The fifth-generation nuclear submarine "Husky" will be so silent that it will blend in with the noise of the world's oceans, the head of the United Shipbuilding Corporation said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum Alexey Rakhmanov.
According to him, the designers of the St. Petersburg Marine Engineering Bureau "Malachite" have now completed the conceptual design of the submarine, decided on its appearance and are now developing tactical technical characteristics.
The emergence of each new generation of submarines is associated with a stepwise increase in their capabilities, predetermined by a significant improvement in characteristics. One of the most important qualities nuclear submarine - its stealth, achieved by reducing the noise emitted by the boat. This is, first of all, what designers are fighting for.
In fourth-generation boats, which only Russia and the United States have, it would seem that all methods of reducing noise are used. Double damping is used for mechanisms that perform rotational or reciprocating motion. Instead of propeller shafts, water-jet propulsors are used. The body is covered with noise-reducing material.
However, the reserves are still not completely exhausted. One of them is the creation of a nuclear reactor, which has almost no moving mechanisms. There is information that the Husky does not use a water-water reactor traditional for the submarine fleet, but one in which heat is transferred by liquid metal. Its significant advantage is less noise due to the minimal use of mechanics during operation. It also has smaller dimensions, which is why it was possible to reduce the size of the boat compared to the multi-purpose nuclear-powered Yasen, which belongs to the fourth generation.
However, a submarine can be detected not only using passive sonar, that is, by the noise it makes. There is active sonar when a search vehicle—a submarine, an autonomous bathyscaphe, or bottom equipment—spreads sound signal similar to how ground-based radars propagate electromagnetic waves. Sound wave, reflected from the hull of the enemy boat, returns to the sonar, which gives not only the location of the boat, but also the distance to it. No measures to reduce submarine noise will save you from this.
So, “Husky” should become the first boat built using “marine stealth technology.” Its geometry is chosen in such a way as to dissipate waves from “underwater radars” as much as possible. The hull will be built with the maximum use of composite materials, which will not only provide maximum stealth for hydrolacquers, but also lighten the weight of the boat.
There is information, which has not, however, received official confirmation, that it is planned to make two modifications of the Husky. One is designed to destroy large surface ships, including aircraft carriers. The other should hit enemy submarines.
However, this contradicts common sense. Since this boat is being created as a multi-purpose one, that is, capable of fighting all types of sea targets - both surface and underwater. And there are all possibilities for the engineering implementation of such versatility.
The Husky will deal with aircraft carriers with the help of hypersonic anti-ship missiles Zircon, the speed of which is expected to be increased from the current 8 M to 10 M when they are put into service. To launch the Zircon, vertical missiles are used launchers located in missile silos. In the United States, the news that Zircon, which is not able to intercept any existing or even promising missile defense system, will soon be put into service was met with extreme concern. They are so concerned that the Navy command began to say that with the advent of this missile in the hands of the Russians American aircraft carriers can turn into giant cemeteries.
The fight against submarines should be resolved with the help of an underwater modification of the Caliber cruise missile. And for this there is no need to create a special modification of the Husky boat. The fact is that the 91R anti-submarine missile is launched from a torpedo tube of a standard 533 mm caliber. It works as follows. Coming out of the water, the rocket turns on the main engine. Having reached the point where the enemy boat was detected, the missile separates its warhead - a mini-torpedo. The torpedo, having splashed down, turns on the homing head, which searches for the boat using active sonar. And, having discovered the target, it rushes towards it along a complex trajectory.
So “Husky” can simultaneously be a carrier of both “Zircon” and “Caliber”.
It must be said that the specialization of a promising submarine can be much broader. With the help of torpedo tubes, two more types of Caliber missiles can be launched - anti-ship and for striking the coast.
The R&D work to bring the sketches to working drawings should begin no earlier than 2020. And the transfer of the first boat to the fleet may occur in 2030. And all the current fantasies of experts on the topic of “Husky” should either be dispelled or confirmed. Until this happens, one more opinion can be given. The boat will be so multi-purpose that it will also be assigned strategic tasks. That is, they will be armed with ballistic missiles with a nuclear warhead.
