Multi-purpose system status 6. Media: Russia tested a giant nuclear torpedo

On last week The public watched with great interest news regarding strategic weapons. Completely unexpectedly and suddenly in domestic means mass media received information about newest project a special submarine capable of seriously changing the strategic situation in the World Ocean. In connection with the publication of these data, some statements by officials appeared, which only fueled interest in the new project. The result of all this was numerous discussions, debates and debates on the possibility of such projects and their practical prospects.

The strange thing began on November 9th. On this day, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting dedicated to the development of the armed forces and the defense industry. During the event, various issues affecting various types of armed forces were discussed. The next day, Russian television channels aired their reports on the recent meeting. At the same time, the stories of Channel One and the NTV channel were of greatest interest, since it was in them that curious and unexpected documents were “shown.”

One of the report plans showed a high-ranking military leader looking at a presentation slide. It was this paper that attracted the attention of specialists and the public. On slide number 3 (on the table of the unknown army general there were several bound sheets of paper) information was provided about the project of the ocean multi-purpose system “Status-6”. The Central Design Bureau was indicated as the developer of this project marine technology(CDB MT) "Rubin". In addition, the slide had general information about the purpose of the project and several drawings.

Availability of information about new projects military equipment, including submarines, always causes a stir. This time, increased public attention was caused by another factor - the intended purpose of the Status-6 system. It was clearly written on the slide that the goal of the promising development is “to destroy important enemy economic facilities in the coastal area and cause guaranteed unacceptable damage to the country’s territory by creating zones of extensive radioactive contamination, unsuitable for carrying out military, economic and other activities in these zones for a long time.”

Images from television reports instantly spread across the media, specialized resources, blogs and other platforms. An active discussion of the published information immediately began. Experts and military enthusiasts immediately remembered some proposals of this kind that were made several decades ago, and also began to speculate about the prospects for such projects at the present time. In addition, suspicions arose that this was indeed an accidental leak of information, and not a “leak” planned by the military.

The situation required urgent comments from officials. Already on the evening of November 11, statements by presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov appeared. According to the official, recent television reports actually demonstrated classified data that has not yet been made public. Secret data was captured by television cameras, which is why government officials demanded that TV channels re-edit their stories. Thus, in the following news releases there was no footage of the military leader getting acquainted with the presentation on the promising project.

D. Peskov expressed the hope that such misunderstandings will not happen again. The president's press secretary noted that he does not know whether any measures were taken related to the data leak. At the same time, he stated that in the future preventive measures will be taken to eliminate such situations.

After government officials drew attention to the data leak, the frame with the presentation slide disappeared from the reports. However, it was already too late. Footage from NTV and Channel One stories went viral on the Internet, and no statements from the presidential press secretary or other officials could stop the discussion. Due to the lack of new high-profile news, discussions of the Status-6 project are still ongoing and are unlikely to end in the very near future.

It should be noted that the increased interest in the Status-6 project is associated not only with the sudden appearance of information about it. Despite the poor quality of the picture, some of the information presented on the slide could be seen in the reports. Information about the project can also be an excellent reason for controversy.

According to slide No. 3, the main element of the promising complex is a self-propelled underwater vehicle. As follows from the available data, it should be a submarine with a set of special equipment. The slide indicates that the device will be able to dive to a depth of up to 1000 m, cover distances of up to 10 thousand km and move with high speed. Exact value the latter is difficult to establish, but is clearly present on the slide three digit number, which could be a topic for a separate discussion.

The dimensions of the device, with the exception of the diameter, remain unknown. The caliber of “Status-6” can be more than 5 (or 7) m. The length and displacement remained on the part of the slide that was not included in the frame.

The presentation identifies special submarines “Belgorod” of project 09852 and “Khabarovsk” of project 09851 as potential carriers of a self-propelled underwater vehicle. In both cases, the device must be transported under the bottom of the carrier submarine.

According to the slide, the first stage of project development should be completed by 2018 (or 2019). Until 2025, specialists will be conducting various tests and fine-tuning the project. Plans for more later periods were closed in the literal sense of the word.

