Projects of warships of the future the largest blog on the Runet. Russian Navy of the 21st century: promising ships and weapons. ship of the future "Proteus"

What will the warships of the future be like? So far, the first prototypes and published sketches evoke images of either ancient battleships or ocean transports from science fiction films. But appearance is still not the main thing.

The aspirations of engineering in the field of designing surface combat ships are a reflection of the military-political concepts of the respective countries. The first thing that catches your eye is the general fashion for low visibility, or “stealth” technology. It is these technologies that give ships a futuristic look, and the first in this series is the Swedish corvette Visby, launched back in 2000. A characteristic angular design that makes radar difficult to locate, a lightweight composite plastic body, and a minimum of protruding elements.

The Swedish concept was that a nimble and stealthy corvette would detect an enemy target in coastal waters and destroy it much faster than being detected and destroyed itself. In the January issue, PM wrote about the newest Russian corvette, Project 20380, which also uses composites and elements of stealth technology.

The design of the USS Independence is based on the high-speed ferry Benchijigua Express, developed by the Australian firm Austal. Nowadays, civilian shipbuilding is often technologically ahead of military shipbuilding.

Now, when looking at the trimaran USS Independence, a representative of the new class of Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), the characteristic features of stealth already seem to be something to be taken for granted. But if the Visby and the Russian corvette are designed to operate in the national coastal zone for defensive purposes, then the LCS is obviously designed to participate in operations primarily off foreign shores. And a lot points to this.

To distant shores

Strictly speaking, LCS are two different projects. One is a monohull ship developed by Lockheed Martin. The firstborn of the project in 2006 was the USS Freedom. The second LCS variant, the brainchild of General Dynamics, is a trimaran (number one in the series is USS Independence). Initially, the US Navy planned to choose between these two concepts, but then it was decided to complete both lines with new ships.

At the same time, since well-known arms corporations carried out similar technical specifications, the parameters and capabilities of the two types of LCS turned out to be quite close. The main thing you immediately notice is that it has a very decent range for a ship in the coastal zone. Lockheed's Freedom has a range of 3,500 nautical miles at a speed of 18 knots, while Independence's has 4,300, which is almost 8,000 km. Autonomy – 21 days. The second is the maximum speed, which is about 45 knots (83 km/h) and is provided by water jet engines. This significantly exceeds the performance of Visby (35 knots) and the mentioned Russian corvette Project 20380 (27 knots).

We are clearly talking about something more than just replacing outdated corvettes and minesweepers, especially if we remember that at the time of its launch, USS Freedom became a representative of the only class of American warships commissioned in the entire previous 20 years.

The appearance of light high-speed ships, similar in class to corvettes, was the result of awareness of a new reality. The reality was that AUGs, heavy cruisers and destroyers were well suited for projection of force during the Cold War era, but for low-intensity conflicts, thinner and cheaper tools were needed. Among American military analysts, even the concept of a “street fighter” was born - an inexpensive, small, specialized ship that can operate in shallow waters in the enemy’s coastal zone.

The idea of ​​LCS is close to this concept - Freedom or Independence can easily be imagined performing tasks somewhere off the coast of the Persian Gulf. There, such vessels could hunt for diesel submarines and high-speed missile boats (on which Iran relies), clear the waters of mines, conduct reconnaissance and ultimately clear the way for a large-scale invasion from the sea.

Simple transformations

What about specialization? This problem is easily solved due to the modularity inherent in both LCS projects. Modularity is obviously another basic trend in the development of both surface and underwater combat ships. When applied to coastal ships, this means the possibility of equipping them (depending on the upcoming operation) with a module for combating mines, a module for anti-submarine operations, or a module for countering an enemy located on the surface of water or land.

The modules are placed in special containers that are easily mounted on the ship and, if necessary, quickly replaced with others. The modules include a variety of reconnaissance equipment: for example, a robotic autonomous probe is used to detect mines, underwater sensors and air-based systems are used in anti-submarine warfare: the LCS is capable of carrying a pair of MH-60R helicopters on deck, as well as UAVs.

The surface countermeasures package includes a 30mm mk46 cannon firing 200 rounds per minute, as well as NLOS (beyond visual range of sight) launchers with precision-guided missiles.

The integral superstructure and unusual hull will make the Zumwalt-class missile-armed destroyers resemble submarines. Perhaps they will be able to fight in a semi-submerged state to ensure greater stealth.

“Closer to the shore” - this could be the slogan of many projects of promising warships. The long-touted new class of missile-armed destroyers - the so-called Zumwalt class - will perform their functions equally well both in the far sea zone and in shallow coastal waters. The first representative of this class, the DDG 1000 Zumwalt, should be launched soon.

It is characteristic that the command of the US Marine Corps showed particular interest in this destroyer, which for the first time in more than a hundred years will be built according to a design with a hull expanding at the bottom (a la the cruiser Aurora). The Marines view the Zumwalt as a powerful amphibious support weapon. The ship could help the landing force with missile and artillery strikes behind enemy lines, and would also provide air defense for the operation site. It has even been suggested that a Zumwalt-class destroyer is capable of acting as a supporting element of a Freedom or Independence-class LCS group operating in enemy coastal waters.

For the sake of operations in the coastal zone, special attention is paid to stealth, which, in fact, dictates the unusual design of the ship. And this despite the fact that Zumwalt (displacement 14,500 tons) actually has the dimensions of a battle cruiser and is significantly larger than a similar class missile-armed destroyer of the Arleigh Burke type. Zumwalt carries a helicopter and three multifunctional MQ-8 Fire Scout drones, built according to a helicopter design (the LCS is also equipped with the same).

The design of the destroyer reveals another interesting trend in shipbuilding - the transition to a single electrical source. Two Rolls-Royce Marine Trent 30 gas turbine engines spin Curtiss-Wright generators, and this electricity powers the engines that rotate the propellers. In addition, it is possible that in the future, various promising weapons systems such as railguns will be powered by electricity.

Robot ship

British BAE Systems, as a rule, actively participates in large American defense projects, but also has its own developments that are fully in line with modern high-tech trends. In particular, from around 2012, the “Global Combat ShipType 26” should enter service with the Royal Navy of Great Britain.

