With great fanfare, the British were preparing to launch their first aircraft carrier, but the whole history of this ship is a continuous series of absurdities.
Today it is not customary to remember that during World War II, shortly before the disaster at Pearl Harbor, American intelligence managed to crack a Japanese diplomatic code. The decryption materials made it possible to learn about the enemy’s plans to launch a surprise attack on the naval base. But political interests turned out to be higher than military expediency - and Pacific Fleet The United States was actually exposed to Japanese bombers. Four battleships sank, and four more were severely damaged. However, the Americans still hastened to take some of the ships out to the open sea. These were aircraft carriers. From this day on, the era of huge artillery ships - battleships - came to an end, and the era of aircraft carriers began.
I sit high and look far away!
They did not appear on the eve of World War II, much earlier, but the tactics of naval combat and the strategy of the struggle for sea supremacy were radically changed after the war. The time when squadrons converged on firing range and began to smash each other with main-caliber guns is a thing of the past. From the time the ballista gave way on the deck to the still bulky and weakly powerful cannon, the evolution of artillery truly went by leaps and bounds. Now it was no longer necessary to converge side by side; now in battle, even on the horizon, the silhouettes of the ships on which fire was fired were not always distinguishable.
Spotter aircraft turned out to be very useful in these conditions. At first these were seaplanes, but launching and landing on the water, especially in rough weather, as well as getting on and off the plane was a troublesome task. It was then that the idea of launching planes directly from the deck appeared. After all, each of them could deliver a projectile (bomb) much further and much more accurately than the main caliber of any, even the most powerful, battleship!
The United States became the leader in the construction and use of these ships. Of course, the aircraft carrier itself, essentially a huge floating airport, is very vulnerable. It needed and needs reliable protection and operates in close cooperation with support ships. This vital necessity has become one of the tenets of modern naval warfare. The basis of the squadron was the so-called AUG (autonomous strike groups). This is not just a collection of ships of different ranks, but a well-thought-out echelon system, the center of which is an aircraft carrier and nuclear submarines. Such an AUG can control vast areas of the world's oceans. It would seem that this is it, sea dominion!
Expensive and angry
But the comedy of the situation is that over the quarter century of existence of such groups, their real contribution to combat missions in open sea battles remains negligibly small. Huge, unwieldy armadas simply symbolize the US military presence in the region - and nothing more. There are no opponents for the AUG on the open sea; when operating in “ship versus shore” conditions, the aircraft carrier becomes vulnerable to attacks from ground-based aircraft, which are usually more powerful than deck-based aircraft. At the same time, each departure of an aircraft carrier and its support group to sea is a colossal expense that brings rather modest results. And given that the main military actions of our time are a war of economies and ideas, and not of personal valor, such demonstrative exits do more harm to the owners of the AUG than they allow them to solve any strategic and operational problems. The main striking force of the fleets of a potential enemy and a respected partner are in fact nuclear submarines with cruise ballistic missiles on board. For example, the USA already has 72 of them.
But Great Britain nevertheless decided to keep up with the sailing ship of history and acquire its own aircraft carrier giants. On December 7, 2017, the first of them, proudly named “Queen Elizabeth,” was launched. Of course, this did not mean the current grandmother of the British monarchy, but the queen, who harshly declared after the defeat of the Spanish Great Armada: “Britain, rule the seas!”
Alas, it will be difficult to rule the seas with the help of this aircraft carrier. Although the Queen is the largest ship in the history of the British Navy, it is still almost half the size of its American counterparts in the Nimitz class. And its strike weapons - from 12 to 35 F-35C aircraft with a short take-off vertical landing and 14 helicopters for various purposes - are not particularly impressive if you evaluate the cost sea giant. In addition, there is one catch - the planes have not yet been purchased and, moreover, have not been brought to perfection. As tests in 2015 showed, the design of the aircraft has fundamental flaws and needs serious improvement. However, the full commissioning of the ship and its inclusion in the fleet lists is expected as early as 2020. Aircraft weapons will only be delivered in 2023. By that time, these aircraft will either be put into production or completely rejected.