Perhaps the most interesting feature of the project concerns its purpose and some nuances of the layout. The diagram shows that a relatively large compartment with a warhead is provided in the bow of the underwater vehicle. The purpose of the device, in turn, is to destroy enemy targets on the coast and create a zone of radioactive contamination. Such features of the project made specialists and amateurs recall projects proposed several decades ago.

Back in the fifties (according to some sources, from the late forties), preliminary development of a promising large-sized torpedo was carried out in our country, which was supposed to carry a nuclear combat unit high power. It was assumed that the carrier submarine would have to launch this in the direction of the enemy coast. The defeat of enemy coastal targets, as conceived by the authors, was supposed to occur due to a large wave formed after a deep nuclear explosion.

Such a proposal remained at the preliminary research stage. Its implementation was associated with a number of serious difficulties, and its effectiveness left much to be desired. As a result, the idea of ​​a heavy torpedo capable of causing a tsunami was abandoned, focusing on real and promising projects.

It should be noted that the old proposal has noticeable differences from the Status-6 system in its current form. Published information clearly says that the new self-propelled underwater vehicle should not create a large wave. To engage targets, it should be equipped with a “conventional” nuclear warhead. It should be recognized that such a method of application, despite its complexity and limited range of potential targets, turns out to be much more effective than detonating a warhead under water with the expectation of creating a large wave.

It must be recalled that this is not the first time that a promising underwater vehicle with the ability to carry a nuclear warhead has become a topic of discussion. Just a couple of months ago, foreign, primarily American, media were actively discussing rumors about the new Russian project “Canyon”. It was argued that Russia could build new unmanned submarines that would be armed with nuclear warheads with a yield of several tens of megatons.

The lack of confirmed data about the hypothetical Russian underwater weapons project, as well as the emergence of new relevant topics, gradually led to the fact that the Canyon project was almost forgotten. Now the Russian military has allowed (or deliberately caused) a leak of information, which has already become a reason for resuming discussions among foreign experts and journalists. Various analytical articles have already appeared in a number of foreign publications, the authors of which are trying to study the unexpectedly appeared data, draw some conclusions, and also “link” them with recent rumors about the Canyon project.

Testing of the Status-6 system - if the project reaches this stage - will be completed no earlier than the middle of the next decade. This fact, however, does not prevent experts and amateurs from making predictions about the consequences of the appearance of such weapons. It is easy to see that a self-propelled underwater vehicle with remote or automatic control, capable of traveling up to 10 thousand km, can be a very formidable weapon. When equipping such a device with a nuclear warhead, it is possible to plan operations to destroy naval bases probable enemy almost all over the world. The device will be able to approach the base and destroy it or cause serious damage.

Assumptions are already being made about the real prospects of such systems. In particular, an opinion has emerged that nuclear-armed underwater vehicles could render all existing anti-submarine systems useless. In addition, the appearance of such weapons will force a potential enemy to begin full-scale development of promising defense systems against underwater attacks. Due to some of the features of Status-6 or similar devices, the construction of a protection system will be extremely difficult and expensive.

To effectively protect against such weapons, it is necessary to build a system for monitoring the underwater situation throughout maritime boundaries. In addition, means are required for a timely response to a detected threat and its subsequent destruction. All this will require the implementation of a mass of new projects, which, in turn, will be associated with colossal expenses.

Similar feature promising project, perhaps, may even be useful for some structures and enterprises. It is quite possible that after the first reports about the Status-6 system appeared, some American generals and heads of defense enterprises began to happily rub their hands, anticipating the start of new projects and their financing.

The program for the construction of protection systems against advanced Russian weapons can be extremely expensive and complex. However, not all responsible persons from foreign countries This fact worries me. Publication of data about new Russian weapons will once again allow them to call Russia an aggressor and therefore demand additional funding to protect against it.

Similar consequences of the Russian project have already given rise to a version according to which there was a deliberate “leaking” of information last week. The purpose of such an “operation” could be the intention of provoking potential adversaries to launch expensive programs that could hit military budgets and cause some damage to their defense capabilities.

