Udaloy and Sovremennyy destroyers

Firing cruise missiles "Uran" from the frigate "Marshal Shaposhnikov" in the Sea of Japan

Fleet modernization program is bearing fruit

BOD "Marshal Shaposhnikov" will turn into a frigate with "Caliber" and "Zircon"

The modernization of the 30-40-year-old large anti-submarine ships of Project 1155 that have survived in service is designed to support the minimum required grouping of surface warships of the ocean zone - cruise missile carriers until the frigates of Project 22350M and destroyers of the Leader type are ready, the laying of the head corps of which is expected in 2022-2024 ...

Marshal Shaposhnikov will be the first BOD converted into a frigate according to Project 1155M with an extension of its service life for another 15 years. The military department planned to receive it from the industry at the end of last year, but, despite the completion of factory tests and successful firing at the end of the year, acceptance was postponed to a later date.

While the noted shortcomings are being eliminated, the future direction of the modernization program is being discussed.

Will the next corps be modified according to the Shaposhnikov type, or will they undergo a more thorough alteration for an even more powerful arsenal of weapons?

Unfortunately, the backlog accumulated by domestic shipbuilders in the implementation of a number of long-term programs speaks in favor of the first option for reasons of “a spoonful to dinner”. So far, the fleet has received only two frigates "Admiral Gorshkov" and "Admiral Kasatonov" from the surface ships of the far sea zone of the new generation. The next pair of Project 22350 ships is in a high degree of construction readiness, four more hulls were laid down during 2019-2020, and contracts were signed for two additional ships.

However, the frigates of Project 22350 are significantly smaller than the Soviet BODs in terms of displacement (standard - 4.5 thousand tons versus 7) and, accordingly, have less autonomy. Larger frigates and destroyers have not yet left the design stage, and two Project 23900 universal amphibious assault helicopter carriers laid down at the Zaliv shipyard (Kerch, Crimea) last summer need to be covered by missile ships of the above classes.

Therefore, almost the only way to maintain the minimum required grouping of large surface ships - missile carriers of the Russian Navy is the restoration and modernization of the "time-worn" BOD. The latter are the real workhorses of our fleet, having made hundreds of long-distance cruises since 1980, when the lead Udalaya entered service. The collapse of the Soviet Union interrupted the construction of the series, the release was limited to 12 ships of the original appearance and one - improved ("Admiral Chabanenko" project 1155.1).

Time is taking its toll, by now four hulls have already been disposed of, and the Admiral Kharlamov, which was in reserve for a long time, was withdrawn from the fleet in December last year and is awaiting its turn for cutting at the Nerpa shipyard. The Northern and Pacific fleets each have three operational BODs.

The return of the Shaposhnikov to service will undoubtedly strengthen our forces in the Far East, but they will be reduced when the Admiral Vinogradov is put into service. In parallel with it, work will be carried out on the Admiral Levchenko in the North. Thus, the list of operating BODs will be reduced to four: "Vice-Admiral Kulakov", "Admiral Tributs", "Severomorsk" and "Admiral Panteleev". Most likely, they too will be converted into frigates. Moreover, from the height of the current situation, it is clear that the entire program will go beyond the terms announced by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation in 2015 for several years: it is impossible to complete it until 2022.

The need to quickly carry out the modernization and at the same time give the customer a ship of the required class determined the nature of the changes made to the original project.

Five years ago, Shaposhnikov was put on modernization at Dalzavod Ship Repair Center (Vladivostok). Among the proposals, first there was a deep modernization with a complete replacement of the old set of weapons, consisting of the A-192 "Armat" cannon, "Caliber" missiles and an air defense complex based on the S-400 and "Redut". However, in the end, the updated "Shaposhnikov" turned out to be more modest. It was equipped with two 3C-14 vertical launchers of the Caliber complex (accommodates 16 3M14 missiles), a pair of 3C24 quad launchers of the Uranus complex and a new fire control system. Among the new equipment, we note the hardware and software system for information support for operation, a system for information support for damage control; complexes of electronic warfare TK-25-2 and communications R-779-28, radio-technical monitoring station "Sirius".

One artillery mount AK-100 was removed, the second was replaced by a new A-190-01 of the same caliber - 100 mm. The fire control function is assigned to the MR-123-02 / 3 "Bagheera" system. Replacing the bow turret with a lighter one gives a decent weight gain, more than 20 tons. New technologies in artillery work increase the accuracy of fire and reduce the consumption of shells to hit one target. Due to the reduction of barrel artillery and ammunition, a significant - about 50-60 tons - weight reduction was obtained, which made it possible to increase the share of missile systems in the total mass of the ship's armament.

The place of the second AK-100 tower was taken by a pair of VPU 3S14 (eight cells each) of the Kalibr-NK complex, which uses three main types of missiles: anti-ship 3M54, surface-to-surface 3M14, anti-submarine 91R. And thanks to the implemented principle of versatility, they can be replaced by Onyx supersonic anti-ship missiles and Zircon hypersonic missiles. True, since the latter have a large diameter, the total number of ammunition units is reduced.

If we take anti-aircraft weapons outside the brackets, it turns out that instead of one type of missile weapon - the outdated Rastrub anti-submarine complex - Shaposhnikov now has several types of modern cruise missiles for destroying ground, surface and underwater targets. This circumstance gave the military department to change the classification of the ship. In the releases of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, "Marshal Shaposhnikov" is portrayed not as a BOD, but as a "modernized frigate".

