| The Navy is becoming dangerous to operate Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Vladimir Kuroyedov yesterday, on the sidelines of the Ministry of Defense, during a meeting with the participation of President Putin, had the imprudence to be frank about the condition of the heavy nuclear cruiser "Peter the Great" and some types of naval weapons. The naval commander’s statements were heard by several people, among whom was a columnist for the Vremya Novostei newspaper.
Answering the question why the flagship of the Northern Fleet, unexpectedly for the sailors, was removed from combat training and placed at the quay wall for two weeks, Admiral Kuroyedov said literally the following: “The ship is in such a condition that it can fly up into the air at any moment. This is especially dangerous given that it is nuclear powered." During the “penalty” stay, the commander of the cruiser, Rear Admiral Vladimir Kasatonov, must, according to the commander-in-chief, eliminate the shortcomings associated with the condition of the ship. These shortcomings were personally revealed by Vladimir Kuroedov when he went to sea last Wednesday to observe the launches of RSM-54 missiles from the Novomoskovsk nuclear submarine. The Commander-in-Chief looked sincerely indignant and concerned about the state of affairs when, smoking cigarette after cigarette, he said that “such an attitude of commanders towards the maintenance of ships leads to the collapse of the fleet.”
Recognized at the end of last year as the best ship in the fleet (the results of the competition were confirmed, by the way, by Commander-in-Chief Kuroyedov), the crew of Peter the Great was forced to lower the pennant of belonging to ships of constant readiness, the officers lost the so-called naval allowances - a third of their pay. In addition, as punishment they must undergo combat training again. All this has a depressing effect on the crew of not only the cruiser, but also other ships. The headquarters of the Northern Fleet believes that such a sharp change in the commander-in-chief’s mood was caused by the recent speech in the North Sea Military Court by Admiral Igor Kasatonov, the uncle of the flagship commander. The admiral, who specially arrived from Moscow, defended the suspended commander of the Northern Fleet, Gennady Suchkov, who was accused of the disaster of the K-159 submarine being transported to the dismantling site. Nine people died then. Admiral Suchkov, they say in Severomorsk, belongs to the old naval guard, which Vladimir Kuroyedov, who comes from the small fleet, does not like. Hence, the sailors say, the commander-in-chief’s minor quibbles: there is no light bulb there, the linoleum is worn out. This is not surprising given the current poverty of the military.
One way or another, the commander-in-chief expressed something that he would not have “voiced” in another situation - the fleet, tormented by shortages of everything and everyone, becomes dangerous to operate. This is confirmed by the story of the unsuccessful launches of the RSM-54 naval strategic missile during an exercise in mid-February. Admiral Kuroyedov admitted yesterday that the failure was explained by more than twice exceeding the guaranteed shelf life - instead of seven and a half years, it served for seventeen. And although the deadlines are extended by an act of an authoritative commission with the participation of the general designer, the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy admitted that the probability of successful launches is no more than 95%. This figure, naturally, also includes launches with a nuclear warhead. Nikolay POROSKOV |
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