile cruiser "Peter the Great", I invite you to read it and express your opinion:

The strengthening of the presence of the Russian Navy in the World Ocean responded with a stream of high-profile messages in the media: interviews, questions, forecasts, comments and assessments of domestic and foreign experts. The main “star” of the ongoing events, as usual, is the nuclear-powered missile cruiser “Peter the Great” - the largest non-aircraft-carrying warship in the world, a 26,000-ton giant with the monumental appearance of an imperial cruiser and three hundred missiles on board.

Every time the name “Petra” is mentioned, the forums begin to compare it with foreign ships of a similar class and purpose. Of course, there are no direct analogues of the domestic TARKR - this cruiser is a unique technical masterpiece of its kind. But, based on a number of parameters, it is possible to select rivals: the air defense capabilities of the Petra are usually compared with American Aegis cruisers (or destroyers - which, incidentally, is the same thing).

And this is where the fun begins...

Aegis (“Agis” in other Greek) is the mythical shield of Athena and Zeus, according to legend, made from the skin of the magical goat Amalthea. In the center of the shield is the head of the Gorgon Medusa, which turns a person into stone with her gaze. A universal weapon for attack and defense helped Zeus in the battle with the Titans.

In 1983, a new warship entered the ocean. At the stern, a huge banner “Stand by admiral Gorshkov: “Aegis” - at sea!” fluttered in the wind. (Beware, Admiral Gorshkov! “Aegis” is at sea!). This is how the missile cruiser USS Ticonderoga (CG-47) began its service with luscious stars-and-stripes pathos. Ticonderoga became the world's first ship* equipped with the Aegis combat information and control system. BIUS "Aegis" provides simultaneous tracking of hundreds of surface, ground, underwater and air targets, their selection and automatic targeting of the ship's weapons at the most dangerous objects. Official sources have always emphasized that Aegis is producing air defense formations of US Navy ships on new level: from now on, not a single anti-ship missile, even with a mass launch, will be able to break through the super-technological “shield” of the cruiser Taiconderoga. Currently, the Aegis BIUS is installed on 107 naval ships of five countries around the world. Over the 30 years of its existence, the combat control system has acquired so many scary stories and legends that even Ancient Greek mythology would envy her.

Launch of an anti-aircraft missile of the S-300F complex

The cruiser carries more than 200 anti-aircraft missiles on board, this is enough for everyone, the patriots confidently say.

No! - pro-American citizens scream, - combat Information system"Aegis" ("Aegis") is worth the whole world. Your cruiser is just a puppy compared to the proven Ticonderoga or Orly Burke.

Go to hell! - supporters of the domestic fleet are losing their temper - our cruiser has two S-300 complexes - just try to poke your nose in!

Shoot, cheap girl! - they are answered from overseas - Yankee ships are able to hit targets in low Earth orbit - that’s where real, not ostentatious, power is!

A constructive dialogue does not happen until one of the vigilant citizens notices something odd in the appearance of the Russian cruiser: “Gentlemen, why do the Petra’s superstructures look like a Chernobyl forest after the accident?”

An ornate silhouette, bulky pyramidal masts, spreading “branches” of antenna devices for radars and communication systems sticking out everywhere... Just listing this “zoo” can bring a smile: the Peter the Great radar complex includes the Voskhod and Frigate M2 radars ", "Podkat", "Positive", "Volna", 4P48 with a phased array antenna, 3P95 antenna post, MP184 "Lev" artillery fire control radar, and finally, two "Vaigach-U" navigation radars.

In addition to the general irrationality and difficulty in coordinating the work of such large quantity radio technical means, the sloppy appearance of the "Peter" greatly increases its visibility - the cruiser shines on the screens of enemy radars, like brightest star. Surely “backward Bolshevik technologies” played a certain role... But not to the same extent!

How neat and modern, after all, does the American Aegis destroyer of the Orly Burke type seem - clean lines of superstructures made using stealth technology, a minimum of external decorative elements, the only multi-purpose detection radar with fixed phased array panels. The American Burke looks like a guest from other worlds - its appearance is so unusual compared to the ships of the Russian Navy.

Orly Burke-class destroyer

But is this really so? What “pitfalls” are hidden behind in a stylish way American destroyer? And is our “Peter the Great” as outdated as it seems at first glance?

In the glamor of high technology, or the Miser pays twice

The American ship is built around the Aegis combat information and control system, which combines all detection means, communications, weapons and systems for combating the survivability of the ship. Universal robot destroyers are capable of exchanging information with their own kind and making decisions for the commander. The Yankees took 20 years to create such a system - a truly serious development, which contained the most progressive ideas of modern sea ​​battle: detection and instant selection of targets is at the forefront. The American ship will be the first to make a decision, the first to shoot and the first to destroy the enemy. The Pentagon calls Aegis destroyers the best naval air defense system today.

The key element of the system is the AN/SPY-1 radar, which is a combination of four flat phased antenna arrays mounted on the sides of the destroyer's superstructure. “Spy” is capable of automatically searching by azimuth and elevation, capturing, classifying and tracking hundreds of air targets, and programming anti-aircraft missile autopilots on the launch and sustaining sections of the trajectory.

AN/SPY-1D phased array radar

The use of a single multifunctional radar made it possible to simplify the collection and analysis of information, as well as to eliminate mutual interference that occurs on other ships when a large number of radar stations are operating.

