【Military Subplane】Author: Lele
On December 26, "Global Network" quoted TASS news agency as saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally attended the commissioning ceremony of the third Project 22350 frigate, adding a glory to the warship that was built for 11 years and only entered service. For the Russian Navy, which has just lost a 4000-ton landing ship, the 5400-ton lead ship is not insignificant, the only problem is that there are now only three "meanings" of the same class, which is simply not enough.
▲ "Golovko" in service this time
The division of modern frigates / destroyers is becoming more and more blurred, but excluding the nominal "frigates" of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, 22350 is enough to be called the strongest frigate in the world. Its 5,400-ton full load displacement is not an exaggeration, but the design of the 48-cell vertical launch device and the ability to carry a variety of anti-aircraft, anti-ship, anti-submarine, land and hypersonic weapons is unique. In addition, even from the high perspective of the new warships of the Chinese Navy, the 22350 is also very well designed, its appearance is neat and not fragmented, and it does not have the appearance of the previous Soviet-made warships "stupid, big and black", the overall layout is compact, and the radar and antenna on the bridge are regularly distributed, which looks quite sophisticated. Again, take the vertical launch unit as an example, 48 launch units are distributed behind the main gun, in the bow space before the bridge. Among them, the 32 units with a lower position (and more forward) are the 3C97 type, which can only carry three anti-aircraft missiles, such as 9M96 and 9M100. The slightly higher (and further back) 16 cells are the 3C14Y1 type, which is used to house other missiles, including the Zircon hypersonic weapon.
▲22350首舰发射“锆石”
The reason why the two models were made is to make better use of space. The caliber of the 32-unit 3C97 is only 480 mm, which just accommodates 4 9M96 medium-range anti-aircraft missiles with retractable wings (short-range 9M100 after the retractable wings, and the theoretical number of units is 4 times that of the 9M96 series), and the length is also limited to the third deck (6200 mm), which saves the lowest deck as the main gun ammunition compartment; the 16-unit 645 mm 3C14Y1 is used to carry other weapons of a larger caliber, and the length is also extended to the fourth layer (8900 mm), which can be described as painstaking and does not waste a little space. In general, benefiting from the accumulation of a large number of exported military equipment in previous years, there are no major problems with the key radars, missiles and ship electronics required for the 22350, and the design level is also very good, which is the best warship in the Russian shipbuilding industry in recent years. The only problem is that the construction speed is too slow.
▲The overall design of 22350 has taken a lot of effort
The construction of the lead ship "Gorshkov" began in 2006, and it was originally planned to be commissioned in 2009, but it was postponed from the middle of the year to the end of the year, and then to the middle of the following year, and the cycle was repeated, and finally it was postponed for 9 years, and it was added to the list in 2018. The second ship, which began construction a little later in 2009, finally joined the Navy in September 2020, and both ships are currently serving in the Northern Fleet. Both ships were built for more than 10 years, mainly due to two reasons: First, the supporting technology is not perfect. Those equipment that has an export model is simple, but without an export model or the Navy's more demanding subsystems, it is more tricky and delays a lot. Second, insufficient funding. This is even more obvious, at the same time, Russia built warships for China and India, not to mention the quality, the speed is still good, even if the 8000-ton "Hyundai" is completed in more than three years, after all, it is a timely internal settlement of foreign exchange payments. 22350 is a self-use model, the Navy's annual allocation of funds fluctuates greatly, and the shipyard has also become very smart after several rounds of stimulation.
▲The No. 22350 ship that was put into service with difficulty in 2020
The first two ships moved forward slowly, and finally the whole system was through, but a new problem arose - Ukraine refused to provide M90F gas turbines. The Russian Ministry of Defense included it in the catalogue of imported equipment in 2014, and it took more than 5 years to complete domestic production, which is already 2020. Fifteen years ago, 15 ships were built, and the ambition to replace the old warships in one fell swoop was vivid, but the reality is that only two ships were installed, and the design of more than 10 years ago was almost outdated. As a result, starting with the third ship "Golovko", which was commissioned recently, the follow-up 22350 will not only be replaced with domestic Russian gas turbines, but other systems will also be upgraded, which will cause delays. So on the eve of the war, the state of the entire 22350 series was like this: two were in service, two were close to launching, four were under construction to varying degrees, and none of them belonged to the Black Sea Fleet. Less than a year after the start of the war, the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, the Moskva, sank because of the aging air defense system and the failure to intercept incoming subsonic missiles.
▲ The sinking of the "Moskva" is a landmark event
After that, due to the loss of air defense capabilities in the far sea, the Black Sea Fleet retreated to the port with all its members, and the sea control power existed in name only. And since the beginning of the war, the Black Sea Fleet has received the largest replenishment of a 2000-ton Project 20380 frigate (commissioned in May this year, handed over by the Baltic Fleet, which also broke the statement that the channel was blocked and could not be replenished). Correspondingly, the two 22350 ships of the Northern Fleet have basically nothing to do, and even "Gorshkov" went to South Africa at the beginning of the year to participate in joint military exercises. This state of affairs is really incomprehensible. If the Black Sea Fleet could have been strengthened by 2 ships 22350 before the war, why would the "Moskva" be sunk. Even if it is replenished later, the Black Sea Fleet will not be confined to the port for a long time, and can only do the work of launching cruise missiles from the side and transporting supplies by sea. The No. 3 ship, which has just been commissioned now, does not know if it can be allocated to the Black Sea Fleet.
▲ The "Gorshkov" arrived in South Africa in February this year
The development situation of 22350 is actually a bit similar to the domestic 052 in the 90s, when the domestic navy after years of accumulation before it spelled out a "Harbin" ship, and like the second "Qingdao" ship, it has not formed combat effectiveness for several years. Later, the Chinese Navy took advantage of the opportunity of the collapse of the Soviet Union to obtain a large amount of technology/equipment from Russia and Ukraine, and after the evolution of 052B and 052C, it had the glory of 052D. If you don't have the ability to do it, then buy it, what's the shame of it. In the construction process of 22350, the Russian Navy has always adhered to the concept of domestic production in addition to limited cooperation with Ukraine in the early stage, even if the subsystem has been developed for many years, even if the subsystem is not mature for many years, even if the project is repeatedly delayed, this face is not lost, and the resources allocated are only those, and the result is that it is all the way. In the end, with the sinking of many warships such as the "Moskva", who can blame them for losing face?
Resources:
https://www.toutiao.com/article/7317121292275139109/?channel=&source=search_tab