The Type 26 is classified as a frigate in terms of displacement (that is, it is larger than a corvette and smaller than a destroyer), and it will eventually become the “workhorse” of the fleet, which implies a high degree of versatility. This will be achieved, naturally, with the help of a modular design - the ship can be easily converted to combat piracy, humanitarian operations or the task of establishing a coastal blockade.

Britain is distinguished by very advanced developments. In addition to the high-tech Type 45 destroyers, the Type 26 frigate is being created, called the Global Combat Ship.

But perhaps the funniest English concept for a surface ship of the future (this is also a BAE project, although the timing of its implementation is unclear) can be considered the so-called UXV Combatant. This destroyer-sized ship is intended to become a floating base, focused on working with unmanned vehicles, both flying and floating.

It is assumed that the UXV Combatant will serve a small crew (about 60 people), and all takeoffs and launches of reconnaissance or attack drones will be able to be carried out automatically. Ultimately, it is probably this British project that shows where the entire arms industry in developed countries is gradually moving, and shipbuilding is no exception: soon only robots will be sent to war.

In the future, speed will come first everywhere and in everything, and we can already feel it. For ships and vessels of the future, water will be its enemy, so the long time spent on moving around the world's oceans frightens travelers and they choose fast ships on which they can get anywhere their heart desires.

ship of the future "Earthrace"

The first ship of the future has already been created and has completed several sea voyages. It is something between a ship and an airplane and is translated as a sea arrow. This is an amazing and fast enough ship that can overcome large waves, but for now only for short distances. Due to its appearance and design features, the Earthrace vessel can develop excellent speed. Its hull is capable of plunging into waves, but the most striking characteristic of this vessel is its strength. The ship's hull is made of carbon. Another feature of the Earthrace vessel is its economical propulsion system, powered by biofuel. To cross the globe, this ship will need only one container of such fuel, which is made from soybean oil and reduces the emission of harmful carbon dioxide into the environment by up to 75 percent. In the future, such sea vessels will become commonplace, and in addition, experiments are already being carried out on a developed unit that receives biofuel from seaweed.

ship of the future "Proteus"

For many years, ships and vessels traveling on the world's oceans have been faced with the problem of wave resistance. Scientists have rethought the design of the ship's hull and its capabilities. The result is a ship with an atypical shape that stands out from other seagoing vessels because it has no hull.

The ship of the future “Proteus”, which means “Prometheus”, can conquer the waves. It easily adapts to the waves of the sea environment, repeating the movement, so it does not need to overcome their resistance.

This concept is called Wave Adaptive Modular vessel (WAM-V). The creator of the first futuristic vessel of its kind was the Italian oceanographer Ugo Conti, who works at the Institute of Marine Research in North Carolina. The cost of his pilot project was US$1.5 million.

“Proteus” is a completely new type of vessel, the working part of which lightly touches the surface of the water, piercing the waves that arise along the way, and thanks to its flexibility adapts to the structure, i.e. the wave.

ship of the future "Proteus" photo

The ship of the future "Proteus" is made of several types of lightweight and durable materials: titanium, aluminum and reinforced fabrics.

The module hanging above the water can be replaced depending on the functions or purpose of the vessel. "Proteus" can be transformed from a means of transporting people into a means of transporting goods. One of the advantages of transformation is speed. Transformation does not take much time and effort.

Even fans of computer games will be able to control such ships of the future as “Proteus”. Two joystick controllers make control easy and enjoyable. The vessel also easily reaches the shore and berths without any difficulties.

Currently, Proteus is used for whale watching and underwater reconnaissance. This concept breaks the stereotypes of existing watercraft moving on waves, and may eventually be of interest to owners of cruise ships or other types of vessels.

Technical data of the ship of the future “Proteus”:

Length - 30 m;
Displacement - 12 tons;
Power plant - two diesel engines with a capacity of 355 hp. With.;
Cruising range - up to 5000 miles;
Maximum speed - 70 knots;

high-speed cargo and passenger ships of the future

We live in an era of development of water transport - it’s nice to know this. But it is one thing to operate a small ship, and another thing to operate an ocean-going ship with cargo. In addition, the time spent on cargo processing is spent irrationally.

Hydro Lance Corporation has developed designs for new vessels of various types, which in the future will include important aspects - speed of movement and loading, transformation and on-board amenities.

high-speed container transport ship

High-speed cargo-passenger container ship

multipurpose tanker

high-speed gas carrier type vessel (LNG)

These ships will be able to cross the Atlantic in 3 days without any problems. Their design will allow them to reach speed in all weather conditions as they are not subject to wave impacts due to the hull design.

But in the world of cargo transportation, the question of how to quickly load or unload a vessel has long been relevant. The typical approach is becoming obsolete. About 30 containers are processed in 1 hour. Self-propelling belts and other modern devices will help load multi-ton containers filled with goods in a matter of minutes. The vast area of ​​highways will no longer take a lot of time to unload and load vehicles. Also, cranes will no longer be needed in ports or container terminals. These unique ships of the future will evenly place cargo directly on the deck and fill up with cargo fairly quickly.

Sea ports will not be needed to receive passengers on board, because the design of cargo-passenger ships of the future will allow them to easily approach the shores.

ship of the future for transporting cars “E/S Orcelle”

The world consumes millions of liters of fuel per day. With unstable prices for petroleum products and limited reserves of these minerals, engineers are constantly looking for alternative energy sources. Huge cargo ships release millions of cubic meters of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year, causing enormous damage to the atmosphere and hastening the melting of glaciers at the poles. Some scientists believe that the development of shipbuilding is going the wrong way.

Swedish shipping company Wallenius Wilhelmsen's engineers were given free reign, resulting in a cargo ship that harnesses the energy of the environment. "E/S Orcelle" is a new concept in the field of cargo ships of the future.

The futuristic cargo ship will be the first of its kind to use three alternative energy sources - sun, wind and waves.

Its eight decks, equal in area to 14 football fields (85,000 sq. m.), will accommodate up to 10,000 cars. Three cargo decks will be adjustable in height and will allow for the transport of large loads.

The creators of the long-distance ship of the future “E/S Orcelle” were inspired by the conqueror of distant spaces - the albatross. It is believed that 90 percent of its energy comes from nature. Like this bird, the amazing E/S Orcelle project will use the environment's energy to reduce its own consumption.

The atypical design of the ship's hull and the absence of traditional propellers and rudder will eliminate one of the main threats to the world's oceans - ballast water.