Moreover, these aircraft will be flown not only by British, but also by American pilots who know better the aircraft produced in their own country. Trusting just anyone with an aircraft worth over $150 million (not counting weapons) is extremely imprudent. So the English crown threw away huge ships by British standards and astronomical sums by any standards in order to provide the American fleet with a “gift” of dubious value. But that’s not all - the second aircraft carrier, the Prince of Wales, is already under active construction, so over time the Pentagon may have another “pride of the British fleet.”
Will the Russians be jealous?
However, this does not prevent the British Defense Minister Michael Fallon compare the brand new “Queen Elizabeth” with the “dilapidated” “Admiral Kuznetsov” and declare that our sailors will certainly envy such “written bags”. It is somewhat strange to hear such a statement from a serious (judging by the suit) person appointed to deal with military and naval affairs. But it seems that the Minister of Defense there is not able to distinguish crucian carp from piglet, that is, heavy aircraft carrier, equipped, in addition to aviation, also with the most powerful missile weapons and designed to solve independent problems, from a global aircraft moving in a whole herd of escort ships. And considering that in any conflict, clumsy aircraft carriers will become the first targets for missiles and aircraft, there is definitely nothing to envy here.
It’s good that the real Queen Elizabeth “Mistress of the Seas” did not live to see this expensive circus - otherwise many of today’s “political figures” would have lost their heads on the lawn in front of the Tower. However, keeping in mind the traditions of the British fleet and the connection between the name of the ship and its fate, one can predict a difficult future for the aircraft carrier - the queen was particularly vindictive and vindictive. And, of course, I didn’t imagine myself as a monkey pulling chestnuts out of the fire for an overseas owner.
P.S. The commissioning of the Queen Elizabeth has been postponed - the formidable aircraft carrier developed a leak right in the port...
5 years later in the city of Rosyth after cutting the first sheet of steel, the largest warship of the Royal British Navy is named after Queen Elizabeth, who broke a bottle of champagne on the side of the newest 65,000 ton aircraft carrier.
In the early 1990s, the British Royal Navy had three small aircraft carriers and many anti-submarine frigates and destroyers, whose main purpose was to destroy Soviet submarines in the North Atlantic. But the experience of the Falklands War proved the need for a fleet to support expeditionary forces. Thus, in 2000, the Royal Navy began a series of projects to improve its fleet to provide enhanced capabilities. This resulted in numerous projects being replaced by their somewhat larger counterparts, but with fewer personnel. The main examples were the replacement of Project 42 destroyers with Project 45 destroyers. A similar situation arose with submarines. On at the moment 4 out of 6 submarines are already in service newest class Astute. And very soon, on July 4, 2014, the world will see the first of the long-awaited ships, construction of which began in May 2009.
This is the British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, which will be launched on July 4, 2014. The ship is planned to be put into operation only in 2017, after very long sea trials, which will begin in October 2016.
The hull of the second ship of the same type was also laid down in May 2011. Both aircraft carriers HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08) and HMS Prince of Wales (R09), when handed over to the Royal Navy, will become the largest warships ever built for the Royal Navy. The estimated cost of the construction program is £6.2 billion. The full operational potential of the connection will be formed in 2020.
The decision to create two Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers for the British Navy was made on July 25, 2007. In this regard, to restructure the naval shipbuilding industry, literally a year later two corporations were merged - BAE Systems and VT Group into BVT Surface Fleet. Well, let's look at some characteristics of the newest aircraft-carrying ship of the Royal Navy of Great Britain.
the newest British aircraft carrier "HMS Queen Elizabeth" (photo)
The Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier is capable of displacing 70,600 tons of water when fully loaded, has a length of 280 m, a width of 39 m, a draft of 11 m and a height of 70 m. The new aircraft carrier is equipped with a large flight deck with a ski-jump and two aircraft lifts. On 9 hangar decks of an aircraft carrier with an area of 16 thousand square meters. m can be up to 50 aircraft such as the F-35B Lightning II, Chinook, Augusta Westland Apache, Lynx Wildcat or Merlin Crowsnest AEW. To transport aircraft and helicopters to the flight deck, two aircraft lifts are used on board, each of which can accommodate two aircraft.
