GarryB wrote:The St.Petersburg could be used as a school ship, repairing it and bringing it to the level of the others seems to me a useless waste of money.
They laid one boat down to start with but then laid two more down later on... when they got the first into the water it didn't make the grade so they froze the other two subs so they could work on the first boat and go over everything and get everything working properly so the changes MADE to the first boat could be applied to the second and third to make them work as needed.
That would suggest to me that the first boat was working, their might have been some fundamental changes needed but I doubt they would be drastic changes that completely redesigned the subs because they didn't scrap the next two that were already laid down and start again... they finished them based on testing and experience with the first boat.
So you think the second and third had totally different parts and equipment than the first boat?
If that is the case then wouldn't the second and third subs be completely different and require testing and operations to make sure it works as they expect, meaning the next subs based on this design would need to wait till these two new subs get tested in the water to avoid what happened with the first sub?
It would be like saying the Su-35 fitted with a radar based on the system in the Su-57 and Su-57 engines and wing mounted radar and other equipment for testing and evaluation and when the Su-57 enters service that Su-35 should be scrapped...
Well obviously that is a bad analogy because in this case the Su-35 is not a one off and any improvements fitting it with new equipment and engines and systems from the Su-57 would make the whole fleet of Su-35s even better even if it will never be as stealthy with external weapons only... but subs are way more expensive than aircraft, and also they don't have too many subs right now as a major problem, so why give up a sub you just likely spent good money working out the kinks and problems with, even if it just gets used for training or light duties or testing new experimental systems and weapons.
Making it use the same systems and equipment as other subs in the class will use will make it easier to train to use and support.
In any case, the B-585 was laid in 1997 and launched in 2004, it should not be used as a combat ship, but as a training ship or for testing.
the rest of the ships can probably be delivered at the rate of one per year, starting with B-586 in 2023, B-587 in 2024 etc...
At the moment, in addition to the B-585, there are 4 Ladas in different phases of construction and one more contracted in Armiya 2020, a total of 6 ships.
Another one should be hired to retire the B-585 as a combat ship and maintain a homogeneous brigade of 6 Lada 677M
I would also like to see this type of Lada ship in the Black Sea Fleet instead of the Varshavyanka and in a larger number, at least 8