The Kilo class, Soviet designation Project 877 Paltus (Russian: Па́лтус, meaning "halibut"), NATO reporting name Kilo, is a class of diesel-electric attack submarines designed and built in the Soviet Union for the Soviet Navy. The class was built until the mid-1990s, when production was switched to the more advanced Project 636 Varshavyanka variant, also known as Improved Kilo-class in the West.
Role
These attack submarines are mainly intended for anti-shipping and anti-submarine operations in relatively shallow waters. Original Project 877 boats are equipped with Rubikon MGK-400 sonar system (with NATO reporting name Shark Gill), which includes a mine detection and avoidance sonar MG-519 Arfa (with NATO reporting name Mouse Roar).
Newer Project 636 boats are equipped with improved MGK-400EM, with MG-519 Arfa also upgraded to MG-519EM. MGK 400E can detect submarines with 0.05 Pa/Hz noisiness in 16 km and surface vessels with 10 Pa/Hz noisiness in 100 km. The improved sonar systems have reduced the number of operators needed by sharing the same console via automation.
Anechoic tiles are fitted on casings and fins to absorb the sound waves of active sonar, which results in a reduction and distortion of the return signal. These tiles also help attenuate sounds that are emitted from the submarine, thus reducing the range at which the submarine may be detected by passive sonar.
Future
The Kilo class was to have been succeeded by the Lada class. However, by November 2011 it was apparent that the Lada-class would be delayed because Sankt Peterburg (B-585), the lead boat of the class, had shown major deficiencies. On 27 July 2012, the Russian Navy commander-in-chief announced that construction of the Lada-class submarines would resume, having undergone design changes. Series production was reported to be underway in the latter 2010s.
Nevertheless, the Russian Navy has also moved forward with the construction of Project 636.3, an improved version of the Kilo-class. Six units have been built for the Black Sea Fleet and further boats are being built for the Pacific and Baltic Fleets.
Variants
One Kilo-class submarine, B-871, was equipped with pump-jet propulsion.
The version Kilo 636MV (exported to Vietnam) contains a GE2-01 radar and an improved MGK 400E sonar. In this version, the submarine is also able to operate in more weather conditions than the original Kilo-class submarines.
Operators
The first submarine entered service in the Soviet Navy in 1980, and the class remains in use with the Russian Navy today. As of September 2011, 17 vessels were believed to still be in active service with the Russian Navy, while seven vessels were thought to be in reserve. 40 vessels have been exported to several countries:
Algeria: 2 Original Kilo (Project 877), 4 Improved Kilo (Project 636).
People's Republic of China: 2 Original Kilo (Project 877), 10 Improved Kilo (Project 636).
India: 10 Original Kilo (Project 877), 1 sustained major casualty; – Designated as the Sindhughosh class
Myanmar: one boat transferred from Indian Navy by March 2020.
Poland: 1 Original Kilo (Project 877) – ORP Orzeł.
Iran: 3 Original Kilo (Project 877).
Romania: 1 Original Kilo (Project 877) – Romanian submarine Delfinul.
Russia: 22 Original Kilo (Project 877),[27] 6 Improved Kilo (Project 636.3) and additional 6 Improved Kilo on order (636.3) for Pacific Fleet to be delivered 2019–2021. One more submarine was ordered in August 2020, during the International Military-Technical Forum "ARMY-2020".
Vietnam: 6 Improved Kilo (Project 636). Includes Vietnamese submarine Hồ Chí Minh City, Hà Nội, Hải Phòng, Đà Nẵng, Khánh Hoà, Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu.
Specifications:
Displacement:
2,300–2,350 tons surfaced
3,000–4,000 tons submerged
Dimensions:
Length: 70–74 meters
Beam: 9.9 meters
Draft: 6.2–6.5 meters
Maximum speed
10–12 knots surfaced (18–22 km/h)
17–25 knots submerged (31–46 km/h)
Propulsion: Diesel-electric 5,900 shp (4,400 kW)
Maximum depth: 300 meters (240–250 meters operational)
Endurance
400 nautical miles (700 km) at 3 knots (6 km/h) submerged
6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km) at 7 knots (13 km/h) snorkeling (7,500 miles for the Improved Kilo class)
45 days sea endurance
Armament
Air defence: 8 Strela-3 or 8 Igla-1, but after sea trial it has been rejected by the navy.
