[Homestead] Russian hovercrafr
tvoivozhd
tvoivozd at infionline.net
Tue Feb 1 08:32:57 EST 2005
In present-day terms, an isolated $200,000,000 contract is quite
small---but it may keep the hovercraft producer alive for a year or
two, and a skeletal design team.
<http://english.pravda.ru/>
Greece acquires unique hovercrafts from Russia - 02/01/2005 14:00
Russia's invincible vessel has no analogues anywhere in the world
Invisible for radars, capable of transporting up to 500 commandoes or
10 armored vehicles with 140 military men or three tanks v these are
most outstanding peculiarities of the unique Russian hovercraft, project
12322, known in Russia as ?Zubr¦ (?Bison¦). The Russian Defense Ministry
handed over the third craft of the class to the Greek Navy last week.
The vehicle was built by the Russian shipbuilding company Almaz,
according to terms of the $200-million contract.
¦I do not know what other weapon could be more preferable v these
crafts have no analogue in the world, taking into consideration
thousands of islands that Greece has to defend,¦ Russian Defense
Minister Sergei Ivanov said commenting on the successful completion of
the deal with the Greek authorities.
The ¦Zubr¦ appeared in 1985. The vessel is capable of landing
commandoes on 78 percent of unequipped coasts of the world (conventional
storm boats can do the same on the level of 14 percent only). In
addition, the craft possesses a special quality, which seems to be
fantastic for battle ships: it is invisible for enemy's radar stations.
The effect is achieved with the help of special coating on the body of
the ship. Furthermore, the hovercraft sails in a big cloud of water
splashes, which makes it undetectable for radars.
In addition to transporting land troops, the amphibious vessel is
capable of making mine barriers, and rendering serious battle support to
military men. The vessel is outfitted with two reactive Grad-M systems
and four anti-aircraft Strela-3 complexes. The first system is meant to
clear a coast of enemy's forces. Strela-3 defends the vessel from
airplanes and helicopters during sea navigation. ?Zubr¦ is equipped with
two automatic six-barreled AK-630 guns. When the hovercraft shoots, it
fires up to 4,000 shells a minute, which earned it a nickname in the
Russian navy v a metal-cutter. The intensive fire of AK-630 guns is a
reliable defense against torpedoes, mines and even cruise missiles.
The Russian Navy had eight ?Zubrs¦ in the arsenal in the beginning of
the 1990s. When the USSR broke up, five of them were handed over to
Ukraine, whereas Russia was left with three. However, there was no point
in any further exploitation of the vessels. Russian and Ukrainian top
officials stated that they had no aggressive intentions against
neighbors. Furthermore, it was said that neither Russia nor Ukraine had
any territorial disputes with any other state. It just so happened that
the powerful and unique hovercrafts were useless. Export became the only
way for ?Zubr¦ to survive. Greece, a NATO member, is the only country so
far that acquired unique vessels from Russia. Athens plans to launch a
serial production of the hovercraft in the future, for it is the best
security guarantee for island states. The countries of South-East Asia
also evince interest in ?Zubr.¦ Russia has only one hovercraft at the
moment v in the Baltic Navy.
The ship is 57 meters long and 20 meters wide; the vessel's
displacement is 535 tons. The vessel is equipped with high-temperature
gas-turbine engines. Four propellers 2.5 meters in diameter provide the
vessel with an air-cushion. Three other propellers let the vessel
develop an incredible speed of 70 knots (about 130 thousand kilometers
per hour. It is noteworthy that latest torpedo models are not capable of
reaching the speed higher than 50 knots. Ground mines do not pose any
danger to hovercrafts.
<http://english.pravda.ru/printed.html?news_id=14899>
Pravda.Ru <http://english.pravda.ru/>
Back <http://english.pravda.ru/main/18/88/354/14899_zubr.html>
©1999-2003 "PRAVDA.Ru <http://english.pravda.ru/>". When reproducing our
materials in whole or in part, reference to PRAVDA.Ru should be made.
The opinions and views of the authors do not always coinside with the
point of view of PRAVDA.Ru's editors.
More information about the Homestead
mailing list