In general, the situation around the Status-6 project looks extremely interesting and unusual. It all started with an accidental leak of information about a secret project, which resulted in a massive discussion new topic on domestic and foreign sites. A little late press secretary Russian President stated that there was a publication of secret data that is still closed to the general public, but such statements did not in any way affect the nature of the disputes. The image of the slide from the presentation continues to spread across the Internet, involving more and more participants in the discussion.

The most people speak out about the project itself and the appearance of information about it. different versions, receiving one or another confirmation. Participants in the discussions suggest that the Status-6 system is capable of seriously influencing the situation in the world, and not only due to high performance, but also thanks to its mere existence. In addition, doubts have been expressed about the feasibility of such a project. Supporters of this version believe that an attempt at stuffing cannot be ruled out. false information, undertaken by the Russian military with the aim of influencing foreign specialists. Finally, officials claim that this was an accidental leak of information about a secret project.

It is not difficult to guess that the military or the defense industry will not comment on the current situation in any way after D. Peskov made his statement. One can only rely on unconfirmed data obtained by the press from anonymous and other dubious sources. Therefore, anyone who wants to know the real details of the new project will have to wait. Judging by the slide, we will have to wait at least until the middle of the next decade.

Based on materials from sites:
http://ria.ru/
http://tass.ru/
http://interfax.ru/
http://vz.ru/
http://freebeacon.com/
http://bmpd.livejournal.com/

On November 27, Russian sailors held successful test unmanned nuclear submarine "Status-6", capable of carrying a multi-megaton nuclear warhead. Washington Free Beacon columnist Bill Hertz reports. Participated in the tests submarine special purpose B-90 "Sarov".

Bill Hertz calls Status-6 a revolutionary device. Since the designers of the USA and other technologically advanced countries of the world have not yet approached this idea.

Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis declined to comment on the test, saying: “We are closely monitoring the development of Russian undersea technology, but will not comment on this.” At the same time, the military department does not doubt the reality of the existence of “Status”; it was even assigned the NATO index - “Canyon”.

This weapon became known about a year ago, when during a televised meeting with Vladimir Putin there was a “leak of top-secret information,” which was undoubtedly planned. Thus, a signal was sent to American strategists that the new weapon was capable of guaranteed to make a hole in the massive defense of the North American continent and cause destruction, the scale of which exceeded the attack of several known intercontinental ballistic missiles. That is, this is not just an asymmetrical response to the treacherous construction of the European missile defense system, but a solution that repeatedly covers the missile defense system, NATO battalions in Poland and the Baltic states, and other potentially aggressive actions of Washington towards Russia.

The transcript by Western experts of the slide that was “leaked” to two central Russian television channels provided enough information to understand what the uninhabited underwater vehicle (UUV) “Status-6”, developed at the Rubin Central Design Bureau, is. The following words were read: “The purpose is to defeat important enemy economic facilities in the coastal area and cause guaranteed unacceptable damage to the country’s territory by creating zones of extensive radioactive contamination that are unsuitable for carrying out military, economic and other activities in these zones for a long time.”

It must be said that a similar project existed in the early 60s. The T-15 torpedo was developed, which had a length of 24 meters and a weight of 40 tons. It was supposed to be equipped with a 100-megaton thermonuclear charge. But at that time there were no compact nuclear reactors for the power plant, and battery-powered electric motors ensured the torpedo’s advancement only 30 kilometers.

But after half a century, the problem with the reactor was solved. At the same time, significant progress has occurred not only in nuclear energy, but also in electronic components, control systems, materials, and other components torpedo weapons. In addition, the strategy and tactics of the Navy have changed. Therefore, NPA “Status-6” is absolutely new development, which has in common with the T-15 only a 100-megaton charge power.

Moreover, the new development is not a torpedo, but an underwater robot that has elements of artificial intelligence and is capable of operating independently at a distance of several thousand kilometers from its carrier - a special-purpose submarine.

Technical parameters that circulate in open access, are, of course, not based entirely on secret documents TsKBMT "Rubin". They are the result of deciphering a slide from the Ministry of Defense that appeared on television screens, an analysis of experts, both domestic and foreign, taking into account the scientific, technical and technological potential of the Russian military-industrial complex.