Six 533 mm torpedo tubes with 18 53-65 ASuW or TEST 71/76 ASW torpedoes or VA-111 Shkval supercavitating torpedoes, or 24 DM-1 mines,
Kalibr-PL (export name Club-S) system comprising four launchers for individual anti-ship, anti-submarine and land attack cruise missiles[citation needed]
Crew: 52
Price per unit is US$200–250 million (China paid approx. US$1.5-2 billion for 8 Project 636 Kilo-class submarines)
The People's Liberation Army Navy Submarine Force (PLANSF) is the submarine service of the People's Liberation Army Navy. It consists of all types of submarines in operational service organized into three fleets: the North Sea Fleet, the East Sea Fleet, and the South Sea Fleet. Submarines have long been one of the three focuses of the People's Liberation Army Navy (the other two are aircraft and major surface combatants), and when the decision was made in late 2006 to concentrate on building other principal surface combatants to strengthen the air defense and to further delay the construction of aircraft carriers due to insufficient air cover, submarines will continue to play the lead dominant role in the assault force for the PLAN. Currently, PLANSF operates a fleet of 66 submarines which include nuclear as well as conventional submarines.
Its surface branch counterpart is the People's Liberation Army Navy Surface Force.
Dingyuan (simplified Chinese: 定远; traditional Chinese: 定遠; pinyin: Dìngyǔan; Wade–Giles: Ting Yuen or Ting Yuan, English: Everlasting Peace[1]) was an ironclad battleship and the flagship of the Chinese Beiyang Fleet. She was the lead ship of the Dingyuan class, which included one other vessel, Zhenyuan, both of which were built in Germany in the early 1880s. Delivery of the two ironclads was delayed by the Sino-French War of 1884–1885. The ships were armed with a main battery of four 12 in (305 mm) guns in a pair of gun turrets, making them the most powerful warships in East Asian waters at the time.
Dingyuan served as the flagship of Admiral Ding Ruchang during her active career. In the 1880s and early 1890s, the Beiyang Fleet conducted a routine of training exercises and cruises abroad, with emphasis placed on visits to Japan to intimidate the country. The latter resulted in the Nagasaki Incident in 1886 and contributed to a rise in hostility between the two countries that culminated in the First Sino-Japanese War in 1894. She led the Chinese fleet during the Battle of the Yalu River on 17 September, where the Japanese Combined Fleet sank much of the Beiyang Fleet, though both Dingyuan and Zhenyuan survived despite numerous hits, thanks to their heavy armor. The survivors then retreated to Port Arthur for repairs, but after that city was threatened by the Japanese Army, fled to Weihaiwei.
As the Japanese continued to advance, they laid siege to Weihaiwei in late January 1895. On 5 February, a Japanese torpedo boat slipped into the port and hit Dingyuan with a torpedo, inflicting serious damage. The Chinese crew were forced to beach the vessel to avoid sinking, and for the next week, Dingyuan was used as a stationary artillery battery. Japanese ground forces seized the city's coastal fortifications on 9 February, allowing their artillery to shell the ships in the harbor, which prompted Ding to surrender. Dingyuan was scuttled in the harbor on 10 February. A full-scale replica of the ship was built in Weihai in 2003 as a museum ship and in 2019, the Chinese government announced that an underwater survey had located the original vessel's wreck.
Following the direct intervention of the imperialist European powers in the mid-19th century, including the First and Second Opium Wars, where their superior steam-powered fleets overwhelmed the small Imperial Chinese Navy that still relied on traditional junks, the Chinese began a naval construction program in the 1880s to meet these threats more effectively. They enlisted British and German assistance, and two Dingyuan-class ironclads were ordered from Germany.
Dingyuan was 308 ft (94 m) long overall, with a beam of 59 ft (18 m) and a draft of 20 ft (6.1 m). She displaced 7,220 long tons (7,340 t) normally and up to 7,670 long tons (7,790 t) at full load. She was powered by a pair of compound steam engines that each drove a screw propeller. Steam was provided by eight coal-burning fire-tube boilers that were ducted into a pair of funnels amidships. She was capable of a top speed of 15.7 knots (29.1 km/h; 18.1 mph) from 7,500 indicated horsepower (5,600 kW). Her crew consisted of 350 officers and enlisted men.
The ship carried a main battery of four 12 in (305 mm) 20-caliber breech-loading guns in two twin-gun turrets that were placed en echelon forward. These were supported by a secondary battery of two 5.9 in (150 mm) guns in a pair of single turrets, one at the bow and the other at the stern. For defense against torpedo boats, she carried a pair of 47 mm (1.9 in) Hotchkiss revolver cannon and eight 37 mm (1.5 in) Maxim-Nordenfelt quick-firing guns in casemates. Dingyuan was also equipped with three 14 in (356 mm) or 15 in (381 mm) torpedo tubes.