Distinctive feature of this project is the presence of two island-type superstructures - one to ensure navigation and control of the ship, the second, which is closer to the stern, to perform flight operations. For defensive operations, the aircraft carrier is equipped with a Phalanx system, machine guns and a 30-mm automatic gun.
The Ministry of Defense has decided not to use it on Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers. nuclear installations due to their high cost. Therefore, the power plant for surface ships will become two gas turbine units Rolls-Royce Marine Trent MT30 with a total power of 48,000 hp, and four diesel generators producing a total amount of energy of up to 20 MW (27,000 hp), which are manufactured by Wärtsilä. All machines provide the ship with a speed of over 25 knots. The aircraft carrier's cruising range is 10 thousand nautical miles.
For the crew, the designers provided a number of rooms for relaxation and pastime. So on board there is a spacious gym, a cinema and four galleys capable of serving 960 meals in one hour. Eleven medical personnel will closely monitor the health of all sailors, flight and maintenance personnel. For this purpose, the medical unit is equipped with everything necessary equipment, including an operating room and a dental office.
One of the equally important distinctive features of the British aircraft carrier will be the level of automation, which will significantly reduce the cost of operating the vessel, including a smaller crew. One such example is the ammunition supply system, which is organized in such a way that a person touches the projectile only once during the entire delivery path. Such work on such ships is usually performed by two hundred sailors, and as a result of the above achievement, only 32 people are required for the same operation on the aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth. Therefore, the crew size is only 679 people, not counting the 1,600 flight personnel. There are 3,000 rooms on the 12 decks of the aircraft carrier.
More than 10 thousand people from 90 firms and enterprises are involved in the creation of two ships, while 7 thousand of them at 6 shipyards across the UK are building various parts of the aircraft carrier. The individual sections were transported by tugboats from various locations to Rosyth, where they were assembled into a single structure.
The first sheet of high quality steel for HMS Queen Elizabeth was cut in July 2009 at BAE Systems in the Clyde, marking the start of construction of one of the ship's sections. A little later, at the end of 2009, construction of the aircraft carrier's nose began at the Appledore facility in North Devon. After their completion, the monoblocks were delivered to Rosyth, where they were assembled into a single section.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08) is the lead aircraft carrier in a series of two Queen Elizabeth class ships being built for the Royal Navy. The second in the series is the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales.
Once commissioned, HMS Queen Elizabeth will be the largest warship ever built for the Royal Navy, carrying up to 40 aircraft.
Main characteristics of the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth: Displacement 65,000 tons. Length 284 meters, width 73 meters, height 56 meters, draft 11 meters. Maximum speed 25 knots. Cruising range up to 10,000 miles. Autonomy 292 days. The crew consists of: Command staff 60 people; personnel 600 people and aviation personnel 900 people.
Ship power plant: Gas turbines Rolls-Royce - MT30 2 X 36MW. Auxiliary diesel generators - 2 X 7MW. Twin-shaft electric motors - 2 X 30MW.
Armament: Aviation group: 40 aircraft, of which 36 F-35C and 4 AWACS aircraft.
The aircraft carrier costs £5.5 billion. The home port will be the Royal Navy naval base Portsmouth.
The following companies are building the aircraft carrier: BAE Systems, UK; Thales Group, France; Babcock Marine, UK.
Construction of the aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth began in 2009. The aircraft carrier consists of 9 blocks, which were produced at different shipyards.
In January 2013 at the largest naval shipyard, Rosyth Royal Dockyard in the Firth of Forth, Scotland.
