Problems with the supply of Mistral-class landing ships from France prompted the Russian leadership to think about the expediency of acquiring them. The fact is that the combat capabilities of these BDKs do not correspond much to the naval doctrine of the Russian Federation. Already by the time of the planned transfer and after the Russian crews had been retrained to service imported models of equipment, doubts began about the advisability of using them. Assumptions were made about how they are most useful to apply - either as headquarters command ships, or as floating hospitals. Then they remembered about two BDK projects 1174 "Rhinoceros" ("Mitrofan Moskalenko" and "Alexander Nikolaev"), which have been in reserve for many years. Perhaps, if you delve deeply and scrape “through the guts”, you can find the right thing at home, and not far beyond the sea.
Project
Admiral Gorshkov first thought about what to do if it is urgent to use force away from his native coast after the Caribbean crisis, when many military cargoes, including special forces and missiles, had to be delivered to the Cuban coast by ordinary merchant ships. By 1964, these thoughts were formed in the form of a technical task issued by the Nevsky Design Bureau located in the city of Leningrad. Two responsible persons were appointed - chief designer Milovanov P.P. and observer from the Navy cautorang A.V. Bekhterev
The design bureau would cope with the task faster, but the requirements of the military often changed, and by no means towards simplification. The Americans began the construction of Tarava-class universal landing ships, they planned interventions (such as the Vietnam War), and their technical solutions, which became known to the Soviet leadership, influenced the change in TK. The general sketch was ready by October 1965. The project was approved in 1968. However, changes continued to be made to it, and only after almost a decade and a half the Kaliningrad Yantar shipyard completed work on Ivan Rogov, the first unit of the BDK series of project 1174 (Rhinoceros), which, according to the plan, consists of three ships.
Current state
Currently, two out of three ships are suitable for restoration of combat readiness. The first of the series RCC “Rhinoceros”, which gave it the name according to NATO classification, that is, the head one, called “Ivan Rogov” (built in 1977), was decommissioned and disassembled for metal in 1996. The second, “Alexander Nikolaev” (launched in the fall of 1982), a year later was decommissioned and mothballed. The same fate befell Mitrofan Moskalenko, but later in 2002. They wanted to sell this ship. Among the possible buyers was China, which had already used the decommissioned cruiser Kiev as a floating hotel in Macau, but for some reason the deal "did not grow together." It is possible that in appearance the BDK of the Rhino project is not attractive enough to become a bait for tourists, and it was considered difficult, complicated and expensive to repair it for the PRC fleet. The technical condition of watercraft after a long standing at the mooring wall has yet to be evaluated by specialists.
Design technical indicators
The main indicator for a shipbuilder is the displacement equal to the mass of the ship in an empty and fully equipped state. It in this case exceeds, respectively, 11.5 / 14 thousand tons. The length of the Rhino DBK is 158 meters, the mid-span width is 24 meters, the keel is immersed in water at full load of five meters. The maximum speed is 20 knots, with an 18-knot it can overcome 7.5 thousand miles with full fuel tanks. Autonomy depends on the number of paratroopers loaded: if there are 500 of them, then the provisions are enough for half a month. The crew consists of 239 team members, including officers (37 people).
It is possible to receive fuel from floating tanker tankers at sea, for this the Nosorog BDK is equipped with all the necessary equipment. For replenishment of food supplies and other "dry" goods, transportation devices from side to side are also provided.
Power and energy installations
The power plant consists of two gas turbines with a capacity of 18 thousand liters. with., located along the sides in a train-like manner. During the development of the project, it was not possible to solve the problem of their complete unit replacement due to the difficult technical requirements for the general architecture of the ship, therefore, repair work, if a decision is made to restore the combat effectiveness of units, can become problematic, although feasible. During the operation (“Alexander Nikolaev” - 15, “Mitrofan Moskalenko” - 12 years), the engines underwent wear and tear, they must either be completely repaired or replaced with more modern ones. Disassemble the turbines will have to be in place, inside the case, and this is more expensive.
The power supply sources of the Nosorog BDK are on-board generators (there are six of them on the ship) each of half a megawatt each, only 3 mW.