She was protected by compound armor that was 14 in for the armor belt, which covered the central part of the ship were the ammunition magazines and propulsion machinery spaces were located. An armor deck that was 3 in (76 mm) thick provided horizontal protection. Her conning tower was covered with 8 in (203 mm) of armor plate on the sides. The barbettes for the gun turrets were 12–14 in thick. A strake of armor that was 8 in thick protected the casemate guns.
Dingyuan was ordered in 1880 and was laid down at the AG Vulcan shipyard in Stettin, Germany in March 1881; her name means "eternal peace" in Chinese. Work proceeded quickly and she was launched on 28 December 1881 to clear the slipway so work could begin on her sister ship Zhenyuan. Fitting-out work continued into May 1883, when the vessel was completed, but delivery was to be delayed until Zhenyuan was finished in April 1884. The start of the outbreak of the Sino-French War in August prevented both Dingyuan-class ships from being delivered until 1885, since Germany would not transfer the vessels to a country at war.
Both vessels were manned by German crews, sailing on 3 July 1885 under the German flag in company with the also German-built protected cruiser Jiyuan. The three ships arrived in Tianjin in November, where they were transferred to Chinese control. Li Hongzhang, the Viceroy of Zhili and director of China's naval construction program, inspected the vessels following their arrival. The two ironclads were then commissioned into the Beiyang Fleet, which was based in Port Arthur. The ships steamed south to Shanghai for the winter of 1885–1886.
In the 1880s, the Beiyang Fleet was occupied with an annual routine of winter training cruises to the South China Sea, often in company with the Nanyang Fleet. This cruise typically involved visits to Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong provinces, and sometimes went as far south as stops in Southeast Asia. The rest of the year was spent in northern waters off Zhili, Shandong, and Fengtian provinces, conducting training exercises. Training cruises to foreign ports were conducted in the mid-1880s and early 1890s, both to train navigational skills on voyages far from shore and to show the flag. Discipline aboard the ships of the Beiyang Fleet was poor, which contributed to a low state of readiness of the ships. During this period, the fleet was commanded by Admiral Ding Ruchang, who employed Dingyuan as his flagship. At the time, China lacked dry docks large enough to handle Zhenyuan and Dingyuan, forcing the navy to rely on shipyards in Japan or in British Hong Kong for periodic maintenance.
The two Dingyuan-class ships began their training routine in April 1886 in joint maneuvers with the units of the Nanyang Fleet, which culminated in a naval review in Port Arthur. They received the British vessels of the China Station from 19 to 20 May. Dingyuan, Zhenyuan, and four cruisers made the first of their overseas cruises in August 1886, which included stops in British Hong Kong, Busan and Wonsan in Korea, Vladivostok, Russia, and Nagasaki, Japan. While at the latter port in August, Chinese crewmen became involved in an altercation with Japanese locals that resulted in the deaths of eight Chinese sailors and two Japanese police, with forty-two Chinese and twenty-nine Japanese injured. The so-called Nagasaki Incident was characterized by the Japanese press as an attempt by China to intimidate Japan, leading to calls for naval expansion to counter the Beiyang Fleet. The Japanese government ordered three Matsushima-class protected cruisers in response. The Japanese also refused to allow the Chinese ironclads to return for repairs in their shipyards, hampering the ability of the Beiyang Fleet to keep the vessels operational.
The year 1887 passed less eventfully, with the ships spending the bulk of the year in the Bohai Sea. Late in the year, another group of four European-built cruisers arrived, further strengthening the fleet and necessitating extensive maneuvers in 1888 to familiarize the crews with the rest of the fleet. The Beiyang Fleet adopted the same black, white, and buff paint scheme used by the Royal Navy at the time, repainting their vessels at some point in 1888. In 1889, the fleet was divided into two divisions; Dingyuan and several cruisers were sent on a tour of Korean ports while Zhenyuan and the rest of the fleet remained in the Bohai Sea for exercises. The two divisions rendezvoused in Shanghai in December, thereafter proceeding to Hong Kong for Zhenyuan and Dingyuan to be drydocked. They then cruised off Korea.