However, this would be strange, given the current state of our strategic submarine fleet and the prospects for its development. Of course, in comparison with the situation in the USA.
The Russian Navy operates the fourth generation Borei strategic missile submarines. The US Navy has third-generation Ohio boats, which began entering the fleet 30 years earlier than the Russian Borei. The generation gap is serious. So the United States needs to catch up with Russia. And such work is being done. The fourth generation Columbia boats are being developed, which should begin replacing the Ohio in 2031. But since General Dynamics is still busy with development, the deadlines will most likely shift to the right.
Russia currently has three Boreys; all other strategic boats are of the third generation. But the number of “fours” is constantly increasing. In 2021 there should be 8 of them. Moreover, the increase will be due to modified, more advanced Borey-A boats. Construction of six more boats is planned. There will be 14 of them in total.
So, is there any need to rush to replace the relatively young fourth-generation Borey boats with strategic modifications of the Husky?
The developers believe that the “intelligence” of a submarine is no less important than its noiselessness and striking power. The Husky is expected to be equipped with new generation communications equipment. It seems that there is also a new operating principle. General Director of Malachite Vladimir Dorofeev in one of the interviews he said: “ Distinctive features A promising submarine should be looked for not in increasing speed, immersion depth, displacement, dimensions, but in completely other things that are invisible - in the possibility of their integration into the unified information space of the Ministry of Defense, interaction with surface ships and aviation in real time, that is, in the possibility of their participation in network-centric wars. Promising boats will be just as black and streamlined, but their “brains” will be their main asset.”
It is difficult to say to what extent the Malachite engineers succeeded in today to get closer to solving the maximum problem - integrating the boat into the unified information network of the Navy. It is impossible to solve it head-on, since the boat cannot transmit information from the depths to the surface. The water column is capable of transmitting only ultra-long waves. Moreover, this connection is one-way.
Communication is, of course, possible by transmitting acoustic signals in two directions - to the boat and from the boat. But in this case, a threat to the submarine’s stealth may arise.
True, it is possible to use fired transmitting acoustic buoys or even missiles. But such communication will require the use of significant technical resources in the form of surface ships and aircraft. And fast communication for the prompt transfer of tactical information can hardly be achieved using this method.
So Malachite engineers, probably in collaboration with some academic institute, will have to solve very difficult problems.
The subject of designing submarines is traditionally one of the most secretive, so news on this topic leaks to the public quite rarely and in doses.
However, Malachite already has experience of getting into the network of promising projects in advance - for example, back in the 1990s, an image of the future Yasen (project 885) appeared in the Gangut magazine, which later turned out to be very close to reality.
What do we see?
In the picture, obviously, the “missile” version of the “Husky” is the carrier of cruise missiles of the “Caliber”, “Oniks” and the promising “Zircon” complexes. The boat is equipped with vertical launchers in the bow and in the missile compartment in the middle part of the hull. The bow apparently uses a “boat” modification of a universal launcher for eight missiles.
In the middle part of the body, eight more covers are visible, under which there are also launchers. If we assume their unification with the launchers of the modernized Yasen (Project 885M), then each of them can accommodate a container for either four Onyxes or five Calibers. In installations in the bow of the boat, most likely, only “Calibers” can be placed.
Thus, depending on the load, the boat can carry 40-48 cruise missiles of different types.
One can also note a new form of fencing for retractable devices (in common parlance - a wheelhouse) and a tail section, clearly unified with the Project 955A missile carriers.
What is wrong?
The artist did not forget to depict the covers of the torpedo tubes in the bow (may not be visible in this resolution - editor's note), but given the placement of vertical launchers of the missile system immediately behind them, the torpedo tubes have nothing to do there - where would their spare torpedoes fit then? ? Perhaps these are non-rechargeable launchers for launching hydroacoustic countermeasures - made in the size of a torpedo noise simulators submarine.