However, behind the apparent advantage of SPY-1 lies a very difficult technical problem: How to teach the radar to effectively detect targets at long and short distances at the same time? Decimeter waves (“Spy” operates in the S band) are well reflected from the sea surface - a flurry of interference makes it difficult to recognize missiles rushing over the water itself, making the destroyer completely defenseless against supersonic anti-ship missiles. In addition, the low placement of the SPY-1 antennas reduces the already short detection range of low-flying targets, robbing the ship of precious seconds needed to respond to a threat.

No one in the world dared to repeat the American trick with a “single multifunctional radar” - on warship projects created in other countries, in addition to the general detection radar, the installation of a specialized radar for detecting low-flying targets is always provided:
- British “Daring” (decimeter survey S1850M + centimeter SAMPSON)
- Franco-Italian “Horizon” (S1850M + centimeter EMPAR)
- Japanese “Akizuki” (dual-band FCS-3A with active phased arrays. In fact, two radars (band C and X), united under a common name).
But what about the discovery of CC on the Russian nuclear cruiser?

Radars "Peter the Great"

U Russian ship everything is in perfect order - detection of air targets is entrusted to three radar stations for various purposes:

Powerful surveillance radar MR-600 "Voskhod" (located at the top of the foremast - the first mast from the bow of the ship);

Three-dimensional radar MR-750 "Fregat M2" with a phased array antenna (located on the top of the next, lower mainmast);

Specialized two-dimensional radar MP-350 “Podkat” for detecting low-flying targets (two antennas are located on the platforms on the sides of the foremast). The main feature of the station is a special radiation pattern with narrowed “side lobes” (scanning at a low elevation angle) and a high data update rate.

This is exactly the kind of radar that the American Aegis destroyer lacks.

At the top of the foremast there is an antenna for the Voskhod surveillance radar; a little lower, on the platforms on the sides of the mast, two Podkat radar antennas are visible. In front, on the roof of the superstructure, is the phased antenna array of the S-300FM “Fort-M” air defense system control system.

But discovering does not mean destroying. The target must be tracked, the weapon pointed at it and the entire process of the missile's flight to the target monitored.

On the US ship, this is done, as usual, by the AN/SPY-1 multifunctional radar, coupled with three target illumination radars. The Spy super-radar is capable of simultaneously monitoring up to 18...20 anti-aircraft missiles: determining their position in space and automatically transmitting corrective impulses to the SAM autopilots, directing them to the desired sector of the sky. However, the Aegis system carefully ensures that the number of missiles in the final part of the trajectory does not exceed three.

The trick is that most modern naval air defense systems (including Standard and S-300F) use a semi-active guidance method: a special radar “illuminates” the target, the missile head reacts to the reflected “echo”. It's simple. But the number of simultaneously fired targets is limited by the number of illumination radars.
As noted above, American destroyers have only three AN/SPG-62 radars. The heading angles are covered by one, the stern angles by two, and the side angles by all three together. For the Russian nuclear cruiser, the situation is fundamentally different: the guidance of missiles of the S-300F and 300FM complexes is carried out by two specialized radars, each of which provides missile tracking from the moment of its launch until it hits the target:

4P48 phased array radar (flat “plate” in front of the Peter the Great superstructure). Unlike the American AN/SPG-62, which provides simultaneous illumination of only one target, domestic system forms six guidance channels: in total, 4R48 is capable of simultaneously guiding up to 12 missiles at 6 air targets!

The second radar is the 3P41 “Volna”, which received the nickname “boob” in the navy for its characteristic appearance (clearly visible in the aft part of the superstructure). Actually, they planned to install a modern 4P48 at this place, but, alas, during the construction of the cruiser there was only enough money for the “boob”, and modern 4P48s were sold abroad and installed on board Chinese Liuzhou-class destroyers.
As a result, from the stern, "Peter" is capable of directing only 6 missiles at three targets - but, in any case, this best result, compared to the American Aegis destroyer.

In addition to a larger number of control channels, the domestic fire control scheme based on specialized 3P41 and 4P48 radars provides much more reliable and noise-resistant missile guidance during the cruising phase, compared to the American multifunctional AN/SPY-1.

Unlike the American Aegis destroyer, where the guidance of all types of anti-aircraft missiles (Standard-2.3, Sea Sparrow, ESSM) is carried out by a single fire control system (SPY-1 + three SPG-62), the Russian cruiser equipped with two types of air defense systems with individual guidance systems. In addition to the S-300F/300FM zonal air defense systems, the Kinzhal anti-aircraft self-defense system is installed on board the Petra - 128 short-range missiles designed to repel attacks by anti-ship missiles.

"Dagger" has its own antenna post 3Р95, located in the aft part of the superstructure, next to the twin artillery gun. The anti-aircraft complex uses a 4-channel radio command system, which provides simultaneous guidance of up to 8 missiles at 4 air targets in a 60° x 60° sector.

Launch of a Kinzhal air defense missile system from the nuclear cruiser Frunze (Admiral Lazarev), late 1980s

The last line of defense of "Petra" is formed by six anti-aircraft artillery complexes "Kortik" - each combat module is a twin 30 mm caliber machine gun (total rate of fire 10,000 rounds per minute) coupled with a block of short-range 9M311 anti-aircraft missiles. In addition to their own radar equipment, the "Kortika" receives target designation from two antenna posts of the "Positive" radar.

In this case, for American cruisers and destroyers, everything is much sadder - at best, a pair of Phalanx automated anti-aircraft guns are mounted on board the Orly Berkov, which is a set of a six-barreled 20 mm cannon and a compact fire control radar, mounted on one carriage. In connection with attempts to reduce the costs of their construction, the latest series of US Navy destroyers are generally deprived of any anti-aircraft self-defense systems.

