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August 1980, the Western jj°r ^ 80t first look at the Soviet ni°n s impressive new nuclear- 'Wered cruiser, the Kirov. * Not sur- Pnsingly, this 23,000-ton ship cape the attention of naval observers 0und the world. At the same time,
of ^eVer’ t^*e *eac^ S^*P a new class nov'et destroyers, named Sovremen- Was also on sea trials. This de- So0yer class will be entering the ^et Navy in large numbers, ue Sovremennyy, like the Kirov, nts an impressive mix of new SeeaP°us and sensors. When first ob- C'd, the Sovremennyy was not yet Si^tfltted with her gun mounts or her ace-to-air and surface-to-surface •ssile systems. A conventionally Cred ship, the Sovremennyy is gen- s*rn*lar to the U. S. Navy’s new (DDG-993)-class destroyer.
Characteristics: The Sovremennyy th^6arS C° a further development of e Soviets’ "Kresta I”- and “Kresta
*p .
Ij ,r an analysis of the Kirov see Captain Ke- s and Mr. Brower’s “Their New Cruiser,” e,nber 1980 Proceedings, pp. 121-127.
II”-class cruisers. These older Soviet cruisers and the new destroyer have similar dimensions and similar types of propulsion plants. The Sovremennyy's characteristics—compared with the
Table 1 Comparative Ship Characteristics
Item | Kidd | Sovremennyy (E. |
Length Between Perpendiculars, ft. | 529 | 478 |
Beam at Weatherdeck, ft. | 55 | 57 |
Beam at Design Waterline, ft. | 55 | 54 |
Draft, Full Load Displacement, ft. | 21.3 | 20.5 |
Depth, Amidships, ft. | 33 | 34.8 |
Lightship Displacement, l.t. | 6,645 | 5,900 |
Full Load Displacement, l.t. | 9,029 | 7,950 |
Total Enclosed Volume, cu. ft. | 1,200,000 | 950,000 |
Accommodations | 363 | 330 |
Power Plant, type/s.h.p. | Gas Turbine/ | Steam/ |
80,000 | 110,000 | |
Trial Speed, kts. | 30+ | 33 |
Note: Ships of the Kidd class, now under construction, are being modified to include: topside fragmentation protection, Harpoon missile canister launchers, enhanced fire protection for the aluminum deckhouse, additional fuel capacity (using existing void tanks), Mk-36 Mod-2 chaff launchers, Mk-15 Mod-2 close-in weapon systems, and LAMPS I ASW helicopters. The characteristics reported here reflect the incorporation of these changes.
Kidd's in Table 1—are based on several assumptions. For the purposes of this analysis, the characteristics of the Sovremennyy were based on an assumed cruising range of approximately 6,500
nautical miles at a speed of 18 knots. The actual range of the Sovremennyy may be less however. This, then, would mean the ship’s full load displacement is less than 7,950 long tons.
One reason the Sovremennyy has a lower displacement than the Kidd is because the Soviet destroyer apparently has a small bow sonar dome, as compared with the Kidd's large SQS-53 sonar. The SQS-53 sonar adds approximately 600 tons in full load displacement. (The 600 tons include water in the dome, fuel to compensate for the increased resistance at endurance speed, and hull structure, as well as the actual weight of the sonar equipment.)
General Arrangements and Appearance: Like most Soviet warships, the Sovremennyy will be a well-armed, ominous-looking ship. There is a foundation on the forecastle for a gun. Just aft of the forward gun mount is a small deckhouse which could be fitted with a surface-to-air missile (SAM) launcher. The small forward deckhouse also supports a large electrooptical device.
Mounts for canister-launched surface-to-surface missiles (SSMs) are located port and starboard, at the break in the forecastle. Inboard of the SSM launchers is a large deckhouse which is believed to include the bridge, wardroom, officers’ berthing spaces, and electronic equipment spaces. Atop the deckhouse are fire control radars for the SSMs, guns, and
SAMs. Three surface search/navigation radars and an early warning radar are mounted on a large enclosed mast.
