The first-class stealth frigate is designed and built by ourselves, that is, the "Shi Varick" class, and the construction plan is called "17 project". As the first stealth frigate designed and built by itself, it has pinned the ambition and high hopes of India to strengthen its navy and stand proudly in South Asia.
"Varick" is a first-class multifunctional stealth ship.
Overall design: enlargement+improvement
"Shi Varick" class is actually an improved version of "Talwad" class frigate (mainly in stealth performance). The original version of Talvard-Crivac III was designed by the famous Russian North Design Bureau, so the Indian design of "Varick" class naturally needs the help of the North Design Bureau. Because it is a stealth frigate, India also invited the French Shipbuilding Bureau, which is leading in the field of stealth ship design, as a consultant. In order to further improve the overall technical level of the ship, India also handed over all the system integration work of this class of ship to the Canadian CAE company. This is the first time that a western company is responsible for an extremely important aspect of the Indian-made warship project in India.
From the appearance and superstructure layout, Shi Varick class is very similar to Talwad class frigate, while the tail is closer to Delhi class destroyer. Its total length is close to143m, its width is17m, its standard displacement is 4,600t, and its full-load displacement is 5,000t, which is obviously larger than Talwad class (length124.5m, width15.2m and full-load displacement is 3,850t). Because this class ship is equipped with a large number of automatic shipboard equipment, its staffing is far less than that of the current Indian Navy surface ships of the same tonnage. It is only planned to be equipped with 257 crew members, including 35 officers (India's "Godavari" class frigate has a full displacement of 4,209 tons and a staffing of 3 13).
In order to reduce the radar cross-sectional area, India used Italian radar cross-sectional area prediction software to assist in the design of "Varick". With the help of French Shipbuilding Bureau, the superstructure design part absorbed the design experience of "lafayette" class frigates. In terms of infrared signal management, Canadian Davies Engineering Company provided infrared suppression system and was responsible for training relevant operators. Because Davis Engineering Company is at the world leading level in this field, especially in the field of infrared suppression of warship chimneys, this class of frigates is expected to have extremely low infrared signal characteristics. In order to reduce noise, all mechanical devices on the "Shi Varick" class frigate are equipped with sound insulation and vibration reduction devices.
On the whole, the stealth performance of the "Shi Varick" class frigate will be much better than that of the Indian Navy's active ships, and it can be called the "stealth first ship" of the Indian Navy.
Power plant: outsourcing+self-made.
This class of ship adopts diesel-fuel alternating power plant (CODOG), equipped with two LM 2500 marine gas turbines of American General Electric Company and two 16 PA6 STC diesel engines of French Piertic Company, and drives two adjustable pitch propellers (CPP) through two gear boxes of German Renk Company. It should be noted that, in order to reduce noise, "Varick" class adopted air curtain noise reduction measures for propellers to avoid high decibel noise generated by cavitation.
The rated power of LM 2500 marine gas turbine is about1.8000 kw, which is installed by hindustan aviation co., ltd.. 16 PA6 STC diesel engine is a turbocharged 16 cylinder engine with a maximum rated power of 5700 kW and a rotating speed of 1084 rpm. It can work in harsh environmental conditions and meet the strict requirements of the Indian navy for vibration and radiation. At the beginning of 2000, Mazar Harbor Dock Co., Ltd. ordered three 16PA6 STC diesel engines from Korroskal Petroleum Co., Ltd., a licensed manufacturer of Piltic Company in India, for the first batch of three "Varick" class frigates, of which the first two were made in France and the other four were made by Korroskal Petroleum Co., Ltd., apparently in order to improve the research and production level of its marine diesel engines.
The gearbox of Renk Germany is provided by its Indian partner Elecon. Previously, India has been using the products of Renk's competitor Meg of Switzerland. Perhaps in order to occupy the market, Lunk Company authorized Elecon Company of India to produce its marine gearbox with high precision and low structural noise. This is the first time that India has been allowed to produce such a high-level marine gearbox in China.
According to the characteristics of CODOG power plant, in combat mode, the gearbox is driven by a gas turbine with an output of 22,370 kW, which can make the ship reach 30 knots. In cruise mode, the gearbox is driven by a diesel engine, and the output power is 5 180 kW. At this time, the speed of the ship is 22 knots.
