The approach of the reconnaissance ship "Viktor Leonov" to the US coast is a sign of Russian weakness, not strength, American media write, citing their intelligence sources. The sources came across with humor; it even becomes offensive for “Viktor Leonov”, characterized by the word “useless”. The point, however, is that these comments are unforgivable nonsense.
In the NBC News material, the reconnaissance equipment on the Viktor Leonov is called outdated - allegedly it can only listen to radio communications between ships, between ships and the shore, as well as commercial radio broadcasts. “I hope they enjoyed listening to Classic Radio,” quips an anonymous Coast Guard officer from New England (referring to Classic 101, which broadcasts oldies rock and country music). “Leonov” is not a threat, echoes a senior intelligence official. “This is proof of Russia’s weakness compared to the United States. This shows how far behind the US the Russians are in the area of electronic eavesdropping. The ship specializes in listening to radio signals, not digital communications, so it is effectively unable to intercept any sensitive military or intelligence communications,” he said.
The “review” was prompted by earlier media reports that the Viktor Leonov had been spotted 65 miles northeast of Norfolk, Virginia, where the largest US naval base in the Atlantic is located. On Wednesday it was reported that the Viktor Leonov approached the US Navy submarine base in Connecticut. Before that, the ship was off the coast of Delaware. It is conducting patrols near the East Coast of the United States for the first time since 2015.
“Viktor Leonov” (until 2004 it was called “Odograph”) is a really middle-aged ship. It, like six more of the same type, was built in Gdansk, Poland, between 1985 and 1988, but underwent equipment modernization several times. All seven ships of this Project 864 are highly specialized in types of electronic equipment and are very different from each other even in appearance due to the characteristic features of locators and other electronic warfare systems. At the same time, they are part of the “Unified State System for Lighting Surface and Underwater Situations,” and all technical characteristics of the electronic equipment installed on them are strictly classified, although the general purpose of certain electronic warfare systems is known.
The irony of the Americans is either a manifestation of the small intelligence of those naval officers to whom journalists turned for comments, or a way to retouch their own negligence, since allowing the Viktor Leonov almost close to Norfolk is a big mistake. In the old days, American ships almost rammed the “oceanographic ships” of Project 864 (under the legend of “studying the bottom of the World Ocean for scientific purposes,” they hovered for six months opposite the US Navy bases, and replenished supplies in Cuba). Once, the American missile cruiser Texas spent several days chasing the same type of Viktor Leonov, Karelia (currently under repair and re-equipping), approaching a distance of several tens of meters side to side. Moreover, “Texas” is three times larger - it could simply sink “Karelia”.
The fact is that “Viktor Leonov” is not intended to intercept Internet traffic or wedge itself into ultra-modern communication systems (which, by the way, do not exist). Its hydroacoustic reconnaissance complexes (GAR) and the system with the characteristic name “Memory” record the so-called “noise profiles” of surface and underwater objects based on the parameters of the emission of sound waves in the water column. Simply put, each surface ship and especially a submarine produces a specific set of noises, characteristic only of this object. This is, in fact, a sound wave, the vibrations of which in water can be “copied” and stored electronically. It’s like a file of criminals’ fingerprints: once copied, they’ll never get away with it. Such a file of “sound profiles” is at the disposal of the hydroacoustic teams of all Russian military ships and submarines, which makes it possible, at a great distance and without contact, to accurately determine what kind of object is moving towards you. And this is especially important for submarine warfare.
In approximately the same way, the Viktor Leonov equipment can remember the profiles of specific radars of a potential enemy and air defense systems; the electromagnetic radiation of various objects is also specific to each. From the point of view of military intelligence, such data is the most valuable trophy; intelligence forces can chase it for decades, drinking liters of cheap rum with employees of the Norfolk base under the watchful gaze of the NCIS and the FBI, and then discover that all these profiles have been out of date for five years already liver.
The last time such a scan of Norfolk and other bases on the Atlantic coast of the United States was carried out was in 2015 - it’s time to update the file cabinet.
