Project 11711 large landing ship
The Russian Navy in 2013 provided strategic deterrence, was involved in the performance of special tasks set by Supreme Commander; a significant role in this was assigned to large landing ships (BDK), said the head of the Russian Defense Ministry, General of the Army Sergei Shoigu.
"In 2015, the Navy will include the Ivan Gren large landing ship, as well as two landing helicopter-carrying dock ships, Vladivostok and Sevastopol," Shoigu said.
"Nevertheless, these measures are clearly not enough, so it is important to pay attention to restoring the technical readiness of ships of this class," he said. According to him, "it is planned to restore at least two large landing ships annually."
Ivan Gren is a Project 11711 Russian large landing ship, the lead ship of the series.
The ship is named in honor of Vice-Admiral Ivan Ivanovich Gren, head of the naval defense artillery of Leningrad, head of the Combat Training Directorate of the USSR Navy, military artillery scientist. 
The design of the ship began in 1998 according to the terms of reference of the Russian Navy.
The project of the ship was developed at the Nevsky Design Bureau (Nevsky Design Bureau, St. Petersburg). 
It was laid down in 2004 at the Yantar shipyard.
It was launched on May 18, 2012, and commissioning is planned for 2015. 
The Russian Ministry of Defense intends to acquire six such ships. 
Project 11711 large landing ships (according to NATO classification - Ivan Gren) - a type of the latest large landing ships designed for landing troops, transporting military equipment and equipment
Combat vehicles placed on the BDK on the tank deck. These can be either main battle tanks weighing up to 60 tons (up to 13 units), or armored personnel carriers or combat vehicles infantry (up to 40 vehicles), or up to 300 paratroopers. 
Unlike the fleets of the Western powers, which carry out independent tasks in distant regions, the Russian Navy is designed to support the land army in coastal areas.
This project is the only one in the world where the idea of non-contact unloading of troops and equipment from a ship onto an unequipped or gently sloping coast has been implemented.
BDK type "Ivan Gren" allow you to land a unit in a short time marines right on the shore with armored vehicles, artillery, air defense systems and thereby achieve surprise.
"Ivan Gren" is designed for landing directly on the shore. To do this, the BDK “runs aground” with its bow and opens a huge “gate” in the bow. 
The BDK of the new project is smaller than the French Mistral, therefore it is much better suited for the "closed" seas - the Black and Baltic, for which the transport capabilities of the Mistral are redundant.
The fleet needs at least 18 ships of this class. Under such a grouping, all existing landing forces of the Navy are imprisoned. Half of these needs can be covered by four Mistral-class ships, the rest of the tasks should be solved by small ships, such as the Ivan Gren large landing ship. 
Until the “brothers” of the “Gren” enter the fleet, the Russian Navy will be forced to use aging landing ships of the 1960-1980s, mainly Polish-built, of which there are now 15, and three Soviet ships project 1171 "Tapir". 
Characteristics of the BDK project 11711:
displacement - 5000 tons
length - 120 m
width - 16.5 m
draft - 3.6 m
power plant - diesel 10D49 1x4000 hp
speed - 18 knots
power 4000 l. With. (2.9 MW)
cruising range - 3500 miles
autonomy of navigation - 30 days
crew - 100 people
Armament:
Artillery 1 × AK-176M
76.2-mm naval artillery system designed to destroy unmanned and manned air attack weapons, as well as light sea and visible coastal targets. 
Main characteristics:
Number of automatic guns, pcs. - 1
Rate of fire, rds / min. - 60-120
Loading guns automatic, unitary
Barrel cooling is continuous, external, by pumping coolant between the barrel and casing
Number of personnel, people: in combat service of the AU - 2, with manual control - 4
Barrel survivability, rds - 2000
Mass of the complex, t - 16.5
Defeat targets in the range of artillery ammunition in height (for self-liquidator), km - 11.5
Maximum firing range, km - 15.5
Anti-aircraft artillery: 2 × AK-630M
The 30-mm six-barreled automatic gun mount with a radar (optical) control system is considered the fastest among 30-mm artillery mounts. It is a means of self-defense for ships, it can be used to destroy air targets and light surface forces of the enemy. 