Also at the Babcock shipyard in Rosyth in Scotland, global propulsion company Rolls-Royce successfully completed installation into the hull of the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth under construction for the Royal Navy.
04 July 2014, at the Rosyth naval shipyard, located on the shores of the Firth of Forth in Fife, Scotland, the lead aircraft carrier. On July 4, a christening ceremony took place, which was attended by thousands of people, as well as crew members and shipbuilders. Her Majesty Elizabeth II became the godmother. On the morning of July 17, the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth left dry dock and was launched. At the same time, work is underway on a second aircraft carrier, the assembly of which is due to begin at the Rosyth shipyard at the end of 2014. June 30, 2015 was
Britain has not ruled the seas for a long time; the role of a global maritime power passed decades ago to its closest ally, the United States. America has a uniquely powerful aircraft carrier fleet, however... last summer, in the presence of the Queen, a bottle of whiskey was broken on the side of the largest in British history warship. In 2020, the aircraft carrier Queen Elisabeth will become the flagship of Her Majesty's fleet.
The aircraft carrier has four kitchens and four large dining rooms - all of which will be served by 67 crew members. In addition, there will be an eight-bed hospital ward, an operating room and a dentist's office on board. Medical staff will employ 11 people.
Oleg Makarov
In December 2013, the naval publication Navy News wrote about the aircraft carrier still under construction: “Similarly, on the eve of the Olympics ( summer games 2012 in London), when lovers of gloomy forecasts ruled the roost, the attention of the press was directed to problems, missed deadlines, and huge costs. So what do we know now? The games went quite well... And now just the sight of the ship will make anyone - even an inveterate anti-chauvinist - proud of the power of Britain!
The aircraft carrier has four kitchens and four large dining rooms, all of which will be served by 67 crew members. In addition, there will be an eight-bed hospital ward, an operating room and a dentist's office on board. The medical staff will number 11 people.
Aircraft carriers? Just what you need!
Needless to say, the ship makes an impression. Such colossuses are not launched from the stocks. On July 14, 2014, a dry dock near the town of Rosyth (Scotland) was filled with water, and then the 280-meter aircraft carrier was carefully pushed out to sea with the help of several tugs. Retrofitting of the ship will continue until the end of this year. In 2016, the crew will board and sea trials will begin. In 2017-2018, tests of carrier-based aircraft - helicopters and fighters - will take place. The project for the newest British warship, or more precisely, class of ships - the construction of the Prince of Wales sister ship is almost half completed - dates back to 1997. Then Tony Blair's Labor government prepared a Strategic Defense Report, which noted the need for an aircraft carrier fleet for the country. Aircraft carriers, according to the leadership of the United Kingdom, should provide offensive air operations in areas where there are no British air force bases, or where they exist, but have not yet been deployed to full functionality at the initial stage of the conflict. They are also capable of performing coercion and deterrence tasks in hot spots. However, at the time the report was published, the British aircraft carrier fleet was not a very impressive sight. The light aircraft carriers of the Invincible class, which could carry on board only 22 aircraft (helicopters and vertical take-off fighters) and in terms of displacement were many times inferior not only to the American giants of the Nimitz class, but also to the French nuclear flagship Charles de Gaulle, were living out their days. As part of the report, therefore, it was planned to build two aircraft carriers with a displacement of up to 40,000 tons, capable of carrying 50 aircraft on board.
The photo, taken from above, helps to understand how huge the new aircraft carrier really is. Its deck could accommodate four Boeing 747 airliners placed in a row. The height of the ship from the keel to the top of the mast is 56 m. This is higher than Niagara Falls.
On January 25, 1999, a tender was announced to study the evaluation phase of the project, the construction contract was signed in 2007, and metal cutting for QE began in 2009. The ship was built by a consortium that includes the British military-industrial concern BAE Systems, the British company Babcock Marine, and the French Thales. In general, the epic lasted quite a long time, and not only because designing and building such a giant is not a quick task, but because of the heated political and economic debates surrounding the initially expensive and constantly rising project.