Another visit to Japan came in June and July 1891; the fleet stopped in Kobe on 30 June and Yokohama on 14 July. At the latter port, a large Japanese delegation of senior military commanders and members of the imperial family received the ships. Another voyage to Japan took place the following year. Coupled with the Nagasaki Incident, these voyages contributed to the growing tensions between China and Japan, since Hongzhang intended them to make clear Chinese naval strength at a time the Japanese fleet was small and poorly developed. At the core of the dispute was control over Korea, which since the Convention of Tientsin of 1884, was treated as a co-protectorate of China and Japan.
n early 1894, the Donghak Peasant Revolution broke out in Korea, prompting China to send an expedition of 28,000 to suppress the rebels. Japan viewed this as a violation of the Tientsin Convention and deployed 8,000 troops in response, leading to the outbreak of the First Sino-Japanese War on 1 August. The Chinese fleet was no match for the new Combined Fleet of Japan, as years of insufficient naval budgets had not allowed Hongzhang to update the vessels—funds he had planned to use to add new quick-firing guns to Zhenyuan and Dingyuan were instead appropriated for the 60th birthday of the Dowager Empress Cixi—and the Chinese lacked effective commanders and sufficiently trained crews. And to add to China's disadvantages during the war, the Japanese had broken the Chinese diplomatic codes in 1888, giving them access to China's internal communications.
As the Chinese made preparations in August for action, they removed the gun shields from the main battery turrets. Experience at the Battle of Pungdo had revealed the thin shields created numerous splinters when struck by enemy fire, and these fragments had inflicted numerous casualties to the gun crews of the cruiser Jiyuan at Pungdo. The crews also placed bags of coal around the gun batteries as a form of improvised armor. The ships were repainted light gray to make them more difficult to observe at sea. The ships of the Beiyang Fleet then steamed to Taku to take on supplies, thereafter doing little for the next month.
Ding took the fleet on a sweep into the Korea Bay on 12 September to clear the way for a convoy of troopships scheduled to deliver reinforcements to Korea. While on the way to the bay, he received faulty reports indicating the presence of Japanese warships off the Shandong Peninsula, prompting him to change course to search for them. Finding no enemy vessels, he took the fleet to Weihaiwei (now Weihai), and on 15 September, the fleet rendezvoused with the convoy to cover its approach to the mouth of the Yalu River, where the transports deposited the men and supplies on 16 September. During the unloading process, Dingyuan and the bulk of the fleet remained underway to provide distant support and avoid presenting themselves as stationary targets to Japanese torpedo boats known to be in the area. While the Chinese were on the way back to Port Arthur, the Combined Fleet under Vice Admiral Itō Sukeyuki intercepted them on 17 September, leading to the Battle of the Yalu River. The poorly-trained Beiyang Fleet sailed in a disorganized line abreast formation, while the Japanese approached them from the south in line ahead; the Chinese ships steamed at around 6 knots (11 km/h; 6.9 mph) and the Japanese at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).
Itō turned his ships to pass in front of the oncoming Beiyang Fleet. Dingyuan opened fire first, at about 12:20, at the extreme range of 5,300 yd (4,800 m), far in excess of what fire-control equipment was capable of accurately directing at the time. The blast effect from Dingyuan's initial salvo destroyed her own bridge, collapsing it and trapping Ding and his staff for the duration of the action, depriving the Beiyang Fleet of central control. The rest of the Chinese fleet quickly followed Dingyuan, but failed to score any hits as their opponents passed in front. The Japanese ships returned fire at 12:25, having divided into two squadrons and turned back to starboard to encircle the Chinese. Concentrating their fire on the cruisers on the Chinese right flank, they quickly destroyed the Chinese cruisers Yangwei and Chaoyong. The battle quickly devolved into a melee at close range, and the Chinese cruisers Zhiyuan and Jingyuan were sunk. In return, the Chinese warships inflicted serious damage on the old ironclad Hiei, which had been unable to keep pace with the rest of Itō's fleet, and was eventually forced to disengage and flee. Zhenyuan and Dingyuan hit the auxiliary cruiser Saikyō Maru with four 12-inch shells and inflicted significant damage.
The Japanese ships then concentrated their fire on Dingyuan and Zhenyuan. The ships' heavy citadel armor proved to be impervious to the Japanese shellfire directed against it, though the large-caliber Canet guns mounted on the Matsushima-class cruisers proved to be nearly useless and the other Japanese cruisers were engaged with their Chinese counterparts. Both ships were hit numerous times and several fires broke out, but both crews adeptly suppressed them despite being under heavy fire. By around 17:00, both sides were low on ammunition and the Chinese began to reform their surviving vessels into line-ahead formation. The Japanese eventually broke off at around 17:30 and withdrew. The battered Beiyang Fleet, by then reduced to the two Dingyuan-class ships and four smaller vessels, limped back to Port Arthur, arriving there the next day.