As for the interception of ordinary radio messages, here too the Americans overdid it with sarcasm. After all, they, just like the rest of the world, communicate via radio, on open frequencies between ships, and in some cases even Morse code is still in use, although already in the late 80s it seemed that this was completely prehistoric knowledge (in specific educational institutions they complained about the need to waste time memorizing meaningless combinations of dots and dashes). The Americans have not yet invented or implemented any special means of communication, so classic rock music is not the only thing that might be of interest to specialists from “Viktor Leonov.”
By the way, the Americans themselves do not have such reconnaissance vessels. Ten hydroacoustic reconnaissance vessels (SGAR), half of which are built in the same years as the Viktor Leonov and her company, somehow fall under these characteristics. Most are small - with a crew of about 30 - and are designed primarily to detect diesel submarines in shallow waters - they drag a towed buoy with sonar behind them on a rope, much like during the Second World War. Another ship was converted into a tracking point for ballistic missile launches. By the end of the twentieth century, the United States decided that this specific type of vessel was no longer needed due to the lack (as they mistakenly thought) of surveillance objects. And that is why they are now surprised by the very appearance of “Viktor Leonov” on their shores, especially since the Americans cannot repeat such a trick opposite Severomorsk, Gadzhievo or Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
The United States continues to rely on a super-powerful constellation of orbital satellites, but their capabilities, paradoxically, are limited - most frequencies used in radio communications cannot be intercepted from orbit, and it is completely unrealistic to create an audio or electromagnetic profile of an object. By the way, the US allies in NATO (and, more broadly, the West as a whole) did not prudently refuse to use ships of this class and conduct this kind of physical reconnaissance. Moreover, for the most part, such ships were built simultaneously with the Russian-Soviet project 864. For example, they are in the German Navy (three types of "Oste" of project 423 with a displacement of 3200 tons, built in 1988-1989), Italy (RZK "Alettra" type "Alliance" ", 3180 t, 2003), Spain (RZK "Alerta" type "Dare", 2292 t, 1982), Norway (RZK "Maryata", 7560 t, built in 1994 to replace an obsolete ship of the same name and destination), Poland (two types of "Moma" modified, project 863, displacement 1677 tons, built 1997–1999), Greece (Germis, former RZK Germany, 1497 tons, 1960), France (RZK "Bouganville" , 5195 t, 1988), Sweden (Orion RZK, 1400 t, 1984), Romania (Gregory Antipa RZK Corsair type, 1450 t, built in 1980).
Recently, the Americans and British have assigned physical reconnaissance responsibilities to surface ships and even submarines. For these purposes, additional equipment is simply hung on them, which (together with the personnel) only complicates the life of the ship. So, Her Majesty's Navy added some new radars to the Trafalgar submarine, after which it broke down and went into dry dock. The electronic reconnaissance function was transferred to the missile frigates Broadsworth and Duke, which increased their crew at the expense of electronics maintenance personnel and increased the danger of navigation, since now these ships are forced to go dangerously close to the object of study, and this is not welcome.
The bottom line is that the reaction of American sailors to the work of “Viktor Leonov” looks more like a journalistic stunt. Even earlier, the press reported personally to Donald Trump about the “Viktor Leonov” voyage. And when asked what he was going to do with the ship, the president replied “I won’t say”: “I don’t have to tell you what I’m going to do with North Korea. And I don't have to tell you what I'm going to do with Iran. Do you know why? Because they shouldn't know that. And when you ask me what I am going to do with the Russian ship, I will not answer you. I hope I won’t do anything, but I won’t tell you.”
Yes, it won't. And he won't say. And now - “Yablochko” with greetings from the Navy on Radio Classic 101.
In the United States, the concept regarding the Russian reconnaissance ship Viktor Leonov has changed. A couple of days ago, the Pentagon claimed that the ship was equipped with high-tech spy equipment. Now, as it turns out, “Viktor Leonov” is evidence of Russia’s weakness.
The appearance of a ship off the Atlantic coast of the United States on Tuesday was reported by a TV channel. Fox News. "Viktor Leonov" was spotted in the area where one of the air force bases is located. Of course, the ship is in international waters. At the same time it was said that the presence of “Viktor Leonov” did not cause much concern, but he was being monitored. In general, a standard situation, nothing special. In the same way, American ships appear off the coast of Russia, and US and NATO aircraft constantly conduct reconnaissance near the Russian borders.
