"Moskva", missile cruiser. Guards missile cruiser "Moskva" - the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Since ancient times, it has been customary that exceptionally strong and we althy states had their own fleet. This was especially true for warships, the operation of which at all times was extremely expensive. Today this statement is extremely relevant. Ships are terribly expensive machines, and therefore having your own fleet incredibly reinforces the international prestige of the state that has it.

Despite the vicissitudes of the 1990s, our country has managed to maintain its Navy. Today it is gradually growing and modernizing. Unfortunately, this process is going quite slowly, and therefore the ships commissioned in the last years of the USSR still remain of great importance. An example of this is Moscow. A missile cruiser with this name is still a formidable force on the expanses of the seas.

Basic information

At least the nickname that the sailors gave him, "the killer of aircraft carriers," speaks of his capabilities. This is not only the flagship of the entire Black Sea Fleet, but also one of the most powerful ships in all Russian fleets. Port of registry - Sevastopol. Before the well-known events, the Black Sea Fleet had a lot of inconveniences,as with the Ukrainian side there were constant debates about the lease. Now all this is no longer relevant.

Built "Moskva" (missile cruiser, of course) was in the city of Nikolaev. Initially, the ship was given the name "Glory".

Destination, commissioning time

This cruiser is the lead object in Project 1164 Atlant. As soon as the anti-submarine ship Moskva (built according to project 1123) was decommissioned from the USSR Navy, the future flagship immediately received his name. Its main purpose immediately became the targeted destruction of large ships of a potential enemy (for example, aircraft carriers), air defense of the coast and fire cover for its landing force.

When was Moskva commissioned? The missile cruiser was launched already in 1982, but its official use only begins in 1983.

Where did you stay, what made the cruiser famous?

The main place of his service was the Mediterranean Sea. Repeatedly "Moscow" was seen in the ports of all states, whose shores it washes. When Mikhail Gorbachev met with George W. Bush (senior, of course) on the island of M alta in December 1989, it was this ship that ensured the safety of the entire conference.

Modernization, combat use

In 1990, the Moskva GRKR returned to his native Nikolaev for modernization. That's just because of the collapse of the USSR, it lasted exactly 8.5 years, and only on May 13, 1998, he received a new banner and flag of a new country. In addition, at the same time from the compositionThe Black Sea Fleet was withdrawn by the Krasny Kavkaz patrol ship, from which the Moscow also received a guards rank.

In 2003, an event took place at which the GRKR "Moskva" shone on the international arena for the first time since the days of the USSR. We are talking about the exercises "Indra", which were jointly conducted by the Black Sea, Pacific Fleets and the Navy of friendly India. A year later, he participated in the IONIEKS-2004 exercises, which were held jointly with the Italians. I met the beginning of 2008 in the Mediterranean Sea in the company of the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov of the Fleet of the Soviet Union, as well as the ships accompanying it.

In August 2008, the Black Sea Fleet represented by "Moscow" took part in the operation to force Georgia to peace while in the waters of Ossetia. At the beginning of the next year, he participated in commemorative events dedicated to the anniversary of the terrible earthquake that occurred in Sicily a hundred years ago. Then the sailors of the Imperial Navy actively participated in the aftermath.

The meaning of "Moscow" for the Navy of the Russian Federation

In general, ships named after the capital of the state are always under scrutiny. Was no exception and "Moscow". The missile cruiser has repeatedly taken on board the most powerful persons of both the USSR and other states. However, this did not prevent the new authorities of the country in the early 1990s from thinking about sending this ship for scrap.

We didn't say in vain that the cruiser stood on the stocks in Nikolaevsk for almost eight and a half years,while complicated bureaucratic delays were being made. Fortunately, the ship was not allowed to be cut into metal, and the Black Sea Fleet did not lose its legendary flagship.

About the need

In the mid-1990s, in the wake of the "thrifty economy" and "cost reduction" in the domestic media, whole battles sometimes flared up. The "experts" discussed for a long time and with fervor whether the country needed this ship at all. Many believed that keeping such a cruiser on the Black Sea was unprofitable from an economic point of view, offering to “overtake” it to the area of responsibility of the Pacific Fleet. They were actively supported by foreign opponents. They were not at all impressed with the idea that the "aircraft carrier killer" would be on alert in these waters.