Repairs to the damaged ships began immediately, and fresh supplies and ammunition were sent to ready the vessels for action. By October, the Japanese Army had begun to approach Port Arthur, forcing the Chinese to withdraw the Beiyang Fleet to Weihaiwei. Ding sortied on 20 October and crossed the Bohai Strait to Weihaiwei without encountering Japanese forces. In early November, Ding sortied to cover the transfer of Zhenyuan, which had remained in Port Arthur as long as possible to complete repairs. The Japanese Army had advanced to Weihaiwei by the end of January 1895, launching a major attack on the port on the 30th to begin the Battle of Weihaiwei. They quickly captured the fortifications on the eastern side of the city despite heavy fire from Dingyuan and other vessels of the fleet. The capture of the fortresses forced the Chinese ships to withdraw to the western portion of the harbor, where they would be out of range for the guns there. Dingyuan disabled one of the 9.4 in (240 mm) disappearing guns in the fortress at Luchiehtsui, but several guns remained on operation, and Japanese gunners quickly set to work to bring them to bear on the trapped fleet. The Chinese ships bombarded Japanese forces as they advanced on the city's defenses.
A group of ten Japanese torpedo boats broke into the harbor on the night of 4/5 February and hit Dingyuan with a torpedo on the port side toward the stern. The attack inflicted serious damage and the crew's damage control efforts failed to contain the flooding, hampered by leaking watertight doors. They got steam up in the boilers and began to get underway, but with the uncontrolled flooding threatening to sink the ship, the crew was forced to ground her to prevent her from sinking. The ship was thereafter employed as a stationary artillery battery and Ding shifted his flag to Zhenyuan. Two of the attacking torpedo boats were discovered having been disabled in the previous night's action at dawn. The next night, the torpedo boats made another assault on the Chinese fleet, sinking a cruiser, a training ship, and an auxiliary vessel.
By 9 February, the Japanese had seized the fortifications that overlooked the rest of the harbor. They used the position to bombard the crippled Dingyuan with field artillery, further damaging the vessel. With their position in the harbor no longer tenable and most of the vessels damaged—Zhenyuan had also been badly damaged and was no longer seaworthy—Ding decided to scuttle Dingyuan the next day and then surrender. The decision provoked many of the senior officers of the Beiyang Fleet to commit suicide, including the ship's commander, Captain Liu Buchan. The exact nature of the crew's efforts to disable the vessel are unclear. Some reports indicate that a mine detonated amidships, and observers aboard the British protected cruiser HMS Edgar noted seeing a large explosion aboard Dingyuen. Photographic evidence, which shows the vessel aground in shallow water and with a gaping hole amidships, supports these reports, as does the observations of the British Vice Admiral Edmund Fremantle, who inspected the fleet shortly after the battle.
The Chinese government constructed a replica of Dingyuan at Weihai to commemorate both the original vessel and the Beiyang Fleet during the war; the vessel, built on a 1:1 scale, is open as a museum ship. Work on the vessel began in 2003.
On 2 September 2019 it was announced that the remains of Dingyuan had been located and over 150 artifacts recovered.
A junk is a type of Chinese sailing ship with fully battened sails. There are two types of junk in China: Northern junk, which is developed from Chinese river boats,:20 and southern junk which is developed from Austronesian ship designs, examples of which have been trading with the Eastern Han dynasty since the 2nd century AD.:12–13 They continued to evolve in the later dynasties, and were predominantly used by Chinese traders throughout Southeast Asia. They were found, and in lesser numbers are still found, throughout Southeast Asia and India, but primarily in China. Found more broadly today is a growing number of modern recreational junk-rigged sailboats. Chinese junks referred to many types of coastal or river ships. They were usually cargo ships, pleasure boats, or houseboats. Historically they have ranged in size from small river and coastal vessels to large ocean going ships, and there are significant regional variations in the type of rig, however they all employ fully battened sails.
The term "junk" (Portuguese junco; Dutch jonk; and Spanish junco) was also used in the colonial period to refer to any large to medium-sized ships of the Austronesian cultures in Island Southeast Asia, with or without the junk rig. Examples include the Indonesian and Malaysian jong, the Philippine lanong, and the Maluku kora kora.
The largest junks ever built were possibly those of Admiral Zheng He, for his expeditions in the Indian Ocean (1405 to 1433), although this is disputed as no contemporary records of the sizes of Zheng He's ships are known. Instead the dimensions are based on Sanbao Taijian Xia Xiyang Ji Tongsu Yanyi (1597), a romanticized version of the voyages written by Luo Maodeng [zh] nearly two centuries later.[45] Maodeng's novel describes Zheng He's ships as follows:
Treasure ships, used by the commander of the fleet and his deputies (Nine-masted junks, claimed by the Ming Shi to be about 420 feet long and 180 feet wide).