First of all, it is necessary to say not about the quantitative, but about the qualitative side of the warhead. In order to realize the goals set for “Status”, the warhead must have a cobalt section. This should lead to maximum and long-term radioactive contamination of a vast territory. It is estimated that with a wind speed of 26 km/h radioactive cloud will poison a rectangle of coast measuring 1700x300 km.

The Rubin device is capable of destroying naval bases, carrier strike groups, and ground air bases. All this has been experimentally tested by the Americans themselves. In 1946, the US Navy tested an underwater explosion with a yield of 23 kilotons. As a result, the completely new aircraft carrier Independence, launched in 1942, was lost. After four years of unsuccessful decontamination attempts, it was scuttled. But the Status warhead contains several orders of magnitude more radioactive cobalt fission products.

Presumably the speed of the UUV ranges from 100 km/h to 185 km/h. It is provided by water-jet propulsors powered by a reactor with a power of 8 MW. The reactor has a liquid metal coolant, which makes it possible to increase efficiency and significantly reduce noise. What makes Status-6 practically invisible underwater. Among other things, the reactor has an excellent cost-to-power ratio. It could cost about $12 million to produce effective weapon containment, such costs are insignificant.

When analyzing the strength of the Status-6 hull, it was found that it has a working depth of 1000 meters. All of the above qualities indicate that UUVs are extremely difficult to detect even at maximum speed. For the SOSSUS sonar anti-submarine system, which monitors the US coast, new device much less noticeable than the quietest submarine in the world, Varshavyanka. It is estimated that Status-6 at a cruising speed of 55 km/h can be detected no further than at a distance of 2-3 km. If detected, it will easily evade any NATO torpedo on maximum speed. In addition, the UUV, possessing intelligence, is capable of performing complex maneuvers.

Indeed, the chances of destroying Status-6 even if it is detected are minimal. The fastest US torpedo, the Mark 54, has a speed of 74 km/h, that is, according to minimal estimates, 26 km/h less. The deepest-sea European torpedo with the formidable name MU90 Hard Kill, launched in pursuit, at a maximum speed of 90 km/h is capable of traveling no more than 10 km.

When assessing the capabilities of “Status-6”, one should take into account the “intelligence” of this NPA. As a deterrent weapon, it can arrive at its destination and lie low, waiting for a signal to detonate the warhead. The signal can be sent through an ultra-long wave channel, since ultra-long waves penetrate the water column. In this case, we will have a deterrent weapon ready to work instantly. Without wasting time on approaching and “swimming”.

It can be assumed that the tasks of this system also include solving other problems. Using such a powerful platform capable of long time act independently, including making tactical decisions, “Status-6” can also obtain invaluable intelligence information.

And finally, about the carriers of “Status-6”. The Project 20120 diesel-electric submarine Sarov, built in a single copy, is designed to test the latest deep-sea technology. Therefore, she is not a carrier. However, at Sevmash, in secrecy, two special-purpose boats are being built - Belgorod and Khabarovsk, which, judging by a number of indirect data, will serve Status-6. Presumably, they will be commissioned this decade.

November 2016, relations with the West are tense, to put it mildly, the world is preparing for a new round of the arms race, foreign policy rhetoric is becoming more and more hostile, a meeting is being held in the Kremlin on the development of the military-industrial complex with the participation of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin “pool”, as the journalists allowed to cover events with the participation of top officials of the state are called, are well-trained people and will not go against the will of the “father”, and any materials will undergo the necessary approvals, otherwise it is fraught with exclusion from the “close ones”. And then “accidentally” a document of the highest secrecy status appears in the frame of a television broadcast, in the header of which is emblazoned “Ocean multi-purpose system “Status-6”. Press secretary of the head of state Dmitry Peskov later confirmed that these materials were not intended for wide publicity.

Shot from Channel One

What is known today

Status-6(according to NATO codification - “ Canyon") - This ocean multi-purpose system, which is being developed by the design bureau for designing submarines of OJSC TsKB MT Rubin. Materials “seen” by journalists allow us to conclude that the main component of the system is a torpedo (designated as a “self-propelled underwater vehicle”), equipped nuclear reactor. She carries nuclear warhead with a power of 100 Mgt (the power of the Tsar Bomba, for comparison, is 57 Mgt). Travel speed is 185 km/h, torpedo range is 10 thousand km, travel depth is up to 1000 m. Military experts note that such characteristics are capable of ensuring a breakthrough of the US SOSUS coastal anti-submarine system.

