Feature 4 | RUSSIAN NAVAL PROGRAMMES
A Russian Tu-95 bomber, which neared the
carrier USS Nimitz on 9 February 2008.
mine neutralisation units, there is no sign that
Moscow is developing this technology.
There is no sign of any new replenishment
ships for the Russian Navy, apart from
Zvezdochka, which is named after the
Severodvinsk shipyard where she was built
and which is scheduled to join the fleet this
year. She is designed to carry bulky equipment
assisting in weapon trials, acting as a salvage
ship as well as providing combat support to The Russian destroyer Admiral Chebanenko steams alongside the cruiser USS San Jacinto.
warships.
The only major amphibious unit likely to
join the fleet this year is the Improved Alligator
(Project 11711E) tank landing ship Ivan Gren
which is being built at the Yantar yard in
Kaliningrad. She will have a displacement of
some 6000tonnes and will carry either 13 main
battle tanks or 60 troop carriers, as well as 300
troops.
The Russian Navy remains very much a
‘paper tiger’, for many of the ships with the The destroyer Marshall Shaposhnikov navigates Apra Harbour.
fleet are only manned by skeleton crews. The
shortage of skilled personnel means that even
with the rote-based maintenance philosophies
Russian Navy commander Admiral Vladimir
of the Soviet era, many ships are difficult to
Masorin says Russia intends to maintain its
keep operational, a problem exacerbated by
world presence and has confirmed plans to
the break-up of the Soviet Union which meant
build a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to
key manufacturers such as gas turbines were in
replace Admiral Kuznetsov.
other countries.
Another problem of the Soviet era was the
obsession with numbers, which meant funding substantially modernised, and the fleet itself
primarily went to produce new ships and not needs a massive investment in infrastructure
into the vital infrastructure. The shortage of before attempting to build new hulls. This
drydocks has made maintenance even more problem will become more difficult, for
difficult and led to many ships remaining at the Russian government plans to return
anchor, slowly rusting while the skeleton crews the Admiralty to its traditional home in St
fight rats. Petersburg, a move being fought tooth and
The Northern Fleet has not had a new nail by the Russian Navy, which recognises
storage facility pier in 15 years and, while it that by being away from the levers of power
makes every effort to maintain ships, only 20 it will make it harder to secure funding on the
of its 200 hulls are reported by Russian sources old principle of ‘out-of-sight, out-of-mind’.
to have been refitted. Currently only 6% of the Most of the fleets received new commanding
funding needed for refits and maintenance is officers at the beginning of the year; Vice
provided by the government and this has a Admiral Nikolai Maksimov in the Northern
serious effect not only upon the combat forces Many admirals have complained about the Fleet, Vice Admiral Viktor Mardusin in the
but also the support ships. Within two years all failure to invest in new ships but if President Baltic Fleet, and Vice Admiral Konstantin
of the latter will be safety risks and many will Putin’s dream of a revitalised fleet is to become Sidenko in the Pacific Fleet. They face
be unseaworthy. reality then Russian industry will have to be formidable challenges. WT
24 Warship Technology May 2008
WT May 08 - p23+24.indd 24 23/04/2008 16:16:44
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