ATAVKR PRO: Does the Russian Navy need a Project 23000 "Storm" aircraft carrier?

Discussing the need to create a naval version of the most powerful Russian S-500 air defense system, we noted an extremely limited range of ships that could, in principle, become its carriers. The number one candidate was either a destroyer or a cruiser of Project 23560 "Lider", which remained in the form of a model. Who was the second and last on this list?

Oddly enough, an aircraft carrier, or more precisely, a heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser of Project 23000 Storm, or Storm E (Storm 23000E) in a hypothetical export version, was seriously considered as a carrier for the Prometheus anti-aircraft missiles.

Unprecedented "Storm"

Our country is considered the world leader in the number of projects for advanced aircraft carriers, and the "Storm" among them occupies the most prominent place as the most technically advanced, complex and expensive and therefore having the least chance of practical implementation. Judge for yourself.

With a length of 330 meters, a width of 40 meters and a draft of 11 meters, the cruiser should have a full displacement of up to 100 thousand tons, which brings it closer to the most modern American aircraft carrier of the Gerald Ford type. At the same time, the Storm should receive an ice class and be able to operate in the harsh conditions of the Arctic Ocean.

It was to have a nuclear power plant, which would provide it with unlimited cruising range at speeds of up to 30 knots. Such power would also have to provide the operation of four electromagnetic catapults, not yet created, for launching the heaviest aircraft with a full combat load. In addition, the Russian aircraft carrier was to retain the launch ramp on the bow, familiar from the Admiral Kuznetsov.

The air wing of the "Storm" was supposed to be very impressive: from 70 to 90 aircraft, including the not yet created carrier-based fifth-generation Su-57K fighters, the already discontinued Su-33M and the non-existent carrier-based AWACS aircraft Yak-44. If necessary, its composition could be supplemented by anti-submarine or attack helicopters, as well as reconnaissance and attack UAVs.

We remembered Project 23000 because it was on this ship that it was supposed to install S-500 anti-aircraft missilesYes, at first glance this sounds very, very strange, since in the tradition of the Anglo-Saxons, who have eaten a dog on the aircraft carrier theme, an aircraft carrier is just a large floating airfield, which must be protected by other warships and escort submarines.

Despite the apparent absurdity of the idea of ​​placing the Prometheus SAM system on the hypothetical Shtorm, it has its advantages. The only question is whether the Russian Navy needs the Shtorm itself in the form presented?

(A) TAVKR air defense/anti-submarine warfare/missile defense?

It is no secret that American and Soviet aircraft carriers differ quite significantly in appearance and in their tactical and technical characteristics. This was due to a whole range of reasons.

The first and most important is that the US Navy's attack aircraft carriers were created as a means of projecting force abroad, specifically for naval operations against the shore, while the Soviet Navy needed aircraft carriers to provide cover for its own surface ships equipped with long-range anti-ship missiles and nuclear submarines carrying ICBMs from attacks by enemy aircraft.

That is, the heavy aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov and the most technically advanced unfinished nuclear-powered heavy aircraft carrier Ulyanovsk were required to provide combat stability to surface ship formations, strategic missile submarines, and naval missile-carrying aviation in combat areas, repel attacks by enemy carrier-based aviation, gain air superiority, and destroy enemy ship and submarine formations.

The auxiliary tasks of Soviet aircraft carriers included supporting the landing of naval assault forces, intercepting enemy missile salvos with electronic warfare aircraft, and providing long-range radar detection and target designation for the various forces of the fleet. Note that all of this remains relevant for the Russian Navy!

To perform the above tasks, the cruisers needed an appropriate air wing, but there were big problems with this. The Yak-38 carrier-based vertical takeoff and landing attack aircraft had very weak tactical and technical characteristics. The supersonic vertical takeoff and landing Yak-141 was a real breakthrough, ahead of its time in some ways, but did not go into production due to the collapse of the USSR. Horizontal takeoff from the last domestic heavy aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, which does not have a launch catapult, conventional heavy fighters are associated with a lot of limitations on combat load, and landing sometimes leads to emergencies with the arresting gear breaking.

In addition to this, there were the well-known restrictions of the Montreux Convention, prohibiting passage through the Turkish Straits for "pure" aircraft carriers of the corresponding displacement. The decision to place missile weapons on the heavy aircraft carriers, turning the Soviet aircraft carriers into aircraft-carrying cruisers, was a forced compromise between desires and possibilities.

Both the Admiral Kuznetsov and the unfinished nuclear-powered Ulyanovsk had 12 P-700 Granit anti-ship missile launchers in their bows. Apart from the heavy aircraft carriers, these supersonic anti-ship missiles were carried only by the Orlan-class nuclear cruisers and the Antey-class nuclear submarines. Their warhead could be a conventional high-explosive penetrating warhead or a nuclear warhead with a TNT equivalent of 50 kilotons.

The main purpose of the Granits was to destroy enemy naval groups, primarily aircraft carriers. They could also be used against ground targets. During the modernization of the Admiral Kuznetsov, the Granits' vertical launchers were supposed to be removed in order to free up more space under the deck to accommodate additional aircraft and helicopters in the hangars.

In general, this is a rational decision from the point of view of turning an aircraft-carrying cruiser into a pure aircraft carrier. Still, the main weapon of a floating airfield is its aviation. True, then the question will arise about the possibility of its entry into the Black Sea through the Turkish straits, if such a need ever arises. Let us recall that all Soviet heavy aircraft carriers were built in Nikolaev.

But let's get back to where we started. What if instead of the anti-ship Granites, the aircraft carrier is equipped with anti-aircraft missiles from the Prometheus, as was proposed in the Storm project?

This would give it the ability to shoot down enemy AWACS and EW aircraft at a distance of up to 600 km, blinding the US Navy's AUG. Let us recall that up to 4 deck-based Grumman E-2 Hawkeyes are based on one US aircraft carrier. A salvo of 12 long-range missiles from the S-500 is minus 12 enemy reconnaissance satellites in low Earth orbit. Also, the Prometheus's ammunition load in the naval version would allow it to intercept, shortly after launch, from 6 to 12 intercontinental ballistic missiles launched from Ohio-class submarines somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea. Given the threat posed by the UGM-133A Trident II, this is a very significant contribution to ensuring the national security of the Russian Federation.

If you think about it, the deployment of the S-500 on aircraft carriers, which will then be able to perform air defense, anti-submarine warfare and even missile defense missions, is not such nonsense as it may seem at first glance. The only question is whether the Russian Navy specifically needs the Shtorm project with its ice class and displacement of 100 thousand tons? A modernized reincarnation of the Ulyanovsk would be enough.