Main characteristics:
Weight, kg: 1 918
Rate of fire, rds / min: 4000-5000
muzzle velocity, m/s - up to 900
ammunition, cartridges - 300
projectile weight, kg - 0.834
survivability of trunks, shots - 6000
installation weight, t - 9
vertical guidance angles, deg. - from -12 to +88
horizontal guidance angles, deg. - 180 from the axis of the ship
firing range at surface targets, m - 5000
firing range inclined at air targets, m - 4000
Missile armament: 2 × A-215 "Grad-M"
The 122-mm ship's multiple launch rocket system is designed to destroy manpower and equipment on the coast during the landing of an amphibious assault, to support its operations, as well as to defend landing ships from attacks by enemy ships at sea. The high rate of fire and firing range provide effective fire support for amphibious assault forces. 
Main characteristics:
Number of trunks - 40
Maximum firing range, m - 20700
Firing range minimum tabular, m - 2000
Unit weight with storage and feed devices, kg - 16500
Calculation, pers. - 2
Interval between projectile launches in salvo, s - 0.5
Loading time from the production of the first shot, s - 46
Reload time, s - 120
The time of execution of the entire ammunition load, min - 7.3
Aviation group 1 Ka-29 helicopter, there is a deck hangar.
A shipborne transport and combat helicopter designed for landing from ships of marine units and their fire support, transporting various cargoes, etc.
On June 20, the large landing ship Ivan Gren was solemnly accepted into the Russian Navy. Hooray? Based on the replica “Tormented!”, which is often found on naval Internet resources in relation to the new BDK, then not really.
Let's try to figure out why the raising of the St. Andrew's flag over the head large landing ship of project 11711 was perceived by many as a "holiday with tears in their eyes", and the Ivan Gren itself was like a ship at a crossroads.
Awareness of the problem
The consequences of the collapse of the USSR by the beginning of the 21st century came back to haunt the almost landslide reduction in the naval composition of the Navy Russian Federation. Large landing ships were among the victims. Of the three largest BDK project 1174 (total displacement of 14060 tons), all three left the "game". Of the 14 old BDKs of project 1171 (total displacement 4360 tons), 4 remained. Of the 27 BDKs of project 775 (total displacement of 4400 tons), 15 survived in service.
At the same time, it was the BDKs that turned out to be perhaps the most popular warships of the Navy. True, this was explained not by the fact that our Fleet had to continuously land amphibious assaults, but by the fact that this very Fleet did not have troop transports. In the role of such, and had to use the surviving BDK. At the same time, of course, they were wasting their precious resource and certainly weren’t getting any younger…
The need to build new BDK to replace the ships of the Soviet era was fully recognized by the command of the Russian Navy back in the late "dashing nineties". But what kind of landing craft does the Navy need? Answering this question was not as easy as it might seem.
For example, in the United States, the idea of landing people and equipment on an unequipped coast directly from large landing ships was already considered an anachronism by this time. A large ship is a large target. To drive a large landing craft directly to the enemy's shore meant deliberately exposing it to attack. Therefore, the US Navy was actively engaged in developing the doctrine of "over-the-horizon landing" and "vertical coverage."
According to her, the landing ship remained out of sight from the enemy shore, and high-speed boats and helicopters based on the "paratrooper" were engaged in the landing of people and equipment. Specially for this doctrine, universal landing ships with a total displacement of more than 40,000 tons were built in the United States, capable of carrying not only several dozen helicopters and vertical take-off and landing aircraft, but also 12 landing craft with the possibility of replacing a dozen landing craft with a trio of DKA hovercraft.
The Soviet Navy, at the peak of its development, also began to "get close" to something similar. For this reason, the BDK of project 1174 was laid down with four Ka-29 helicopters each. In addition to helicopters, these BDKs could also receive a variety of landing craft into the dock chamber. But the use of gas turbine units and the shortcomings of the overall layout predetermined the short life of the project 1174 large landing ship in the Russian Navy. These ships, due to objective reasons, quickly moved into the category of slow-moving ones ...
Leapfrog on the slipway
So what to build? After some thought, the command of the Russian Navy decided to abandon the logical idea of \u200b\u200bbuilding an improved version of the BDK of project 1174: it was extremely expensive and difficult (recall, the 1990s were in the yard). An alternative and relatively cheap option for building military transport in the hull of some kind of ro-ro ship in the interests of the Navy also did not arouse interest in the command of the Fleet. In general, they wanted to get new "paratroopers" to replace the old "paratroopers", but for what specific tasks, it seems, no one really imagined this. Therefore, the terms of reference for the new ship turned out to be rather vague. From the series “Go there, I don’t know where, and build something there, I don’t know what.”
The design of the future BDK project 11711 began according to the terms of reference of the Russian Navy in 1998 at the Nevsky Design Bureau in St. Petersburg. Since finances at that time openly sang romances, at first it was generally about building something very small, such as a new medium landing ship. But rather quickly, common sense won out, and, apparently, funds were found, so the project of the new landing ship was reformulated precisely in the BDK project.