Where are the devices then? Most likely, in the same place as on the Ashes: they are brought out side to side at an angle in the rear part of the first compartment, and the ammunition for them is in the second. Another option is not excluded, that a new type of apparatus will be used there - with torpedoes being dropped downwards; similar to how heavy bombers drop cruise missiles.
Why didn't you draw it? Well, you know, too much detailed drawing You can even pick up an article from the floor.
The main question is when will they start building all this beauty? Let's say in two or three years.
Promising Russian nuclear submarines "Husky" will be taken at a price
An important advantage of the promising fifth-generation Russian multi-purpose nuclear submarines "Husky" may be its relatively low cost, experts say. At the same time, the price of boats can compete with the technical characteristics of submarines for the title of main advantage. Already, assumptions are being made that the new submarines will be significantly cheaper in cost than the submarines of the project “ Yasen-M" This is especially important for the Navy, given the fact that the new submarines in the fleet will have to replace all third-generation multi-purpose boats, including Project 949 submarines.” Antey"("urban" series of boats, the tragically lost submarine K-141 belonged to them " Kursk") and project 971 " Shchuka-B", which are quite numerous.
Information about the boats of the project " Husky» is currently extremely limited. It is known that work on the project of a multi-purpose nuclear submarine with cruise missiles (SSGN) of the 5th generation is being carried out at SPMBM " Malachite", information about this first appeared in Russian media back in December 2014. At the same time, it was reported that the development of a new submarine is being carried out on its own initiative, without technical specifications from the Russian Ministry of Defense. On July 17, 2015, Russian media reported that the new boat was being designed by Malachite designers on one basic platform, but in two versions: a multi-purpose nuclear submarine, focused on combating enemy submarines, and an SSGN, focused on combating enemy aircraft carriers.
On August 8, 2016, information appeared that a contract for the development of a promising submarine had been signed between the Russian Ministry of Defense and the Malachite SPMBM. Apparently, we are talking about research work to develop the appearance of a future nuclear submarine, and the technical design of the submarine itself will begin only after 2020. Experts believe that the anti-submarine version of the Husky will be armed with anti-submarine missiles. Caliber", this boat will primarily be designed to destroy strategic boats of a potential enemy (nuclear submarine " Ohio" And " Vanguard"). The second version of the submarine will receive anti-ship hypersonic cruise missiles. Zircon"and will be designed to destroy large enemy surface ships ( aircraft carriers, UDCs, landing craft, missile cruisers, destroyers and etc.).
Project 885 Yasen multi-purpose nuclear submarine
The lack of information about the boats of the Husky project is currently not something surprising, given the fact that research work on the project is still underway and has not yet been fully determined appearance future submarine. The boat exists only in the form of sketches and renderings, but little is known about some of its features. For example, it has already been reported that the Husky boats will have a double-hull design, the underwater displacement of the submarines will be about 12 thousand tons (the Yasen has 13,800 tons). In size, the promising boat will be smaller than the Yasen-M 4th generation submarines currently under construction.
The 5th generation submarine will be even less noisy than the fourth generation submarines, which include the Yasen and Yasen-M multi-purpose nuclear submarines. The boat hull will be built using modern composite materials. The multilayer structures of the boat will reduce reflections of enemy sonar signals and will help reduce the weight of the submarine. Most likely, all boats will receive new means of communication; they can be integrated into a single network. Along with the Yasen/Yasen-M boats, the new Huskies will become the main means Russian fleet to counter American Carrier Strike Groups (ACG).
It is expected that research and development work on the project could be completed by the end of 2018. By this time, the preliminary design will be completed, after which the boat developers will be able to move on to the technical design. Earlier, RIA Novosti agency, with reference to the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Navy for Armaments, Vice Admiral Victor Barsuk, reported that the laying of the first multi-purpose nuclear submarine of a new generation (Project “Husky”) could take place in the final part of the adopted State Armament Program for the period 2018-2025. Viktor Barsuk named the estimated date for laying the promising submarine as 2023-2024. He made a corresponding statement in Severodvinsk at the end of July 2017, where he flew to the laying ceremony of the new nuclear-powered icebreaker "Ulyanovsk".
