The construction and maintenance of the navy is expensive. Apparently, this is why the Russian Navy has long been underfunded. For more than two decades, new ships almost did not go into the water, and the Soviet “inheritance” was too often sent for scrap or sold for pennies abroad. But now the turn has come to strengthen the defense, money has appeared for this, and the foreign policy situation clearly indicates the need for such a measure. Not so long ago, information appeared in the press that in the twenties (rather, towards their middle) a new destroyer would be pleasant to use. Leader or outsider? This question can be answered only by analyzing the rather scarce information that is currently available. They are few, but they are. The name of the project speaks about the ambitiousness of the project. Meet the Leader type destroyer.
The current state of the fleet
Ships serve for a long time, but not indefinitely. They become morally obsolete and physically wear out under the pressure of ocean waves and metal fatigue. Bearings wear out, electrical equipment fails, powerful engines, no matter how carefully they are looked after, work out their motor resources. After a decade of long-range combat ships, Russia will have few, few. Projects 956 (“Modern”), 1155 (“Daring”) and 1164 (“Moscow”) will serve their purpose. There will remain Peter the Great, Admiral Nakhimov and Admiral Kuznetsov (aircraft carrier), but without an accompanying squadron their use seems problematic and even adventurous. Of course, underwater missile carriers will be able to carry out the task of combat patrol, but the specifics of their service is secrecy, and they cannot be entrusted with the notorious “flag display”, for well-known reasons. In such a situation, the construction of a promising Leader type destroyer seems to be the most important task.
What is going on in the USA?
After the collapse of the USSR, the development of the American armed forces was accompanied by some imbalances associated with euphoria regarding the departure from the scene of the main probable enemy. The consequence of this was a lag (which appeared somehow unexpectedly) in the field of strategic strike forces, but the US Navy still received great attention. The Pentagon’s budget is huge, it is several times greater than the financing of the armed forces of any other country (Russia, for example), and the American leadership does not spare money for long-term and large-scale projects. The launch of the 21st Century destroyer of the Zamvolt type marked an increase in US global claims. This ship was built taking into account all modern and future requirements, it is hardly noticeable for radars and has very powerful weapons. Can a Russian Leader destroyer withstand this power? What advantages will it have as more modern?
However, it would be premature to overestimate the merits of the American destroyers. Zamvolt turned out to be too expensive even for the US giant military budget. In addition, there are many examples of inefficient spending by the Pentagon. The latest super-destroyer meets all the requirements for American technology: it’s big, eerily angular, costs a lot of money, but it’s very difficult to say how effective it will be in a real naval theater of operations.
Why a destroyer?
Until now, the classification of ships took into account their tonnage. However, the data of the American "Zamvolta" indicate a shift in concepts in the direction of enlargement. The displacement of a new generation destroyer of the Leader type also corresponds more likely to the class of a missile cruiser (approximately 11-12 thousand tons). This weighting is due to several factors, including an increased operational radius (long-distance ships are not small), an abundance of electronic equipment and antenna systems, as well as features of the power plant. Why was he called a destroyer, not a cruiser? The point is in the ideological concept itself. The purpose of the “Leader” is to combat coastal centers of resistance (during landing) and enemy ships of different classes, as well as air and underwater targets. Such universality is characteristic precisely for destroyers.
Power point
The preliminary design of the Leader type destroyer (namely at this stage it is now) provides for the possibility of equipping the ship with a nuclear or gas turbine engine. The advantages of a nuclear power plant are obvious: it provides an almost unlimited cruising range, high autonomy and, oddly enough, greater efficiency, expressed in reduced operating and logistics costs (there is no need to deliver fuel oil to distant parts of the world ocean). The advantage of a conventional gas turbine installation is its relative cheapness. Which of the concepts will prevail is not yet clear, but it is possible that a new destroyer of the Leader type will be released in two versions, depending on the basing points. The ships of the Northern and Pacific fleets will most likely require greater autonomy, and a gas turbine power plant will be enough on the Black Sea.
Estimated Features
The technical data of a modern combat ship, as a rule, were not disclosed, and since it is only a question of its design, all the more so. However, some characteristics of the Leader type destroyer are still known. In addition to the mentioned estimated displacement of 12 thousand tons, based on the available information, it can be assumed that the speed in the atomic design will be stable 30 knots, and with a gas turbine unit - slightly less. There is no doubt that the design and construction will take into account the most modern achievements in the field of secrecy, and therefore we should expect the angularity of the ship's silhouette, which is confirmed by published photographs of sketch designs. However, it will not look like an iron, the contours will retain the elegance characteristic of the ships of the Russian Navy.
Electronic equipment
The modernity of the ship is determined primarily by the capabilities of its combat information management system. What kind of promising Leader-class destroyer it will be is unknown, and in the coming decades this knowledge gap is unlikely to be filled. Navigation equipment and guidance equipment are constantly being improved, and since the ship is only being laid down next year, the projected progress in electronic technology suggests that it will be completely different than it is now. As for the active systems of suppressing communications and controlling the enemy, the current successes of the Russian design bureaus give hope for the most impressive indicators of its effectiveness.
Armaments
Missile and artillery systems are also changing, and very quickly, but if you rely on the modern level of Russian technology, we can assume that the Leader type destroyer will be equipped with Caliber high-precision long-range cruise missiles and Onyx supersonic. At the moment, the S-500 anti-aircraft missile defense system is being finalized, and it is likely to find its place in the ship's defense complex. The artillery is likely to be represented by a paired 152-mm installation (type "Coalition"). Of course, the destroyer will not do without torpedoes. Air wing - two helicopters. And what will happen while the general public is not known.
Challenges and Prospects
Complications in Russian-Ukrainian relations have made adjustments to the design of this ship. Instead of the Nikolaev turbines, the production of which was supposed to be placed at the Zorya-Mashproekt plant, Rybinsk engines will have to be installed (the technology for their manufacture has yet to be mastered). The cost of each destroyer is approximately estimated at two billion dollars in comparable prices. So far, the construction of six units is planned. That, in fact, is all that is known about the Leader type destroyer. One thing is not in doubt: he will certainly enter the arsenal of the Russian Navy.