Queen Elisabeth class aircraft carriers are almost three times larger in displacement than the previous generation of British Invincible class aircraft carriers, but are one and a half times smaller than the American nuclear giants Nimitz and Gerald R. Ford class. Also, QE, with its 64,000 tons of displacement, is superior to the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle (France, 42,000 tons).
Tangle of doubts
One of the most important problems, which combined military-technical and economic aspects, was the choice of a carrier-based fighter. Britain used the Harrier, a vertical take-off aircraft, on its Invincible-class aircraft carriers. own production, but, alas, it is hopelessly outdated. When Britain began to take the first steps towards the implementation of a new aircraft carrier project, overseas the program to create a multirole fighter of the 5th generation Joint Strike Fighter was close to completion, within which the designs of the X-32 from Boeing and the X-35 from Lockheed Martin competed. In 2001, the UK became a partner in the program and also had a say in the final design choice. As you know, the Lockheed Martin project won, which from now on became known as the F35 Lightning II. In 2002, the British military department announced that the F35 in modification “B” had been selected as the fixed-wing aircraft for future aircraft carriers.
The traditional way of building a ship - from the keel beam to the upper deck - is now being created large ships replaced by modular assembly. This is exactly how aircraft carriers, container ships and supertankers are now welded from large modules.
In practice, this meant that the British settled on the STOVL scheme: aircraft carrier-based aircraft would take off with a short takeoff run and land vertically (the F35B was built precisely for this operating mode). For take-off after a short run, the QE design provides a springboard, which is typical for aircraft-carrying ships Soviet made, but completely atypical for US aircraft carriers. However, although the “British” is shorter than the “Nimitz” (280 m versus 333), the design of the QE deck allows it to be equipped for takeoff and landing of conventional carrier-based fighters. In 2009, the British leadership discussed the option of equipping both aircraft carriers (or one of them) with a catapult (possibly the latest electromagnetic one, which the Americans installed on the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford) and an arresting arrester. This would make it possible to replace the F35B fighters with the F35C, which are cheaper and at the same time have a longer range and a larger payload. However, after calculating how much the catapult and aerofinisher would cost and how this would affect the already stretched deadlines, the military returned to the original version. However, the service life of the aircraft carrier is estimated at 50 years, and retrofitting it with equipment for takeoffs and landings of conventional carrier-based aircraft like the F35C in the future is not ruled out.
Until recently, the fate of the Queen Elizabeth's sister ship, the aircraft carrier Prince of Wales, was unclear. In 2010, a new government report on defense and security issues was released, which stated that only one of the two ships was likely to enter service. Construction of the second one may be frozen in order to quickly complete it if necessary. The option of selling the Prince of Wales to one of the NATO allies was also considered. However, it seems that there was no buyer, and cancellation of the contract could cost the British taxpayer even more than completing the ship, due to penalties. British Prime Minister David Cameron put an end (for today) by announcing last year that the “Prince of Wales” would be in Her Majesty’s Navy.
As already mentioned, never before had Britain built such a large warship. According to modern trends in shipbuilding, large modules were first assembled and then welded into a single structure. To build the modules, it was necessary to involve seven shipyards of four companies in different cities, and only one of these shipyards - in Rosyth - got the final assembly.
Since individual modules for the QE were built at different shipyards in different cities in the UK, they had to be transported to Rosyth, Scotland, by boat. Home technical complexity accurate positioning of giant modules during welding has become possible.
Stadium ship
Of course, this ship of the 21st century embodies many of the most modern technologies. For example, its survivability has been increased due to a distributed energy generation system. The power plants that rotate two 30-ton propellers are four 20-megawatt Converteam electric motors. But electricity on board is generated by six machines at once: two Rolls Royce Marine Trent MT30 gas turbine engines and four Wartsila diesel generators - all with a total installed capacity of 109 MW. Despite the large size of the ship, from the nuclear power plant decided to refuse (mainly for economic reasons). At the same time, the fuel supply provides the ship with a cruising range of 19,000 km.
