Combat Fleets

The recently delivered Yemeni fast patrol boat P-1022, here undergoing sea trials in June 2004, is one of ten built by Austal Ships of Henderson, Western Australia, all of which are expected to be in service by the end of 2004. The vessels are armed with a 25-mm twin-barrel naval gun and two 12.7-mm machine guns, measure 37.5 meters in length, and are constructed with “deep V” monohulls. They are a simplified version of the Australian Customs Service’s Roebuck Bay–class patrol boats built during 1999 and 2000. The Yemeni craft are powered by twin 1305kW Caterpillar V12 diesels. They have a maximum range of more than 1,000 nautical miles and are capable of 29-knot top speeds. The first four were delivered in June 2004. Two more were delivered in August, and the remaining vessels are expected to be completed in pairs, two in October and two in December. Typical crew is three officers and 16 enlisted sailors.

In July, the United Kingdom announced major cuts to its armed forces. The Royal Navy was hit particularly hard, with 1,500 personnel cut and 12 warships now expected to retire within the next two years. Reductions in the surface force include three Type 42 air-defense destroyers and three Type 23 general-purpose frigates. The mine-hunting force also was dealt a blow—losing three Sandown-class and three Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessels. Among submarines, three Swiftsure-class SSNs are expected to fall to the budget axe by 2008. Though some of these cuts were expected, they still took many in the navy by surprise. Recent reports indicate the navy would accept the cuts only with the assurance that new-construction Type 45 guided-missile destroyers, Astute-class submarines, and V/STOL aircraft carriers would continue to be funded as replacements. The Royal Navy’s amphibious warfare ships apparently escaped unscathed. This older Sandown-class mine hunter, HMS Inverness, likely will be one of those taken out of service.

As of May 2004, the Kirov-class (Project 1144) nuclear-powered cruiser Admiral Ushakov (ex-Kirov), long out of active service, finally has been deleted from the Russian Navy list. She is pictured in Severomorsk in 1999. The 25,000-ton cruiser may be turned into scrap, but there has been no official word yet concerning her fate. Laid down in 1974, the Kirov entered service in 1980 and was armed with 20 SS-N-19 long-range Shipwreck cruise missiles and a unique vertical launch system for 96 SA-N-6 surface-to-air missiles. Three of her sisters, the Admiral Lazarev (ex-Frunze), Admiral Nakhimov (ex-Kalinin), and Petr Velikiy (ex-Yuri Andropov) remain in service, though only the Petr Velikiy still is operational. Coinciding with the retirement of the ex-Kirov, the Sovremennyy-class destroyer Besstrashnyy has been renamed Admiral Ushakov.