Russia » Politics
Russia's new 4th generation Lada submarine to nullify USA's naval power
18.03.2015 The new Russian submarine, Lada, will end the era of USA's reign
at sea. Washington will lose the main instrument of "power projection" to
remote regions and may finally lose its global geopolitical role as
well.Anti-Russian militaristic hysteria has been snowballing in the West
lately. Having noticed the revival of the traditionalist, imperial Russia that
the deceitful Western Sodom has been humiliating and insulting for decades, the
"free" European and American media filled their reports and pages with alarmist
headlines about Moscow's "military preparations."Should the Russians launch a
rocket from the Plesetsk cosmodrome or from a submarine in the Barents Sea, or
send its strategic aircraft flying along European borders, countless Western
publications explode in accusations of "militarism and imperialism," "nuclear
weapons rattling" "intimidation of the international community," and so on and
so forth. Meanwhile, important news reports that are directly related to a
change in the military-strategic balance of power in Eurasia, often pass
unnoticed. For example, on October 13, 2014, RIA Novosti news agency
reported, citing a source at the military-industrial complex of the Russian
Federation that Russia decided to launch serial production of air-independent
propulsion power plants that would be used for future Project 677 "Lada"
submarines."The message did not receive any attention of the general public.
Even military observers paid no proper attention to it. Yet, the news marked a
real revolution in the field of military submarine making. Advantages
and disadvantages of underwater huntersToday, all submarines are divided into
two groups by the type of power plants: submarines with a nuclear power plant
(nuclear reactor) and diesel-electric submarines that move on the surface with
the help of a diesel engine, and use battery-powered electric motors when
navigating under the water. Nuclear submarines appeared in the Soviet Navy in
the late 1950s. The first nuclear submarine of Project 627 called the Leninsky
Komsomol was put into operation in 1957. Since then and to this day, nuclear
submarines constitute the main striking force of the Russian navy. They carry a
wide range of most formidable weapons in the world - from strategic
intercontinental missiles and tactical nuclear torpedoes to high-precision
long-range cruise missiles - the core of the Russian strategic forces of
non-nuclear deterrence.Nuclear submarines possess a number of outstanding
advantages. A nuclear sub can stay under the water for a practically unlimited
period of time; it has high underwater speed, impressive submersion depth and
an ability to carry a huge number of various weapons and equipment. Modern
large displacement nuclear subs can be equipped not only with weapons, but also
with highly efficient sonars, systems of communications, electronic
reconnaissance and navigation.At the same time, the main advantage of a nuclear
power plant - its power - is the source of the main drawback of nuclear
submarines. This drawback is noisiness. The presence of a nuclear reactor (and
sometimes two) on board the submarine along with a whole range of other systems
and mechanisms (turbines, generators, pumps, refrigeration units, fans, etc.)
inevitably produces a variety of frequency oscillations and vibrations.
Therefore, a nuclear submarine requires sophisticated technology to reduce the
noise level.Yet, a diesel-electric submarine is almost silent under water.
Battery-powered electric motors do not require turbines and other noisy
equipment. However, a diesel sub can stay under water for a relatively short
period of time - just a few days. In addition, a diesel submarine is slow. The
shortage of power, in turn, imposes serious constraints on displacement,
weapons, and other key characteristics of diesel-electric submarines. In fact,
these subs can hardly be referred to as "underwater" vessels. "Diving" would be
a better word as they stay on the surface most of the time on deployment
routes. In combat patrol areas, diesel-electric submarines have to ascend
regularly and start diesel engines to recharge batteries.For example, Russia's
state-of-the-art diesel-electric submarine of Project 636.3 has only 400 miles
of undersea navigation. In addition, the submarine moves under water at the
speed of 3 knots, i.e. 5.4 km/h. Thus, such a submarine is unable to pursue an
underwater target. The sub relies on intelligence information first and
foremost. Hence, the main technique to use diesel-electric submarines in combat
action is known as "veil" when submarines are deployed in a line perpendicular
to the probable movement of the target, at specific distances from each other.