Thanks to a high level of automation, the ship is controlled by a relatively small crew of 679 people. However, when the aircraft component is installed on the ship, this figure will increase to 1600.
QE has one design feature, which catches your eye even with a quick glance at the ship: there are not one, but two “islands”. One of them houses the captain's bridge and aircraft carrier control centers, the other serves as a control tower - from there flights will be controlled. You can fit 24 F-35Bs on a 70m wide flight deck, and if manned, you can fit 96,000 people, like a giant football stadium. It is assumed that there will be 40 aircraft - fighters and helicopters - on board with the possibility of adding another dozen. Of the forty, 24 units are F35B - the rest are attack and reconnaissance helicopters, such as the AW101 Merlin and AW159 Wildcat. In a standard situation, there will be 12 fighters on deck at all times. If it is necessary to increase their number, additional vehicles can be lifted from the hangar deck - there are two elevators for this. The rate of ascent is one plane per minute. Below the upper deck there are nine more. The QE displaces 64,000 tons, more than 20,000 tons more than originally planned.
The aircraft carrier has about 3,000 rooms, and its internal areas are huge. When all work is completed, 1,500,000 square meters of surfaces will be covered with paint. A desalination plant will operate on board the ship, producing 500 tons of fresh water per day.
Since the aircraft carrier moves under the protection of a strike group, its own weapons can be called almost symbolic. QE will be equipped with at least three Phalanx CIWS anti-aircraft artillery systems, consisting of two radars and a six-barreled 20-mm cannon for firing at low-flying targets - aircraft, UAVs, subsonic cruise missiles. To repel attacks from the sea, the ship will be equipped with 30-mm DS30M automatic cannons, as well as six-barreled “miniguns” chambered for 7.62 mm, built, like the anti-aircraft gun, according to the Gatling design. It is reported that the aircraft carrier will be equipped with a “long-range” 3D radar that will be able to monitor up to 1,000 targets simultaneously and track the flight of an object the size of a tennis ball, rushing at speeds of up to 3,000 km/h.
A compelling argument
For the uninitiated, any large ship is a real Knossos palace, in which it is easy to get lost. There are about 3,000 rooms on a dozen decks on QE - how can a visitor or a new crew member navigate them? It is clear that no satellite navigation will work in the hold of an aircraft carrier. But they found a way out: the Platform Navigation system was created, which can be installed, for example, on a smartphone. At the same time, there are 3,600 QR codes located throughout the ship. Just point your smartphone camera at the nearest one and enter it in the search window right place on the ship, and the program will helpfully draw the shortest or most convenient route. These are the latest technologies.
But still, why did Britain spend and will still spend huge amounts of money ( total cost two ships £6.2 billion) on these “force projection” guns? Is it just for the sake of the pride of everyone, including anti-chauvinists? Here is how the senior naval officer of the aircraft carrier Queen Elisabeth, Simon Pettitte, answers this question: “Those who doubt the need for an aircraft carrier do not understand what it means to be a global player in time of war, in peacetime or during humanitarian operations. After all, how can a country prove the seriousness of its plans and ambitions? This is the main question associated with aircraft carriers. After all, an aircraft carrier is capable of reinforcing the words of state leaders with its presence and, if necessary, confirming them with deeds.”
Illustration copyright EPA Image caption "Queen Elizabeth" is unlikely to fight alone - aircraft carriers are always accompanied by an impressive squadron
Britain's new aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth, which began sea trials this week, has sparked an exchange of barbs between the Russian and British defense ministries.
On Thursday, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov called the new ship a “convenient sea target,” comparing it to the Russian aircraft-carrying cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov.
In this way, Konashenkov responded to a statement by British Defense Minister Michael Fallon, who had previously stated that Russia should envy British sailors.