Each "Varick" class ship is equipped with four sets of diesel generator sets (maximum output power of each set 1000 kW). The first batch of 12 diesel generator sets of the three Varick ships will all be equipped with noise enclosures. This kind of soundproof cover is provided by IACL company in Britain, which can not only suppress noise, but also bear strong impact load. Moreover, it adopts a novel and easy-to-operate way, which can be loaded and unloaded in a few seconds, which well meets the requirements of the Indian navy for rapid maintenance of generator sets under any circumstances.
Ship Integrated Control System: Learning from Learning
According to the contract signed in June, 200 1, 10, Canadian CAE company is responsible for all system integration of the first three frigates of Shi Varick class and provides them with integrated mechanical control system (IMCS). CAE India and CAE Montreal will jointly manage the whole project. Obviously, India hopes to take this opportunity to learn from CAE's advanced technologies and measures and apply them to the design of a new generation of warships.
The integrated mechanical control system adopts the integrated platform management system (IPMS) technology of CAE company to monitor the platform mechanical equipment such as propulsion device, electrical system, damaged pipeline, auxiliary machine, etc., so as to realize the functions of high automation of mechanical equipment, virtual training of crew, and state monitoring of the whole ship's equipment.
The integrated platform management system of CAE company is the most advanced ship digital control system in the world. At present, a set of gas turbine electromechanical control system has been delivered to Hindustan Aviation Co., Ltd. for automatic control and testing of LM2500 marine gas turbine.
Testing.
As an important part of the integrated platform management system, the damage management system adopted by "Shi Varick" class is not exactly the same as that of western ships, but it is much more advanced than any Indian navy ship in active service.
In order to ensure the fast and smooth internal communication and meet the needs of transmitting a large amount of control information, the internal communication network of "Varick" adopts Ethernet with a transmission rate of about Gb, and its hub is composed of optical fibers running through the whole ship.
Weapons and equipment: use+wait
Different from the 100 mm naval gun used in Talwad class, the Shivalik class uses a 76 mm ultra-high-speed naval gun with 62 caliber, with a firing rate of 120 rounds/min, a range of 16 km and a bomb weight of 6 kg. The naval gun was manufactured by the Indian licensed manufacturer of Italian Otto Melella Company.
In air defense, the "Shi Varick" class frigate will comprehensively use missiles and naval guns. Its medium-range air defense weapon is Kashmir air defense missile system. The system adopts a single-arm launcher, which can carry 24 bombs and launch improved air defense missiles of SA-N-7 or SA-N- 12. SA-N-7 is a naval type of SA- 1 1, which is command guided, semi-active radar and infrared homing. The effective strike distance is 3.5 ~ 25km, the flying speed is Mach 3, and the warhead is 70kg. SA-N- 12 is a naval type of SA- 17, with a maximum range of over 32 kilometers. Kashmir air defense missile system can deal with six air targets at the same time, and will soon become the standard medium-range air defense missile system of Indian Navy.
In the short-range weapon system, the Varick class adopts two Russian-made "Kashtan" missile and naval gun integrated systems, which are respectively arranged on both sides of the helicopter hangar. Each "Kashtan" consists of a pair of mounted 1 30mm rapid-fire guns and eight SA-N-1/air defense missiles. The rapid-fire gun has a range of 1.5km and can fire 9000 shells per minute. SA-N- 1 1 has a range of 8km and a warhead weighing 6kg. In addition, Varick will use two Russian Ak630 near anti-aircraft guns. This six-barrel anti-aircraft gun has a range of 2 kilometers and a firing rate of 3,000 rounds per minute.
Like Talwad class, Varick class long-range anti-ship weapons also use SS-N-27 club anti-ship cruise missiles, which are assembled in 8 pairs and launched vertically. In view of the fact that the BrahMos supersonic anti-ship cruise missile jointly developed by India and Russia is about to enter actual combat, the Indian Navy indicated that it is entirely possible to install BrahMos when installing the Shi Varick class in 2005. The missile is another proud product of India's defense industry, which was jointly developed by India and Russian NPO Design Bureau. Many of its characteristics are similar to those of the Russian-made Rainbow supersonic anti-ship missile. Medium-pressure engine propulsion, full supersonic flight, the maximum speed can reach Mach 2.8, the maximum range is 280 kilometers, and the warhead weighs 200 ~ 300 kilograms. During the midway flight, you can climb to14000m to search for the target, and the flight terminal descends to10 ~15m for penetration. Russia announced in June 5438 +20051October that BrahMos had conducted nine launch tests by the end of 2004, and all of them successfully hit the targets (including water and land targets). India intends to install this new type of missile on future surface ships, submarines and planes.