For the sake of speeding up the design, it was decided to use for the new BDK the dimensions and contours of the hull of the well-proven BDK project 1171 (built in 1964-1975). This limited the displacement of the future new BDK to 5,000 tons. In general, the Nevsky PKB turned out to be a classic Soviet BDK. However, there were differences: two (bow and aft) superstructures instead of one, a helicopter hangar, a pair of Ka-29 helicopters, as well as improved living conditions for the crew and troops.
December 23, 2004 at the Yantar shipyard in Kaliningrad, the first BDK of project 11711, named Ivan Gren, was laid down. Then the mess began. The command of the Navy, with enviable constancy, changed its views on the future use of the Gren, which led to constant adjustments to the project that had already begun with the construction of the ship.
For example, initially the armament of the BDK was supposed to consist of a 100-mm A-190M gun mount, two Broadsword anti-aircraft artillery systems and two launchers of the A-215 Grad-M multiple launch rocket system. But then all this "splendor" shrank down to one two-automatic 30-mm automatic gun mount "Duet", a pair of 30-mm six-barreled automatic gun mounts AK-630M, a pair of 14.5-mm pedestal machine gun mounts "Sting" and a set of fired passive jamming.
In addition, it was originally assumed that the BDK would land the equipment on the shore "contactlessly". That is, before reaching the shore, it will anchor, lower the bow ramp and build a pontoon bridge from it to the shore. Then the idea of "non-contact" was abandoned. Then they returned to her. Then ... Well, in general, you understand.
All this over and over again “cut” the project and the ship under construction “on the live”, in every possible way pushing back the deadlines for completion. At the same time, stealth technologies began to be introduced into the design of the ship. At the same time, funding cuts began. At the same time, Russia began to think about acquiring the Mistral economy-class amphibious assault ships from France, which called into question the need to complete the construction of the main BDK of project 11711 ...
The perseverance of the brave...
Initially, it was assumed that the Navy would receive the Grena back in 2008. In fact, the new BDK was launched and started its further completion only on May 18, 2012.
True, the situation was somewhat brightened up by the fact that in 2010 the Yantar plant received a contract for the construction of another large landing ship of project 11711. The plant received the contract, but ... But then the well-known events of 2014 in Crimea happened, which backfired, firstly, the refusal of Paris to give Moscow the Mistrals built for it, and secondly, the refusal of a number of Western suppliers to ship the equipment Russia needs for Gren.
On the one hand, the loss of the Mistrals again brought to the fore the theme of the speedy commissioning of the Grena for the Russian Navy. On the other hand, the solution of the problems with import substitution again shifted to the right the deadlines for the completion of the lead BDK of project 11711 and did not allow to start laying the second BDK of the same project.
By the summer of 2015, the task of adapting project 11711 to domestic equipment was generally solved. At the same time, the Syrian Express was “gaining momentum”, so that each BDK for the Russian Navy turned out to be literally worth its weight in gold. Together, these circumstances contributed to the fact that on June 11, 2015, the second BDK of project 11711 was finally laid down. It was named "Pyotr Morgunov".
It was assumed that the Russian Navy would receive 6 BDKs of project 11711. However, not the most joyful picture of the Grena stuck at the factory pier, which at the time of laying the Morgunov was not only still being completed, but also continued to be redone, reduced naval optimism regarding this project. As a result, a decision was made to reduce the series of new BDKs to Gren and Morgunov "in view of the decision to create larger ships of a new generation." According to representatives of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the displacement of the new generation large landing ship will exceed 14,000 tons ...
Simply put, three years ago the command of the Russian Navy returned to the point from which project 11771 started in 1998. The fleet needed an improved version of the Soviet BDK project 1174, capable of "over-the-horizon landing" and "vertical coverage"!
And here's something else for those who don't understand. Reducing the series from six ships to two did not significantly reduce the cost of building the BDK project 11711, leaving it very high.
So far, encouraged by the return to the Russian Navy of the fashion for BDK-helicopter carriers, the Krylov State science Center arranged presentations of desktop models of domestic universal landing ships of the future, held under the codes "Surf" and "Avalanche", on the "Yantar" the "Gren" was completed and the "Morgunov" was built. After the fantastic funds and effort spent since 1998 on the design and creation of the BDK project 11771, the Navy simply had to get at least something! .. Let this “something” have already been transferred to the category of unpromising projects by reducing the series to two ships.