The vessel's hull will be made of aluminum and thermoplastic composite materials, which will give it strength, minimum maintenance, and ease of processing and disposal.

The first alternative source on the ship of the future will be solar energy. Three huge sails, consisting of photovoltaic panels, will collect solar energy in calm weather, which will then be converted into electricity for immediate use or storage.

The second alternative source of the future ship “E/S Orcelle” will be wave energy. The cargo ship will be equipped with twelve devices - “fins”, which will be able to convert the kinetic energy of whirlpools into mechanical, and then into electricity.

And finally, fuel cells. This technology is becoming increasingly widespread today and is developing rapidly. About half of the electricity consumed by the future vessel E/S Orcelle will be generated by fuel cells. They will combine the most common chemical elements on our planet - hydrogen and oxygen - to produce electrical energy for the ship's propulsion motors, as well as generate electricity for other consumers on board.

Wallenius Wilhelmsen executives believe that shipping companies must put more effort into developing new technical solutions for maritime transport. The material costs of building the ship of the future will not be cheap and will be much higher than the construction of a standard cargo ship costing 46 million dollars, but in the future, with the development of the technologies used, the costs will become lower and naturally economically profitable. The Wallenius Wilhelmsen company plans to build the car transport vessel E/S Orcelle by 2025.

Technical data of the future cargo ship “E/S Orcelle”:

Length - 250 m;
Width - 50 m;
Height - 40 m;
Draft - 9 m;
Displacement - 21,000 tons;
Speed ​​- 27 knots;

I would like to believe that the trends and solutions already obtained will be applied to existing ships in the near future. By connecting with the ocean, humanity will change the world. We will conquer the waves, receiving energy from nature itself, and will descend into the depths to explore new territories.