If earlier the BOD of Project 1155, due to the lack of anti-ship weapons on them, was supposed to be used in tandem with the destroyers of Project 956 (which practically did not survive in our fleet), now the "modernized frigate" can act as a "single raider", having a choice of three types of anti-ship missiles ... "Uranus" is better suited for destroying boats and corvettes at close range, 3M54 - increased, and "Onyx" and "Zircon" - more effective when attacking heavy, well-protected targets, including cruisers and aircraft carriers. Instead of a part of anti-ship missiles, the ship can take shock ones, for example, of the 3M14 type, which were used to destroy objects of the Islamic State banned in Russia in Syria (up to 100 launches were made in total).

To carry out work on the placement of new weapons, it was required to remove 20% of the ship's settings from aluminum alloys, update them or make anew.

The site and hangar for two Ka-27 helicopters, RBU-6000 rocket launchers, 533-mm torpedo tubes, 30-mm anti-aircraft guns and the Kinzhal air defense system have been preserved from the old weapons, and the latter is equipped with improved missiles (possibly unified with the Tor ») With an increase in the firing range from 6 to 10 km in height and from 12 to 18 km in range. The gas turbine units also remained in place: the afterburner DT59 and the sustainer DO63 - time-tested and very reliable by the miles traveled.

The 5P-30N2 "Fregat-H2" radar and the MGK-355 "Polynom" radar are used as the main means of target detection (only some of its elements were replaced, which increased the target detection range and other characteristics). The antenna of the latter is located under water in a nose cone measuring 30x5 m. The large mass (72 tons) and dimensions of the SAC worsen the seaworthiness of the ship: its bow part is filled in motion. This is not a mistake by the designers of the Northern Design Bureau, but a compromise that had to be made in order to accommodate sensor equipment with very high characteristics, many data on which are still not available in open sources. Only the maximum detection range in active mode is known: a submarine is 40-50 km, torpedoes and anchor mines - up to 5 km.For the sake of increasing seaworthiness and improving living conditions on the improved project 1155.1 "Polynom" was replaced with the SJSC "Zvezda-2" and a stabilizer with fixed rudders was introduced. During the modernization of Shaposhnikov, such radical changes were not introduced. As a result, a well-armed frigate turned out - at a cost significantly less than the cost of building a completely new ship of this class and displacement.

Last summer, "Shaposhnikov" made three exits to the Sea of ​​Japan to conduct factory sea trials. Together with the delivery team, the crew checked the operation of the power plant, steering gear, auxiliary mechanisms, communication, detection and navigation equipment. Then the ship went to dry dock for painting the underwater part of the hull, final inspection of it and the outboard fittings.

Closer to the middle of December, the ship "acquired a completed form" and went to the waters of the Sea of ​​Japan for the second stage of the ZHI. According to the press service of Dalzavod, to check weapons, to practice throw tests from missile systems "in order to check the strength of the reinforcement of launchers and to ensure the safety of keeping weapons on board."

Several messages on the topic "The final part of the factory sea trials" appeared on the website of the RF Ministry of Defense. At this stage, the crew was tasked with testing new weapons samples together with industry representatives. In the Gulf of Peter the Great, the frigate fired at air and sea targets. Targets were fired from the A-190 universal shipborne artillery mount and the AK-630 30-mm six-barreled automatic artillery mounts. The torpedoes were dropped and the Uranus missile was launched.

The last message mentioning "Marshal Shaposhnikov" on the news feed of the RF Ministry of Defense website dates back to December 24th. It said about the execution of firing, but did not give information about the results of the previously announced check of "electronic suppression equipment", as well as "comprehensive development of all communications." Perhaps they still have to go through with positive ratings.

One way or another, the repair of the Marshal Shaposhnikov is coming to an end, and it will soon return to the active forces of the fleet. In a word, the program for the modernization of ships of Project 1155 is beginning to bear fruit. This is a good option for the practical implementation of the "new ship - in an old hull" approach, when for a relatively low price the fleet receives a significantly updated combat unit, comparable in strength and autonomy of fire to a new-built frigate. The main thing now is not to overload this program with excessive requirements, but to complete it early. So that the 30-40-year-old ships of the Soviet era still serve the country, giving it the opportunity to design and build new ones - the next generation. Thus, to ensure the actual presence of the forces of the fleet, not in repairs, on drawings and construction sites, but in the ocean space - there,where they do the most to advance our national interests.

About the author: Vladimir Alexandrovich Karnozov is a military analyst.

The frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov will be able to take up combat duty in May 2021 after the completion of the modernization begun in 2016. On March 24, sources in the military department told Izvestia about this.

It is noted that after the modernization, the ship was officially reclassified as a frigate due to the radically changed characteristics of weapons. Its sea trials began in July last year. By the end of December, a full cycle of factory inspections was completed.

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Russian shipbuilders will upgrade the Pacific Fleet’s Project 1155 large anti-submarine warfare ship Admiral Vinogradov to a frigate by 2025 to boost its strike capabilities with Kalibr-NK cruise missiles, following the example of the same-type warship Marshal Shaposhnikov, a source in the defense industry told TASS on Tuesday.

https://tass.com/defense/1271937