June 21, 2016 "Ivan Gren" was finally able to go to the factory, and after them to the state tests. They were, to put it mildly, difficult. This is clear at least from the fact that the acceptance act on the completion of the state tests of "Ivan Gren" was signed only on June 2, 2018.
According to information that was not officially confirmed, the Gren experienced problems with stability, an insufficient sector of fire for artillery mounts, degaussing, controllability when reversing ... The ship returned to the factory, treated its "childhood diseases", again went to the test, discovered new "jambs" , again headed for the plant ... In a word, we sing a song to the perseverance of the brave.
Then the customer finally accepted the ship.
The main thing is to draw conclusions
If someone thinks that this epic ended on June 20, when St. Andrew's flag was hoisted over Ivan Gren, then he is mistaken. Yes, a new BDK has finally joined the Russian Navy. Yes, by order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Ivan Gren has already been included in the 121st brigade of ships of the Kola Flotilla of the diverse forces of the fleet. But here's the thing...
At the end of February of this year, information appeared that the right and left diesel engines of the Morgunov BDK would be moved to the port and starboard sides, respectively. Theoretically, this will change the nature of the rotation of the propellers and eliminate the problem with the controllability of the BDK project 11711 when reversing. In case of successful tests on the Morgunov, the profile state commission will decide on similar changes on the lead ship of the series, the Ivan Gren.
"Morgunov" was launched on May 25, 2018 with the prospect of commissioning in 2019. Thus, no one has yet tested the rearranged diesel engines at the Morgunov, which means that the Gren, which has already entered service, still has problems with handling when reversing ...
Of course, the commissioning of the Ivan Gren, and, we hope, the Pyotr Morgunov, is in modern realities a welcome development for the Russian Navy, to put it mildly, not spoiled by the new BDKs. Another thing is that the "paratroopers" of project 11711 had a chance to become much more successful ships ... Well, what can we say about this now. The main thing is to draw the necessary conclusions and not repeat the mistakes already made once, right?
And here we are again returning to the topic of building new landing ships for our Fleet. No, this time we are not talking about project 11711, but about what has already been announced to replace it. Recall that when in 2015 the number of Grenov under construction was reduced to a couple, the new generation large landing ship was seen in the Moscow Region as a ship with a displacement of more than 14,000 tons.
Now let's turn to the Russian media reports of June 18, 2018. They contain a mention that the Northern Design Bureau was entrusted with the creation of a new draft design of the BDK. This is not about the development of some existing project, but about the creation from scratch of a BDK with a displacement of ... about 8000 tons. Important point- other design bureaus are not involved in this work.
And finally, let's listen to the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Navy for armaments, Vice Admiral Viktor Bursuk, who immediately after the raising of the Andreevsky flag over the "Gren" stated verbatim the following:
“This year, design bureaus will begin to develop a project for these ships (new BDK. - Approx. FAN). After the design is completed, literally in two years we hope that we will be able to lay this ship on the Yantar.
Viktor Bursuk clarified that the BDK of the new project, planned for laying in 2021, will be the same size as the BDK of Project 11711 Ivan Gren, but it will be improved seaworthiness and equipped with new models of weapons and equipment.
Wait a minute! So what will be the displacement of the new BDK? 14000, 8000 or 5000 tons? Will this ship be designed only by the Northern Design Bureau or will other design bureaus, as Vice Admiral Viktor Bursuk said on June 20, 2018? To solve what problems will the new generation BDK be created for? If the focus is on the transfer of military cargo with the help of the BDK, then isn’t it better to think about specialized military transport? ..
The commissioning of "Ivan Gren" is clearly not a point in the story we have described, but an ellipsis. Questions, as you can see, there are still enough. And most of them are still unanswered. Nevertheless, one would very much like to hope that the Russian Navy will be able to make the terms of reference for the new generation large landing craft more specific and less vague. Otherwise, the "paratrooper" planned for laying down in 2021 risks repeating the thorny path of project 11711, and the grouping of our aging large landing craft will not wait for a change.
The Project 11711 large landing ship Ivan Gren, which is being built at the Yantar Baltic shipbuilding plant, cannot be handed over to the fleet due to problems with reverse gear. Tests are suspended until the end of January. This was reported to Mil.Press FlotProm by a source in the industry familiar with the situation. He added that the ship will go to sea at the end of the month.
According to him, problems with the reverse remain the only serious obstacle to the handover of the ship to the Russian Navy, which was planned to be held back in December 2017.
A naval source familiar with the situation told a Mil.Press FlotProm correspondent that the decision to postpone the transfer of the Gren to the fleet was made at a profile meeting of the scientific council of the Naval Academy on December 26.