Ships of the future will change our lives

The prospect of future weapons built on new physical principles appearing on warships increases the interest of military sailors in the topic of electric propulsion. The idea of ​​incorporating weapons and the propulsion system of a ship into a single circuit based on electrical energy is, in fact, what gives additional arguments to supporters of “full electric propulsion.” Accordingly, this topic is becoming an important area of ​​work for design engineers employed at enterprises of the domestic shipbuilding industry. “Weapon systems built on new physical principles” is a kind of general broad definition, which includes, in particular, promising systems that use an electromagnetic pulse for temporary or even permanent disabling of radar stations, computers and other radio engineering and digital systems of enemy ships. In addition, it is possible to use the ship's electricity to launch and accelerate a certain projectile. It is important that such systems require a large supply of electricity on board the ship and the ability to restore/maintain it without entering a base. “Full electric propulsion” is realized when the propeller (or other propulsion device) is driven only by an electric motor in all modes of the ship’s motion. If there is a mechanical source on board (diesel, turbine, etc.) that has the ability to rotate the propeller shaft (usually at high speeds), then there is a “direct drive with an auxiliary electric motor”, in simple words, “partial electric motion.” “Full” electric propulsion”, built to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy and then back into mechanical energy, reduces overall efficiency. Both shipbuilders and naval sailors have to take this fact into account. It seems that in relation to the creation of the next generation surface ship, the approach was in accordance with the tasks it solved. The expected appearance of electromagnetic cannons (for cruisers, destroyers) and catapults (on aircraft carriers) seems to make some energy losses when converting from one type to another justified. Ion-Lithium battery In this regard, and also taking into account the trend towards an increase in the overall energy consumption of various ship systems (including radar, sonar, control system, etc.), designers have to be more attentive to the topic of generating and storing electrical energy. Scientifically and technologically advanced countries of the world are actively working on high-capacity lithium batteries. In this area, domestic specialists have achieved encouraging results, including use in the navy. In particular, the Central Design Bureau of Marine Equipment Rubin, the creator of submarines of projects 955 Borei, 677 Lada and others, announced the completion of the development and testing of a ion-lithium battery for submarines.
Note that batteries labeled Ion-Lithium have long been widely used in portable devices (mobile phones, etc.) and have proven themselves well. However, they have not yet found their place in naval affairs. Meanwhile, they have a number of advantages over classic acid batteries, including increased capacity, the ability to withstand increased discharge and charging currents, a long life cycle, lower operating costs, and so on. Historical aspect Our compatriots were among the first to try an electric traction motor on surface vessels. Its design was proposed by the Russian physicist Boris Semenovich Jacobi. A pleasure boat with a capacity of 12 passengers was used, which covered several tens of kilometers during testing. The text of Kruzenshtern’s report to Count Uvarov has been preserved, which, in particular, says: “On September 13, 1838, an experiment was carried out on the Neva in sailing a vessel driven by electromagnetic force.” It is worth noting that the boat did not have an alternative power plant, which means that the principle of “full electric propulsion” was implemented on it. So this direction in shipbuilding cannot be considered something completely new. The next interesting stage in the history of domestic shipbuilding was the construction at the beginning of the last century of the Vandal motor ship with a diesel-electric power plant designed by Konstantin Petrovich Boklevsky. The chosen circuit (a diesel engine drove an electric generator, which charged the battery, and then the current went to a DC motor) had an efficiency of less than 85%. The ship was in active use for a long time and was decommissioned after the revolution due to wear and damage. In the 50s, the Soviet Union built a series of diesel-electric ships. Such vessels have become widespread and continue to be used in commercial shipping. Modern electric ships have an efficiency several percent higher than that of the Vandal.
Today, electric motors are used on ships both as auxiliary propulsion and as part of the main power plant. Since modern engines are high-speed, it is necessary to install a reduction gear between them and the propeller, the power loss in which is about 2%. And in the case of an electrical system, it is necessary to use generators and frequency converters with an overall efficiency of less than 90%. This is lower than a “purely mechanical” system (eg gas turbine and main turbo gear unit). In a word, in economic terms, electric propulsion is unprofitable. If the invention of the electric propulsion motor gave a sharp impetus to the development of underwater shipbuilding, then in relation to surface combat ships it solved only auxiliary problems. Meanwhile, enthusiasts for the wider use of “electromagnetic force” are not translated. In an effort to generate interest in the topic, they introduce new terms such as “advanced applications of electric propulsion” and the like.
The desire to describe a long-known trend with another beautiful phrase makes specialists smile and once again proves the validity of the popular statement that “the new is the well-forgotten old.” At the same time, one cannot fail to note the positive aspects characteristic of electric propulsion. Anti-submarine ship For military sailors, it is important to completely reduce unmasking signs, and the electric propulsion motor (PEM) is considered the quietest of all common types of ship power plants. True, for a surface ship, reducing the acoustic field is not as important as for an underwater ship. Since the main unmasking factor is visibility in the radar (radio waves reflected from the side and superstructures) and infrared fields (power plant based on internal combustion engines).
Perhaps the most relevant reduction of one’s own hydroacoustic field seems to be in relation to the case of an anti-submarine (or patrol) ship. As a rule, the search for enemy submarines is carried out in low and medium speed mode (no more than 15 knots) using hydroacoustic systems with towed, submersible and under-keel antennas, the range of which depends on the noise and vibration “portraits” of the carrier ship. There are known examples of how individual designers are trying to reduce the acoustic characteristics of a ship by reducing the length of the shafts, arguing that this is achieved by properly placing the elements of the power plant inside the hull and superstructure. Some of these solutions were used on the English type 45 Daring destroyers with a power plant of two Rolls-Royce gas turbines, a pair of Wärtsilä diesel generators and Converteam electric motors.
Six such EVs were built for the Royal Navy between 2003 and 2013. All ship generators generate alternating current, which simplifies their design and control (it is not yet possible to create high-power generators using direct current). Transformers are used to convert alternating current into direct current (propulsion motors operate on direct current), one for each electric motor. The United States has been building new generation Zumwalt destroyers since 2008. The power plant includes gas turbines and asynchronous electric motors with a power of 36.5 MW and an operating voltage of 6600 V. On the third ship DDG-1002 Lyndon B. Johnson it is planned to install a high-temperature superconducting synchronous motor with permanent magnets with a power of 36.5 MW and a shaft rotation speed of two revolutions per give me a sec. The initial operation of the lead DDG-1000 Zumwalt since October last year has been accompanied by numerous breakdowns. The main power plant failed on November 22, 2016, while the destroyer was passing through the Panama Canal. The immobilized ship had to be towed to the base using ordinary ships, not burdened with multimillion-dollar power plants of the newfangled type. "Partial electric propulsion" Realizing that at high speed (over 18 knots) it will not be possible to radically reduce the noise of the ship (due to the phenomenon of propeller cavitation and other reasons), well-known domestic designers of anti-submarine ships are more favorable towards the use of the so-called “partial electric propulsion”. Note that the first word in this combination removes the deep touch of “scientificness” and “innovation”, so desired by the ears of high-level officials and inventors thirsting for fame and money, and therefore is perceived negatively by them. However, from a practical point of view, it is “partial electric propulsion" represents the most interesting direction for warships. In addition to noise reduction, it also makes it possible to improve the maneuverability of ships, especially when passing through narrow places, mooring, etc. The use of an electric motor as a shunting device is desirable, since it is possible to easily set/change the frequency and direction of rotation of the propeller shaft and, consequently, the speed and the direction of movement of the ship. Currently, auxiliary electric motors are widely used on floating cranes, ferries, tugs and icebreakers.
The implementation of the “partial electric propulsion” approach on an attack ship (for example, a “destroyer” class) can be embodied in the fact that sustainer gas turbines will remain on board (they will provide high efficiency). And in a “chase” situation, electric motors will be additionally used (possibly in conjunction with diesel generators), which can also be used for maneuvering and/or in “quiet running” mode, when it is necessary to ensure better operating conditions for hydroacoustics. Azipods Despite many complicating factors, enthusiasts persistently promote the ideas of electric propulsion and even insist on a complete abandonment of classic propellers in favor of the so-called “rudder propeller complexes” (RPC). One of the options for their implementation is the use of a traction electric motor in a submerged container-fairing (podded drive), placed outside the ship's hull. An example of a traction control motor is the so-called azipod, proposed by ABB engineers. They have been practicing similar solutions since the early 90s of the last century. The word comes from the patented English “abbreviation” Azipod (azimuthing podded propulsion system), indicating a system for providing propulsion by spatially orienting a fairing container with a propeller electric motor. Azipods are highly praised by their creators, who tirelessly improve their implementation in metal. Among the advantages of this type of propeller are the following: the possibility of a complete horizontal turn (at an angle of 360 degrees) and reversal of the propeller (propellers), which is expressed in a noticeable increase in the maneuverability of the carrier vessel, especially when moving in the port. For the promising aircraft carrier of the French Navy, the option of a combined diesel-electric/gas turbine power plant according to the CODLAG scheme of two “echelons”, each including a 40 MW propulsion gas turbine, two 9-11 MW diesel generators, two 20 MW induction propulsion engines. However, French naval sailors refused to build such a ship, deciding to spend the fleet budget on Mistral amphibious helicopter carriers with a diesel-electric power plant, including an RVK with a 7 MW power propulsion engine. It is believed that Russian interest in Mistral was caused, among other things, by the presence of an advanced version of azipods, which could subsequently find application on ships of the Russian Navy of other projects.
It is known that electric propulsion systems are used on the maritime transport of weapons "Akademik Kovalev". It was built by the Severodvinsk CS Zvezdochka and accepted by the fleet in December 2015. A special feature of Project 20181, developed by the Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau, is the propulsion system: diesel generators generate electric current that powers electric motors as part of orientable rudder complexes. Thanks to the RPK, the weapons transport has increased maneuverability and can maintain a given course in significant sea conditions, which allows it to successfully solve problems , supplied by the Navy command. Currently, the Zvezdochka Design Center is building the second ship of the Akademik Makeev project.

The prospect that the warships of the future will be equipped with weapons built on new physical principles contributes to the growing interest of military sailors in the topic of electric propulsion. The very idea, which involves combining the ship’s power plant and its weapons into a single circuit based on electrical energy, seems very tempting. This means that this topic is being increasingly studied by engineers and designers, including at Russian shipbuilding enterprises.

Weapon systems built on new physical principles can be called, in particular, promising systems that use an electromagnetic pulse to temporarily or even permanently disable radar, radio and digital systems, and computers of enemy ships. In addition, it seems possible to use the ship's electricity to launch and accelerate a projectile (railgun). One should not just forget that all such systems require very large reserves of electrical energy on board the ship, as well as the ability to restore it or maintain it at the required level without the ship entering the base.