Simulation of nuclear pollution from Status-6 at 100 Mt without cobalt bomb/wikipedia.org

The purpose of the system is “to destroy strategically important enemy economic facilities in the coastal area and cause guaranteed unacceptable damage to the country’s territory by creating zones of extensive radioactive contamination that are unsuitable for carrying out military, economic and other activities in these zones for a long time.”

Special nuclear submarines of projects 09852 Belgorod and 09851 Khabarovsk are indicated as carriers of the complex. Multi-purpose system"Status-6" should enter combat duty by 2020.

Destruction from a 100 Mt warhead. NukeMap model

On December 8, 2016, American intelligence confirmed a practical test of an underwater unmanned vehicle with nuclear power plant launched from the submarine "Sarov" on November 27. It should be noted that American intelligence expected the appearance of the first working prototype no earlier than 2019, so the high readiness of the drone, already capable of launching and moving from the mother submarine, caused significant concern among Pentagon experts.

The legacy of Academician Sakharov

Many people call the Status-6 project a legacy Academician Andrei Sakharov. His T-15 project, which received the secret nickname “Sakharov’s torpedo,” was an underwater self-propelled vehicle that was supposed to carry a thermonuclear charge to the enemy’s shores. In his memoirs, Sakharov wrote about this complex: “One of the first with whom I discussed this project was Rear Admiral Fomin... He was shocked by the “cannibalistic nature” of the project and noted in a conversation with me that sailors were accustomed to fighting an armed enemy in open battle and that the very thought of such mass murder was disgusting to him.”

Nuclear explosion Hardtack Umbrella, the beginning of the collapse of the water column / wikipedia.org

According to the academician’s proposal, Project 627 nuclear submarines, developed in the 50s, were supposed to be the “vehicle for delivery” of a powerful nuclear charge (100 megatons). As a result of the explosion of such a bomb, such a gigantic tsunami wave is formed that everything living and inanimate on the enemy’s coast was destroyed would be destroyed. The scientist, as often happens, was ahead of his time; the T-15 project remained at the level of drawings and sketches.

Multi-purpose nuclear submarine (NPS) Belgorod of Project 949AM is an unfinished Russian nuclear submarine of the Antey class. Laid down at the Sevmash enterprise on July 24, 1992 under serial number 664. On April 6, 1993, it was renamed Belgorod. The construction of the nuclear submarine was frozen after the sinking of the Kursk submarine of the same type in 2000.

The Project 09851 nuclear submarine (NPS) Khabarovsk was laid down on July 27, 2014 at the same Sevmash in Severodvinsk. This is one of the most secret submarine cruisers of the Russian Navy; information about the completion of construction of the nuclear submarine is not publicly available.

Proposed type of nuclear submarine "Khabarovsk"

American experts quite expectedly reacted to the “stuffing” of information about the “Status-6” system, as in the opinion of The Daily Mirror newspaper, the fact that the demonstration of the system was carried out during a meeting on military topics, dedicated to the expansion of the US missile defense system, among other things, clearly shows , What this weapon seen as an asymmetrical response to America's actions, making its system missile defense useless against strategic nuclear torpedoes. Many other Western analysts share the same opinion.

Pentagon sources have confirmed that Russia is testing a new type of weapon - a giant torpedo with a terrifyingly powerful thermonuclear warhead, known as Status-6, writes Popular Mechanics. "It's very bad news", the US military said.

According to US intelligence, the tests took place on November 27. The torpedo was fired from the special purpose submarine B-90 Sarov, details are unknown. The author of a material published in The Washington Free Beacon on this topic calls the Russian underwater vehicle revolutionary: a nuclear-powered torpedo is capable of moving at a speed of 90 knots at a depth of up to a kilometer. The range of the "Status" is 10 thousand kilometers, the size of the warhead is 6.5 meters. According to the Americans, a thermonuclear charge with a power of up to 100 megatons can be placed there. Detonated off the coast of the United States, it would cause a giant tsunami that would wipe out coastal states along with naval bases, airfields and military factories.