“If you had seen how the old, decrepit Kuznetsov sailed across the English Channel a few months ago, then I think the Russians should look at this ship a little with envy,” the British press quoted the minister as saying.
The press has already nicknamed the new aircraft carrier “the hippopotamus” and “big Lizzie” - it is indeed the largest warship that has ever been built in the shipyards of the United Kingdom. Its dimensions are truly impressive - a displacement of 65 thousand tons, the length of the flight deck is 280 meters.
The new aircraft carrier was headed by Commodore Jerry Kidd, who had previously commanded the aircraft carriers Illustrious and Ark Royal. He is also very proud of the new ship.
"There are not many weapons in any country that are as symbolic and impressive as an aircraft carrier. The submarine is simply not visible. And this is a very obvious symbol of military power and the projection of power," said the commander of the Queen Elizabeth.
Media playback is unsupported on your device
Britain's largest aircraft carrier begins testing at seaIn fact, the new one British ship quite a lot in common with its Russian rival. In any case, it is closer in class to the Kuznetsov than to super-aircraft carriers American Navy class "Nimitz", especially the newest aircraft carriers of the "Gerald R. Ford" class.
However, there is one significant difference between them - Admiral Kuznetsov was built in 1991, and its combat systems need modernization, and the power plant needs repair.
The British ship has just been built, that's it anyway modern ship, which, moreover, will carry the most modern F35 fighters.
Victims tocompromiseA
The new British aircraft carrier is not only the pride and beauty of the Royal Navy, but also a demonstration of the British military's ability to find a compromise and get a warship in conditions of austerity.
Illustration copyright Reuters Image caption "Admiral Kuznetsov" participated in the Syrian operation of the Russian armed forces
"Admiral Kuznetsov" is also a compromise ship - it was originally built as an aircraft-carrying cruiser, armed anti-ship missiles, aviation on it was conceived as auxiliary weapons.
This was necessary in order to comply with the conditions for the passage of the Black Sea straits, through which aircraft carriers are not allowed to pass.
As a result, both ships turned out to be much less combat-ready than a full-fledged nuclear aircraft carrier.
Like the Russian aircraft-carrying cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov, Queen Elizabeth is not equipped with steam or electromagnetic catapult for launching heavy aircraft.
It is impossible to launch an airborne radar such as the American E-2 Hawkeye from such aircraft carriers. For this you need a catapult. And radar is needed to detect targets for aircraft.
On "Kuznetsov", as well as on "Queen Elizabeth", as long-range means radar detection special helicopters are used - Ka-31 and Merlin Crowsnest, respectively.
This reduces the ship's aviation capabilities, even taking into account the good performance characteristics of the British Merlin Crowsnest helicopter - the helicopter is not capable of carrying equipment as powerful as a heavy aircraft.
The flight deck on both ships ends with a springboard, which helps aircraft take off without assistance.
"Big Lizzie", like "Kuznetsov", is not equipped with aerofinishers - special cables on which aircraft are hooked in order to slow down during the run after landing, but its design allows them to be installed later.
Illustration copyright EPA Image caption
Distinctive feature new aircraft carrier - two superstructures, one for controlling the ship, the other for flights
In the case of Queen Elizabeth, these shortcomings do not play such a significant role, since this ship is based on the latest F35 Lightning II fighters of the B series - with a short take-off and vertical landing.
Slow-moving ships
For a Russian ship, speed is a key parameter. The Kuznetsov is home to the MiG-29K and Su-33 fighters, which require the ship to be moving in order to take off with a full combat load. in full swing against the wind.
The maximum speed specified in the characteristics of the Kuznetsov is 29 knots. At the same time, as experts note, due to the deterioration of the power plant, the real maximum speed is currently much lower, which affects its ability to launch heavy attack aircraft.
Queen Elizabeth's maximum speed is 25 knots. This is also small for an aircraft carrier, but does not play a big role for the takeoff and landing of F35B fighters.