Actually, the Orly Burke lacks a lot of things - the fantastic Aegis destroyers, positioned by the Pentagon as the best air defense/missile defense warships, do not have a special radar for detecting NLCs, nor a sufficient number of target illumination radars. This is what explains the pleasing “smoothness” of their superstructures and the absence of “extra” antennas.

Epilogue

“Fragat”, “Podcat”, “Volna”... Each of the radars has its own specific purpose and is focused on performing its own specific task. Combining them into a single “universal” station is an attractive idea, but difficult to implement in practice: fundamental laws of nature stand in the way of engineers - for each case it is preferable to work in a certain wave range.

It is no coincidence that one of the most advanced developments in the field of maritime detection equipment - the promising AN/SPY-3 radar with three active phased arrays, planned for installation on the American destroyer Zamvolt, was originally created as component a system of two radars: centimeter AN/SPY-3 for searching for low-altitude targets and surveillance AN/SPY-4 (decimeter wave range). Subsequently, under the blows of financial cuts, the Pentagon abandoned the installation of the AN/SPY-4, with the wording “the destroyer is not intended to provide zonal air defense.” Simply put, the Zamvolt super-destroyer will not be able to effectively hit air targets at a range of over 50 km (however, unlike the Burke, which can shoot down space satellites, the Zamvolt is ideal for repelling attacks from low-flying anti-ship missiles).

The Yankees, as you know, are big fans of standardization and unification - now let them choose what is better...

Unlike the American Aegis and Zamvolts, the Russian nuclear-powered cruiser carries on board a full set of detection and fire control equipment for hitting air targets at any distance. Even now, taking into account the deliberate weakening of its characteristics, in connection with well-known events of a political and economic nature, the heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser "Peter the Great" remains the strongest combat unit, whose capabilities, in terms of air defense, are equivalent to two or three American Aegis destroyers.

The design of this giant has enormous potential - replacing the outdated Voskhod radar with a modern radar with active phased array, similar to the European S1850M and equipping the ship with missiles of the S-400 complex and replacing part of the ammunition with anti-aircraft missiles with active homing heads - will turn the cruiser into an impregnable sea fortress .

Let me remind you that this article is not opposing the Peter the Great and one of the US ships with the Aegis system as opponents; it is trying to compare the effectiveness of air defense systems

Of course, it’s worth mentioning here that there are currently about 60 Orly-Berkovs in the US Navy, and only one “Peter the Great”. This is true and this is a huge minus. But there are also positive aspects; a decision was made to repair and modernize three more Orlans.

"Kirov" / "Admiral Ushakov"— A decision was made to scrap the ship. However, now it is planned to carry out its repair and complete modernization. Commissioning is possible after 2020.
"Frunze" / "Admiral Lazarev"— Planned for disposal. However, in 2011, a decision was made to restore and modernize it.
"Kalinin" / "Admiral Nakhimov" - Since 1999, it has been undergoing repairs and modernization at the Sevmash plant in Severodvinsk. It is in a less deplorable condition than Admiral Lazarev and Admiral Ushakov, and was not planned for disposal. In 2012, the design of the new appearance of the ship should be completed. First of all, it is planned to replace obsolete radio-electronic equipment. After modernization, the cruiser should be transferred to the Pacific Fleet. (Source: http://www.modernarmy.ru/article/142 © Modern Army Portal)

It can also be recalled that for Zumwalt, due to cost reductions, the dual-band DBR radar has already been excluded from the project. Because it has still not been possible to cut out a working model, and a lot of money has been spent. The only thing they have well-established is marketing PR. The HULL of the aircraft carrier CVN 78 "Gerald Ford" was launched into the water with the beating of drums and the beating of champagne without the same DBR radar, without EMALS electromagnetic catapults and the widely promoted turboelectric landing system (AAG). All of the above are at the stage of creating prototypes. But the hull has been launched and it is not clear how long it will “rust” while waiting

Here are some old episodes of the American system:

The first feat. Aegis beats Airbus A fiery arrow streaked across the sky, and Air Iran Flight 655 disappeared from radar screens. The US Navy guided missile cruiser Vincennes successfully repelled an air attack... George H. W. Bush, who was vice president at the time, nobly stated: “I will never apologize for America. It doesn’t matter what the facts were” (“I will never apologize for the United States of America, I don’t care what the facts are”).

Tanker war, Gulf of Hormuz. In the early morning of July 3, 1988, the missile cruiser USS Vincennes (CG-49), protecting the Danish tanker Karoma Maersk, entered into battle with eight boats of the Iranian Navy. In pursuit of the boats, American sailors violated the border of Iranian territorial waters, and, by tragic accident, at that moment an unidentified air target appeared on the cruiser's radar.

An Airbus A-300 of Air Iran was making a regular flight that morning on the route Bandar Abbas - Dubai. The simplest route: climb to 4000 meters - straight flight - landing, travel time - 28 minutes. Subsequently, decoding of the found “black boxes” showed that the pilots heard warnings from the American cruiser, but did not at all consider themselves to be an “unidentified aircraft.” Flight 655 was heading towards its death, with 290 people on board at that moment.

The passenger airliner flying at low altitude was identified as an Iranian F-14 fighter. A year ago, under similar circumstances, the Mirage of the Iraqi Air Force shot up the American frigate Stark, killing 37 sailors. The commander of the cruiser Vincennes knew that they had violated the border of another state, so the attack Iranian plane seemed the most logical consequence. A decision had to be made urgently. At 10:54 local time, two Standard-2 anti-aircraft missiles were fired onto the guide beams of the Mk26 launcher...