Nowadays, electric motors are used on warships both as part of the main power plant and as auxiliary propulsion. Since modern engines are high-speed, it is necessary to place a reduction gear between them and the propeller; power losses in it can reach up to 2%. And in the case of the electrical system, it is necessary to use frequency converters and generators with an overall efficiency of less than 90%. This is lower than that of a “purely mechanical” system (eg gas turbine and main turbo gear unit). Therefore, in economic terms, electric propulsion seems unprofitable.

At one time, the invention of the electric propulsion motor gave a rather sharp leap to the entire development of underwater shipbuilding, while in relation to surface combat vessels it solves only auxiliary problems. Despite this, enthusiasts for the wider use of “electromagnetic force” in the navy are not disappearing. In an effort to stir up interest in this topic, they introduce new terms, for example, “extended use of electric propulsion.” It is possible to realize full electric propulsion only when the propeller (or other propulsion device) is driven only by an electric motor in all modes of motion of the ship. If there are mechanical energy sources on board the vessel (turbine, diesel engine, etc.) that have the ability to rotate the propeller shaft (most often at high speeds), then we can talk about “direct drive with an auxiliary electric motor,” or "partial electromotion".

“Full electric propulsion,” which is based on converting mechanical energy into electrical energy and then back into mechanical energy, reduces overall efficiency. This must be taken into account by both shipbuilders and sailors. It seems that the expected appearance of electromagnetic guns (on frigates, corvettes and destroyers) and catapults (on aircraft carriers) will make some of the energy losses that occur during its conversion from one type to another justified and possible.

Lithium-ion batteries for submarines

In connection with the general trend towards increasing energy consumption by various ship systems (including radar, control system, sonar and others), designers need to be more and more attentive to the issue of generating and storing electricity. In this regard, the scientifically and technologically advanced countries of the world are quite actively working on the creation of lithium-ion batteries with increased capacity. There are some successes in this area in Russia as well.

It is worth noting that the lithium-ion battery itself (Li-ion) was first released by Sony back in 1991, but for a long time these batteries were used only in the civilian sector. This type of battery is now very widespread in all household appliances and electronics, also finding application as an energy storage device in various energy systems and as an energy source in electric vehicles. Today it is the most popular type of battery for devices such as laptops, mobile phones, digital camcorders and cameras, and electric vehicles. Lithium-ion batteries have a proven track record of performance, but until recently there was no use for them in the navy. Despite the fact that such batteries have a number of important advantages over classic acid batteries, including the ability to withstand increased discharge and charging currents, increased capacity, longer life cycle, lower operating costs, etc.

Naturally, all this could not remain aloof from the designers of naval equipment. For example, at the end of 2014, the Russian Central Design Bureau Rubin, specializing in the design of submarines and the leading submarine shipbuilding bureau in our country, announced the successful completion of a test cycle of new lithium-ion batteries intended for non-nuclear submarines. The general director of the Rubin Central Design Bureau, Igor Vilnit, told reporters about this at the time. Such batteries significantly increase the autonomy of submarines, have a long service life, and also do not require complex equipment for maintenance and operation. At the same time, the Russian fleet uses rechargeable batteries, the life of which is limited, and the price, according to experts, can reach 300 million rubles. According to Andrei Dyachkov, former head of the Rubin Central Design Bureau, modern lithium-ion batteries will increase the time submarines stay under water by at least 1.4 times, while the potential of this technical idea is currently used only by 35-40 %, RIA reported.

The direction is promising for the fleet, this has long been noticed all over the world. According to the resource shephardmedia.com, in March 2020, the Japanese Naval Self-Defense Force is going to commission the world's first non-nuclear submarine (the 11th in the Soryu-class submarine series), which will receive lithium-ion batteries. This will allow the Japanese to abandon the use of not only traditional lead-acid batteries on submarines, but also air-independent Stirling engines.

Japanese non-nuclear submarine SS 503 Hakuryū of the Soryu class.

According to retired Vice Admiral Masao Kobayashi, the use of lithium-ion batteries "should dramatically change the performance of non-nuclear submarines." Such batteries provide submarines with an underwater cruising duration that is comparable to the cruising duration when using air-independent power plants (VNEU) at low speeds; however, due to their high capacity, they can provide a fairly long underwater cruising duration at high speeds, which is especially important for submarines when they go on the attack or when evading the enemy. Moreover, unlike the VNEU, the submarine is able to constantly replenish the energy reserve in the lithium-ion batteries by recharging the batteries using the RDP device (a device for operating the engine under water).

According to Vice Admiral Kobayashi, lithium-ion batteries also have shorter recharging times than lead-acid batteries due to their higher charging current. Also, such batteries are more durable, and electrical circuits using them are easier to build electrical networks and control. The other side of the coin is the high cost of lithium-ion batteries. So the contract price of the 11th submarine of the Soryu class is 64.4 billion yen (about 566 million dollars), versus 51.7 billion yen (454 million dollars) for the tenth submarine of the same type. Almost the entire difference in the price of submarines will be due to lithium-ion batteries and related electrical systems.

Use of propulsion motors

For military sailors, reducing unmasking signs is very important. This is best facilitated by the use of a propulsion electric motor (PEM), which is considered the quietest of all ship propulsion systems common today. True, for a surface vessel, reducing the acoustic field is not as important as for the submarine fleet. The thing is that the main unmasking factor for surface ships is visibility in radar (radio waves are well reflected from superstructures and sides), as well as infrared fields (the power plant is built on the basis of an internal combustion engine).

Therefore, for surface ships, the most relevant reduction in the hydroacoustic field seems to be for specialized vessels - anti-submarine (patrol) ships. Most often, they search for enemy submarines at low and medium speed - no more than 15 knots (about 28 km/h) using hydroacoustic systems with towed, submersible and under-keel antennas. The range of such antennas directly depends on the vibration and noise “portraits” of the carrier ship; the lower the ship’s speed, the more efficiently the antennas work.