The Sovremennyy has a single, relatively small stack projecting above the 02 level amidships. Adjacent to the stack is a landing area and an extendable hangar, which are both located on the 02 level. A large, raked truss mast is mounted above the hangar, immediately aft of the stack. Foundations for another SAM launcher and gun mount are located aft. The ship has four Gatling-type gun mounts on the deckhouse. The relatively large deckhouse supports fire control systems for the SAMs and the Gatling guns.
Weapons and Electronics: Like the Kidd, the Sovremennyy will have guns and surface-to-air missile systems, forward and aft. Unlike the Kidd, which has a large, powerful, low-frequency bow sonar, an ASW missile system, ASW torpedo tubes, two helicopters, and eventually, a towed array, the Sovremennyy appears to have only a limited ASW capability. (The two destroyers' weapons and sensors are compared in Table 2.) Even in comparison to other recent Soviet surface combatant ships, the Soiremennyy does not have a large ASW missile system, a variable depth sonar system, or a comprehensive electronic warfare system. On the other hand, unlike the "Kresta II,” “Kara,” and “Krivak” classes, it appears that the Sovremennyy will have a surface-to- surface missile battery.
The Sovremennyy will have several new weapon and sensor systems in addition to many of the weapon and electronic systems which have been previously used on Soviet surface combatants. The
ship will be armed with surface-to-surface missiles, two new gun mounts, and two new launchers for surface-to- air missiles.
The Sovremennyy uses a three- dimensional/two-dimensional, back- to-back early warning radar for air target acquisition. This type of radar has previously been used as the secondary radar in the Kiev and the Kirov. The Sovremennyy has two SAM systems and an associated fire control system. F°r close-in air defense, the ship has four 30-mm. Gatling guns. (One mount is located on each corner of the deckhouse.) There are two fire control systems for the Gatling guns (one poft and one starboard).
The Sovremennyy reportedly will have two new 130-mm. gun mounts. The radar gunfire control system for these guns is located atop the bridge. These 130-mm. guns will provide naval gunfire support capability which would otherwise begin to disappear from rhe Soviet fleet during the 1980s as old “Kotlin”-and Skoryy-c\zss destroyers are removed from active service. There are also two locations for mounting surface-to-surface missiles abreast the bridge. Over-the-horizon targeting f°r these missiles could be provided by the ship’s helicopter, a maritime aircraft, or a satellite. The Sovremennyy has a small extendable hangar on the
___________ Kidd_______
8 Harpoon
SM-l-MR
2 Mk-74
Tracker/Illuminators 2 5 in./54 cal. Single Mounts 2 20-mm. Vulcan/Phalanx CIWS Mk-86 Mod-5
SPS-48 (C) 3D SQS-53 Bow Dome ASROC Missiles Mk-46 Torpedoes 2 LAMPS I SLQ-32
Mk-36 SRBOC
urface-to-Surface
Missiles
Surface-to-Air
Missiles
SAM Fire Control System Guns
Gunfire Control System
Alr Search Radar Sonar
ASW Weapons
F^licopters
Electronic Warfare ^uite
Pa ^°r a Sm8*e helicopter. Ex- So ' 3 han8ars have been used on {j „Ct auxiliary ships, as well as on
hali NiWy’ ^Coast Guard, and •an frigates to conserve deck space. ;n , e Sovremennyy has two twin 21- Statorpedo mounts, located port and 0ar<^ on the main deck. There are terC 3n<^ statboard ASW/torpedo coun- an ?leasure Punchers on the 01 level aft, rnaintV'° Ch^are launchers on the ln deck aft. The Sovrmennyy has a
shi trU^'n8 bow, which is typical of SeS w'tb bow sonar domes, to provide aration of the anchor chain from the ey llle ship’s bow wave, however, is t^" ^en °Perating at about 30 knots, flt0t characteristic of a ship which is
^av a ^ar8e bow dome—i.e., a
e 0riginating about one-sixth of the
Sovremennyy (Est.)
8 SSM with FCS
New SAM 6 FCS
2 Twin 130-mm. Mounts 4 30-mm. Gatling Gun CIWS
1- Radar FCS for 130-mm.
