ALMAZ CENTRAL MARINE DESIGN BUREAU EXTENDS ITS ACTIVITIES

Alexander Shlyakhtenko, Director and General Designer of the Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau
Anatoly Gorodyanko, Deputy Head of the Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau
 

Relying on its unique expertise, R&D achievements and authoritative design potential, Almaz successfully reacts to the demands of the times.

The first of them occurred at the beginning of last year. It was a workshop held at the Russian Naval Academy and devoted to the 40th anniversary of the world’s first cruise missile launches from surface combatant ships and submarines. The workshop confirmed the bureau’s priority in developing the world’s new class of ships — high-speed guided-missile boats. Three generations of Russian boats and small missile ships, built in large series, proved highly efficient and greatly influenced the structure of many countries’ navies. The original design, the use of advanced technologies and unconventional materials, and the high technical level of their strike missile and artillery systems received considerable acclaim among specialists, sailors and shipbuilders in major sea nations, including Germany and the United States.

Over the past 40 years the strike missile and patrol boats have invariably displayed good seagoing and running qualities, strength and reliability of their hulls, simplicity of operation, and high efficiency-cost ratios. More than 400 boats and ships designed by Almaz have been sold to 26 countries, including on a license basis.

Another important event in the bureau’s history came in April 1998 when the Russian government awarded its annual prizes in science and technology to two groups of Almaz specialists: for the development of new-generation missile boats and the other — for the development and installment on high-speed vessels of a system of bottom interceptors which has no equivalent in the world and which considerably reduces their drag and rolling and pitching motion. Thus the invariable nature of Almaz’s policy toward efficient cooperation with the leading academic and applied state research centers in optimizing the dynamic support principle of high-speed vessels’ hulls has been corroborated.

Modernized harbor mine countermeasures ship, Project 10750

The large amount of R&D confirmed the high efficiency of engineering innovations used in Almaz-designed Mangust and Mirazh boats which are to be built by the Vympel company in the third quarter of this year. This R&D carried out by the design bureau in cooperation with the Central Aerohydrodynamics Institute, Moscow Aviation Institute, and Krylov Central Research Institute, computer and analog simulation (using the Magda installation), and model testing in experimental basins and wind tunnels proved to be very efficient.

In May 1998, the Russian government made a decision that was crucial to the bureau’s development prospects: Almaz was assigned organizational structures to work on antimine defense. The bureau has thus become Russia’s only designer of mine countermeasures ships. Having integrated the best specialists in this field from allied enterprises, Almaz is working to develop new mine countermeasures ships and increase the combat efficiency of existing ones.

The top priority in this field is ensuring ships’ self-defense during mine countermeasures operations. Almaz has recently completed design studies and assessment of the installation of mine countermeasures systems to search for, detect, classify and neutralize mines ahead of a ship at a safe distance on mine countermeasures ships of sea, coastal and harbor zones.

These systems include the following major components:

— sonar system with a transmitting/receiving antenna mounted on a self-propelled telecontrolled submersible vehicle; — mine-destroying submersible vehicle of the same family;

— tactical system;

— dynamic positioning system;

— shipboard integrated command system.

The bureau has achieved good results in modernizing a harbor mine sweeper (Project 10750E). The mine sweeper, which actually has the same antimine capability as ships of sea and coastal zones, is 2.5 to 3 times cheaper to build and use.

It should be pointed out that modernization has taken a prominent place in Almaz’s immediate and long-term plans. This is for obvious reasons, which we predicted and which are characteristic for both Russia and its foreign partners in military-technical cooperation.

Changes in geopolitical state development concepts, economic and financial problems caused by regional and bloc changes, and the ever-growing complexity and cost of newly developed weapon systems have required a search for ways to optimize defense spending.

Modernization often comes as an acceptable and efficient way to fulfill tasks set before the Navy and Sea Border Guard units at low expense.

The traditionally high quality of steel and aluminum hulls of Almaz designed vessels serves as an additional, and very substantial, argument in favor of modernization. This quality makes it possible to use old ships after the installation of state-of-the-art weapon systems and navigational and electronic equipment. Impressive results have been achieved in this field on small missile ships (Project 1234ME). The next ships to undergo modernization are Projects 205ER, 10410 and 12411.

Also, Almaz always helps its foreign partners wishing to buy naval weapon and other systems made by third countries. In doing so it uses its long-standing ties with many major foreign companies and the high level of trust which enables it to successfully fulfill its contracts without infringing on the interests of other companies and states.

Almaz continues designing new ships for Russia’s Navy, Federal Border Guard Service, Emergency situations Ministry, and for foreign countries. A few months before its 50th anniversary, Almaz has considerably extended the lines of its activities in the development of high-speed boats and ships. Relying on its unique expertise, R&D achievements and authoritative design potential, the bureau successfully reacts to the demands of the times.