Propulsion engine model, render realred.ru

It is lower noise that is the main advantage of installations with electric propulsion. No other power plant can be made less noisy than a plant with an electric motor. In this case, a significant contribution to the overall noise “background” of the ship is made by the propeller shaft, which is rigidly connected through a gearbox to the main engines. To reduce this noise, special couplings are used. In addition, the vibration of the engines is transmitted to the hull plating (ship engines, gearboxes, and mechanisms are placed on a foundation that is rigidly connected to the hull frame, which in turn is connected to the hull plating). It is the hull of the ship that emits vibrations into the external environment (water), and this is the source of noise, which is called structural noise. To reduce “structural noise”, it is widely practiced to install all mechanisms on shock absorbers.

In power plants with full electric propulsion, the propeller shaft is in no way connected with the main (for it) source of noise - the main engine, since in all modes of propulsion it is rotated only by an electric motor. In addition, in the “electric” main power plant, the generator together with the prime mover can be located even in the superstructure of the ship (for example, this is how some of the diesel generators are placed on the British Project 23 frigates), removing them as far as possible from the outer hull of the ship.

True, at a speed of more than 15 knots, all the advantages of electric propulsion in terms of noiselessness of such a move end. This is due to the fact that the main component of underwater noise (at some distance from the ship) is the noise from propeller cavitation. Therefore, on warships it makes sense to deal with reducing noise from power plants only at speeds up to 15 knots. Therefore, the use of electric propulsion can only be used to provide the ship with a search motion, which is suitable for anti-submarine vessels.

Today there are examples where individual designers tried to reduce the acoustic signature of warships by reducing the length of the shafts, arguing that such a solution is achieved through the proper placement of power plant elements inside the warship’s hull and superstructure. Some of these solutions were actually implemented in practice, for example, on the British type 45 Daring destroyers, the power plant of which consists of 2 Rolls-Royce gas turbines, a pair of Wärtsilä diesel generators, and Converteam electric motors. From 2003 to 2011, 6 such destroyers were built for the KVMS.

Type 45 destroyer Daring

In the United States, the construction of promising new generation destroyers, designated Zumwalt, is actively underway. Work started back in 2008, the lead ship of the series entered service in October 2016. The ship's power plant includes gas turbines and asynchronous electric motors with a power of 36.5 MW with an operating voltage of 6600 V. It is planned to install a high-temperature superconducting synchronous motor with permanent magnets on the third ship of the DDG-1002 Lyndon B. Johnson series, its power will be the same 36.5 MW , and the shaft rotation speed is 2 revolutions per second. At the same time, the initial operation of the new generation destroyer demonstrated to the whole world that it is still unreliable and suffers from childhood illnesses; its operation is accompanied by numerous breakdowns. So on November 22, 2016, the power plant of the destroyer Zumwalt failed while it was passing through the Panama Canal. The immobilized ship had to be towed to the base using the most ordinary tugs, which were not burdened with new type of power plants.

Another positive quality of electric propulsion, in addition to reducing noise, is increasing the maneuverability of ships. For both a gas turbine and a diesel engine, there is a minimum power value, and therefore there is a minimum sustainable speed value. While with the help of an electric motor you can quite easily change the frequency and direction of rotation of the propeller shaft, and therefore the speed and direction of movement of the vessel. Thanks to this, the main power plant with an electric motor has been used for quite a long time on those ships that, according to their purpose, must have the greatest possible maneuverability: tugs, ferries, icebreakers, floating cranes, etc.

Azipods

In the future, another undoubted advantage of electric propulsion for warships may be the abandonment of the use of propeller shafts. Since 1992, propeller-rudder complexes (RPCs) with a submerged propeller motor (podded drive) began to be quite widely used as electric propulsion motors (PEM), in which the PPM was moved outside the ship's hull and installed in an underwater capsule (cocoon) with high hydrodynamic properties.

Azipod - azimuthing podded propulsion system

Typical propellers are created with either one thrust or two coaxial (traction and thrust) screws. In our country, the most widespread are Finnish systems under the designation “Azipod” (Azipod - azimuthing podded propulsion system) with one thrust screw and a motor with a power of 1.5 to 4.5 MW. The main advantages of the propeller are: the ability to rotate the capsule in a horizontal plane by 360 degrees at once, that is, reverse the direction of rotation of the propeller at 100% power; shafting and the ability to operate a fixed pitch propeller at low speeds (up to 0.1 from normal). In addition, the VRK allows you to significantly reduce the level of vibration and noise of the power plant, as well as install electrical power equipment in places that are difficult to access for cargo placement, this, in turn, allows designers to use the usable space of the ship more efficiently.

The most efficient source of current for propellers is called the alternating current network, which allows not only to increase the efficiency and reliability of the main power plant, but also to use asynchronous motors equipped with a squirrel-cage rotor and which do not require maintenance during operation to drive the propeller. In order to improve the starting qualities of an asynchronous drive, deep-slot and double-cage rotors of special design are often used. The speed of the propeller in systems called Azipod can be adjusted using thyristor frequency converters. The use of propeller control systems in practice significantly increases the maneuverability of ships and allows even fairly large ones to navigate the port without assistance from tugs. In addition, the absence of propeller shafts increases the useful volume in the ship's hull.

It is known that electric propulsion systems were used on the Russian weapons transport Akademik Kovalev, which was built at the Zvyozdochka CS in Severodvinsk and accepted into the fleet in December 2015. A special feature of the Project 20180TV ship, created by specialists from the Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau, was its propulsion system: the ship’s diesel generators generate electricity, which powers the electric motors as part of the orientable rudder complexes. Thanks to the presence of a military control system on the ship, this weapons transport is characterized by increased maneuverability; it can maintain a given course in significant sea conditions and successfully solve the tasks assigned to it by the Navy command. Currently, the Zvezdochka Design Center is building a second ship within the framework of the same project.

Experts believe that underwater and surface ships with electric propulsion, the most common today, will only be improved in the future, especially taking into account the increasingly widespread use of propeller-rudder systems. At the same time, in the future, electric propulsion on naval ships in all countries of the world will become increasingly widespread.

Information sources:
https://tvzvezda.ru/news/opk/content/201706150803-999y.htm
http://bmpd.livejournal.com/2443028.html
http://www.arms-expo.ru/news/perspektivnye_razrabotki/tskb_rubin_litievye_batarei_dlya_podlodok_proshli_ispytaniya
Tseluiko I.G. Development of electric propulsion of military fleets in the world // Young scientist. - 2012. - No. 4. - pp. 54-57.