USS Vincennes. Murderer

After the tragedy, leading Pentagon expert David Parnas complained to the press that “our best computers cannot distinguish close range Airbus from a fighter."
“We were told that the Aegis system is the most magnificent in the world and this simply cannot happen!” - said Representative Patricia Shrowder indignantly.

The ending of this sordid story was unusual. An article appeared in the New Republic magazine (Washington) with the following content: “We owe an apology to Soviet Union for our cheap reaction in 1983 to the downing of a South Korean Boeing 747 over the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. One can argue endlessly about the similarities and differences between the two incidents. Our victims were in the air above the combat zone. Their victims were in the air over Soviet territory. (What if a mysterious plane appeared in the skies of California?) It is now becoming increasingly clear that our reaction to the downing of the South Korean plane is part of cynical propaganda and the result of technological arrogance: that this could never happen to us.”

The second feat. "Aegis" is sleeping at the combat post.

Crossing, crossing. Guns fire in pitch darkness. This is the battleship Missouri on the winter night of February 24, 1991, destroying the advanced units of the Iraqi army, sending shell after shell from its monstrous 406 mm guns. The Iraqis are not in debt - two Haiyin-2 anti-ship missiles (a Chinese copy of the Soviet P-15 Termit anti-ship missile with an increased flight range) are flying from the shore to the battleship.

Aegis, it's here your time! "Aegis", HELP! But the Aegis remained inactive, stupidly blinking its lights and displays. None of the missile cruisers in the US Navy fleet responded to the threat. The situation was saved by Her Majesty's ship "Gloucester" - from an extremely short distance, a British destroyer cut down one "Hayin" using the Sea Dart air defense system - the fragments of an Iraqi missile fell into the water 600 meters from the side of the "Missouri" (the first case of successful interception in combat conditions anti-ship missile using an air defense system). Realizing that there was no longer any point in relying on their unlucky escort, the crew of the battleship began to shoot at the dipole reflectors - with their help, the second missile was deflected to the side (according to another version, the Haiyin-2 anti-ship missile itself fell into the water).

Of course, two anti-ship missiles did not pose a serious threat to the thick-skinned battleship - armor plates 30 centimeters thick reliably covered the crew and equipment. But the very fact that the work of the Aegis was carried out by an old destroyer using an anti-aircraft missile system developed in the mid-60s suggests that the ultra-modern Aegis simply failed the task. American sailors do not comment on this circumstance, although a number of experts express the opinion that the Aegis cruisers operated in a different square, and therefore were unable to detect targets - the Iraqi anti-ship missiles were flying below their radio horizon. And the Gloucester was directly escorting the battleship Missouri, so it came to the rescue in a timely manner.

Gloucester was a British Type 42 destroyer; her sisterships Sheffield and Coventry were ignominiously lost in the Falklands War. The total displacement of the project ships is 4500 tons, i.e. de facto these are small frigates.

Here we could end the story about the adventures of the US Navy in the Persian Gulf, but at the time of the missile attack, another funny emergency happened in the battle group of the battleship Missouri - the Phalanx anti-aircraft self-defense system installed on the American frigate Jarrett received one of dipoles behind the anti-ship missiles and automatically opened fire to kill. Simply put, the frigate staged a “friendly fire” by firing at the battleship Missouri with a six-barreled cannon. And Aegis, of course, has nothing to do with it; chocolate is not to blame for anything.

The third feat. Aegis flies into space

It is, of course, not the BIUS itself that flies, but the RIM-161 “Standard-3” anti-aircraft missile under the close control of “Aegis”. Briefly: the idea of ​​SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative) has not disappeared anywhere - America still dreams of a “missile shield.” In the early 2000s, a four-stage Standard-3 anti-aircraft missile was developed to destroy warheads ballistic missiles and space satellites in low Earth orbit. It is they who have become the bone of contention regarding the deployment of American missile defense in Eastern Europe (the sea-based Standard-3 - mobile and elusive Aegis systems - pose a much greater danger, but discussion of this problem is of no interest to politicians).

February 21, 2008 over Pacific Ocean A rocket-satellite extravaganza took place - the Standard-3 rocket launched from the Aegis cruiser Lake Erie overtook its target at an altitude of 247 kilometers. The American reconnaissance satellite USA-193 was moving at that moment at a speed of 27 thousand km/h.
Breaking is not building. Alas, in our case the saying is not true. It is no easier to disable a spacecraft than to build it and launch it into orbit. Shooting down a satellite with a rocket is the same as hitting a bullet with a bullet. And it was a success!

But there is one caveat. “Aegis” achieved its feat by firing at a target with a pre-known trajectory - the Americans had enough time (hours, days?) to determine the orbital parameters of the faulty satellite, move the ship to the desired point in the World Ocean, and at the right moment press the “ button Start". Therefore, intercepting a space satellite has little to do with missile defense. But as the Chinese proverb says: the longest and most difficult journey begins with the first step. And this step has already been taken - American specialists managed to create an extremely mobile, cheap and effective missile system, whose energy indicators make it possible to fire at targets in low Earth orbit. Already at the moment, the US Navy is able to “click” the entire orbital constellation of a “probable enemy”, and the number of Russian satellites in orbit is relatively small compared to the stock of Standard-3 interceptor missiles.