The entire group of submarines receives commands from an external command post,
which creates extra telltale factors and reduces the stability of underwater
combat groups.It has long been a dream for many navy engineers to create a
submarine with a fundamentally new power plant that would combine the
advantages of nuclear and diesel-electric submarines: power and stealth, longer
autonomous diving and low noisiness. Project 677 Lada: Major technological
breakthroughRussian submarines of Project 677 Lada with air-independent power
plant will mark a serious breakthrough in this direction. The new submarine
will take the Russian undersea fleet to new frontiers.The Lada sub is not large
- their displacement is almost twice as less as that of the famous
Varshavyanka. Yet, its arms complex is unusually large. In addition to
traditional mine and torpedo weapons (six 533-mm torpedo tubes, 18 torpedoes or
mines), Project 667 is the world's first non-nuclear submarine, equipped with
specialized launchers for cruise missiles (ten vertical launchers in the middle
part of the body). These cruise missiles can be both tactical and long-range
missiles designed to destroy strategic targets deep into enemy territory. The
most important feature of the new Russian submarine is the new air-independent
propulsion plant. Without going into details, we would only say that with these
power plants a Lada submarine will be submerged for up to 25 days - that is
almost ten times longer than of its famous predecessor - Project 636.3
Varshavyanka. To crown it all, the Lada submarine will be even less noisy than
the famous "black hole" Varshavyanka, which the Americans dubbed so because it
is almost impossible to detect it. NATO countries, particularly Germany and
Sweden, have long been trying to equip their submarines with such power plants.
German shipbuilders have tried to build small submarines equipped with a hybrid
power plant since late 1990s. It includes surface speed diesel engine for
recharging batteries, silver-zinc batteries for energy-conserving underwater
navigation and air-independent propulsion plant for energy-saving underwater
navigation on the base of fuel cells that include tanks with cryogenic oxygen
and metal hydride containers (special metal alloy with hydrogen).The Germans
succeeded in increasing the duration of underwater navigation of their
submarines to 20 days. Presently, German submarines with air-independent
propulsion plants of various modifications are in navy service in Germany,
Italy, Portugal, Turkey, Israel, Korea and several other countries.Swedish
group Kockums Submarin Systems began the construction of Gotland class
submarines with air-independent propulsion power plants based on the so-called
"Stirling engine". Swedish subs can also stay under water for up to 20 days
without recharging batteries. Stirling engine submarines currently serve not
only in Scandinavia, but also in Australia, Japan, Singapore and
Thailand.However, both German and Swedish submarines pale in comparison with
Russian Lada submarines. Project 667 Lada is qualitatively a new generation of
submarines. Rubin Design Bureau - the main developer of submarines in Russia -
designed the Lada to deliver salvo torpedo-missile strikes on marine and
stationary ground targets both from torpedo tubes and specialized vertical
missile silos. Due to the unique sonar system, the Russian sub has a
significantly increased distance for target detection. It can submerge at the
depth of 300 meters, develop underwater speed of up to 21 knots and submerged
endurance of 45 days. To reduce noisiness, vibration isolators are used along
with all-mode propulsion motor with permanent magnets. The hull of the
submarine is covered with "Molniya" ("Lightning") material that absorbs sonar
signals.The Russian air-independent propulsion power plant will be a lot more
energy conserving than its German analogue with up to 25 days of continuing
underwater navigation. At the same time, Lada will be substantially less
expensive than the German Project 212\214 sub. Before 2020, the Russian Navy
expects to receive 14 of new 4th generation submarines. "Four to six of such
submarines can completely block closed or semi-closed water area as of the
Black, Baltic and Caspian Seas. Their advantages are obvious to any naval
specialist," Vice-Admiral Viktor Patrushev said in an interview with RIA
Novosti in late 2010.The deployment of two or three groups of Lada submarines
can fundamentally change the balance of power not only in the Baltic, Caspian
and Black seas, but also in the North, in the Mediterranean water areas and in
the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean. In the North, in the Barents Sea, Lada will
cover the routes of deployment of Russian strategic missile submarines from any
activity that US and NATO forces may show. This will significantly improve the
combat stability of the naval component of Russian strategic nuclear
forces.Presently, Russian missile cruisers are mainly on duty under the Arctic
ice, where they are virtually inaccessible to enemy action. The Americans can
detect, track and attack our submarine only at the stage of its transition to
the combat patrol area. The Lada sub is ideally suited to counter US
submarines as they hear them at much greater distances.With regard to the
Mediterranean, the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean, the presence of Lada-type
submarines in those waters nullifies the American naval power that is primarily
based on aircraft carrier strike groups.Pravda.Ru
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