The main factor in increasing the combat effectiveness of Husky project boats is their equipment with new missile system with the Zircon 3M22 hypersonic cruise missile. This complex was successfully tested in 2017, during which the rocket reached speeds of up to Mach 8. Missiles that move at such speeds are very difficult to track and therefore intercept, since they manage to approach the target from the moment it is detected by the radar. At the same time, its speed will be three times higher than that of the previous generation anti-ship missiles. For example, R-700 anti-ship missiles " Granite" or R-800 " Onyx"could reach a speed of Mach 2.5. It is also reported that the submarines of the Husky project will be able to carry cruise missiles. Caliber", the effectiveness and combat capabilities of which have been tested and confirmed in the armed conflict in Syria.
Renderings recently published by the Malachite design bureau allow us to judge how these solutions will be implemented in the design of the new submarine. The presented photographic materials show launchers located in the middle and bow parts of the boat. In particular, 8 open covers are visible in the middle part of the submarine's hull. According to experts, there will be 40-48 missiles here, since a similar design of launch containers on the Yasen multipurpose nuclear submarines can accommodate from 4 to 5 missiles, depending on their type.
Another striking capability of the new submarines could be the use of various unmanned aerial vehicles. underwater vehicles. A number of sources even reported that the Husky project boats would carry a nuclear torpedo on board. Status 6" A Oleg Vlasov, who is the head of the robotics department at Malachite, said that the new boats will be integrated with systems operating in the airspace, that is, submarines will have the ability to launch UAVs for reconnaissance and search for targets. It is also believed that the torpedo tubes on the promising boat will be located in the middle part of the hull, as was done on the Project 885 Yasen submarines, while various sonar equipment and launchers for cruise missiles will be located in the bow.
Possible appearance of promising multi-purpose nuclear submarines of the Husky project
Also in the Russian media, the incredibly low acoustic visibility of future boats, in the design of which composite materials will be widely used, is widely noted. In addition to this, it is assumed that the boats of the Husky project will be equipped with Newest technologies, aimed at reducing acoustic visibility and noise. According to Victor Barsuk, the new submarines are expected to be twice as quiet as the previous generation of submarines.
To some, the appearance of new submarines of the Husky class may seem unnecessary, since the country has begun construction of multi-purpose nuclear submarines of the Yasen class, but progress and technology development do not stand still. The addition of hypersonic cruise missiles to the submarine arsenal, the integration of robotics, an increased level of automation of work, and a significant reduction in noise (if the declared values are achieved) significantly increase the combat effectiveness of the submarines of the new project.
Earlier it became known that when working on the multi-purpose nuclear submarine of the 5th generation Husky, the vast experience accumulated in the development of boats of projects 671, 971, 885 and their various modifications was used. And in March 2018, the St. Petersburg Marine Engineering Bureau “Malachite” completed work on creating a preliminary design of the 5th generation submarine “Husky”, after which the process of discussing the project with representatives of the Russian Navy began. As noted CEO“Malachite” Vladimir Dorofeev, in addition to technical characteristics, new project the economic component must also differ. " Our ships must become not only more powerful, but also cheaper“- emphasized the general director of the company that developed the promising boat.
The US fleet will be sunk from under water
Russia finally decided to finalize the design of the killer American aircraft carriers.
The 5th generation nuclear submarine "Husky" should have been renamed "Moby Dick": either it exists or not, but it is still elusive and terribly deadly. Ship killer. Always ready to hunt the enemy.
The other day, a new portion of talk about this boat, which, in fact, is not yet in the project, was stirred up by the head of the United Shipbuilding Corporation himself. Alexey Rakhmanov. Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, he is the place! - announced that this boat would be so silent that the sound of its movement could not be isolated from the ordinary sounds of the ocean.
