Opposition to American aircraft carrier groups was the main task of the Soviet Navy immediately after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It was for this purpose that the “killers” of aircraft carriers began to be created - Soviet highly specialized submarines of the Antey 949A project.
Beginning of creation
In the 1960s, Soviet designers worked on two interconnected projects. Employees of OKB-52 were engaged in a new anti-ship missile system designed to destroy enemy ship formations, and workers of the Rubin Central Design Bureau designed a third-generation submarine missile carrier. It was further planned to be used as a carrier for a new missile system. The military needed both a powerful and very effective tool capable of destroying enemy ship groups, and a submarine with high ste alth and diving depth. In the future, after the modernization of a number of submarines, these qualities will combine submarines of the class"Antey".
Granite 949 Project
In 1969, the Navy set the Soviet designers the task of creating a new submarine. The missile it transports must meet the following requirements:
- It must have a high speed: at least 2500 km/h.
- Range - 500 km.
- Designed to launch from both underwater and surface positions. It was planned to use them on submarines and surface ships.
Since in most cases the enemy's echeloned air defense breaks through a "flock" of two dozen missiles, the Soviet military was interested in the possibility of firing in one gulp. According to the developers, in order to achieve the effectiveness of anti-ship missiles, it is necessary, in addition to high speed and a large mass of warheads, to equip them with reliable systems that provide target designation and reconnaissance.
Success System
With the help of this world's first Soviet space system, surface objects were detected and monitored. "Success" had the following benefits:
- Absolute independence from weather conditions.
- The collection was carried out on a huge area.
- Inaccessible to the enemy.
Target designations were sent to weapons carriers and command posts. The production of nuclear submarines was carried out by the workers of the Northern Machine-Building Enterprise. In 1980, the first Arkhangelsk nuclear submarine was completed under project 949, and in 1983, Murmansk.
Antey nuclear submarines, project 949A
After the successful completion of the Granit project, design work was carried out according to a more advanced project. In the documentation, it is listed as 949 A "Antey". The submarine, due to upgraded equipment and an additional compartment, had an improved internal layout, increased length and displacement. In addition, the developers managed to increase the ste alth readings of this submarine.
At the very beginning, it was planned to release twenty nuclear submarines under the Antey project. Submarine K-148 "Krasnodar" is considered the very first nuclear submarine of this class. She was launched in 1986. Soon after this submarine, the K-173 Krasnoyarsk was ready. At the moment, these submarines are in a state of disposal. Despite the serial production of twenty nuclear submarines planned by the Soviet leadership, only eleven units were produced under the Antey project. Submarine K-141 "Kursk" of 1994 was sunk in August 2000.
NPS in the Russian fleet
Currently, the following Antey-class nuclear submarines are in service with the Russian Navy:
- K-119 Voronezh (Northern Fleet).
- K-132 Irkutsk (Pacific Fleet).
- K-410 Smolensk (Northern Fleet).
- K-456 Tver (Pacific).
- K-442 Chelyabinsk (Pacific Fleet).
- K-266 Eagle (currently under repair).
- K-186 Omsk (Pacific).
- K-150 "Tomsk". (Pacificfleet).
Another submarine K-135 Volgograd created under project 949 "Antey" is currently mothballed. And K-139 "Belgorod" will be completed according to project 09852.
NPS device 949
Antey-type submarines have a two-hull scheme: a light outer cylindrical hydrodynamic hull surrounds the inner one, which differs from the outer one in high strength. The thickness of its walls exceeds 6 cm. Due to this double-hull architecture, nuclear submarines have the following advantages:
- Submarines are provided with high buoyancy.
- Nuclear submarines protected from underwater explosions.
- Submarines have increased displacement.
The hull of nuclear submarines consists of the following departments:
- Torpedo.
- Managerial.
- Combat posts and radio room.
- Residential.
- Department for electrical equipment and auxiliary machinery.
- Reactor.
- GTZA Department.
- Compartment with propeller motors.
In the event of an accident, the nuclear submarine is equipped with two areas (bow and stern) in which the crew can wait for rescue. The crew consists of 130 people. According to other data, the number does not exceed 112. In autonomous mode, the submarine can stay no more than 120 days.
Description of power plant
The block GEU nuclear submarine consists of two nuclear reactorsOK-650B and two steam turbines OK-9. Their capacity is 98 thousand liters. with. They work by comb screws using gearboxes. The nuclear submarine has two additional DG-190 diesel generators with a capacity of at least 8,700 hp. s.
Combat control of the submarine
For the nuclear submarine "Antey" hydroacoustic systems MGK-540 "Skat-3" and systems providing space reconnaissance, target designation and combat control of the submarine are provided. Information received by a satellite or an aircraft enters the submarine using special antennas. Additionally, Antey-class submarines are equipped with a towed catfish antenna.
Its location is the stern stabilizer. The buoy type of the Zubatka antenna is designed to receive radio messages and signals by a boat that is at a very great depth or under a thick layer of ice.
Navigation in the submarine is provided by the special Symphony-U complex. High accuracy, long range and volume of processed information are the characteristic features of this navigation system.
What are submarines armed with?
The armament of the Antey-class nuclear submarine is represented by two types:
- Anti-ship missiles (ASM) P-700 "Granit" (24 units). Both sides of the cabin behind the wall of the pressure hull (the middle part of the submarine) became the location of the missile containers. To close them, special fairing covers are used, which are part of the outer case. The container is installed at an inclination of 40 degrees. Missiles canbe used both conventional (weighing up to 750 kg) and equipped with nuclear warheads. PRK move at a speed of 2.5 m/s and are designed for distances up to 550 km.
- Mine-torpedo tubes (four pieces). Two of them have a caliber of 533 mm, the rest - 650 mm. They are designed to fire both conventional torpedoes and torpedo missiles. The bow of the nuclear submarine became the location of these devices. Due to the system responsible for automatic loading, torpedo weapons have a high rate of fire. In just a few minutes, the entire ammunition, consisting of rocket torpedoes (12 units) and torpedoes (16 units), can be fired by the Antey submarine.
Specifications
- NPS over water has a displacement of 12 thousand 500 cubic meters. m.
- Displacement under water is 22 thousand 500 cubic meters. m.
- Antey-class ships can reach speeds of up to 15 knots over water.
- Underwater their speed is higher: 32 knots.
- Submarines can dive to a maximum depth of 600m.
- The submarine can stay offline for 120 days.
Expediency of serial production of "Anteev"
As noted by many Russian experts, the Antey-class nuclear submarine is, in terms of its effectiveness, the most preferred means of combating enemy aircraft carriers. In 1980, the cost of manufacturing one nuclear submarine did not exceed 227 million rubles (only 10% of the price of the American Roosevelt). But the effectiveness of the Soviet nuclear submarine was very high: "Antey" is a dangerfor an aircraft carrier and accompanying ships. According to other experts, the effectiveness of "Anteev" is overstated. This is due to the fact that nuclear submarines are ships with a narrow specialization. In this regard, they cannot fully resist multi-purpose aircraft carriers.
Conclusion
Today, the developments of the 1980s are considered quite outdated. In this regard, in 2011 it was decided to replace the Granit-700 anti-ship missiles with more modern Onyx and Caliber missiles.
This will allow "Antey" to become a universal tool for solving a variety of problems.