He added that the ship found "seven significant problems that need to be addressed - some on paper, the other - after improvements." At the same time, the source said, a break in the testing of "Gren" was announced personally by the chairman of the state commission. The next meeting was scheduled for February 1, after which the decisions will be analyzed and signed.“The ship could have been signed in December, but the fleet is shielding itself from possible problems in the future,” he said. “Gren had some problems with seaworthiness and stability before, but they were solved. There was a problem with handling when reversing.”
The press service of Yantar found it difficult to answer the question of a Mil.Press FlotProm correspondent. The official representative of the Russian Navy, Captain 1st Rank Igor Dygalo, did not answer the call.
The Grena engine - diesel D1049 - was manufactured at the Kolomna plant. It is connected with the screw by a gearbox manufactured by Zvezda PJSC. According to high-ranking sources at the Kolomna plant, they do not know about problems with the engine. "It means that the problem is in the gearbox or the malfunction is not fatal and can be eliminated," one of the sources told Mil.Press FlotProm.
It was not possible to contact the head of the enterprise, Pavel Plavnik. Later, on January 17, the Zvezda press service told Mil.Press FlotProm that there were no problems with the gearbox.
The general director of the Nevsky Design Bureau, Sergei Vlasov, the designer of the Grena, told Mil.Press FlotProm that "there are certain problems only with the reverse speed."A source at one of the domestic design enterprises severely criticized the seaworthiness of the Ivan Gren large landing ship and questioned the need for serial construction of ships of this project. He stressed that the ship was created to operate in the "river-sea" zones for the transfer of troops from different theaters of military operations, and its dimensions were initially tied to the parameters of the Volgodon locks and the height of the bridges.
"Project 11711 was conceived as a replacement for the small aging large landing ship of project 775, it was literally "blinded," said the shipbuilder. "When the restriction for the river-sea class disappeared, the superstructure of the large landing ship was increased. As a result of this and other design changes, the ship's stability deteriorated significantly" .
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"Ivan Gren" - the lead ship of project 11711, developed by the Nevsky Design Bureau. Laid down at the Baltic shipyard Yantar in December 2004, and launched only in May 2012.With a hull length of 120 meters and a width of 16.5 meters, the BDK of project 11711 has a displacement of 5 thousand tons. Speed - up to 18 knots. Crew size - 100 people. The ship will be able to carry on board 13 tanks or 36 infantry fighting vehicles, as well as up to 300 paratroopers.
The BDK is armed with three 30-mm six-barreled AK-630 gun mounts. One Ka-27 search and rescue helicopter or Ka-29 transport and combat helicopter is based on the deck.
The large landing ship "Ivan Gren" of project 11711 (according to NATO codification Ivan Gren) will soon become the most modern landing ship in the Russian fleet. BDK "Ivan Gren" is designed for landing, transportation of military equipment, as well as various equipment and cargo. In total, two ships of this project were laid down for the Russian Navy. The lead ship "Ivan Gren" is undergoing the final stage of state tests, the second large landing craft "Pyotr Morgunov" is being prepared for launching. The Russian military abandoned the further construction of ships of this project in favor of creating even larger and more spacious ships of this class.
At the end of December 2017, the general director of the Yantar Baltic shipbuilding plant, Eduard Efimov, told reporters that the Ivan Gren large landing ship had reached the final stage of state trials. Shortly before this, the newest Russian ship conducted its first firing and tested naval artillery in the Baltic Sea. It is worth noting that the Ivan Gren is a ship with a very difficult fate, it was laid down in Kaliningrad on December 23, 2004, but was launched only on May 18, 2012 and has not yet been included in the fleet. At the initial stage, the assembly of the ship was seriously complicated by unstable funding and problems at the enterprise itself.
Wherein new ship the Navy is no doubt waiting. Entering it into the fleet will significantly expand the capabilities of the Russian Navy at sea and in remote regions of the planet. The landing ship of the Ivan Gren ocean zone of project 11711 will be able to take on board up to 300 marines, as well as 13 main battle tanks (weighing up to 60 tons) or a choice of up to 36 armored personnel carriers / infantry fighting vehicles, military equipment is located on the tank deck. Also on board the ship there is a covered hangar and a take-off area for helicopters. It can take on board up to two Ka-29 transport and combat helicopters, or Ka-27 search and rescue helicopters. If necessary, an attack helicopter can also be placed on board.