Everything else is easy to imagine: the silent horror of a sailor passes through the order of the enemy’s aircraft carrier group like a ghost, kills the aircraft carrier with some next generation missile-torpedo “ Squall"(or, without further ado, treats him with a hypersonic missile " Zircon"from under the water) - and again dissolves in the silence of the sea.
As Rakhmanov clarified, the Malachite Marine Engineering Bureau has already completed the conceptual design of the nuclear submarine and has begun to formulate the tactical and technical characteristics necessary to fulfill the technical specifications.
What is known about Husky
Nothing at all, one of the specialists close to naval matters, who has repeatedly provided our portal with brilliantly confirmed analyzes and forecasts, told Constantinople. It is clear that this is the fifth generation, it is clear that there will be new weapons, most likely Zircons and something else. But that's all for now. Rumors about a concept that has not yet found solid contours. And since everything is extremely classified - and as President Putin’s speech on March 1 with the presentation of new weapons showed, we keep secrets better than Koschey you know what - then the possibility cannot be ruled out that rumors only serve to further obscure the true information.
“If we think logically, it’s clear what should be there,” Tsargrad’s interlocutor shrugged. “But it’s hard to say what will actually be there.”
In general, in his words, “this interesting story" In the sense that "Husky" will become the first real post-Soviet by boat. Because even those ultra-modern "Boreys" that are now being launched and have already begun service in the navy, in one way or another rely on the Soviet foundation. This is where they come from, from the USSR, from Soviet design bureaus, in which, as is now clear, people were half a century ahead of their time. And then they told jokes about them and drew cartoons, where research institutes and design bureaus were portrayed as a lair of slackers, that people were chasing people for clothes in work time ran...
So, "Husky" will be the first purely post-Soviet model. Completely Russian - although, to be honest, even then the same thousand-year-old Russia, with all its shortcomings and advantages, lived and worked in the guise of the USSR.
And this is how the future is described in the press. In the competent press, I mean.
One of the reserves in the fight for noiselessness is the exclusion of sounds from moving mechanisms. That is, to replace as much as possible what moves, makes friction and makes noise with something that gives the same effect with minimal use of mechanical movement. Therefore, Husky is expected to use a nuclear reactor in which there are almost no moving mechanisms, and heat is transferred by liquid metal. This reactor is smaller in size, thanks to which it is possible to incorporate significantly smaller dimensions into the Husky project itself than into the modern Yasen-class multipurpose submarine, which is similar in functionality.
Yes, it will be smaller than its current analogues - we have “Ash”, they have “Virginia”,
– Tsargrad’s interlocutor confirmed.
It is further believed that the Husky should be the first submarine built in such a way as to maximally dissipate the response wave of sonars - similar to how aircraft using “stealth technologies” minimally reflect radar radiation, dispersing it in space. The boat will be multi-purpose and universal. Indeed, armed " Zircons", anti-ship missiles that are not reflected at the current level of technology development of the enemy. It is also expected that the boat will be armed with an underwater modification of the cruise missile. Kalibr-NK" In addition, with the help of torpedo tubes it will be possible to fire two other types of “Caliber” - anti-ship and for striking ground targets.
Foggy but beautiful
In principle, the naval expert of Constantinople agrees with all these assessments. The only thing that stipulates again and again is that this is all not official information and not even working sketches. More precisely, there are most likely sketches, but few have seen them, and those who have seen them remain silent. But the translation of the sketch into drawings should not be expected earlier than in two or three years.
Then, excuse me, we, the little-knowing public, have one question: is this all not one big fantasy in one big fog? Will this boat really exist? Otherwise, we know what difficulties the modernization and construction of the fleet faces. And how exactly in the naval component of the state defense program the graphs often shift to the right. More often - only in Roscosmos. But if without new information about chemical composition We will somehow survive on the lunar soil, then the American fleet is over there, on the threshold.
“There will definitely be a boat,” the informed interlocutor calmly stated. “There is no doubt about it. It is needed.”
