"Dagestan" is the ship of Project 11661 of the Caspian Flotilla. Photo and armament of the rocket ship "Dagestan"

The last years were marked by a slow, but still correct, withdrawal of the fleet from that deepest pit in which the Navy found itself after the collapse of the USSR. In particular, for the first time in many years, really new ships built specifically in the Russian Federation began to be launched onto the water. So, for example, is the corvette "Dagestan". This ship has already won considerable fame, successfully firing cruise missiles at terrorist bases in Syria. How did the Dagestan itself and the other ships of Project 11661 were created?

Start of development

Back in the early 1980s, it turned out that the country badly needs a large number of ships designed to protect the coastal zone. New vessels would have become a logical replacement for the 1124 project. The need for a new model arose because the 11540 patrol ships began to "advance" to address larger-scale tasks. In particular, they were planned to send to replace the already out-dated project 1135.

Responsible for the design appointed experienced designer Yu.A. Nikolsky, and then VN Kashkin, who had already excelled themselves in working at the Zelenodolsk shipyard. It was thanks to their work that the Dagestan missile ship appeared.

Customer requirements

Customers from the Navy immediately demanded that a hydroacoustic station be built into the structure. Because of this, the displacement had to be increased at once to 2000 tons, which brought the designed vessels closer to the "competitive" project 12441. However, these ships had more powerful missile armament and a site for anti-submarine helicopters, so that they were not used as watchdogs. At the same time, indeed, the patrol ship Dagestan, although it does not have such powerful weapons, is more maneuverable and quicker.

How was the construction

The construction of new equipment is planned for the beginning of the 90s. What happened at that time, we already know. So, at the end of 1990, the flagship was named "Burevestnik", but after certain events the financing of its construction was abruptly curtailed. Already in 1995, the unfortunate "Stormy Petrel" was conserved, and after a couple of months - finally dismantled for scrap.

For the same project, in 1993 a planned ship was built for the needs of the Indian WFM, but in the same year 1995, the money intended for its construction was "suddenly" disappeared. While all amicably figured out what happened and where the money went, the Indians refused to buy. Over time, the money still managed to find, the ship was completed, and he became "Tatarstan".

In 2003, he became the official flagship of the Caspian Flotilla. When did the "Dagestan" considered by us appear? The ship was originally built in the same ill-fated 1991, but, unlike all of its brethren, it was nevertheless completed and handed over to the fleet under its original name.

It's no wonder that the construction period was grandiose. Initially, "Dagestan" wanted to transfer the fleet in 2012, but because of the damage that the ship received during the mooring tests, even this period had to be stretched. Only in the middle of the year he managed to get out to sea, in order to shoot with his main caliber, the Caliber-NK missiles. This time everything went well, and therefore at the end of November 2012 the ship officially became part of the Russian Navy.

Distinguishing signs of "Dagestan"

A patrol ship "Dagestan" with full right can be called unique. To begin with at least the trials that took place not only in the Caspian, but also in the Black Sea. They were conducted under rather uneasy conditions. All stages of state inspections were excellent, even firings from the latest rocket armament were carried out for the highest assessment.

In comparison with his "twin", that is, with "Tatarstan", the ship has a number of very important and noticeable differences. Firstly, the rocket launchers on this ship are vertically positioned, which allows to fire practically in any direction, regardless of the course that the Dagestan ship follows. Armament makes it possible to confidently destroy diverse targets at a distance of up to 300 kilometers, the probability of this is 0.85-1. This parameter was successfully tested in practice, when during the tests the enemy's conventional headquarters was struck, located at a distance of 180 kilometers from the ship.

Versatility

Rapid cannons and an effective anti-aircraft fire system significantly increase the combat survivability of the ship, allowing the creation of echeloned air defense. In fact, all these circumstances allow us to call the rocket ship "Dagestan" a universal vessel. In principle, the developers themselves say that it can safely be classed as frigates.

This is contradicted by the lack of really powerful antisubmarine weapons, but there are simply no submarines on the Caspian. So the ship "Dagestan" (Caspian Flotilla, 693) fully corresponds to the place of use, being able to carry out all the tasks assigned to it.

One of the main highlights of the ship is the material of its superstructures (a special alloy of magnesium and aluminum). This alloy can effectively disperse the radar signal, making the Dagestan missile project 11661 less visible for systems to detect a potential enemy. In addition, there are active systems for jamming. All this complex effectively hides the true contours of the ship, protects it from destruction by "smart" ammunition, including cruise missiles.

Finally, "Dagestan" was designed taking into account the maximum for the ships of this class of autonomy: it can be sailing for at least two weeks, having traveled about five thousand nautical miles. To ensure an acceptable level of comfort for the crew (and with such a small displacement it is important), the design was made active rollers. This allows people to withstand even moderate excitement well. The active air conditioning system makes it possible to operate even in a tropical and subtropical climate.