August 2008 showed how much the country needed "Moscow". The Guards missile cruiser turned out to be the only "weighty word" that kept NATO from rash decisions. Now it’s somehow not customary to remember this, but during the “five-day war” there were a huge number of alliance ships in the Black Sea. But Moscow (the capital) was surprisingly calm about what was happening.

The answer was simple: the missile cruiser of the Atlant project could easily scrap the entire surface grouping of NATO ships for scrap. Everyone understood this very well, and therefore a kind of armed neutrality was maintained.

How it all began

How did Project 1164 missile cruisers of Russia appear? The first ship of this class received the encrypted name "Aurora", and its development was started in the mid-70s of the last century. Initially, A. Perkov was approved for the position of chief designer, but later he was replaced by V. Mutikhin. From the Navy, A. Blinov, a captain of the second rank, was appointed as an observer.

The design team had really non-trivial tasks. The fact is that the military needed not just an appropriate class of warships, but a universal combat vehicle that could provide both local air defense of some section of the coast and become an element of collective air defense together with coastal fortification lines.

However, with a very difficult task, the designers coped with brilliance. They took the S-300 air defense system, covered with military glory, created its ship version (you can distinguish it by the letter “F”), after which they installed it on a new ship. This armament still remains highly relevant and allows you to fairly confidently repel air attacks on ships of the Black Sea Fleet.

What technical solutions were used?

In general, well-proven solutions from Project 1134B ships were widely used in the Atlants. Of course, they were somewhat reworked, but the main technical base remained unchanged. By that time, seven ships of project 1134B had already been built, which were nicknamed “bukari” in the fleet. To date, only one "Kerch" has remained in service, which is also part of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation.

Moskva's main tactical characteristics

Displacement of thismagnificent vessel is 11,500 tons. The total length of the ship is 186 meters. With a width of 21 meters, its height is 42.5 meters. It is not surprising that the draft of such an impressive ship is 8.5 meters. The maximum achievable speed (we will talk about this below) is 32 knots, the usual speed is 16 knots. Four gas turbine units act as power plants at once, the power of each of which is 22,500 liters. With. The ship is propelled by two propellers at once.

If we talk about a speed of 16 knots, then under these conditions the range of autonomous navigation is 6,000 nautical miles (translated into the metric system - about 12,000 km). As for time, food supplies are enough for exactly a month of autonomy. The crew size is 510 people, in combat conditions the number of personnel can be increased. For escort and reconnaissance, a Ka-27 multi-purpose helicopter is used, the landing site of which is located at the stern.

Main technical details

All ships of the Atlant project received a completely new gas turbine propulsion system, which had not only one main engine for each shaft, but also a pair of afterburner power plants. A new technical solution was applied when the heat from the engines was collected by a heat recovery circuit (HRC). It turned the liquid into steam, which turned the auxiliary turbines of the power plant.

This has brought huge benefits. Even at cruising at 18 knots, fuel efficiency improved by12%. The maximum speed when using all engines from now on was as much as 32 knots, which is almost a record figure for ships of this class.

Case features

Blinov, observing from the Navy, obtained from the designers a technical solution in which the thickness of almost all elements of the hull was at least 8 millimeters. By the way, it was much more than required by the calculated indicators. Due to this know-how, these Russian warships are distinguished by increased durability. But everything has its downsides: due to the design solutions used, the displacement (when compared with the ships of project 1134B) increased immediately by 28%.

To be fair, it's worth noting that comparing these cars is not very correct in principle. The fact is that such Russian warships and anti-submarine vessels are very similar only in appearance and some technical solutions.

Initially, Moskva and other Atlantes were armed with P-500 Baz alt missiles. Fire control system - "Argon". Initially, the ships had 16 of these missiles. They were mounted in eight twin shafts located on the upper deck. In the course of further modernization, outdated missile weapons were replaced by the P-1000 Vulkan. These missiles can hit targets already at a distance of about 700 kilometers.

Basic information on combat systems

The fire control system allows the combat launch mode, including the simultaneous launch (to hit one target) of all 16 missiles. By the way, no one can withstand such a volleyaircraft carrier in the world. How do these naval warships get target coordinates on such long-range launches? Everything is simple: either from satellites, or from Tu-95 aircraft, or through the operation of our own reconnaissance and targeting system.