2- Radar FCS for CIWS
3- D/2-D Back-to-Back Small Bow Sonar
2 Twin 2 1-in. Torpedo Tubes 2 RBU-1000 Launchers
1 “Hormone B”
Not Observed
2 Decoy Launchers
ship’s length from the bow. This indicates that while the Sovremennyy has a bow dome, she is not fitted with a large sonar system. The ship also does not have a variable depth sonar or a long-range ASW missile system.
The Sovremennyy does not have the mounting positions for an extensive suite of electronic warfare (EW) systems similar to what is installed on other Soviet ships of comparable size. It is thought that the ship will be provided with a new EW system, however. This suggests that the Soviets have succeeded in miniaturizing their EW equipment and may fit a smaller, multipurpose EW system, like the U. S. Navy s SLQ-32, on the Sovremennyy, for which mounting positions are available.
Hull Form: The Sovremennyy has the large waterplane area hull form used by all Soviet warships since the 1950s. The large waterplane area hull form is characterized by a wide waterplane aft, flare in the sides of the hull through the waterline, a knuckle in the side of the hull above the waterline, deadrise amidships with a hard turn to the bilge, and a long stern cut up. This type of Soviet hull form has excellent high-speed powering characteristics and tends to reduce ship motions, especially heave and pitch. However, because the large waterplane area hull form has a relatively large wetted surface area, its powering characteristics at low to medium speeds are inferior to those of U. S. Navy hull forms with finer lines and a minimum of wetted surface.
Propulsion: During the 1960s, the Soviets designed and produced “Kresta I”- and “Kresta II”-class cruisers powered by pressure-fired steam plants, “Kashin”-class destroyers powered by gas turbines, and smaller combatants powered by diesels or combined diesel and gas turbine plants. During the 1970s, however, it was generally thought that like most Western navies the Soviet Navy would commit itself to using gas turbines to power all future destroyers and cruisers.
The Sovremennyy has an air-powered whistle like Soviet gas turbine ships and has been observed rapidly accelerating from dead in the water to nearly 32 knots in less than two minutes, while emitting a high-pitch whine. However, the Sovremennyy does not have the large air intakes and filters which are required for gas tur-
•reoc
Table 3 Comparative Weights
Table 4 Comparative Volumes
| u. s. |
|
| U.S.S.R. |
|
IOC* | Ship | Cu.Ft./Ton | IOC | Ship | Cu.Ft./Ton |
1943 | Allen Al. Sumner | 131 | 1949 | Skoryy | 126 |
1954 | Forrest Sherman | 152 | 1955 | “Kotlin” | 134 |
1964 | Belknap | 164 | 1967 | “Kresta I” | 147 |
1980 | Kidd | 181 | 1980 | Sovremennyy | 162 |
* Initial Operational Capability |
bines. The stack is also too small for the exhausts of turbines powerful enough to provide a speed of 32 or more knots. In addition, the Soviets located a mast immediately aft of the stack, which by U. S. standards would be impractical because of the very hot gas plume of gas turbines. Therefore, based on available data, it appears that the Sovremennyy has a pressure-fired, automated steam propulsion plant similar to the propulsion plant used in the “Kresta” classes. If the Soviets followed their prior practice for steam-powered ships, the Sovremennyy probably has two widely spaced, combined boiler and engine rooms—one for each shaft.
Weight and Stability: Like most NATO ships, Soviet ships do not need to use saltwater ballast as fuel oil is consumed. The Sovremennyy should, therefore, have about a 7% metacentric height-to-beam (GM/B) ratio for the standard loading condition—i.e., with zero fuel and ballast on board. The Kidd, like the Spruance (DD-963) class, uses a saltwater compensating system for her fuel oil tanks. Thus, as fuel oil is consumed, saltwater ballast is used to displace the used fuel oil. As fuel oil is taken on board, the saltwater ballast is discharged overboard. As a result, the Kidd operates at, or very near, full load displacement at all times. By comparison, the Sovremennyy will probably often operate at a normal or half-fuel loading condition.