Jokes aside, only a very naive person can claim that Aegis is harmless and, as a combat system, is no good. Any system is characterized not by an error, but by a reaction to an error - after the first “exploits” of the Aegis, the Lokheed-Martin company did a lot of work on the errors - the system interface was changed, the AN/SPY-1 radar and computer are constantly being upgraded command center, the ships received a new assortment of weapons: the Tomahawk cruise killer, the ASROC-VL anti-submarine munition, the RIM-162 “Evolved Sea Sparrow Missle” anti-ship missile interceptor in the near field, the “Standard-6” active-homing anti-aircraft missile and, of course, the anti-satellite missile "Standard-3". And the main thing is the training of the crew; without a person, any equipment is just a pile of scrap metal.

Lokheed Martin provides the following figures assessing the results of thirty years of operation of the Aegis system: to date, 107 Aegis ships have spent a total of 1250 years in combat campaigns around the world, during test and combat launches more than 3800 missiles of various types were fired from the ships. It is naive to believe that Americans have learned nothing during this time.

Based on materials:

1. http://militaryrussia.ru/
2. http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/
3. Directory “SHIPS OF THE USSR NAVY Volume II. Attack ships. Part I. Aircraft carriers and missile and artillery ships of ranks 1 and 2,” Apalkov Yu.V.
4. “Nuclear cruisers of the Kirov type”, Pavlov A.S.

Again, I can’t help but remind you about or The original article is on the website InfoGlaz.rf Link to the article from which this copy was made -

Domestic cruisers of Project 1144 Orlan, according to NATO codification, received the designation Kirov-class battlecruiser, after the name of the first ship of the Kirov cruiser series (since 1992, Admiral Ushakov). In the West, they were classified as battlecruisers due to the exceptional size and armament of the ships. The chief designer of Project 1144 nuclear cruisers was Boris Izrailevich Kupensky, the deputy chief designer was Vladimir Evgenievich Yudin.

The Kirov cruisers have no analogues in the world shipbuilding industry. These ships could effectively carry out combat missions to destroy enemy surface ships and their submarines. The missile weapons installed on the ships made it possible to ensure, with a high degree of probability, the defeat of large enemy surface strike groups. The ships of the series were the world's largest non-vehicular attack warships. For example, the American Virginia-class nuclear-powered guided missile cruisers were 2.5 times smaller in displacement. Project 1144 Orlan cruisers were designed to engage large surface targets and protect fleet formations from air and submarine attacks in remote areas of the world's oceans. These ships were armed with almost all types of combat and technical equipment that had only been created for surface ships in the USSR. The main strike missile armament of the cruisers was anti-ship missile system"Granite".

On March 26, 1973, the first lead ship of Project 1144, the heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser Kirov (since 1992, Admiral Ushakov), was laid down at the Baltic Shipyard; on December 27, 1977, the ship was launched, and on December 30, 1980, the TARK was transferred to the fleet. On October 31, 1984, the second ship of the series, the TARK Frunze (since 1992 - Admiral Lazarev), entered service. On December 30, 1988, the third ship was transferred to the fleet - TARK Kalinin (since 1992 Admiral Nakhimov). And in 1986, the plant began building the last ship of this series - TARK "Peter the Great" (initially they wanted to call it "Kuibyshev" and "Yuri Andropov"). The construction of the ship took place during a difficult period in the country's history. The collapse of the USSR led to the fact that construction was completed only in 1996, and testing in 1998. Thus, the ship was accepted into the fleet 10 years after its keel.

Heavy nuclear missile cruiser "Frunze" in Indian Ocean during the transition to Vladivostok

The first cruiser of project 1144 Orlan (Kalinin)

Today, of the four, only the heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser "Peter the Great" is in service, which is the most powerful attack warship not only in the Russian Navy, but throughout the world. The first ship of the Admiral Ushakov series has been in storage since 1991, and was withdrawn from the fleet in 2002. Its fate has already been decided - the ship will be disposed of at the Zvezdochka Ship Repair Center defense shipyard in Severodvinsk. According to experts, dismantling this TARK will cost approximately 10 times more than dismantling the largest nuclear submarine, since Russia simply does not have the technology and experience in dismantling such warships. With a high degree of probability, the same fate will befall the second ship of the series - the cruiser "Admiral Lazarev", the ship is laid up at Far East since 1999. But the third cruiser of Project 11442 Orlan, Admiral Nakhimov, is currently undergoing repairs and modernization at Sevmash. It will be returned to the fleet at the turn of 2017-2018, previously called 2019. At the same time, according to general director"Sevmash" Mikhail Budnichenko, the cruiser's service life after completion of repairs will be extended by 35 years. It is assumed that the repaired TARK Admiral Nakhimov will continue to serve as part of the Russian Pacific Fleet, and Peter the Great will remain the flagship of the Russian Northern Fleet.

Project 11442 TARK "Admiral Nakhimov" under repair

The Project 1144 Orlan heavy nuclear-powered missile cruisers did not have and do not have direct analogues abroad. Written off to this moment nuclear-powered American cruisers of the Long Beach type (17,500 tons) were 1.5 times smaller, and Virginia (11,500 tons) were 2.5 times smaller and had much weaker weapons both qualitatively and quantitatively. This could be explained by the different tasks that the ships faced. If in the American fleet they were only escorts for multi-purpose aircraft carriers, then in the Soviet fleet nuclear surface ships were created as independent combat units that could form the basis of the ocean-going combat forces of the fleet. The varied armament of Project 1144 TARK made these ships multi-purpose, but at the same time complicated their maintenance and created some problems with determining their tactical and technical niche.