But for some reason the movements of “Viktor Leonov” are being watched especially closely this time. This is connected with recent statements by Washington about Crimea. They say that Moscow didn’t like it, so Russian planes began flying over the American destroyer Porter in the Black Sea, and therefore the ship was sent to the US coast (teleported, it must be).
Last Thursday, US President Donald Trump considered it necessary to mention “Viktor Leonov.” "I don't have to tell you what I'm going to do with North Korea. And I don't have to tell you what I'm going to do with Iran. Do you know why? Because they don't have to know that. And when you ask me what I'm going to do with the Russian ship, I won’t answer you. I hope I won’t do anything, but I won’t tell you,” he said.
And now it turns out that the Russian ship is evidence of Russia’s weakness. TV channel NBC refers to the opinion of a coast guard officer who said that Russian electronic equipment is outdated and is only capable of picking up radio signals from ships, shore, and commercial radio transmissions. "I hope they enjoy listening to (the radio) Classic 101" said the anonymous officer.
Another interlocutor of the TV channel consoled his compatriots. According to him, Viktor Leonov’s equipment demonstrates the primitiveness of Russian electronic wiretapping and these technologies lag far behind American ones.
“The ship specializes in listening to radio transmissions, not digital communications, which makes it useless in collecting any military intelligence,” the “specialist” said.
But a couple of days ago, commentators in the United States noted the ability of the Viktor Leonov to intercept messages and measure the capabilities of the US Navy's sonars.
“This is a ship that not only writes sound profiles of all submarines and ships (to make it easier to determine the combat automated control systems of our fleet), but also writes all radio emissions, electromagnetic emissions - radars, air defense, missiles, ships, aircraft, the parameters of which are usually monitored by reconnaissance “They’re chasing. No, if the United States has learned to speak between warships and aircraft using invisible plasma, or their radars, air defenses, etc. don’t “beam”, but work on “dissolving the air,” then the ship is outdated.” told Pravda.Ru retired captain 1st rank of the Northern Fleet Vladislav Ershevsky.
According to military expert Viktor Murakhovsky, who spoke with Pravda.Ru, the United States has a certain advantage. “They have a fairly powerful satellite constellation, so radio reconnaissance can be carried out from orbit. But you need to understand that these are only certain wavelengths and certain means of communication are intercepted. If we talk about VHF radio communications, about radio relay communications, then you cannot catch such things from space ", - he said.
That’s why the Americans launch their reconnaissance assets near the borders with Russia, and E-2 long-range radar detection aircraft periodically fly along our borders, noted Viktor Murakhovsky.
“And they have radio and electronic reconnaissance ships that are trying to operate closer to our borders in the Baltic Sea and Black Sea,” he added.
According to him, “the effectiveness of radio reconnaissance is largely determined not by the novelty of the equipment, but by the qualifications of the specialists.” “In the field of decryption and cryptography, we are quite at the world level, and in some areas we are ahead of the rest of the planet. As for specialists, ours are head and shoulders above the American ones. Our radio intelligence, for example, in Syria is now monitoring all radio networks of militants. Specialists are needed there who know 11 languages. And we are successfully coping with this,” emphasized Viktor Murakhovsky.
All of the above said by our experts, however, in no way prevents the “Viktor Leonov” team from listening to American radio stations. Why not combine business with pleasure?
Tuesday, January 23, 2018The Pentagon said that the Russian reconnaissance ship Viktor Leonov is still located off the Atlantic coast of the United States.
According to CNN, the ship was spotted in international waters 100 miles southeast of Wilmington. Earlier, the Washington Free Beacon, citing military sources, reported that “Viktor Leonov” was spotted in Cape Canaveral (Florida), Kings Bay (Georgia), near Norfolk (Virginia) and New London (Connecticut).
The presence of the Russian reconnaissance ship Viktor Leonov near a US military base in Connecticut indicates Russia's weakness, not its strength, US military and intelligence officials have said.
Representatives of the New England Coast Guard, which includes the state of Connecticut, explained to NBC News that Russian electronic wiretapping equipment is outdated and can only pick up radio signals from ships, shore, and commercial radio transmissions.
One military base officer said he hoped Russians would "enjoy listening to [radio] Classic 101." He emphasized that the ship "Viktor Leonov" demonstrates the primitiveness of the Russian electronic wiretapping system and how far behind it is from American technology.
