The revived cruiser "Condor" will solve the main problems of the Russian Navy

And again about our navy, its needs and aspirations. The main problems of the Russian Navy include the small number of large surface ships in the far sea and ocean zones, as well as the actual absence of aircraft carriers. (The long-suffering TAVRK "Admiral Kuznetsov" is undergoing modernization, the terms of which are continuously extended). This painful topic is the subject of constant heated discussions, so now we will add some oil to this flame.

If you look at the number and age of our cruisers, the numbers are disheartening. TARK "Peter the Great" was launched in 1989. The flagship of the Northern Fleet will soon go into deep modernization, which should extend its service life and increase its combat effectiveness. It will be replaced by our second heavy nuclear cruiser "Admiral Nakhimov", launched in 1986. This ship has been formally undergoing repairs since 1999, but in reality it began only in 2013 and continues to this day. The flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, the missile cruiser Moskva, was launched in 1979. His brother in the 1164 project, the cruiser Varyag (1983) is at the head of the Pacific Fleet. Our third and last Atlant, the missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov, is part of the Northern Fleet. These are our largest and most efficient ships in the distant sea and ocean zones. As you can see, they are all quite old and in need of deep modernization. The project of the nuclear missile destroyer "Leader", which was supposed to replace the Soviet-built cruiser, was shelved due to the extreme high cost (100 billion rubles per unit).



It becomes even sadder when you look at our only aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov". During a trip to Syria, the TAVRK showed itself not from the best side, and after that it almost drowned during a scheduled repair due to an emergency at a shipyard. The situation with the Project 23900 universal amphibious assault ships looks somewhat more optimistic. Two such UDCs with a total displacement of 40 thousand tons have been laid down and are being built in Kerch. They can be used not only for the transport of troops and combat equipment, but also for the basing of helicopters in the amount of up to 16 units, as well as UAVs. For the Russian Navy, the appearance of such helicopter carriers will be a great positive step forward. However, it should be borne in mind that their commissioning is expected only at the turn of 2027-2028, as well as the fact that each such UDC, being the core of the ship formation and its command headquarters, needs escort ships and their constant protection.

In the humble personal opinion of the author of the lines, the Russian Navy needs not only frigates of projects 22350 and 22350M, but also larger strike ships of the far sea and ocean zones, as well as aircraft carriers. Heavy aircraft carriers with a nuclear power plant such as "Nimitz" or "Ulyanovsk" we cannot afford, and there are still no tasks for them, so a compromise option would be to create a series of 2-3 light aircraft carriers with a displacement of 40-45 thousand tons and an air wing up to 40 aircraft. About one of the possible projects that meets these requirements, we in detail told earlier. But, as you know, the aviation of aviation is different. I would like to talk about such a rather promising direction as drone-carrying ships.

The first began to look closely at the UAV as a sea-based unmanned aircraft, of course, the Americans. Drones can be tactical, operational-tactical and strategic or long-range high-altitude drones. Their tasks are reconnaissance and target designation to strike weapon systems, long-range reconnaissance and observation, as well as reconnaissance and suppression of enemy air defense systems, provoking his guidance systems to activate active channels. As these technologies develop, UAVs will be assigned new tasks: species and electronic reconnaissance, electronic warfare, combat against surface and underwater targets, air defense, searching for minefields and mine banks, as well as supporting amphibious operations. In general, ship-based unmanned aircraft have a great future. At the same time, UAVs are cheaper and more compact than airplanes, and they do not require pilots to be trained and trained for many years.

Naturally, the US Navy managed to advance the farthest in this direction. Note, for example, the RQ-8A and MQ-8B helicopter-type UAVs, as well as the Eagle Eye HV-911 unmanned tiltrotor. Their European allies became very interested in the achievements of the Americans in the field of naval reconnaissance and strike drones. It is worth mentioning the grandiose plans that Ankara is building. At the end of 2021, the Turkish Navy will receive its own UDC called Anadolu. Initially, it was assumed that the light aircraft carrier would be equipped with fifth generation F-35 fighters, but due to political disagreements, Washington refused to sell them to President Erdogan. Finding themselves in an uncomfortable situation, the Turks began to improvise and found a very successful option: to place on their universal amphibious assault ship from 30 to 50 Bayraktar TB2 shock UAVs. The manufacturer is currently creating their deck version, and the drones that have become famous in recent campaigns can be used for reconnaissance, air strikes against coastal targets with weak air defense, as well as a carrier of sonar buoys to search for enemy submarines.