History of the creation of Project 1144 cruisers

In 1961, the first nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser Long Beach became part of the US Navy; this event became the impetus for the resumption of theoretical work on the development of a surface combat nuclear-powered ship in the Soviet Union. But even without taking into account the Americans, the USSR Navy, which was entering a period of rapid development in those years, objectively needed ocean-going ships that could operate for a long time in isolation from coastal bases; the solution to this problem was best facilitated by a nuclear power plant. Already in 1964, research began again in the USSR to determine the appearance of the country's first combat nuclear surface ship. Initially, the research ended with the creation of tactical and technical specifications for the development of a project for a large anti-submarine ship with a nuclear power plant and a displacement of 8 thousand tons.

Heavy nuclear missile cruisers "Peter the Great", "Admiral Ushakov", winter 1996-1997

When designing the ship, the designers proceeded from the fact that the solution main task can be achieved only if sufficient combat stability is ensured. Even then, no one doubted that the main danger to the ship would be aviation, so the creation of a layered air defense system for the ship was initially envisaged. At the initial stage of development, the designers believed that it would be very difficult to combine all the necessary equipment and weapons in one hull, so the option of creating a pair of two nuclear-powered surface ships was considered: the Project 1144 BOD and the Project 1165 missile cruiser. The first ship was supposed to carry anti-submarine weapons, the second - anti-ship cruise missiles (ASC). These two ships were supposed to operate as part of a formation, covering each other from various threats; they were equipped with anti-aircraft weapons approximately equally, which was supposed to contribute to the creation of strong layered air defense. However, as the project developed, it was decided that it would be most rational not to separate anti-submarine and anti-ship functions, but to combine them in one cruiser. After this, work on the design of the Project 1165 nuclear cruiser was stopped and all the development efforts were transferred to the Project 1144 ship, which had become universal.

As work progressed, increasing demands on the project led to the ship receiving an ever-increasing range of weapons and various equipment - which, in turn, was reflected in an increase in displacement. As a result, the project of the first Soviet nuclear surface warship Quite quickly it moved away from narrow anti-submarine functions, acquiring a multi-purpose focus, and its standard displacement exceeded 20 thousand tons. The cruiser was supposed to carry all the most modern types of combat and technical equipment that were created in the Soviet Union for surface combat ships. This evolution was also reflected by the new classification of the ship - “heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser”, which was assigned in June 1977, already during the construction of the lead ship of the series, which was laid down as a “nuclear-powered anti-submarine cruiser”.

In its final form, the technical design of the new nuclear surface ship was approved in 1972 and received the code 1144 “Orlan”. The project of the first Soviet surface combat nuclear-powered vessel was developed at the Northern Design Bureau in Leningrad. The chief designer of Project 1144 was B.I. Kupensky, and from the USSR Navy, the main supervisor of the design and construction of the cruiser from the very beginning until the transfer of the ship to the fleet was Captain 2nd Rank A.A. Savin.

The lead ship of the series, the Project 1144 cruiser "Kirov".

From the very beginning, the new nuclear-powered submarine became the favorite brainchild of S.G. Gorshkov, who served as Commander-in-Chief of the USSR Navy. Despite this, the design of the ship was difficult and quite slow. The increase in the cruiser's displacement as the requirements for the project were revised and made forced the designers to look for more and more new options for the ship's main power plant - first of all, its steam-producing part. At the same time, Gorshkov demanded that a backup power plant be placed on the cruiser, which would run on organic fuel. The fears of the military of those years could be understood: Soviet and world experience in operating nuclear-powered ships in those years was not extensive enough, and even today accidents with reactor failures occur from time to time. At the same time, a surface combat ship, unlike a submarine, can afford to switch from a nuclear reactor to burning ordinary fuel in furnaces - it was decided to take full advantage of this advantage. It was assumed that the reserve boiler could also help ensure the ship's parking. Insufficiently developed system for basing large warships in the Soviet Union long time was a sore spot for the Navy.

While the lead ship of the series was still on the slipway, an improved project had already been created for the next cruiser, which received the index 11442. It provided for the replacement of some types of weapons and equipment with the latest systems at that time: the Kortik anti-aircraft artillery complex (ZRAK) instead of the turret 30- mm six-barreled machine guns; The Kinzhal air defense system instead of the Osa-MA air defense system, the universal twin 130-mm AK-130 installation instead of the two single-gun 100-mm AK-100 turrets on the Kirov, the Vodopad anti-submarine complex instead of the Metel, RBU- rocket launchers 12000 instead of RBU-6000, etc. It was planned that all the ships in the series following the Kirov cruiser would be built according to an improved design, but in fact, due to the unavailability of all planned weapons for serial production, they were added to the ships under construction as development was completed. Ultimately, only the last ship, the Pyotr Velikiy, could correspond to Project 11442, but this too had reservations, and the second and third ships, Frunze and Kalinin, in terms of armament, occupied an intermediate position between the first and last ships of the series.

Description of the design of Project 1144 cruisers

All Project 1144 Orlan cruisers had a hull with an extended forecastle (by more than 2/3 of the total length). The hull is divided into 16 main compartments using waterproof bulkheads. There are 5 decks along the entire length of the TARK hull. In the bow of the ship, under the bulb fairing, there is a fixed antenna of the Polynom hydroacoustic complex. At the stern of the ship there is an under-deck hangar, which is designed for the permanent deployment of 3 Ka-27 helicopters, as well as storage facilities for fuel reserves and a lift designed to transport helicopters to the upper deck. Here, in the aft part of the ship, there is a compartment with a lifting and lowering device for the towed antenna of the Polynom hydroacoustic complex. The developed superstructures of the heavy cruiser are made with extensive use of aluminum-magnesium alloys. The main part of the ship's armament is concentrated at the stern and bow.