Horse ships, carrying tribute goods and repair material for the fleet (Eight-masted junks, about 340 feet long and 140 feet wide)
Supply ships, containing food-staple for the crew (Seven-masted junks, about 260 feet long and 115 feet wide).
Troop transports (Six-masted junks, about 220 feet long and 83 feet wide).
Fuchuan warships (Five-masted junks, about 165 feet long).
Patrol boats (Eight-oared, about 120 feet long).
Water tankers, with 1 month's supply of fresh water.
Louise Levathes suggests that the actual length of the biggest treasure ships may have been between 390–408 feet (119–124 m) long and 160–166 feet (49–51 m) wide.[46] Modern scholars have argued on engineering grounds that it is highly unlikely that Zheng He's ship was 450 ft in length,[47]:1–4, 38 Guan Jincheng (1947) proposed a much more modest size of 20 zhang long by 2.4 zhang wide (204 ft by 25.5 ft or 62.2 m by 7.8 m)[48] while Xin Yuan'ou (2002) put them as 61–76 m (200–250 feet) in length.
La
corbeta tipo 037 es una serie de clases de corbeta de 400-500 toneladas
en servicio con la Armada del Ejército Popular de Liberación. A
diferencia de las armadas occidentales, la Armada del Ejército Popular
de Liberación no tiene patrulleras dedicadas en su inventario. En
cambio, una gran variedad de clases de corbetas, en forma de lanchas de
misiles y cazadores de submarinos, cumplen la tarea de patrullar las
aguas territoriales de China. La Armada egipcia opera ocho buques. El
barco de misiles Tipo 037II (OTAN: clase Houjian) es una corbeta
equipada con misiles construida por el Astillero Huangpu de Guangzhou
para la Armada del Ejército Popular de Liberación. Un
total de seis buques fueron entregados a la Armada del PLA y forman la
principal fuerza de defensa naval que actualmente protege Hong Kong. El
diseño único original era de una compañía estadounidense, el grupo H-3,
el diseño era para un barco de 245 toneladas, equipado con Harpoon SSM,
cañones OTO Melara 76 mm, motores de turbina de gas y propulsión por
chorro de agua. Sin
embargo, estas especificaciones eran demasiado complicadas para China, y
se inició un importante rediseño, que dio lugar a un barco con SSM
C-801, motores diesel y hélices en su lugar. La
pistola OTO Melara 76 mm se retuvo en el diseño revisado, llamado en
1988 el EH-3D (y en 1996 el 520T), pero no logró sobrevivir al
enfriamiento de las relaciones con Occidente tras las protestas de la
Plaza de Tiananmen de 1989 y el resultado final de Participación occidental en proyectos militares chinos. El
primer buque fue construido en 1990, como un demostrador de tecnología y
buque de prueba de prueba de concepto, disparó su primer misil C-801 en
un ejercicio de 1995. Tres buques más fueron construidos en 1995/96. Sin
embargo, debido a las dificultades tecnológicas (particularmente con
respecto a la licencia producida por los motores diesel SEMT), el alto
precio y el diseño sofisticado en comparación con el estándar PLAN, se
dio por terminada la producción adicional. Un
quinto buque, el número de casco 774, fue construido en 2001, como otra
prueba de concepto de buque para motores SEMT modificados con nuevos
turbocompresores y una pistola producida por AK-176 76 mm. Se construyeron cuatro buques para la rotación, con dos buques desplegados en Hong Kong a la vez. El quinto buque ha estado involucrado en dos incidentes de navegación. La
primera vez en 2001, mientras estaba en una prueba previa a la entrega,
casi se hundió después de un accidente con un ferry rápido que prestaba
servicios en la ruta Hong Kong-Guangzhou. En
junio de 2006, se estrelló de nuevo, esta vez con un carguero chino, y
se hundió de inmediato, 13 militares desaparecidos en el accidente. Posteriormente, el buque fue reflotado y enviado al astillero para su reparación. Los buques de la clase Azmat en servicio con la Armada pakistaní se basan en esta clase. [8] En 2012, Bangladesh contrató dos barcos ligeramente modificados. [9] Se envía en el servicio PLAN:
Armada del Ejército de Liberación Popular Armada de PakistánPrecedido cerca: Tipo 037IG (clase de Houxin)Sucedido por: Tipo de lancha de misiles 022Subclases: clase AzmatConstruido: 1991-2001En comisión: 1991-presentePlaneado: 10Edificio 1Completado: 9Activo: 9Características generalesTipo: Barco de misilesDesplazamiento: 520 toneladasPropulsión: 2xSEMT-Pielstick 12 motores diesel PA6 280 a 1,584 hp con 3 ejesVelocidad: más de 30 nudosRango: 1.800 nmi @ 18 knTripulación: 75
El portaaviones Liaoning (16) (Pinyin: [遼寧];
ex-Varyag en ruso, Варяг; en español, Varego; y originalmente bautizado Riga)
es el segundo portaaviones de la clase Kuznetsov, usado como portaaviones de la
clase Liaoning en la Armada China para la capacitación e instrucción de sus
tripulantes para afrontar a su tiempo los requerimientos de un futuro proyecto
de portaaviones de construcción china.