In addition, there is evidence that he is seriously engaged in it Krylov State Scientific Center in St. Petersburg, our main focus on research in the field of shipbuilding and ship design. It is he who, as the specialist puts it, “has to do with its functionality.”
The Husky will have a lot of composite and composite materials in its design, including the hull covering, bow rudders, stern stabilizers, and deckhouse fencing. And maybe even propellers. All this is to reduce noise. It is also confirmed that Zircon will be its main complex. Tsargrad’s interlocutor said that he had heard that an anti-submarine version of the Husky, armed with Caliber, was being planned. “In general, according to the Malachite tradition, the boat will be extremely packed with weapons per unit of volume - 2 - 2.5 times more than its foreign counterparts,” the expert confidently suggested.
The displacement will, according to assumptions, be about 12 thousand tons minimum. But, most likely, more, he noted. It is clear that it will be a two-hull design, a durable and lightweight body. For the sake of greater low noise, a water engine, that is, a water cannon, is expected. “We had such water cannons on a couple of boats, and it significantly reduces the noise,” the interlocutor explained.
What else, something more detailed, is difficult to say today, the specialist concluded. It is difficult to say what the situation will be by the time the boat appears in the drawings. Perhaps there will be a completely new reactor. Some new weapons. After the revolution in armaments, which was announced by the Russian President on March 1, some more surprises are possible until 2025.
So yes, the creation of "Husky" is shrouded in fog. But it's a beautiful fog. More precisely, the fog behind which lies future beauty.
The information that Russian specialists have completed preliminary work on the appearance of the fifth-generation nuclear submarine “Husky” indicates that within five years, units of the Russian Navy can receive the first such ship for testing, says military expert Alexey Leonkov.
Husky submarines have passed the first stage of design work
Let us recall that the head of the robotics sector of the Malachite Marine Engineering Bureau, Oleg Vlasov, said that Russian specialists have completed preliminary work on the appearance of the fifth-generation multi-purpose nuclear submarine "Husky". At the same time, the results of the work have already been presented to the general customer, i.e. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, who will make a further decision on this issue.
According to Vlasov, all the tactical and technical characteristics of the promising project today are classified as “top secret”, but they will be higher than those of the nuclear submarines existing today.
All this indicates that the project period in the creation of these warships is going well, and there is reason to say that the question of building the flagship model will soon be raised.
Military expert Alexey Leonkov, in a conversation with FBA Economy Today, said that this information suggests that a preliminary concept for the appearance of a new multi-purpose submarine has been created and that research work has been carried out within the framework of a model of a future warship.
After this stage of work, the development of components for the future submarine will begin.
“All these are so-called tactical and technical requirements for the future submarine, which are based on tactical and technical data. All this together constitutes a model of the future tactical and technical specifications for the development of a promising ship, i.e. all this indicates that the requirements for the hull of this ship have been determined and what kind of power plant should be installed on it,” states Leonkov.
“In addition, it will be determined what weapons these ships will carry, on which a lot depends, including the overall development strategy of the Russian navy. New requirements for on-board radio-electronic equipment will also be formed, as well as how many crew members will serve on this military vessel, ensuring its effectiveness practical work", concludes Leonkov.
According to Alexey Petrovich, these basic requirements will be determined during this work, despite the fact that, of course, there is no talk of a clear layout of the future vessel - with the distribution of weapons and main components into specific compartments - at this stage of design work.
The concept of a new submarine is currently being determined
“For now we are talking only about the appearance of this warship, i.e. about the preliminary design, but after it is defended before the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and the leadership of the Russian Navy, things will immediately move on. will then be ordered project work, after which the first prototype of this submarine will appear,” sums up Leonkov.
“This is the design, creation of the lead ship, as well as its testing, and only after this can we say that we really have a new series of nuclear submarines,” states Leonkov.
It is also noteworthy that it is stated that the Husky submarines will be designed in two versions - to combat strategic and multi-purpose submarines of a potential enemy, i.e. USA, and to combat aircraft carrier groups, missile cruisers and other surface forces of the US Navy. Moreover, in this version, the basic armament of these ships will not be Caliber missiles, but Zircon missiles.