Project 11711 large landing ships are further development Soviet BDK project 1171 "Tapir". The design of the ships of the new project was carried out by the Nevsky Design Bureau. The hull of the Project 1171 ships was not taken as a basis by chance; it has proven itself well over decades of service in the Soviet and then Russian fleet. At the same time, most of the structures within the framework of the new project have undergone significant changes. Mainly superstructures and interior spaces landing ship.
During the construction of the large landing ship "Ivan Gren" the most modern technologies, in particular, aimed at reducing visibility through the use of modern technical solutions and materials. In addition, increased attention was paid to the conditions for the accommodation of the ship's crew and paratroopers. A gym, a dining room, as well as more comfortable cockpits and cabins appeared on board the BDK.
The loading of military equipment onto the ship can be carried out either independently on ramps or with the help of cranes. Loading of cargo and equipment into the troop compartment can be carried out through a four-leaf cargo hatch located in the upper deck using a crane with a lifting capacity of 16 tons. For loading on board motor boats, boats and equipment, there are also two boat cranes on board.
Among other things, the ship's cargo hatch can be used for ventilation, removing exhaust gases from operating equipment from the deck space (troop compartment). Ventilation of the troop compartment is very important, as it allows the transported equipment to warm up the engines, which is very important in conditions of low air temperatures. Exhaust fumes from idling vehicles quickly fill the troop hold, so ventilation through the upper cargo hatch is a must, thanks to this, the paratroopers will not be poisoned by exhaust fumes.
The main feature or “chip” of the Project 11711 ships is the so-called non-contact method of landing troops on an unequipped coast.
To do this, engineering pontoons can be pushed into the water from the open bow flaps, which, when coupled, form a bridge to the shore. This pontoon bridge docks with the shore, on which the landing is made, after which it is used to ferry heavy equipment and marines. This landing scheme allows you to maintain a distance between the BDK and the shore, seriously reducing the risk of running aground.
The capabilities of the Ivan Gren large landing ship allow it to transport tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, army trucks or towed artillery over a distance of up to 3.5 thousand nautical miles (at a speed of 16 knots) by sea. Military equipment is transported on the so-called tank deck. Equipment can be loaded on board different ways: deck or gantry crane, she can also drive on board the vessel under her own power through the stern ramp.
In addition to military equipment, the BDK can carry various cargoes, including standard 20-foot sea containers. In standard 20-foot shipping containers, among other things, the Club-K missile system, which is a modification of the Caliber missile system, can also be placed. At the same time, it is unlikely that any missile systems will appear on board the Ivan Gren large landing ship, since countering enemy ships is not included in its direct tasks.
Light floating armored personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles and infantry fighting vehicles can be launched into the sea directly from the stern and bow of the ship, they are able to get to the shore on their own. Landing is possible with sea waves up to 4 points. Due to the range of the Ivan Gren, it has the ability to remotely land, it is able to patrol a certain region for a month, the navigation autonomy is exactly 30 days.
The total displacement of the landing ship is 5,000 tons, length - 120 meters, width - 16.5 meters, draft - 3.6 meters. The heart of the BDK "Ivan Gren" are two 16-cylinder V-shaped diesel engines 10D49 with a gas turbine supercharged power of 5200 hp. The capabilities of the power plant allow you to accelerate the ship to a maximum speed of 18 knots. The crew of the ship consists of 100 people.
The most modern BDKs in the Russian fleet before the advent of Project 11711 ships were Polish-built BDKs of Project 755. Ivan Gren surpasses them in terms of displacement - 5000 tons versus 4080 tons for Project 755 ships, in addition, the new Russian landing ship is 8 meters longer, 1.5 meters wider and 1.3 meters deeper in the water. Accordingly, its landing capabilities are higher.
As part of the work on the project and the construction of the ship, its armament has undergone changes. According to the original design, one AK-176M 76-mm artillery mount, two Broadsword anti-aircraft artillery systems and two launchers of the A-215 Grad-M multiple launch rocket system were to appear on board the BDK. However, due to the fact that the concept of using the BDK project 11711 has changed, as well as to save money and time to build the ship in 2010, it was decided to change the composition of the armament, which today is purely defensive in nature.
The armament of the Ivan Gren BDK is represented by one AK-630M-2 two-automatic shipborne 30-mm automatic artillery mount, two AK-630 mounts with a 5P-10-03 Laska radar fire control system, two 14.5-mm MTPU mounts " Sting", as well as the complex of fired passive interference KT-308-04 "Prosvet-M", this complex protects the ship from enemy missiles.