Weapon
The artillery and missile armament of the landing ships serves two main purposes. Firstly, it should ensure the relative security of the combat unit itself with troops and military equipment loaded on it. Secondly, during the landing and in the subsequent period, the ship provides him with fire assistance. Of course, BDK-1174 "Rhinoceros" can hardly be called a heavy-duty floating battery, but something it can still. The AK-726 mount is the most powerful artillery weapon on board; its caliber is 76.2 mm. There are also two AK-630 quick-fire gun mounts of four 30 mm barrels, the purpose of which is to protect the enemy from high-speed surface and air weapons. Air defense is enhanced by four compact Strela-3 anti-aircraft missile systems and one Osa-M (with ammunition of 20 rockets). Fire cover and preliminary preparation of the landing site for the landing is the task of two Grad MLRS mounted on the superstructure. The wing is represented by four Ka-29 helicopters, providing anti-submarine defense and reconnaissance.
Landing capabilities
The purpose of the ships of the BDK project 1174 "Rhinoceros" is to land an airborne battalion on the coast, remote at a distance of its operational radius. There are two main ways to accomplish such a task.
The first, and most effective, is to approach the enemy shore. In this case, the ship rests its nose against its slice, opens the wings and exposes the ramp (for Project 1174 its length is 32 m), along which the military equipment moves off and the personnel run out. The disadvantage of this method is the fact that only 17% of the entire world coastline allows it to be used.
The second method involves the use of landing aids plying between the “beach” and the ship. It also has a fundamental drawback: it reduces the speed of landing and unloading equipment, but, when using boats, it can provide them in four out of ten cases. Helicopters can also serve as funds, then the nature of the coastline does not matter at all.
The ability to use both methods can boast not every large landing ship. The BDK project 1174 "Rhinoceros" has two main exits - the nose flaps and the stern laport of the folding type, which covers the docking chamber. Thus, he can, if the coast is suitable, land troops from both of his extremities, and if you cannot come close to it, use boats.
Capacity
The hold for tanks is voluminous, it measures 54 x 12 meters and occupies a five-meter interdeck height. The volume of the docking chamber is even more impressive - 75 x 12 x 10 meters. In BDK 1174 "Rhinoceros" can fit (in various combinations):
- Light tanks type PT-76 - 50 pcs.
- BMP, armored personnel carrier - 80 pcs.
- Cars - 120 pcs.
- Marines - 500 people.
In the dock compartment you can place:
- Landing boats (pr. 1785 or 1176) - 6 pcs.
- Hovercraft (Project 1206 or Chamois) - 3 pcs.
Without personnel, you can also transport 1.7 thousand tons of various cargoes.
Comparison with Mistral
So why is the expensive French giant so good and in what way is it superior to the BDK of the 1174 Rhinoceros project? The photo of our ship is really not impressive. Compared to the impressive Mistral, it looks somewhat awkward due to its large superstructure. Yes, and there are not enough helicopters on it, 4 versus 16. But an attempt to sort out the issue objectively leads to a very interesting conclusion that our landing ship is comparable in many respects with it. The displacement of the Mistral (21.3 thousand tons) is one and a half times more, and it can carry about the same number of troops and equipment (four dozen tanks and 470 marines). True, its combat radius exceeds 20 thousand km, but this advantage is not so important for the Russian fleet. It seems that our General Staff does not plan to land a naval landing anywhere in Chile yet.
What in the future awaits “Mitrofan Moskalenko” and “Alexander Nikolaev”?
If Russia really abandons the Mistral, the French side will be in serious difficulty. In the conditions of the global economic crisis, to remain with two very expensive helicopter carriers that they themselves do not need (and buyers are not expected), and even pay a forfeit is not a good prospect. But Russia also faces problems. The niche in the combat fleet of the operating fleet must be filled. Apparently, a new large landing ship will be built. BDK project 1174 "Rhinoceros" can temporarily replace it, but a lot of money to repair it is unlikely to be worthwhile. The development of a new project that meets all modern requirements will take several years, then installation, launching, debugging. All this is not cheap, but French billions come in handy here. Part of the funds is for the modernization of the Rhinos, the rest for new ships. This, of course, is an assumption, but time will tell how it all will turn out.