As you can see, the need made Turkey de facto create the first drone ship. At the same time, Ankara has not yet abandoned plans to build a full-fledged large aircraft carrier, presumably according to a British project. And what can the Russian Navy say to its potential adversaries? In fact, there are some options.

On the one hand, yes, we have lagged behind the United States and its allies in the field of UAVs, but in the last couple of years there has been a noticeable breakthrough. We now have Orion strike drones, which can be a real competitor to the Turkish Bayraktar TB2, the Altius reconnaissance drones and the C-70 Okhotnik super-heavy strike drones. The latter, by the way, can be used in tandem with the fifth generation Su-57 fighter as a wingman. This means that Russia has begun to catch up with its competitors in the field of unmanned aircraft, and it already seems expedient to create a marine version of these drones.

On the other hand, the "chilled" UAVs will be able to be based on both Russian UDCs under construction and even on the "Admiral Kuznetsov" after its return to service. If desired, light aircraft carriers, which we mentioned above, can be used as carriers of drones, if a decision is made to build them. Thanks to this, "aircraft carrier" can stop worrying about the high cost of carrier-based aircraft wing, because UAVs are significantly cheaper than aircraft. Perhaps, in the future, the naval version of the "Hunter" will be able to interact in tandem with fighters, increasing their effectiveness. But this is not all the options for the Russian Navy to acquire aircraft-carrying multifunctional ships.

The fact that Russia has one long-standing project that can get a new life today was written in an article for the Center for International Maritime Security (CIMSEC) by the Polish military expert Przemyslav Zematsky, who closely follows the achievements of the domestic military-industrial complex. In his opinion, the project 1123 anti-submarine helicopter-carrying cruiser can be the optimal platform for the deployment of deck unmanned aircraft:


Let's recall in general terms the Soviet project 1123 "Condor", which preceded the "Krechet" and the TAVRKs of the "Admiral Kuznetsov" type that followed. Only two helicopter-carrying cruisers, "Moscow" and "Leningrad", were built for the needs of anti-submarine warfare and giving combat stability to the forces of the USSR Navy in the far sea zone. The ships had a total displacement of 15 280 tons and a rather unusual appearance due to the wide rear deck, where 14 helicopters could be based at once. But, in addition to anti-submarine helicopters, "Condors" also carried quite serious anti-aircraft missile and anti-submarine weapons. But does it make sense to go back to a long-forgotten project?

It is possible that there is some sense in this. Subject to modernization for modern conditions, the Project 1123 cruiser can be equipped with powerful missile weapons, its hull will accommodate at least 96 universal launch cells for "Caliber", "Onyx" and "Zircon". This will result in serious large ships of the far sea and ocean zones, comparable in strike potential with the American "Arleigh Burks" and approaching the "Ticonderogs". But at the same time, they will surpass them in functionality due to the possibility of placing an air wing. It can be both anti-submarine helicopters and AWACS helicopters, and UAVs, reconnaissance and attack, which we talked about above. Compare for yourself: Project 23900 UDC can accommodate up to 16 rotary-wing aircraft, and Condor - 14. Almost level, but at the same time, the universal landing ship is de facto defenseless, it must be protected by other ships, and the Project 1123 cruiser, armed with anti-ship and cruise missiles, in itself is a serious combat unit.

In fact, being adapted to modern realities, the Condors will be able to close the gap of the Russian Navy both in large surface ships of the far sea and ocean zone, and in helicopter carriers, and at the same time occupy a promising niche of a drone carrier, partially compensating for Russia's lack of aircraft carriers.