AK-630M-2 "Duet"- This is a modern two-automatic 30-mm automatic artillery mount, which provides a huge rate of fire - up to 10,000 rounds per minute. Its main purpose is to provide anti-missile defense of the Navy ships in the near zone. First of all, it is designed to destroy anti-ship missiles and other types of guided weapons. Also, the installation can solve the problem of hitting enemy aircraft, helicopters and UAVs, small-sized surface and coastal targets. The effective firing range is 4000 meters.
The AK-630M-2 and AK-630 installations are built according to the scheme of multi-barreled weapons (6 barrels each) with a rotating barrel block (the so-called Gatling scheme). The automation of Russian installations of this type is powered by the energy of powder gases and, unlike foreign counterparts (Phalanx CIWS and Goalkeeper), does not require external energy sources to rotate the barrel assembly. The AK-630M-2 Duet installation installed on the Ivan Gren landing ship became a further modernization of the AK-630M1-2 complex, from which it visually differs in a tower that received less radar visibility.
In addition to rapid-fire artillery weapons, there are two large-caliber machine guns on board. This MTPU "Sting" - 14.5 mm naval pedestal machine gun mounts, which are designed to combat air, surface and coastal lightly armored targets. Large-caliber machine guns can effectively hit lightly armored targets at ranges up to 2,000 meters and 1,500 meters in height. For firing at air, surface and coastal targets, cartridges with an armor-piercing incendiary bullet B-32, an armor-piercing tracer bullet BZT, and an instantaneous incendiary bullet MDZ are used.
On the Internet and various media, one could come across allegations that the new Russian BDK project 11711 is supposedly a kind of replacement for the Mistral-type universal landing dock ships built in France, but never transferred to the Russian Federation, but this is absolutely false. Firstly, the construction of the Ivan Gren large landing ship began long before the decision of the Ministry of Defense to purchase Mistrals in France, and secondly, it is difficult to compare the ships even in terms of their technical capabilities, mainly in size. It is not correct to compare them because huge difference in displacement (more than 4 times), as well as in size aviation group(Mistrals can carry up to 16 light helicopters).
AK-630M-2 "Duet" - Russian naval two-automatic 30-mm automatic artillery mount
It is more correct to compare the new Russian BDK project 11711 with Chinese ships Type 072-III (Yuting-II class), which are large tank landing craft, which are the main landing craft in the naval forces China. With similar characteristics and dimensions, the Russian project is favorably distinguished by the presence of a full-fledged helicopter hangar on board.
Despite the fact that Russian sailors are not interested in the further acquisition of the BDK project 11711 (information about this appeared in 2015), abandoning them in favor of larger ships of the new generation, it is still too early to put an end to the future prospects of the BDK project 11711. Currently, the ship already has an export appearance passport, so it can be promoted by Russia for export. This was reported by the Zvezda TV channel with reference to Sergei Vlasov, who is the general director of the Nevsky Design Bureau. Judging by the official catalog of the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), we are talking about project 11711E, which received a displacement increased to 6600 tons.
Larger landing craft, which in the future may appear in the Russian fleet, can be attributed. Within the framework of the Army-2015 forum, a model of universal landing ships of the Surf project was presented for the first time with a displacement of more than 14 thousand tons and a capacity of up to 500 paratroopers, 20-30 tanks or 60 units of various military equipment. Among other things, these ships will be able to take on board up to 8 Ka-27 or Ka-52K helicopters.
Three hundred heavily armed marines, 13 main battle tanks or - to choose from - about 40 armored personnel carriers / infantry fighting vehicles, as well as two assault helicopters. Such a mini-army can easily fit on board a large ocean landing ship (BDK) of project 11711 "Ivan Gren".
Until the end of the year, the Andreevsky flag will be raised on it, and the Gren will officially become part of the Northern Fleet. This "paratrooper" is the first Russian ship of this class, capable of disembarking people and heavy equipment without contact with the shore. About what he surpassed his predecessors and what place he will take in the fleet - in the material of RIA Novosti.
Marines with delivery
Apart from the flotilla of small and medium-sized landing ships, there are only about two dozen BDKs in the Navy today. These are ships of the Soviet projects 775 (of the "Caesar Kunikov" type) and 1171 (of the "Nikolai Filchenkov" type). If the former are still relatively young, then the age of the latter is already approaching the venerable age. For example, Saratov was launched in 1964. And although the ships are regularly repaired, it is obvious that they will need to be replaced very soon. "Ivan Gren" is a direct descendant of the BDK project 1171 "Tapir", or rather, its development. Even in terms of basic characteristics, they are similar: the "grandfather" that looks like a dry cargo ship also has a solid displacement and can carry 300 marines and two dozen tanks.