Based on a preliminary analysis, and assuming a range of approximately 6,500 nautical miles at 18 knots (calculated using a standard U. S. Navy design margin equal to about 30% of total fuel capacity), the Sovremennyy is estimated to have a light ship displacement of 5,900 long tons and a full load displacement of 7,950 long tons. These weights assume that the various light ship weight components of the Sovremennyy such as structure and propulsion machinery, can be reasonably estimated using standard U. S. Navy parametnc weight data modified to reflect estimated Soviet design practices. (Tbe estimated light ship and load weights of the Sovremennyy and the Kidd are compared in Table 3. The weights shown in Table 3 for the Sovremennyy are based on parametric weight data which are generally representative of 1970 U. S. Navy design standards.)
Volume and Deck Area: Older Soviet ships were volumetrically small with tightly packed machinery and auxiliary equipment rooms, low deck heights, austere habitability, and limited access. They often were fitted with weapons mounted on rather than in the ship. By comparison, the SoV' remennyy, like the new Soviet K‘rot cruiser, is volumetrically more spacious than her predecessors. While not as spacious as the latest U. S. NavY ships, the increase in the volume 0 these new Soviet ships appears to be reflecting the impact of the rather recent Soviet experience, since about 1966, in conducting extended open- ocean deployments at long distance® from home ports. ,
One measure of the tightness 0 ships is their specific volume, or cubic feet per ton of light ship weight- Table 4 shows that while the gas tut bine powered Kidd is more spacio°s than the Sovremennyy, the Soviet ship 15 not the extremely tight design typica of their past practice.
Most of the volume of a ship |S above the waterline where it is readily observed and estimated. The total internal volume of the Sovremennyy is eS' timated to be more than 900,00^ cubic feet. If this space had been al located to various functions based on past Soviet practice, it would have been difficult to account for all of lC' However, it is possible to account f°r this space assuming that the Sovremen' nyy has:
► Spacious command spaces
► Accommodations for approximated 330, with habitability space standard5 generally equal to the U. S. Navy’s
► A
110 ProPu^s*on plant of about , . ’1100 s.h.p., with a specific matItlery volume (cu.ft./s.h.p.) similar t^lat °f U. S. Navy steam ships Abbacy, maintenance, storeroom, jj access space similar to current ' S. practice.
Therefore, the indications are that the Sovremennyy is not a tight, austere ship. Interestingly, if U. S. naval engineers had been given similar range, speed, and combat suite requirements prescribed for the Sovremennyy, they would have designed a
The Sovremennyy is larger than the older Soviet "Kashin”-class destroyer and will have more powerful guns, a much better surface-to-air missile capability, and a potent surface-to-surface missile capability.
similar-sized ship. Based on an analysis of the Sovremennyy and the Kirov the indications are that new Soviet ships—at least their destroyers and cruisers—are no longer small and austere in comparison to U. S. ships.
With her new, large gun and air defense missile systems the Sovremennyy will significantly augment the Soviet’s growing naval force projection capability—other elements of which include the 23,000-ton Kirov nuclear strike cruiser, the 14,000-ton Ivan Rogov amphibious landing ship, the 40,000-ton Berezina replenishment ship, and the 38,000-ton Kiev aircraft carrier. The Sovremennyy is clearly another impressive ship whose characteristics clearly suggest the changing offensive and forward deployment role of the Soviet Navy.
Captain Kehoe has served in three aircraft carriers and on board three destroyers, most recently commanding the USS John R. Pierce (DD-753). Ashore, he has had duty in nuclear weapons, the Polaris missile program, and instructing in project management. He is now serving at the Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D. C. A frequent contributor to the Proceedings, Captain Kehoe coauthored “U. S. Observations of the Kiev” (July 1977 Proceedings).
Kenneth S. Brower is President of Spectrum Associates Incorporated, Falls Church, Virginia. Over the last nine years he has supported the Naval Sea Systems Command's Comparative Naval Architecture Program contributing to numerous assessments of U. S. and foreign warships and weapon systems. Mr. Brower has specialized in the feasibility design of warships and has recently supported the development of the U. S. Navy’s DDGX and FFX designs, as well as the NATO Frigate Replacement for the 1990s.