Historia
El buque fue cedido a Ucrania tras la disolución de la Unión
Soviética; aunque su construcción en Ucrania se detuvo al 70% de su conclusión,
y se intentara vender, sin éxito, el casco al nuevo gobierno ruso para
completar su construcción, este también fue ofrecido a China e India, también
sin éxito. El gobierno ucraniano decidió venderlo como chatarra a China, al ser
incapaz de asumir el costo de su conclusión final y posterior empleo operativo.
Estructuralmente, el portaaviones estaba completo, solamente le faltaban las
dotaciones de motorización, sistemas electrónicos, sistemas de defensa y
artillería, así como sistemas de emergencia y radares.
En 1998 el gobierno de Rusia, trabajando como intermediario
del ucraniano, logró venderlo por US$ 20 millones de dólares a un consorcio de
China llamado Chong Lot Travel Agency, que inicialmente lo usaría como un
complejo de casinos flotante, y se acordó que no se emplearía para propósitos
militares. A mediados de 2000, la empresa de remolcadores holandeses ITC Suhaili,
con una tripulación filipina, fue contratada para llevar el casco del Varyag a
remolque hasta China.
En principio, no obtuvieron el permiso de las autoridades de
Turquía para transitar por el peligroso estrecho del Bósforo. Según el Tratado
de Montreux de 1936, Turquía tiene la obligación de permitir el paso libre de
barcos mercantes, pero tiene cierta soberanía y los derechos de negativa en
caso de barcos militares. Hubo problemas para pasar el barco por el estrecho
del Bósforo en ruta al Mar Mediterráneo, por su gran tamaño, y fue fotografiado
por primera vez sin las antenas de radar y con la línea de flotación alta, por
la falta de motores y sistemas de mando, pero logró pasar con éxito en octubre
del año 2001.
Tras ser concluido en China, fue rebautizado como Liaoning y
entregado al componente naval chino para su uso en instrucción, respetando los
compromisos acordados tras su venta.
El casco del buque pasó 16 meses bajo contrato comercial de
remolque, circulando en el Mar Negro, hasta que varios ministros de alto nivel
del gobierno de China llevaron a cabo las negociaciones en Ankara. El 1 de
noviembre de 2001, Turquía finalmente cedió en su postura inicial, de que el
buque era demasiado grande y un peligro para los puentes de Estambul, y
permitió el tránsito hacia el Mar Mediterráneo.
El casco del Varyag fue escoltado por 27 buques de apoyo,
entre ellos 11 remolcadores y 3 embarcaciones de práctico para su control, y
tomó 6 horas para transitar por el Estrecho del Bósforo, en donde 16 pilotos y
250 marineros estaban involucrados.
Egipto no permite el paso de barcos de guerra por el Canal
de Suez cuando estos carecen de propulsión propia, por lo que el casco fue
remolcado por todo el Mediterráneo, hasta España a través del Estrecho de
Gibraltar, luego por la costa de África a través del Cabo de Buena Esperanza, y
por el estrecho de Malaca, logrando los permisos de paso por varios países,
primero por Turquía, luego por Grecia, Las Palmas, España, Maputo, Mozambique y
finalmente por Singapur en su remolque hasta China. La flota de barcos
remolcadores y de apoyo entró con el portaaviones en aguas chinas el 20 de
febrero de 2002, y finalmente llegó al puerto chino de Dalian en marzo de 2002,
siendo montado en un dique seco de la Armada China para trabajar en las mejoras
de la nave durante varios años.2
Comenzaron entonces los trabajos de reacondicionado por
técnicos de China durante varios años. En 2009 fue fotografiado nuevamente,
tiene un nuevo bulbo de proa, más grande, largo y con un nuevo diseño hidrodinámico,
para mejorar la estabilidad de la nave, no se instalarán los misiles verticales
bajo la cubierta del diseño original del Portaaviones Almirante Kuznetsov, que
tiene más capacidad de transporte de armamento pesado y 6 silos con tubos
verticales de lanzadores de misiles, diseñado para otro tipo de combate durante
la Guerra Fría.
