Leader-class destroyer: characteristics

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

Building and maintaining a navy is expensive. Apparently, this is why the Russian Navy was underfunded for a long time. For more than two decades, almost no new ships were launched, and the Soviet "legacy" was too often sent for scrap or sold abroad for pennies. But now the turn has come to strengthen the defense, money has appeared for this, and the foreign policy situation clearly indicates the need for such a measure. Not so long ago, information appeared in the press that in the twenties (rather, by the middle of them) a new destroyer would be accepted into service. Leader or outsider? This question can be answered only by analyzing the rather scarce information that is currently available. They are few, but they exist. Its name speaks about the ambitiousness of the project. Meet the Leader-class destroyer.

Current state of the fleet

Ships last a long time, but not forever. They become obsolete morally and wear out physically under the onslaught of ocean waves and metal fatigue. Bearings wear out, failelectrical equipment, powerful engines, no matter how carefully looked after them, develop their motor resource. In a decade, Russia will have few long-range warships, just a few. Projects 956 ("Modern"), 1155 ("Udaloy") and 1164 ("Moscow") will serve their purpose. The Peter the Great, Admiral Nakhimov and Admiral Kuznetsov (aircraft carrier) will remain, but without an accompanying squadron, their use seems problematic and even adventurous. The task of combat patrols, of course, can be performed by submarine missile carriers, but the specifics of their service is secrecy, and for well-known reasons, they cannot be entrusted with the notorious “flag display”. In such a situation, the construction of a promising leader-class destroyer seems to be the most important task.

What's going on in the US?

After the collapse of the USSR, the development of the American armed forces was accompanied by some disproportions associated with euphoria about the departure of the main potential enemy from the scene. The consequence of this was a lag (which arose somehow unexpectedly) in the field of strategic strike forces, but great attention was still paid to the fleet in the United States. The Pentagon's budget is huge, it is many times greater than the amount of funding for the Armed Forces of any other country (Russia, for example), and the American leadership does not spare money for long-term and large-scale projects. The launching of the Zamw alt-class "destroyer of the 21st century" marked the growth of US global claims. This ship was built taking into account all modern and future requirements, it is hardly noticeable to radars andhas very powerful weapons. Will the Russian Leader-class destroyer be able to withstand this power? What advantages will it have as a more modern one?

However, it would be somewhat premature to overestimate the merits of American destroyers. Zamw alt turned out to be too expensive even for the hypergiant US military budget. In addition, there are many examples of inefficient spending by the Pentagon. The latest super destroyer meets all the requirements for American technology: it is large, eerily angular, it costs a lot of money, but it is very difficult to say what its effectiveness will be in a real maritime theater of operations.

Why a destroyer?

Until now, when classifying ships, their tonnage was taken into account. However, the data of the American "Zamvolt" testify to the shift of concepts in the direction of enlargement. The displacement of a new generation destroyer of the Leader type also corresponds more to the class of a missile cruiser (approximately 11-12 thousand tons). This weighting is due to several factors, including an increased operational radius (long-range ships are never small), an abundance of electronic equipment and antenna systems, as well as features of the power plant. Why was it called a destroyer and not a cruiser? The point is the ideological concept itself. The purpose of the "Leader" is to fight against coastal pockets of resistance (during landing) and enemy ships of various classes, as well as against air and underwater targets. Such versatilitytypical for destroyers.

Power plant

The draft design of the Leader-class destroyer (namely, at this stage it is now) provides for the possibility of equipping the ship with a nuclear reactor or gas turbine engine. The advantages of a nuclear power plant are obvious: it provides an almost unlimited cruising range, high autonomy and, oddly enough, greater efficiency, expressed in lower operating and logistics costs (there is no need to deliver fuel oil to remote points of the oceans). The advantage of a conventional gas turbine plant is its relative cheapness. Which of the concepts will prevail is not yet clear, but it is possible that the new Leader-class destroyer will be released in two versions, depending on the bases. The ships of the Northern and Pacific fleets, most likely, will require greater autonomy, and a gas turbine power plant will be enough on the Black Sea.

Intended Features

The technical data of a modern warship, as a rule, are not disclosed, and since we are talking only about its project, even more so. However, some characteristics of the Leader-class destroyer are still known. In addition to the mentioned approximate displacement of 12 thousand tons, based on the available information, it can be assumed that the speed in the atomic version will be a stable 30 knots, and with a gas turbine plant - somewhat less. There is no doubt that in the design and constructionthe most modern achievements in the field of secrecy will be taken into account, and therefore one should expect the angularity of the silhouette of the ship, which is confirmed by the published photographs of sketch models. However, it will not look like an iron, the contours will retain the elegance characteristic of ships of the Russian Navy.

Electronic equipment

The modernity of a ship is determined primarily by the capabilities of its combat information and control system. What it will be like for a promising Leader-class destroyer is unknown, and in the coming decades this gap in knowledge is unlikely to be filled. Navigation equipment and guidance equipment are constantly being improved, and since the ship is only being laid down next year, the predicted progress in electronic technology suggests that it will also be completely different from what it is now. As for active systems for suppressing enemy communications and control, the current successes of Russian design bureaus allow us to hope for the most impressive indicators of its effectiveness.

Armaments

Missile and artillery systems are also changing, and very quickly, but based on the current level of Russian technology, it can be assumed that the Leader-class destroyer will be equipped with Caliber high-precision long-range cruise missiles and supersonic Onyxes. At the moment, the S-500 anti-aircraft missile system is under development, and it will most likely find its place in the ship's defense complex. Artillery, probablywill be represented by a twin 152-mm installation (of the "Coalition" type). Of course, the destroyer will not do without torpedoes. Wing - two helicopters. And what will happen is still unknown to the general public.

Difficulties and prospects

Complications in Russian-Ukrainian relations have made adjustments to the design of this ship. Instead of the Nikolaev turbines, the production of which was supposed to be located at the Zorya-Mashproekt plant, Rybinsk engines will have to be installed (the technology for their manufacture has yet to be mastered). The cost of each destroyer is approximately estimated at two billion dollars in comparable prices. So far, six units are planned to be built. That, in fact, is all that is known about the Leader-class destroyer. One thing is certain: it will certainly enter service with the Russian Navy.