According to experts, Status-6 is Russia's new asymmetric response to the US deployment of a global missile defense system. The creation of a giant torpedo was first discussed a year ago, when at a government meeting on military issues a tablet with a description of the new weapon was caught on television cameras. The Kremlin called the “exposure” of secret information an “accident.” However, a number of political scientists consider it a deliberate “leak” and disinformation: according to the deadlines indicated in the tablet, the “Tsar Torpedo” was planned to be created in 2019.

Special-purpose submarines will be used as a carrier of the “Status” - in addition to the Sarov, these are the Belgorod project 09852 Antey and the Khabarovsk project 09851, which are currently being modernized. Officially, the submarines are called carriers of deep-sea vehicles and have a docking unit in the bottom, which makes them the burden cannot be detected either from land or from satellite.

The description of the system says that it is intended, among other things, to cause guaranteed unacceptable damage to the enemy by creating zones of extensive radioactive contamination on the coast, unsuitable for human life for a long time. A cobalt bomb fits this description - thermonuclear weapon, described by one of the creators of the American atomic weapons Leo Szilard. The outer shell of such ammunition consists of cobalt-59, and its explosion guarantees the destruction of all living things.

Tests of a cobalt bomb have never been carried out due to the unsuitability of the affected areas for development and the risk of destroying the entire biosphere of the Earth - according to calculations, this would require only 510 tons of cobalt. However, such a bomb giant torpedo as a means of delivery, they can be used as a deterrent weapon - together with a system on alert that guarantees a retaliatory strike with the full power of Russia's nuclear forces even if destroyed command posts and Strategic Missile Forces personnel.

Pentagon sources have confirmed that Russia is testing a new type of weapon - a giant torpedo with a terrifyingly powerful thermonuclear warhead, known as . "This is very bad news," the US military said.

According to US intelligence, the tests took place on November 27. The torpedo was fired from the special purpose submarine B-90 Sarov, details are unknown.

The author of a material published in The Washington Free Beacon on this topic calls the Russian underwater vehicle revolutionary: a nuclear-powered torpedo is capable of moving at a speed of 90 knots at a depth of up to a kilometer. The Status has a range of 10 thousand kilometers, the size of the warhead is 6.5 meters.

According to the Americans, a thermonuclear charge with a power of up to 100 megatons can be placed there. Detonated off the coast of the United States, it would cause a giant tsunami that would wipe out coastal states along with naval bases, airfields and military factories.

According to experts, Status-6 is Russia's new asymmetric response to the US deployment of a global missile defense system. The creation of a giant torpedo first became known a year ago, when at a government meeting on military issues a tablet with a description of the new weapon was captured by television cameras.

The Kremlin called the “exposure” of classified information an “accident.” However, a number of political scientists consider it a deliberate “leak” and disinformation: according to the deadlines indicated in the tablet, the “Tsar Torpedo” was planned to be created in 2019.

Special-purpose submarines will be used as a carrier of the “Status” - in addition to the Sarov, these are the Belgorod project 09852 Antey and the Khabarovsk project 09851, which are currently being modernized. Officially, the submarines are called carriers of deep-sea vehicles and have a docking unit in the bottom, which makes them the burden cannot be detected either from land or from satellite.

The description of the system says that it is intended, among other things, to cause guaranteed unacceptable damage to the enemy by creating zones of extensive radioactive contamination on the coast, unsuitable for human life for a long time.

A cobalt bomb, a thermonuclear weapon described by one of the creators of American atomic weapons, Leo Szilard, fits this description. The outer shell of such ammunition consists of cobalt-59, and its explosion guarantees the destruction of all living things.

Tests of a cobalt bomb have never been carried out due to the unsuitability of the affected areas for development and the risk of destroying the entire biosphere of the Earth - according to calculations, this would require only 510 tons of cobalt.

However, such a bomb and a giant torpedo as a means of delivery can be used as a deterrent weapon - together with a standing one, guaranteeing a retaliatory strike with the full power of Russia's nuclear forces even if the command posts and personnel of the Strategic Missile Forces are destroyed.