Russian Naval Construction Plans and Statistics Update

Big_Gazza wrote:
There's a lot of activity here when its all presented in a single graphic.  How can this be when Russia has "a GDP smaller than Italy" ( )....  

Yup, and doesn't even include the multitudes of support vessels and coast guard vessels. The coast guard is getting 2 Ivan Papanin class vessels of its own.

It is not rocket science... their only aircraft carrier is in dock getting repairs and upgrades, and their cruisers are doing the same or will be soon, so right now they mainly have cold war era destroyers of the Udaloy and Sovremmeny classes which they actually have quite a few of.

Their way forward is to get their frigates and corvettes designs right and then to look at the design for a new improved destroyer... Lider is not a destroyer... it was a cruiser and they wont need new cruisers for quite some time.

It makes more sense to focus on getting their smaller ships right and then producing some so they can retire older ships... the improvement in terms of weapons, sensors, and other bits and bobs from the cold war is enormous... one of their new corvettes with a single UKSK launcher has essentially the main missile armament of a cold war destroyer, while their frigates double the fire power of their destroyers... keep in mind their old Frigates were Krivak class ships with four SS-N-14 missiles in a big flat launcher on the front deck... their current corvettes carry a single UKSK launcher with 8 tubes enabling them to carry a more potent missile... the 91ER1 missile is an anti sub weapon just like the SS-N-14 and has a similar range but is supersonic and with a much more capable torpedo payload... the SS-N-14 has a backup warhead so it can be used to sink ships but the 8 tubes on the corvette can carry 4 anti sub missiles and 4 supersonic anti ship missiles like Onyx and soon Zircon with anti ship and land attack capability.

Their new frigates have twice that capacity, but also much more capable radar and communications and other equipment...

They can upgrade existing cold war destroyers and cruisers and carrier so that they retain blue water capability, and over time get their destroyer design right... which should scale up fairly easily into a very capable cruiser design when needed.

The focus right now should be on getting more corvettes and frigates built in large classes instead of lots of little two to four ship classes... modular systems, standardised weapons and sensors and equipment... and make sure it is Russian made and safe from sanctions.

Spinners always spinning.

Whiners always whining... the Russian navy isn't able to take on the US Navy or HATO navies combined so it is a joke.

Yeah, of course the Russian Navy is a joke, that is why HATO countries and the US violate their territorial waters all the time knowing there is no Russian Navy to stop them...

I would say the US Navy is currently the joke... its latest aircraft carrier and also its most expensive carrier is a joke that cannot operate aircraft except helos... which would be fine if it was for the Marines. Their new all powerful stealth Zumwalt destroyer class is rubbish, the alternative idea to a frigate is worse than useless, but the solution is just spend more money right?

Russian corvettes with more powerful and more capable weapons than HATO destroyers carry but Russia is the joke...

Sounds like projection.

Of course no HATO project has been delayed or rethought... that would involve thinking and Washington doesn't think... hense no INF treaty...

None of the reasons given now as to why those programs were supposedly axed were somehow unknown at the time the designs and the planning to acquire them were made.

The programmes were concepts and were never set in stone.

Perhaps they need a redesign because the UKSK-M launcher is bigger so existing plans wont work... maybe they are redesigning them for electric drive propulsion systems... maybe they want to concentrate on making some Corvettes and Frigates before they look at brand new destroyers and cruisers...

Those programs got the go-ahead because a strategy was built around them, with projections that made them possible.

What programme go aheads? Nothing has been laid down...

The purse strings are simply getting extra tight. No extra spin needed.

They never had a blank cheque book, but as far as I am aware there have been no major military funding cuts... the west could learn a lot from Russia regarding military spending and economics in general, but are too arrogant to learn from anyone any more.

Good luck getting a Zircon loaded frigate across the Atlantic or the Pacific.

Good luck trying to stop it... the west has rather more to lose than Russia in a conflict... those HATO ships are super expensive and can't see cargo ships and oil tankers in the dark...