"The ship specializes in listening to radio transmissions, not digital communications, which makes it useless in collecting any military intelligence," he explained.
Tellingly, the Pentagon previously stated that the Russian reconnaissance ship Viktor Leonov is equipped with high-tech spy equipment designed for interception. He was spotted near a US naval base in Connecticut on Wednesday, February 15.
It is worth noting that ships of this type are the basis of the Russian reconnaissance fleet. They were created to solve problems in the sea and near ocean zones. As retired captain 1st rank of the Northern Fleet Vladislav Ershevsky explained to the website, “this is a ship that not only writes sound profiles of all submarines and ships, but also all radio emissions, electromagnetic emissions - radars, air defense, missiles, ships, aircraft. The parameters of which are monitored by reconnaissance , usually, they are chasing, forcing them to turn on, in order to then suppress electronic warfare, for example.
According to the expert, “if they laugh at him, they are idiots. No, if the United States has learned to speak between warships using invisible plasma, or if their locators, air defenses, etc. work on dissolving air, then the ship is outdated. And so the hell with it.” two". When asked about the Americans laughing at the rust on board the ship, the former naval officer invited citizens to look at their ships.
It is worth adding that US President Donald Trump, answering a question from journalists about what he would do in connection with the presence of a Russian ship near an American military base, said that he was not going to publicly share his plans.
"Do the Americans listen in a different way? I don’t know any other ways. It’s either a physical connection to a wired line, or wiretapping. There are no other ways. Yes, the United States has an advantage - a powerful satellite constellation that can radio reconnaissance should be carried out from orbit. But you also need to understand that from there only certain wavelengths and certain means of communication are intercepted,” reserve colonel and chairman of the Military-Industrial Commission of the Russian Federation Viktor Murakhovsky told Pravda.ru.
He also added that “if we talk about VHF radio communications, about radio relay communications, then you can’t catch such things from space. It’s not for nothing that the Americans launch their reconnaissance assets near the borders of Russia. They also have radio and electronic reconnaissance ships in the Baltic Sea , and in the Black Sea they are trying to get closer to our borders.”
In February of this year, while patrolling the eastern part of the American coast, the Russian ship Viktor Leonov, which, according to NATO codification, is called Cherry, was spotted. At that time, a reconnaissance vessel of the Russian Navy was passing along the coast approximately 130 kilometers (70 nautical miles) from land.
Also, the Viktor Leonov was not accompanied by American cruisers. This approach caused a lot of noise and even caused panic, but some sources claimed that the ship's task was supposedly to patrol the coasts of the states since President Donald Trump took office.
Where was the Russian Navy ship spotted and how did the authorities react to it?
A month earlier, many publications, citing a source in the government structures, noted that the reconnaissance ship "Viktor Leonov" stopped 30 miles from the military submarine base located in In addition, its stay was recorded in where the submarines are also based (37 kilometers southeast). But the ship did not enter American territorial waters. During surveillance, experts identified the famous "Viktor Leonov" 60 miles northeast of Norfolk (Portsmouth, Virginia). It is in this state that one of the oldest and largest multi-purpose naval bases of the United States in the Atlantic is located.
Donald Trump promised to sink a Russian ship
When information about the appearance of a Russian ship off the US coast first began to spread, during a February press conference, Donald Trump was asked to express his opinion on this matter. The head of state did not mince words and expressed a desire to sink the ship. “Personally, it would be much easier and simpler for me to enter into military opposition with Russia and sink this reconnaissance ship right 30 miles from the coast. Only in this case we will not be able to reach an agreement,” said the US President.
It is worth noting that for the first time a Russian reconnaissance vessel began patrolling the area of the east coast of America in 2015.
In what city was the ship built, specialization, characteristics
The Russian ship "Viktor Leonov" was built over almost four years - starting from 1985 to 1988 in the city of Gdansk (Poland), where six more ships of similar type were also produced during this period of time. Initially (until 2004) it was called “Odograph”. Despite the fact that the facility is considered far from new, it has undergone a process of major modernization of previously installed equipment more than once.
All seven models of Project No. 846 are narrowly specialized in the types of radio-electronic installations, but differ significantly on the outside. This is due to the characteristic features of locators and other modern electronic warfare systems.