Moreover, there are three starting positions on the deck of the Kuznetsov, and only one on the Queen Elizabeth.
Illustration copyright PA Image caption Queen Elizabeth, like Admiral Kuznetsov, is not equipped with a catapult - instead, a springboard is built on the edge of the deck
The British and Russian aircraft carriers are not equipped with nuclear weapons. power plant, which, on the one hand, greatly reduces the cost of their construction and maintenance, and on the other hand, reduces the maximum speed.
American maximum speed nuclear aircraft carrier class "Gerald R. Ford" - 30 knots, but planes launch from it using a catapult
However, there is one circumstance that may play a decisive role in this dispute - Queen Elizabeth is the newest ship, built, albeit under conditions of austerity, but using the latest technologies.
It is equipped with powerful digital control systems for the ship and weapons. Its design initially included conditions for future modernization.
At the same time, Kuznetsov was created at the very end of the 1980s of the last century, and its next modernization will begin in 2018. At the same time, information about replacing a worn-out power plant in open sources didn't appear.
Aircraft
An aircraft carrier as a combat unit is certainly very important, but ultimately it is its aircraft that fight.
With all the advantages of the MiG-29K and Su-33 fighters, these are deeply modernized aircraft developed back in the 1970s of the last century.
Illustration copyright MOD Image caption "Queen Elizabeth" will carry more than three dozen the latest fighters F-35B
However, despite all the impressive performance characteristics, they are still much less combat-ready than the fifth-generation F35B fighters.
For example, the Su-33 fighters used to strike Syrian territory cannot carry guided weapons against ground targets - only guided bombs. This aircraft was created primarily for air combat. Maximum combat load he has 6.5 tons.
The MiG-29K can carry guided anti-ship and anti-radar missiles, guided bombs and other weapons weighing up to 4.5 tons.
The F35 has a maximum combat load of eight tons, and it can use a very wide range of weapons, both for air combat and for striking ground and sea targets.
In addition, the design of this fighter uses technology to reduce radar signature, the latest digital weapons control systems, communications, and the latest generation avionics were used.
Kuznetsov has an advantage over Queen Elizabeth in missile defense systems: missile system"Dirk" and short-range missile and artillery "Kashtan".
The British aircraft carrier is protected by rapid-fire artillery systems.
However, neither one nor the other aircraft carrier was created to conduct combat operations alone - both ships need a group of escort ships, which should include air defense destroyers.
For whatTosuch a ship for the royal fleet?
It is unlikely that the Queen Elizabeth will be tasked with the same tasks as the American strike nuclear supercarriers - even with an impressive number of the latest fighters, the lack of early warning aircraft and the possibility of using F-35B fighters to refuel other aircraft reduces the combat capabilities of these ships.
On the other hand, Queen Elizabeth is capable of carrying transport helicopters Chinook, from which troops can be landed. That is, they can be used as landing ships. In this case, air support from fighters will be very useful.
According to Andrei Frolov, editor-in-chief of the Arms Export magazine, there are many tasks that can be assigned to Queen Elizabeth.
“For overseas operations, providing an “umbrella” for one’s ships, for a group that lands on the shore, is the opportunity to strike at the territory of a potential enemy without a request for an overflight. In this sense, an aircraft carrier is a piece of national territory,” the expert told the Russian Service Bi -BC.
According to him, it is unlikely that the aircraft carrier will take part in full-scale combat operations.
“[It can be effective] for carrying out operations within a coalition. If we look at the experience of using the [French aircraft carrier] Charles de Gaulle, as a rule, 10-12 aircraft, no more, participate in sorties from the deck. I think it will be the same here,” Frolov said.
However, for the British armed forces, obviously, such a combat scenario seems more likely, since the “sistership” Queen Elizabeth, the aircraft carrier Prince of Wales, is already being built at a shipyard in Scotland.
Loading...