Project 1144 cruisers are protected from combat damage by anti-torpedo protection, a double bottom along the entire length of the hull, as well as local armoring of vital parts of the TARK. As such, on the Project 1144 Orlan cruisers there is no belt armor - the armor protection is located deep in the hull - however, along the waterline from the bow of the ship to its stern, a thickened skin belt with a height of 3.5 meters was laid (of which 2.5 meters above the waterline and 1 meter below the waterline), playing an important role in the structural protection of the cruiser.

TARK Project 1144 "Orlan" became the first warships after World War II, the design of which included fairly advanced armor. Thus, engine rooms, missile magazines of the Granit complexes and reactor compartments are protected on the sides by 100 mm (below the waterline - 70 mm) and on the deck by 70 mm armor. The premises of the ship's combat information post and the main command post, which are located inside its hull at the waterline level, also received armor protection: they are covered with 100 mm side walls with a 75 mm roof and traverses. In addition, in the stern of the cruiser there is armor along the sides (70 mm) and on the roof (50 mm) of the helicopter hangar, as well as around the ammunition and aviation fuel storage. There is also local armor above the tiller compartments.

A nuclear power plant with KN-3 reactors (VM-16 type core), although based on OK-900 type icebreaker reactors, has significant differences from them. The main thing is in fuel assemblies, which contain uranium with a high degree of enrichment (approximately 70%). The service life of such an active zone until the next recharge is 10-11 years. The reactors installed on the cruiser are double-circuit, thermal neutron, water-cooled. They use bidistillate as a coolant and moderator - high-purity water, which circulates through the reactor core under high pressure (about 200 atmospheres), ensuring boiling of the secondary circuit, which ultimately goes to the turbines in the form of steam.

The developers paid special attention to the possibility of using the cruiser's twin-shaft power plant, the power on each shaft of which is 70,000 hp. The complex-automated nuclear power plant was located in 3 compartments and included 2 nuclear reactors with a total thermal power of 342 MW, 2 turbo-gear units (located forward and aft of the reactor compartment), as well as 2 backup automated boilers KVG-2, mounted in turbine compartments. With only a backup power plant operating - without the use of nuclear reactors - the Project 1144 Orlan cruiser is able to reach a speed of 17 knots, the fuel reserves are enough to travel at this speed of 1300 nautical miles. The use of nuclear reactors provides the cruiser with a full speed of 31 knots and an unlimited cruising range. Installed on ships of this project the power plant would be able to provide heat and electricity to a city with a population of 100-150 thousand inhabitants. And the well-thought-out hull contours and large displacement provide the Project 1144 Orlan TARK with excellent seaworthiness, which is especially important for warships in the ocean zone.

The crew of Project 1144/11442 TARK consists of 759 people (including 120 officers). To accommodate the crew on board the ship, there are 1,600 rooms, including 140 single and double cabins, which are intended for officers and midshipmen, 30 cabins for sailors and petty officers for 8-30 people each, 15 showers, two baths, a sauna with a 6x2 swimming pool .5 meters, a two-level medical block (outpatient room, operating room, isolation hospitals, X-ray room, dental office, pharmacy), a gym with exercise equipment, 3 wardrooms for midshipmen, officers and admirals, as well as a lounge for relaxation and even its own cable TV studio.

Armament of Project 1144 Orlan cruisers

The main weapons of these cruisers were the P-700 Granit anti-ship missiles - third-generation supersonic cruise missiles with a low profile flight path to the target. With a launch weight of 7 tons, these missiles developed a speed of up to 2.5 M and could carry a conventional warhead weighing 750 kg or a monoblock nuclear charge with a power of up to 500 kt over a distance of up to 625 km. The length of the rocket is 10 meters, diameter is 0.85 meters. 20 Granit anti-ship cruise missiles were installed under the upper deck of the cruiser, with an elevation angle of 60 degrees. SM-233 launchers for these missiles were produced at the Leningrad Metal Plant. Due to the fact that Granit missiles were originally intended for submarines, the installation must be filled with sea water before launching the missile. Based on the experience of operational and combat training of the Navy, it is very difficult to shoot down a Granit. Even if an anti-missile missile is hit by an anti-ship missile, it, due to its enormous speed and mass, can retain sufficient momentum to “reach” the target ship.

Launcher shipborne air defense system"Fort-M"

The basis of the anti-aircraft missile armament of the Project 1144 Orlan cruisers was the S-300F (Fort) missile system, which was placed on rotating drums below the deck. The full ammunition load of the complex consisted of 96 anti-aircraft missiles. On the only ship of the Petra the Great series (instead of one S-300F complex), a unique S-300FM Fort-M bow complex appeared, which was produced in one copy. Each such complex is capable of simultaneously firing at up to 6 maneuvering small targets (accompanying up to 12 targets) and simultaneously directing 12 missiles at them in conditions of active and passive jamming by the enemy. Due to the design features of the S-300FM missiles, the ammunition load of the Peter the Great was reduced by 2 missiles. Thus, the Peter the Great TARK is armed with one S-300FM complex with 46 48N6E2 missiles and one S-300F complex with 48 48N6E missiles, the full ammunition load consists of 94 missiles. "Fort-M" was created on the basis of the army air defense complex S-Z00PMU2 "Favorite". This complex, unlike its predecessor, the Fort anti-aircraft complex, is capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 120 km and successfully combating enemy anti-ship missiles at altitudes of up to 10 meters. The expansion of the affected area of ​​the complex was achieved by improving the sensitivity of the receiving channels and the energy characteristics of the transmitter.