The Husky submarine concept will change more than once
This is an important circumstance, given the fact that the fourth generation nuclear submarines of Project 855 Yasen were supposed to replace four classes of Soviet nuclear submarines of the second and third generations and create a single universal type of military vessel to combat any targets, including ground targets, nuclear submarines the enemy, as well as his surface ships.
As a result, within the framework of the Husky project, we see that this concept is overestimated and now the Russian Ministry of Defense wants to return to a certain specialization of its multi-purpose nuclear submarines.
“Here we must not forget about the fact that these are only the first hints. Moreover, the lead project of the same “Ash” is very different from the subsequent ships of this project. During the work, significant changes were made to it, which qualitatively changed the appearance of this vessel and made it a more advanced apparatus. The same will happen with the Huskies,” sums up Leonkov.
“We can recall here our strategic submarines of project 955 Borey, one of which has the index “A”, and all the others are built under the index “B”. They have something in common, but on the whole we have fundamentally different concepts of warships,” concludes Leonkov.
The thing is that operation and changing strategic objectives bring very serious changes to such projects, so only time will tell what the Husky submarines will be like in practice.
The Husky fifth-generation nuclear submarine project is one of the most ambitious military programs of modern Russia.
Change of generations
IN Lately There is less information about the promising Russian aircraft carrier. And this is not surprising. In conditions of constant economic difficulties, such a ship looks like an overly expensive “toy.” It is much cheaper to build nuclear submarines (nuclear submarines). Perhaps this is why the press is increasingly talking about the project of a Russian submarine with the designation “Husky”. There is also great interest in this submarine because it could become the first fifth-generation submarine in history.
Here, however, we need to be clear. What are generations of nuclear submarines? Unlike fifth-generation fighters, which are already in full flight, there are no fifth-generation boats yet. And the fourth generation is considered the most recent. Such nuclear submarines are distinguished mainly by their even greater quietness. This is achieved by placing propellers in ring nozzles or using water-jet propulsion systems. In addition, engineers have widely used new types of sound-absorbing coatings and a number of other measures that sharply reduce the chances of detecting such boats. In general, it is the noise of the submarine that is of paramount importance. The boat will live as long as it can remain undetected. It is, of course, possible to escape persecution, but this (taking into account the development of anti-submarine weapons) is quite difficult.
The first fourth-generation submarine in history was the legendary American Seawolf. It was put into operation in 1997. True, due to the high price, only three such nuclear submarines were built. The fate of the Virginia turned out differently: they want to build about 30 of these fourth-generation multipurpose submarines.
Russia in this sense is somewhat behind the United States. The first Russian boat of the fourth generation entered service with the Navy only towards the end of the 2000s. It's about about the strategic missile carrier K-535 "Yuri Dolgoruky" - the lead ship of Project 955 "Borey". Even later, the first Russian multi-purpose nuclear submarine of the fourth generation, Project 885 Yasen, was put into operation. Currently, the Navy has only one such submarine, but a total of eight are planned.
Husky makes eyes
In general, it is Project 885 that is needed to understand what the Russian submarine of the future will be like. In the “ideological” sense, it will most likely become the successor to “Ash”. The Husky nuclear submarine will probably be similar in appearance to this submarine.
One of the first specific mentions of the new boat dates back to 2013. It was then that the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy (now ex-Commander-in-Chief) Viktor Chirkov announced that serial production of 5th generation submarines would begin in Russia after 2030.
First, experts will finally determine the appearance of the future submarine. In March 2016, the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) announced that they were already working hard on this issue. “Currently, work is underway to shape the appearance of the new nuclear submarine; the Navy is developing technical specifications to carry out preliminary design ship,” said a source representing USC. The corporation also hinted that the new submarine will be smaller in size than the current submarines (including Yasen). This will likely be achieved through even greater automation and a reduction in crew size. It is expected that the formation of the appearance and the creation of a draft sample can be completed within two years. The shipbuilders are not planning an option with an all-titanium hull, but titanium elements will be present.