The prospect that the warships of the future will be equipped with weapons built on new physical principles contributes to the growing interest of military sailors in the topic of electric propulsion. The very idea, which involves combining the ship’s power plant and its weapons into a single circuit based on electrical energy, seems very tempting. This means that this topic is being increasingly studied by engineers and designers, including at Russian shipbuilding enterprises.

Weapon systems built on new physical principles can be called, in particular, promising systems that use an electromagnetic pulse to temporarily or even permanently disable radar, radio and digital systems, and computers of enemy ships. In addition, it seems possible to use the ship's electricity to launch and accelerate a projectile (railgun). One should not just forget that all such systems require very large reserves of electrical energy on board the ship, as well as the ability to restore it or maintain it at the required level without the ship entering the base.

Nowadays, electric motors are used on warships both as part of the main power plant and as auxiliary propulsion. Since modern engines are high-speed, it is necessary to place a reduction gear between them and the propeller; power losses in it can reach up to 2%. And in the case of the electrical system, it is necessary to use frequency converters and generators with an overall efficiency of less than 90%. This is lower than that of a “purely mechanical” system (eg gas turbine and main turbo gear unit). Therefore, in economic terms, electric propulsion seems unprofitable.

At one time, the invention of the electric propulsion motor gave a rather sharp leap to the entire development of underwater shipbuilding, while in relation to surface combat vessels it solves only auxiliary problems. Despite this, enthusiasts for the wider use of “electromagnetic force” in the navy are not disappearing. In an effort to stir up interest in this topic, they introduce new terms, for example, “extended use of electric propulsion.”

It is possible to realize full electric propulsion only when the propeller (or other propulsion device) in all modes of ship motion is driven only by an electric motor. If there are mechanical energy sources on board the vessel (turbine, diesel engine, etc.) that have the ability to rotate the propeller shaft (most often at high speeds), then we can talk about “direct drive with an auxiliary electric motor,” or "partial electromotion".

“Full electric propulsion,” which is based on converting mechanical energy into electrical energy and then back into mechanical energy, reduces overall efficiency. This must be taken into account by both shipbuilders and sailors. It seems that the expected appearance of electromagnetic guns (on frigates, corvettes and destroyers) and catapults (on aircraft carriers) will make some of the energy losses that occur during its conversion from one type to another justified and possible.

Lithium-ion batteries for submarines

In connection with the general trend towards increasing energy consumption by various ship systems (including radar, control system, sonar and others), designers need to be more and more attentive to the issue of generating and storing electricity. In this regard, the scientifically and technologically advanced countries of the world are quite actively working on the creation of lithium-ion batteries with increased capacity. There are some successes in this area in Russia as well.

It is worth noting that the lithium-ion battery itself (Li-ion) was first released by Sony back in 1991, but for a long time these batteries were used only in the civilian sector. This type of battery is now very widespread in all household appliances and electronics, also finding application as an energy storage device in various energy systems and as an energy source in electric vehicles. Today it is the most popular type of battery for devices such as laptops, mobile phones, digital camcorders and cameras, and electric vehicles.

Lithium-ion batteries have a proven track record of performance, but until recently there was no use for them in the navy. Despite the fact that such batteries have a number of important advantages over classic acid batteries, including the ability to withstand increased discharge and charging currents, increased capacity, a longer life cycle, lower operating costs, etc.

Naturally, all this could not remain aloof from the designers of naval equipment. For example, at the end of 2014, the Russian Central Design Bureau Rubin, specializing in the design of submarines and the leading submarine shipbuilding bureau in our country, announced the successful completion of a test cycle of new lithium-ion batteries intended for non-nuclear submarines. The general director of the Rubin Central Design Bureau, Igor Vilnit, told reporters about this at the time. Such batteries significantly increase the autonomy of submarines, have a long service life, and also do not require complex equipment for maintenance and operation.

At the same time, the Russian fleet uses rechargeable batteries, the life of which is limited, and the price, according to experts, can reach 300 million rubles. According to Andrei Dyachkov, former head of the Rubin Central Design Bureau, modern lithium-ion batteries will increase the time submarines stay under water by at least 1.4 times, while the potential of this technical idea is currently used only by 35-40 %, RIA Novosti reported.

The direction is promising for the fleet, this has long been noticed all over the world. According to the resource shephardmedia.com, in March 2020, the Japanese Naval Self-Defense Force is going to commission the world's first non-nuclear submarine (the 11th in the Soryu-class submarine series), which will receive lithium-ion batteries. This will allow the Japanese to abandon the use of not only traditional lead-acid batteries on submarines, but also air-independent Stirling engines.

Japanese non-nuclear submarine SS 503 Hakuryū of the Soryu class.

According to retired Vice Admiral Masao Kobayashi, the use of lithium-ion batteries "should dramatically change the performance of non-nuclear submarines." Such batteries provide submarines with an underwater cruising duration that is comparable to the cruising duration when using air-independent power plants (VNEU) at low speeds; however, due to their high capacity, they can provide a fairly long underwater cruising duration at high speeds, which is especially important for submarines when they go on the attack or when evading the enemy. Moreover, unlike the VNEU, the submarine is able to constantly replenish the energy reserve in the lithium-ion batteries by recharging the batteries using the RDP device (a device for operating the engine under water).

According to Vice Admiral Kobayashi, lithium-ion batteries also have shorter recharging times than lead-acid batteries due to their higher charging current. Also, such batteries are more durable, and electrical circuits using them are easier to build electrical networks and control. The other side of the coin is the high cost of lithium-ion batteries. So the contract price of the 11th submarine of the Soryu class is 64.4 billion yen (about 566 million dollars), versus 51.7 billion yen (454 million dollars) for the tenth submarine of the same type. Almost the entire difference in the price of submarines will be due to lithium-ion batteries and related electrical systems.

Use of propulsion motors

For military sailors, reducing unmasking signs is very important. This is best facilitated by the use of a propulsion electric motor (PEM), which is considered the quietest of all ship propulsion systems common today. True, for a surface vessel, reducing the acoustic field is not as important as for the submarine fleet. The thing is that the main unmasking factor for surface ships is visibility in radar (radio waves are well reflected from superstructures and sides), as well as infrared fields (the power plant is built on the basis of an internal combustion engine).