Main technical characteristics of the vessel

• The full displacement is 2200 tons.
• The total length of the body is 102.4 meters.
• The greatest width of the deck is 14.4 meters.
• The height of the side, midsection - 7.25 meters.
• The normal draft is 5.6 meters.
• The maximum cruise speed is 29 knots.
• The maximum cruising range (in the economical mode of the diesel engine) is 5,000 nautical miles.
• Autonomy for food and drinking water reserves - 20 days.
• The recommended number of crew members is 84 people.

Construction of the hull and deck superstructure

The architecture of the ship refers to the classic version, with a smooth deck and ten watertight compartments. All add-ins are made from special magnesium alloys with aluminum. Due to this fact, the minimum radar visibility of the vessel is ensured. The hull of the vessel is made of low-alloy steel, resistant to aggressive environments and sea water. Due to this, it is possible to assume a long service life of these frigates.

Armament

There is an excellent missile, artillery, and also anti-aircraft weapons, the latter also built on a missile base. The main "trump card" is the anti-ship complex "Uranus" ("Uran-E"), equipped with missiles of the model X-35 (E). The target range is 130 to 260 kilometers, depending on the modification and type of projectiles used. What is unique about Dagestan? The ship is the only one of the whole series, which was the first to receive the Caliber-NK complex, which was also used on it, including in combat conditions.

This weapon is noteworthy in that it allows strikes (standard missiles) for sea and coastal targets located at a distance of up to 300 km. If cruise missiles are used, then the effective range of the enemy's defeat significantly (several times) increases. Many specialists were able to believe this only after shooting at terrorist bases.

Artillery component

On the nose there is a 76.2-mm automatic artillery system model AK-176M. Total ammunition is 152 shots. In addition, two installations (caliber 30 mm) AK-630M are provided for the destruction of low-flying targets. Their total ammunition - just 3000 shots. These installations allow to combat with high efficiency sea, air, and also some coastal targets. What other artillery is being installed on the Dagestan missile corvette? The ship is armed with 14.5-mm automatic machine guns.

Protection from an attack from the air

To create a reliable echeloned air defense on the ships of the project 11661 the anti-aircraft complex "Osa-MA-2" is used. In the launchers of this system can accommodate up to 20 missiles. But on "Dagestan" for the same purposes a more effective Zlac "Palash" is used, which (in the export version) is mounted on those ships of this project, which were originally built for sale to foreign customers.

Protection against submarine attacks

In order not to leave the Dagestan ship of project 11661 defenseless in the face of a possible attack of enemy submarines, two torpedo tubes with a caliber of 533 mm are structurally provided. Note that for the export versions of the ships of the same project, a jet bomb installation of the RBU-6000 model is mounted. Possible landing and basing of the anti-submarine helicopter Ka-27. For its refueling, in particular, there are separate fuel tanks on board. If it is transported, the helicopter may be in a special hangar (with folded blades).

However, all this is not very necessary, if we discuss the ship "Dagestan". The Caspian flotilla (693 ships assigned to it), as well as sea formations of other countries in this region, simply do not have any submarines here. But here you need to remember that the ship can be sent to the Black Sea at any time, and there is a hypothetical probability of an attack from under the water.

Radio technical equipment

Radar equipment is "unstable", as with the advent of new and more efficient models it is replaced. A similar situation occurs when it needs to be coupled with new weapons. In particular, on some ships of the same project, including those built for the needs of foreign fleets, the complexes were changed two or three times.

The "Mineral-M" complex is responsible for radar on "Dagestan", "Positive-M1" acts as a general-purpose radar. The hydroacoustic complex responsible for the timely detection of enemy submarines is the MGC-335 model. The ship "Dagestan" (the photo of which is in the article) can be actively interfered with, using the TEC-25 and the SIGMA BIU for this purpose. Their field tests showed that these systems are capable of effectively counteracting the attempts of a potential enemy to strike with "smart" anti-ship missiles.

Power point

The main engine is diesel, two-shaft, model CODOG. Type of diesel - 61D, medium speed. The total power of the engine is 8000 liters. from. This power unit is responsible for the standard travel modes. There are also two gas turbines with a total capacity of 29,000 liters. from. They can disperse the ship to 28 knots, and are intended for use in combat mode, when the degree of maneuverability of the ship becomes vital. To provide all the ship's equipment with electricity, there are three diesel generators at once, each with a capacity of 600 kW.

In conclusion

At present, the ship of the Caspian Flotilla "Dagestan" is so far the last ship of its project, which is in service with the Russian Navy. Approximately in 2011-2012. In general there was information about the complete stop and freeze of work in this direction, but it was not confirmed. It is reported that two more ships of the series are to be put into operation, but the delivery dates have significantly increased. The reason is simple - Ukraine, in the light of certain events, refused to fulfill the terms of the contract for the supply of gas turbine units.

Domestic shipbuilders promise that this unfortunate circumstance will not prevent them from fulfilling the plan to re-equip the domestic fleet. It remains only to hope that the Dagestan missile, whose weapons would have done honor to a larger military ship, will not become the "last of the Mohicans".