As for anti-submarine, the "Shi Varick" class adopts 90R anti-submarine missile, which is launched from RBU-6000 launcher. In view of the flexibility of SS-N-27 missile launcher, it is also possible to launch 9 1RE2 anti-submarine missiles through this system. The torpedo launcher will use Russian DTA-53-956 torpedo launcher or some device developed by India itself. In addition, two light helicopters developed by India or two Neptune MK 42B on board can also be used for anti-submarine and anti-ship operations.
Electronic information system: hybrid+improvement
The ship uses an MR-760 "roof" three-coordinate air search radar as the air detection and target guidance radar of its "Kashmir" air defense missile system, which is installed on the foremast. The fire control and target irradiation of air defense missile system are completed by 3 ~ 4 MR-90 "front cover" radars. The fire control system of 76 mm ultra-high speed naval gun is an optical radar installed on the top of the bridge. The fire control radar of anti-ship missiles is likely to use "Apana" active and passive search attack radar, or use Russian-made fire control radar similar to "Talwad" class. "Apana" radar is a domestic product of Russian "Peninsula" fire control radar in India. Bharat Electronics' RAWL02 antenna will also be installed on the "Shi Varick" class main mast, which is an Indian imitation of Dutch Telecom's LW08 antenna.
The sonar device of this ship consists of the improved hull sonar of Bharat Electronics Company and the towed array sonar of ATAS Company, which is developed on the basis of the towed array sonar of Terez Company. "Shi Varick" class will also install sonar under the keel.
The electronic warfare system adopts the improved "Arxanda" system of Bharat Electronics Company, and its components and equipment come from India, Israel, Italy and other countries. The navigation system consists of Decca radar, Rumi radar (I-band, used for coastal and port navigation) and RANI radar (I-band). The operation management system can adopt India's improved EMCCA system, France's TAVITAC system or SENIT system, or France-India mixed system. Most shipborne communication equipment is made in India.
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The performance of a ship can only be seen by comparison. The "Varick" class can be regarded as a modification of the "Talwad" class. If you dock side by side at the military port, at first glance, the biggest difference is one big and one small. The length, width and displacement of "Shi Varick" class frigate are obviously larger than that of "Talwad" class. Another difference is that the superstructure of "Varick" class is simpler than that of "Talwad" class and pays more attention to the concealment of superstructures such as masts. For the small boat on board, Shi Varick borrowed from lafayette class and hid it behind the movable bulkhead. Careful observation, "Shi Varick" is more like a hybrid. The electronic system of Talwad is basically made in Russia, while Varick uses a mixture of Russian and Dutch search radars. In addition, the improvement of "Shi Varick" is also reflected in the fact that its electronic systems such as combat management are more advanced than "Talwad". In terms of weapon configuration, there is little difference between the two ships.
Generally speaking, the biggest difference between them lies in stealth performance and platform automation. The radar wave, noise and infrared signal of Varick class will be much lower than that of Talvard class. Due to the comprehensive platform management system of CAE company, the overall automation level of "Varick" is not as good as that of "Talvard".
However, there is still a big gap between "Varick" class and the current world-class stealth ships. From the appearance, Varick is not simple enough, and its radar antenna and superstructure layout are still far behind the French "lafayette" class frigate in service in the 1990s, not to mention the more advanced stealth ship still under design. This gap is related to the design level and technical level of Indian ships.