Polish-built flat-bottomed Project 755 ships, which now form the basis of the BDK fleet, are inferior to the Ivan Gren in size and capacity. For comparison: the total displacement of the new ship is 5000 tons against 4080 for the Polish "brother". In addition, it is eight meters longer, one and a half meters wider and sits 1.3 meters deeper in the water. If "Caesar Kunikov" can accommodate 190 marines and ten tanks (or 24 armored personnel carriers), then "Gren" - 300 and 13, respectively. The ships of the 775th project were built in two series, moreover, a third was planned - specifically for the transportation of T-80 gas turbine tanks. It is noteworthy that the lead BDK of this series was called "Rear Admiral Gren". They managed to lay it in Gdansk, but after the collapse of the USSR they cut it into metal.
Guns and "Katrans"
The new BDK is somewhat superior to the Project 755 ships, not only in terms of carrying capacity, but also in terms of the power of onboard weapons. In addition to the AK-176M and AK-630M-2 "Duet" (10,000 rounds per minute), it carries two A-215 "Grad-M" multiple rocket launchers of 122 mm caliber. Each includes a laser rangefinder, a control system, 40 guides and throws rockets at a distance of up to 20 kilometers with a rate of fire of two pieces per second. The massive strike of the "Grad" literally sweeps away the manpower and light armored vehicles of the enemy. Thus, the ship is able, even without the support of other forces of the fleet, to cover the landing with dense rocket and artillery fire. Several launchers of the electronic suppression complex will help him protect himself from enemy missiles. Although, as a rule, ships of this class are used not alone, but as part of a powerful landing group.
For the construction of the Gren, the latest developments in shipbuilding were used, high-strength materials and even technologies for reducing visibility were used. There are practically no restrictions on the types of military equipment transported, as long as its total mass does not exceed the permissible one. The BDK can transport tanks, armored personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles, army trucks or towed artillery over distances of up to 3.5 thousand nautical miles. All this economy is located on the so-called tank deck. Equipment can be loaded in different ways: by a portal or deck crane, it can also drive along the aft ramp under its own power. In addition, the BDK can carry standard 20-foot shipping containers. The aft superstructure is equipped with a hangar for the Ka-29 assault transport helicopter or the Ka-52K Katran attack helicopter.
Bridge to the coast
Grena's trademark is the so-called non-contact method of landing troops on an unequipped coast. To do this, one after another, engineering pontoons are pushed onto the water from the open bow gates, which form a bridge when coupled. He "joins" with coastline and serves as a ferry for heavy equipment and marines. Such a scheme allows you to maintain a distance between the ship and the shore and reduces the risk of running aground.
Light floating infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles can be launched directly into the sea both from the stern and from the bow: they will reach the shore on their own. Interestingly, immediately before landing, tanks and infantry fighting vehicles usually idle, and the landing hold quickly fills with exhaust gases. So that the paratroopers do not get poisoned, they open the upper cargo hatch. Landing is possible with sea waves up to four points.
The "heart" of the BDK is two 16-cylinder V-shaped diesel engines 10D49 with gas turbine supercharging with a capacity of 5200 horsepower. They accelerate the ship to a maximum speed of 18 knots. In autonomous navigation, "Gren" can be up to a month. For a crew of about 100 people and marines, there are quite comfortable accommodation conditions in cabins and cockpits, there is even a gym.
Ivan Gren "- the lead ship of project 11711. The Nevsky Design Bureau worked on it for several years, the project was repeatedly reworked to meet the changing requirements of the Ministry of Defense. The Yantar Baltic Shipyard was engaged in the construction. The second ship of the series, Pyotr Morgunov, is now being completed there. It is planned to transfer it to the fleet in 2018. No more such ships will be built - the command abandoned them in favor of even larger and more capacious ones.
Large landing ships are versatile workhorses, without which no serious military operation in countries with access to the sea. It was on them that in 1986 the citizens of the USSR were evacuated from the engulfed in fire civil war Yemen, and in the early 1990s - the personnel of the Soviet naval base Nokra from Ethiopia. During the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict, refugees and Russian tourists were taken out of the combat zone on "paratroopers". In 1999, BDK Black Sea Fleet participated in the transfer of the Russian contingent of peacekeeping forces to Yugoslavia, and in August 2008 they landed troops in the Georgian port of Poti. critical role these ships played in the operation of the Russian Armed Forces in Syria. In addition to transporting goods, people and equipment, BDKs can also be effectively used for laying sea mines.