Cruiser anti-aircraft armament

To effectively repel air attacks, two air defense systems are mounted on the ship at once. The first, S-300F, is designed for a collective or zonal air defense system. The second, "Osa-M", is designed exclusively to repel attacks by enemy planes, helicopters and missiles on the ship itself.

Eight drum-type launchers are intended for the S-300F air defense system at once, allowing for relatively fast reloading and servicing of missiles. They are located both in the area of the upper deck and at the stern of the cruiser. In order to effectively manage the process of launching and targeting, a special radar was included in the ship's gun system. Its feature is a phased array antenna.

As we have already said, the Osa-M complex is used for self-defense of the ship, which allows you to confidently hit targets at a distance of about ten kilometers. It consists of two launchers (with a homing system operating in two planes at once). Unlike older ships, the self-defense kit also has its own control system. The total ammunition load of the two Osa air defense systems is exactly 48 missiles. Accordingly, 64 ammunition is provided for the S-300.

Additional anti-aircraft systems

But on thisthe capabilities of the cruiser's anti-aircraft installations are not limited. To make it a truly multifunctional combat unit, the design included a universal (can also shoot at coastal and sea targets) 130 mm mount (automatic, of course) AK-130. To increase its effectiveness, it comes with the Lion Radar Detection System.

Among other things, the ship has a whole battery of 30 mm six-barreled AK-630M guns. There are two installations in the battery, each of which is controlled by the Vympel guidance and target tracking system. The Flag radar station, which includes two other radar installations, Frigate and Voskhod, is responsible for the state of the airspace near the ship itself, as well as for the supply of information to the airborne anti-aircraft weapons. Their antennas are hard-wired to the foremasts and mainmasts of the Carrier Killer.

Fighting enemy submarines

Soviet designers have not forgotten what a formidable enemy submarines can be. Despite the strike specialization, the cruiser is well protected from them: there is a well-proven Platinum sonar system, which includes a towed and bulbous antenna. For a direct attack on enemy submarines, two 533 mm torpedo launchers are provided at once.

On the contrary, two RBU-6000 installations (missile and bomb) are designed to protect the ship from torpedo salvos from the enemy.

Overall assessment of all ships of the project

In total, four ships were laid down under the Atlant project. In serviceonly three were delivered. Each of the ships is currently in service. They serve in the Black Sea, Pacific and Northern Fleets. In principle, the Atlant project turned out to be really worthy and worthy of attention, unlike the predecessors of the 1144 Orlan type. Project 1164 ships had a much smaller displacement, but were no worse in terms of armament, and in most cases better than their predecessors.

In addition, the priority of offensive types of weapons was already set during creation. Despite this, the new cruisers have enough weaknesses. So, on the ships of the Orlan project there were 96 missiles for the S-300 complex, while the Atlantes had only 64 of them. In addition, the Osa-M air defense systems were once an advanced means for the self-defense of ships from air attacks, but already at the time the cruisers were created, their capabilities were clearly not enough. Finally, Project 1144 ships had 16 Kinzhal launchers at once.

Thus, Project 1164 cruisers ideally met all the requirements of the late Soviet doctrine on the use of the Navy, when it was planned to send warships into battle only if they were reliably covered from the air. Unfortunately, such a doctrine does not fit well with the current state of affairs. It is far from always possible to provide ships with reliable protection from the air, so their own air defense system is of particular importance.

Main shortcomings of the project ships

The most significant drawback (apart from the nuances described above) is the presence of only one multi-channel radar ("Wave"), designed to capture andindication of targets complete with the S-300 complex. In addition to the fact that in the event of a failure of the installation, the ship is almost completely deprived of more or less adequate protection against attacks from the air, the Volna cannot repel attacks from more than one direction. If we talk about similar American cruisers (built according to the Ticonderoga project), then each of them is equipped with four (!) Independent radars that can automatically guide and shoot down targets in several directions at once.

Thus, the presence of only one radar station not only makes the Atlantes a relatively easy target for promising enemy fighters, but also makes NATO anti-ship missiles extremely dangerous, which in recent years have shown excellent capabilities in the field of multi-sector attack.

These ships were created in the city of Nikolaev. The shipyard is currently located not only on the territory of another country, but also in a state of disrepair, so that such ships are unlikely to be built there. We can only hope for the domestic military-industrial complex, which will be able to build something like this.