In terms of design, this class ship is based on the Russian "Crivatz" class III. Russian ships have always been famous for their strong firepower, and their ship design departments have long paid insufficient attention to stealth. This can be seen from the comparison between Russian and western ships at the same time in the 20th century. The superstructure of Russian ships is always dense, giving people a sense of disorder. Although Russia finally realized the extreme importance of warship stealth, it took time to improve its design capability. I'm afraid we can't overestimate the current design level of stealth ships in Russia, not to mention India, which designed and built its own ships with the help of Russia. Moreover, Russia will never generously transfer its cutting-edge research results of stealth technology to India. This determines that "Shi Varick" can't be considered very carefully in stealth design. Although the French Shipbuilding Bureau is a consultant (the "Galeries Lafayette" class frigate is enough to make people trust its level), India has no time or funds to make bold moves.
The design of the axe was modified, leaving many regrets.
Technically speaking, India's electronic information technology level is also difficult to compare with western naval powers. At present, it has no shipborne phased array radar and can only use the traditional rotating radar antenna, which has a negative impact on the stealth of ships. On the other hand, it is also an important way to achieve simple appearance. Backed by its strong economic and technical strength, the United States has been engaged in research in this field for many years, and the latest achievements can only be clearly reflected on the planned ships. India's technical level in this respect can be imagined. Its shipboard antenna will inevitably become more and more chaotic, and the stealth effect of radar waves will naturally be much worse.
The situation is similar in other technical fields, and India still needs more technical assistance from abroad. For example, in infrared stealth technology, India has adopted the infrared suppression technology of Canada. As for the electromagnetic signals of ships, it is still a question mark to what extent India can consider first-class domestic stealth frigates.
In a word, the hasty design time makes it impossible to fully consider all the factors that hinder its stealth performance. From the moment the Swedish corvette "Visby" was launched, the ship's stealth entered the era of "total stealth", that is, the signal characteristics of all ships that may be exposed were suppressed comprehensively and evenly, so that the ships would not lose their stealth because of any too eye-catching signal characteristics. As a complex system engineering, this can never be solved by India's temporary invitation to Britain, France and Russia. Indian ships still have a long way to go in stealth technology.
It should be noted that India has high requirements for the noise level of "Varick", and all machinery and equipment are required to reduce vibration and noise. Combined with the analysis that this class of ship is equipped with hull sonar and towed array sonar at the same time, we can easily draw the conclusion that anti-submarine is one of the main combat tasks of Shi Varick. Although India has learned a little vibration and noise reduction technology from the purchased Kilo-class submarine, it is not so simple from learning to practical application. So Britain has a chance, German gearboxes are also popular in India, and Russia and France will definitely share a piece of the action.
During the design and construction of Shi Varick, India introduced many advanced technologies from foreign partners, but the localization level of Shi Varick class shipborne equipment is still worthy of India's pride. Generally speaking, domestic equipment accounts for 60% ~ 70% of the whole ship, which belongs to the normal level. India claims that its domestic level is above this. It must be clear that the improvement of localization level itself is a gradual process, and "localization degree" also depends on people's definition of "domestic equipment". If we insist that only the equipment designed and produced in China can be considered domestic, it will deny the promotion of imitation to domestic industries.
Let's take a look at what the Indian Navy has been busy with in recent years: designing and building its own aircraft carrier, designing nuclear submarines (this project is particularly difficult and frustrating), continuing to build the follow-up ships of the "Delhi" class destroyer, outsourcing the "gorshkov" aircraft carrier and carrier aircraft, and outsourcing conventional submarines. None of them are small projects. India has spread a big pie in the development of the navy, some of which are eager for quick success and instant benefit, but it also highlights its emphasis on the navy, or more accurately, on the ocean and the development space of 2 1 century. Although India has been leaning towards the navy in military construction, such ambition will still lead to the problem of funds-the Indian navy may no longer have enough funds for the research of cutting-edge technologies such as stealth. Perhaps India will increase its investment in this important technical field from now on, but at least for a long time before that, it will not have this ability and foresight. Then, the "Shi Varick" class frigate is actually a breakthrough in the "zero" class stealth ship without technical reserves, which is of great significance and has accumulated valuable experience for future design and improvement. Through the design and construction of this class of ships, India has also obtained some valuable production licenses, which will help to further improve its scientific research and production level and enhance its defense industry capabilities.
Generally speaking, Varick, as the first stealth warship designed and built by India itself, is not easy to be a navy of a third world country that has made a comprehensive attack in naval construction for many years, although its stealth effect is not as good as that of the ships of western naval powers.