Therefore, for surface ships, the most relevant reduction in the hydroacoustic field seems to be for specialized vessels - anti-submarine (patrol) ships. Most often, they search for enemy submarines at low and medium speed - no more than 15 knots (about 28 km/h) using hydroacoustic systems with towed, submersible and under-keel antennas. The range of such antennas directly depends on the vibration and noise “portraits” of the carrier ship; the lower the ship’s speed, the more efficiently the antennas work.

HED model

It is lower noise that is the main advantage of installations with electric propulsion. No other power plant can be made less noisy than a plant with an electric motor. In this case, a significant contribution to the overall noise “background” of the ship is made by the propeller shaft, which is rigidly connected through a gearbox to the main engines. To reduce this noise, special couplings are used. In addition, the vibration of the engines is transmitted to the hull plating (ship engines, gearboxes, and mechanisms are placed on a foundation that is rigidly connected to the hull frame, which in turn is connected to the hull plating). It is the hull of the ship that emits vibrations into the external environment (water), and this is the source of noise, which is called structural noise. To reduce “structural noise”, it is widely practiced to install all mechanisms on shock absorbers.

In power plants with full electric propulsion, the propeller shaft is in no way connected with the main (for it) source of noise - the main engine, since in all modes of propulsion it is rotated only by an electric motor. In addition, in the “electric” main power plant, the generator together with the prime mover can be located even in the superstructure of the ship (for example, this is how some of the diesel generators are placed on the British Project 23 frigates), removing them as far as possible from the outer hull of the ship.

True, at a speed of more than 15 knots, all the advantages of electric propulsion in terms of noiselessness of such a move end. This is due to the fact that the main component of underwater noise (at some distance from the ship) is the noise from propeller cavitation. Therefore, on warships it makes sense to deal with reducing noise from power plants only at speeds up to 15 knots. Therefore, the use of electric propulsion can only be used to provide the ship with a search motion, which is suitable for anti-submarine vessels.

Today there are examples where individual designers tried to reduce the acoustic signature of warships by reducing the length of the shafts, arguing that such a solution is achieved through the proper placement of power plant elements inside the warship’s hull and superstructure. Some of these solutions have actually been implemented in practice, for example, on British ones, the power plant of which consists of 2 Rolls-Royce gas turbines, a pair of Wärtsilä diesel generators, and Converteam electric motors. From 2003 to 2011, 6 such destroyers were built for the KVMS.

Type 45 destroyer Daring

In the United States, the construction of promising new generation destroyers, designated . Work started back in 2008, the lead ship of the series entered service in October 2016. The ship's power plant includes gas turbines and asynchronous electric motors with a power of 36.5 MW with an operating voltage of 6600 V. It is planned to install a high-temperature superconducting synchronous motor with permanent magnets on the third ship of the DDG-1002 Lyndon B. Johnson series, its power will be the same 36.5 MW , and the shaft rotation speed is 2 revolutions per second.

At the same time, the initial operation of the new generation destroyer demonstrated to the whole world that it is still unreliable and suffers from childhood illnesses; its operation is accompanied by numerous breakdowns. So on November 22, 2016, the power plant of the destroyer Zumwalt failed while it was passing through the Panama Canal. The immobilized ship had to be towed to the base using the most ordinary tugs, which were not burdened with new type of power plants.

Another positive quality of electric propulsion, in addition to reducing noise, is increased maneuverability of ships. For both a gas turbine and a diesel engine, there is a minimum power value, and therefore there is a minimum sustainable speed value. While with the help of an electric motor you can quite easily change the frequency and direction of rotation of the propeller shaft, and therefore the speed and direction of movement of the vessel. Thanks to this, the main power plant with an electric motor has been used for quite a long time on those ships that, according to their purpose, must have the greatest possible maneuverability: tugs, ferries, icebreakers, floating cranes, etc.

Azipods

In the future, another undoubted advantage of electric propulsion for warships may be the abandonment of the use of propeller shafts. Since 1992, propeller-rudder complexes (RPCs) with a submerged propeller motor (podded drive) began to be quite widely used as electric propulsion motors (PEM), in which the PPM was moved outside the ship's hull and installed in an underwater capsule (cocoon) with high hydrodynamic properties.

Azipod - azimuthing podded propulsion system

Typical propellers are created with either one thrust or two coaxial (traction and thrust) screws. In our country, the most widespread are Finnish systems under the designation “Azipod” (Azipod - azimuthing podded propulsion system) with one thrust screw and a motor with a power of 1.5 to 4.5 MW. The main advantages of the propeller are: the ability to rotate the capsule in a horizontal plane by 360 degrees at once, that is, reverse the direction of rotation of the propeller at 100% power; shafting and the ability to operate a fixed pitch propeller at low speeds (up to 0.1 from normal). In addition, the VRK allows you to significantly reduce the level of vibration and noise of the power plant, as well as install electrical power equipment in places that are difficult to access for cargo placement, this, in turn, allows designers to use the usable space of the ship more efficiently.

The most efficient source of current for propellers is called the alternating current network, which allows not only to increase the efficiency and reliability of the main power plant, but also to use asynchronous motors equipped with a squirrel-cage rotor and which do not require maintenance during operation to drive the propeller. In order to improve the starting qualities of an asynchronous drive, deep-slot and double-cage rotors of special design are often used. The speed of the propeller in systems called Azipod can be adjusted using thyristor frequency converters. The use of propeller control systems in practice significantly increases the maneuverability of ships and allows even fairly large ones to navigate the port without assistance from tugs. In addition, the absence of propeller shafts increases the useful volume in the ship's hull.

It is known that electric propulsion systems were used on the Russian weapons transport Akademik Kovalev, which was built at the Zvyozdochka CS in Severodvinsk and accepted into the fleet in December 2015. A special feature of the Project 20180TV ship, created by specialists from the Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau, was its propulsion system: the ship’s diesel generators generate electricity, which powers the electric motors as part of the orientable rudder complexes. Thanks to the presence of a military control system on the ship, this weapons transport is characterized by increased maneuverability; it can maintain a given course in significant sea conditions and successfully solve the tasks assigned to it by the Navy command. Currently, the Zvezdochka Design Center is building a second ship within the framework of the same project.

Experts believe that underwater and surface ships with electric propulsion, the most common today, will only be improved in the future, especially taking into account the increasingly widespread use of propeller-rudder systems. At the same time, in the future, electric propulsion on naval ships in all countries of the world will become increasingly widespread.