The cruiser's second echelon of air defense is the Kinzhal air defense system, which was included in Project 11442, but in fact appeared only on the last ship of the series. The main task of this complex is to defeat air targets that have broken through the cruiser’s first air defense line (Fort air defense system). The Kinzhal is based on solid-fuel, single-stage, remote-controlled missiles 9M330, which are unified with the Tor-M1 air defense system of the ground forces. The rockets take off vertically with the engine not running under the influence of a catapult. The missiles are reloaded automatically, the launch interval is 3 seconds. The target detection range in automatic mode is 45 km, the number of simultaneously fired targets is 4, the reaction time is 8 seconds. The Kinzhal air defense system operates autonomously (without the participation of personnel). According to the specification, each Project 11442 cruiser was to have 128 such missiles in 16x8 installations.

The third line of air defense is the Kortik air defense system, which is a close-in defense complex. It is intended to replace the conventional 30-mm six-barreled AK-630 artillery systems. ZRAK "Kortik" in television-optical and radar modes is able to provide full automation of combat control from target detection to its destruction. Each installation consists of two 30-mm six-barreled AO-18 assault rifles, the total rate of fire of which is 10,000 rounds per minute, and two blocks of 4 two-stage 9M311 rockets. These missiles have a fragmentation rod warhead and a proximity fuse. In the turret compartment of each installation there are 32 such missiles in transport and launch containers. 9M311 missiles are unified with the 2S6 Tunguska land complex and are able to fight anti-ship missiles, guided bombs, helicopters and enemy aircraft. The range of action of the ZRAK "Kortik" missile unit is 1.5-8 km, and the final firing from 30-mm artillery mounts is carried out at a distance of 1500-50 meters. The height of the air targets hit is 5-4000 meters. In total, each of the three Project 11442 cruisers was supposed to carry 6 such complexes, the ammunition of which consisted of 192 missiles and 36,000 shells.

ZRAK "Dirk"

As a universal artillery system, the Project 11442 Orlan cruisers received one AK-130 turret installation with two 130-mm automatic guns with a barrel length of 70 calibers. The AK-130 provides a rate of fire of 20 to 86 rounds per minute, and, in addition to air targets, can be used to fire at various sea and coastal targets and support landings with fire. The ammunition of a universal artillery mount consists of unitary shots of several types - for example, high-explosive fragmentation shots with remote, impact and radio fuses. The firing range of this artillery installation is 25 km,

The anti-submarine weapons of the Project 1144 cruiser were represented by the Metel complex, which in Project 11442 was replaced by the more modern Vodopad anti-submarine complex. Unlike the Metel, the Vodopad does not need a separate launcher - the missile-torpedoes of the complex are loaded into standard torpedo tubes. A model 83RN rocket (or 84RN with a nuclear warhead), like an ordinary torpedo, is fired from a torpedo tube with compressed air and dives into the water. Then, upon reaching a certain depth, the rocket engine is started and the rocket-torpedo takes off from under the water and delivers the warhead by air to the target area - up to 60 kilometers from the carrier ship - after which the warhead is separated. The UMGT-1, a 400-mm small-sized homing torpedo, can be used as a warhead. The range of the UMGT-1 torpedo, which can be mounted on missile torpedoes, is 8 km, the speed is 41 knots, and the depth is 500 meters. The cruiser's ammunition load includes up to 30 of these missile-torpedoes.

All ships of the series received a six-barrel rocket-bomb launcher RBU-6000, as well as torpedo tubes, but starting from the third, they began to be supplemented with a more modern 10-round bomb launcher of the RBU-12000 “Boa Constrictor-1” anti-torpedo complex. Each of these installations has a conveyor reloading system and is capable of both loading and firing at torpedoes heading towards the cruiser in automatic mode. The reaction time of the “Boa Constrictor” is 15 seconds, the maximum range is 3000 meters, the minimum is 100 meters. The ammunition load for two such installations is 120 jet depth charges.

Heavy nuclear missile cruiser "Peter the Great"

All Project 1144 (11442) cruisers were provided with permanent deployment of up to 3 Ka-27 helicopters in the anti-submarine modification. To ensure the basing of the air group, a landing pad is equipped at the stern of the cruiser, there is a special below-deck hangar and a helicopter lift, as well as the necessary radio navigation equipment and an aviation control post. The Soviet heavy nuclear cruisers of Project 1144 "Orlan" - for the first time since the end of the era of artillery ships - during the design process received a sufficient displacement reserve in order to protect with armor and cover below deck both the Ka-27 helicopters themselves and the fuel reserves for them.

Main characteristics of TARK "Peter the Great":

Standard displacement is 23,750 tons, full displacement is 25,860 tons.

Length - 250.1 m.

Width - 28.5 m.

Height (from the main plane) - 59 m.

Draft - 10.3 m.

Powerplant - 2 nuclear reactor and 2 boilers.

Power - 140,000 hp

Speed ​​- 31 knots.

Cruising range - unlimited on a reactor, 1300 miles on boilers.

Navigation autonomy - 60 days.

Crew - 760 people.

Armament: 20 anti-ship missiles P-700 “Granit”; 48 missiles from the Fort air defense system and 46 missiles from the Fort-M air defense system; 16 launchers of the Kinzhal air defense missile system (128 missiles); 6 ZRAK "Dirk" (192 missiles); RBU-12000; 10x533 mm torpedo tubes; AK-130; 3 Ka-27 anti-submarine helicopters.