The famous American military expert Dave Majumdar recently expressed his assumptions about the Husky. He believes that the new Russian nuclear submarine equipped with a reactor with liquid metal coolant. Such reactors on a lead-bismuth alloy were installed on Soviet submarines of the Lyra project and were examples of advanced developments. The Lyras were superior to all other nuclear submarines in terms of speed and maneuverability, but required special maintenance. Majumdar notes that nuclear reactors with liquid metal coolant are much more productive and compact than water-cooled ones. Installing such a reactor will make the boat compact, but will require the creation of specialized port systems.
Now the new boat is being developed by the Malachite design bureau. Let us note that it was with the help of this design bureau that “Lira” was created. As for the Husky’s weapons, it is already known that, in particular, it will be the Zircon hypersonic missile that is currently being created. The speed of this product will exceed the speed of sound by 5-6 times. This is very important, because in this case it will be very, very difficult to intercept a launched missile.
As you know, aircraft carriers operate as part of an AUG (carrier strike group), which has excellent air defense. However, the presence of Zircon missiles in the Husky could significantly complicate the life of American sailors. We will have to at least reconsider the AUG defense tactics. The missile's range is 400 km. This is a lot, although somewhat less than that of the old P-700 Granit anti-ship cruise missile. The latter, in particular, are used on Project 949A Antey submarines, whose main task is to fight aircraft carriers.
Not only the Husky will receive a new hypersonic missile. Even earlier, they want to equip the nuclear-powered missile cruiser Pyotr the Great, which is sometimes called the “aircraft carrier killer,” with it. The same missile will replenish the arsenal of its twin, the Admiral Nakhimov, which is currently undergoing modernization.
By the way, on March 17 this year it became known about successful test Zircon missiles at one of the Russian test sites. So the chances that the Huskies will receive a decent weapon are quite high. Unfortunately, the Zircon was not shown to mere mortals, but previously there was a version that this missile could have much in common with the Russian-Indian BrahMos-II missile. In addition to hypersonic missiles, the new boat will obviously receive new mines and torpedoes, as well as equipment that allows it to effectively track enemy nuclear submarines.
Two in one
In April 2016, perhaps the main feature of the Husky became known. According to the head of USC Alexei Rakhmanov, the new nuclear submarine will combine the capabilities of a multi-purpose and strategic submarine. “This will be a boat that will be unified - strategic and multi-purpose in a number of its key elements", he said.
This information is extremely important: now nuclear submarines are clearly differentiated according to the range of tasks they perform. Strategic submarines carry ballistic missiles on board and in case of nuclear war cities and countries will have to be wiped off the face of the earth. The tasks of multi-purpose boats are more “humane”. Such submarines are needed for the destruction of surface ships/submarines, reconnaissance, as well as striking ground targets with high-precision weapons.
The unification described by Rakhmanov has one goal: to make the project cheaper. Indeed, the creation of one submarine, which will replace both the Yasen and the Borey, will require much less capital investment than the design of two boats. On the other hand, the new submarine, as a rule, is positioned as a “multipurpose” submarine. Therefore, it is not yet entirely clear what exactly the new ship will be for its purpose.
By the way, Russia is not the only country that is working on the creation of promising nuclear submarines. Similar work is underway in the USA. The Americans, however, face more specific tasks: They want to replace the rapidly aging Ohio-class third-generation strategic submarines. New carrier ballistic missiles will become SSBN-X. This submarine is not positioned as a fifth-generation boat, so Russia, in theory, could become a technological leader in this industry. A kind of “trend setter”. At the same time, the American Navy will still be quantitatively superior to the Russian fleet. We must not forget that the Americans now have about 40 Los Angeles-type multipurpose boats alone. They are old, of course, but they will soon be replaced by dozens of new Virginias. In such realities, an analogue of the US Husky may simply not be needed.