Going to throw my 2 pence in here,
Discounting Russia as a third rate navy is very daft to start with (you all knew i would say that) but here is why;
The reality is the mission sets for the two navies are wildly different if you look at defence budgets you will find in America the biggest portion goes to the navy followed closely by air force then the army, in Russia it goes to Strategic forces (nuclear) then to Air force then the army and finally the navy gets whats left.
So whats the figures? (All are quoted in $USD Sources: World Bank and U.N defence database)
The USA defence budget currently stands at 3.3% GDP which is a 0.2% decrease on the same time in 2014 so total expenditure is $597bn a of 2015 data, and ranks number 1 in the world for expenditure.
The Russian Federation on the other hand spends 5.4% GDP which is a 0.9% increase on 2014 data with a total expenditure of $66bn ranking 4th behind China 2nd ($214bn) and Saudi Arabia 3rd ($87.15bn)
The mission:
The USN is committed to its world wide patrols and policing nature and has many on going over seas commitments, from Humanitarian aid to anti piracy and drugs to no fly zones the mission scope for the USN is vast and requires a lot of resources and indeed with ten carrier strike groups available this makes the USN a true blue water navy able to operate any where on earth.
Operating from two coast lines the USN has global reach and its network of allies allows them to have a permanent presence anywhere from Japan to Bahrain South America Northern Europe and Mediterranean with sufficient logistical support not just from the USA but other nations as well.
The USN comprises of around 270 warships most of which are major surface combatants such as the Arleigh Burke destroyers and Nimitz class carriers.
The Russian navy although much smaller from its Soviet days still maintains around 240 active vessels the bulk of which are smaller types such as missile corvettes and small light frigates, the Russian fleet is mainly a submarine fleet and operates 5 fleets (Baltic Black sea Pacific Northern and Caspian Flotilla), the most modern ships tend to go to the Northern fleet however we have seen the trend reverse with the Black sea and Baltic fleets gaining priority.
The Russian navy no longer has the means to support a protracted campaign over extreme distances and former allies of the Soviet Union have now distanced themselves from the Kremlin making the situation harder for the fleets and air force.
The mission difference is that the Russian fleet focuses on submarines more and a lot of investment goes into these submarines but more is going into the newer Borei class Project 995M series than into the Yasen project 885 / M versions.
But we have also seen the re start of the conventionally powered Project 636 Kilo and new ones being produced the earlier 677 Lada Amur design has now been cancelled and no more are expected to be built.
The major surface units of Russian navy are now also starting to come up for retirement the vessels such as Sovremenny (most non active) and Udaloy classes need replacing very quickly i cannot see the design proposal of the 14,000ton DDG being a smart choice but it does appear that the Russians are replacing a lot of the old equipment with smaller cheaper lighter designs such as the Gorshkov Buyan and Steregushchy Frigates (mainly found in Black and Baltic sea fleets).
The navy spends heavily on keeping the old units in service and also now the announcement that another Kirov will be refurbished and put back to service is just another strain and drain on the defence budget.
What does this have to do with Virginia V Yasen?
America has always had a upper hand in technology and systems, while the Russians have caught up thanks to some well placed spies in the 1980's and trial and error today the Russians lack the funds to build significant amounts of heavy units.
The Virginia's production run is expected to end at 48 boats, while the Yasen is expected to run to just 12 giving the USA a 4 to 1 advantage (The first time since WWII that the USN has out numbered a potential enemy), also the Yasen is in slow build the USN has already put 5 virginia's in the water where the Russians have just 1 Yasen in service.
While its suspected the Russian vessels will be able to dive deep (550m+) it wont be like the former sierra (850m) and certainly wont be as fast as the Papa (44.7kts) i would expect the Yasen to operate around the 550m mark with a top speed around 33 knots much like an akula just a tad quieter.
The weapons are vast but they still use the same principle torpedoes they were using back in the 80's the VA-111 Skhval has been modernised but is not really an anti submarine weapon the 65-76 (which likely sank kursk) is now deleted so using older design torpedoes for the modern job needs a re think.
The Yasen has some advantage it has 10 torpedo tubes as opposed to just 4 on the Virginia which means she could potentially put more fire power down range faster than her opponent and flood the area of weapons making it difficult for Virginia's SONAR operators and evasion, however the MK48 ADCAP is a superb torpedo and is extremely capable and given the Yasen would have to get in fairly close i don't think the Yasen could get within a good weapons parameter to fire on the Virginia before the Virginia hears it.
I have little doubt though that in a one for one shoot out the Virginia would come off slightly better due to the better sensors and being quieter the weapons i don't think do much for the Yasen, but i would say against a 688i the Yasen would take it but against a Virginia or Astute the card is marked.
|