Transportará helicópteros navales pesados, el caza naval
pesado derivado del Su-27. En el futuro también podrá transportar el caza de
Quinta generación de cazas de reacción fabricado en China, versión naval del
caza Chengdu J-20 y naves no tripuladas.
Se le instalaron y conectaron nuevos motores, sistemas de
defensa, de alerta, de radar, de emergencia y de comunicaciones, cables,
antenas, pintado con los colores de la Armada China, y el gobierno chino piensa
comprar el caza Sujoi Su-33, versión naval del anterior caza Su-27 de base en
tierra, para su futura flota de portaaviones.3
Añadida a la incesante reconstrucción de que está siendo
objeto el portaaviones, desde 2003 hasta 2010, el nuevo nombre con el que las
autoridades chinas piensan rebautizar al navío es Shi Lang, en honor a un
almirante de la dinastía Qing que conquistó Taiwán en el siglo XVII.4
Probablemente será usado como buque de entrenamiento y para crear doctrina.
El 8 de junio de 2011, el jefe del Departamento General del
Ejército de Liberación de la República Popular China confirmó que el primer
portaaviones chino estaba en construcción.5
Este navío volvió a ser botado al mar y desde el año 2011
comenzó su segunda fase de pruebas, siendo fotografiado nuevamente por la
empresa DigitalGlobe Inc.6
Tras finalizar las pruebas de mar, fue rebautizado Liaoning
y entregado al Ejército Popular de Liberación de China en septiembre de 2012,1
realizándose en noviembre de 2012 el primer aterrizaje en cubierta de un caza
J-15
Aunque diseñado inicialmente como un buque de guerra
soviético de la clase Almirante Kuznetsov, por su diseño podría combatir como
un buque lanzamisiles, en una misión diferente a la asignada a los portaaviones
de la Marina de Estados Unidos, los de Inglaterra o los portaaviones de
Francia. Designado inicialmente por sus constructores como un "crucero
pesado de transporte de aviones" (en ruso, тяжёлый авианесущий крейсер,
"tyazholiy avianesushchiy kreyser" (TAKR o TAVKR, por sus siglas en
ruso), destinado a apoyar a la flota de buques de superficie y submarinos, este
puede combatir como un buque de guerra, y además transportar aviones de la
flota rusa. Por lo tanto, la Unión Soviética y luego, Rusia, han sostenido que
estos barcos no son diseñados como portaaviones, bajo la Convención de Montreux
y no están sujetos a los límites impuestos al tonelaje de estos buques en
viajes a través del Estrecho del Bósforo.
Los aviones de combate que transportaría esta clase de
barcos de guerra, quedarían esencialmente restringidos a las operaciones de
superioridad aérea y no de ataque contra otros barcos desde el aire, si el
barco de apoyo Varyag entraba en funcionamiento, también hubiera tenido la
capacidad para operaciones de guerra antisubmarina (ASW), y transportar misiles
anti-buques de largo alcance, del tipo superficie-superficie.
Este portaaviones es el más moderno fabricado en Europa,
tiene un diseño de perfil facetado y bordes inclinados, para bajar su marca de
radar, es el primer portaaviones comisionado en la Marina de China y es posible
que se construya una segunda versión de esta clase en China.
Pero China todavía no tiene aviones caza navales, para
operar desde este nuevo portaaviones, se está estudiando la posibilidad de
comprar nuevos modelos de aviones caza, fabricar aviones caza navales
nacionales, aviones no tripulados y comprar aviones de medio uso de otros
países, para iniciar la instrucción de los guardia marinas, en las prácticas
navales y operaciones desde portaaviones.
La producción local del Shenyang J-15 y la aparición de
nuevos aviones no tripulados Vehículo aéreo no tripulado UAV Drones navales,
cambia las perspectivas para la Marina moderna.
Las pruebas del nuevo caza stealth Shenyang J-31 hicieron
disparar alarmas sobre la presencia de este tipo de cazas en el portaviones.
Expertos deducen que también carece de capacidades STOVL (de despegue corto y
aterrizaje vertical), pero la forma de su morro, la doble rueda en su tren
delantero y gancho de apontaje indica que se trata de un caza embarcado
China ha comenzado la construcción del segundo de los cuatro
portaaviones que tiene previstos. El buque, que se encuentra en construcción en
el puerto nororiental de Dalian, tardará seis años en ser completado, informan
los medios especializados, los que citan a Wang Min, jefe del Partido Comunista
de la provincia de Liaoning de Dalian, como su fuente de información