It is known that these naval facilities are included in the Unified State System for illuminating the situation under and above water, therefore the technical characteristics of the radio-electronic devices installed on them are strictly classified and not disclosed. At the same time, the general purpose of most types of electronic warfare systems has long been in the public domain.
Capabilities of the Russian reconnaissance ship
It is known that “Viktor Leonov” is equipped with the following devices:
- GAR (hydroacoustic reconnaissance) complexes;
- "Memory" system;
Thus, the devices read and remember a specific set of so-called noise profiles characteristic of certain objects, forming a kind of card index. With the help of such data, crews of warships and submarines will be able to determine at a great distance which vessel is approaching them, which is especially valuable in combat conditions.
In exactly the same way, the Viktor Leonov equipment is capable of not only identifying, but also remembering the profiles of a potential enemy’s air defense systems and its radar systems. For military intelligence, all this information is a very valuable trophy.
In addition, the ship is equipped with the Signit system for intercepting signals, sonars and a surface-to-air missile system.
Which hero is named after the legendary reconnaissance ship?
The famous medium reconnaissance vessel, which caused a lot of talk with its sudden appearance, was previously known to everyone as the Odograph. This is what they called the auto-plotter in the old days - a device that plotted the path of a ship on a Mercator map.
From the moment it was launched, the object belonged to the Black Sea Fleet, and in 1995 it was transferred to the balance of the Northern Fleet. Since April 2004, the ship has been called “Viktor Leonov” - in honor of the legendary Soviet sailor, commander of separate reconnaissance detachments of the Pacific and Northern fleets, who once, with his operational actions and clear command, forced a huge enemy garrison to surrender.
Where is the Russian Navy ship located now?
At the end of last 2016, the ship “Viktor Leonov” left Severomorsk (the main base of the Northern Fleet) on a voyage and in March of this year, in order to replenish supplies, called at the port of the Cuban capital. During their stay in Havana, the crew took part in several events.
The sailors also visited the memorial of the Soviet internationalist soldier. In nine years, this was the ship's seventh visit to Havana. It is still unknown where the ship "Viktor Leonov" is now, but many are sure that after sailing from the Cuban port, it should continue to carry out communications tasks in the Western Atlantic; its return to base is scheduled for May.
On Tuesday, US media reported a Russian warship in international waters off the US coast. According to unnamed American officials, the Russian Navy “spy ship” Viktor Leonov was discovered 130 km off the coast of Delaware (the US border is 22 km from the coast).
This is not the first time that Viktor Leonov’s high-tech electronic intelligence equipment has alarmed the Pentagon.
Why do ships of this class ply the world's oceans and how important is the Viktor Leonov's connection to the United States and the state of Delaware?
Not the ghost of aggression
The world's oceans are the heritage of all humanity. Russia reflected its goals and its position in the Naval Doctrine, taking into account the naval strategies of the United States and. According to the doctrine, the Navy is the basis of Russia's maritime potential, and naval activities are classified as the highest state priorities.
For a number of reasons, Russia has particularly highlighted two directions - the Atlantic and the Arctic. Atlantic - in connection with the active development of NATO and its approach to Russian borders. Therefore, reconnaissance ships of the Russian Navy are constantly present in the most remote areas of the World Ocean, ensuring national security and favorable conditions for the economic development of the country. - not our choice, but Russia is ready for it.
© AP Photo/Desmond Boylan Reconnaissance ship SSV-175 "Viktor Leonov"
© AP Photo/Desmond Boylan
Partnership Efforts
The US and NATO navies also operate a flotilla of reconnaissance ships that often find themselves close to Russian shores. For example, the US Navy Sixth Fleet ship USS Mount Whitney is being closely studied.
US aerospace intelligence is also increasing its efforts near Russia’s borders. Thus, on February 13, the US Air Force strategic reconnaissance aircraft RC-135W (aircraft 62-4138) and the US Navy anti-submarine patrol aircraft P-8A Poseidon (aircraft 168860) conducted operational reconnaissance near the Kaliningrad region and Crimea.
The RC-135W reconnaissance aircraft from Mildenhall airbase in the UK approached the Russian land border at a distance of 55 km and the main base of the Russian Baltic Fleet at a distance of about 80 km. The second reconnaissance aircraft, a P-8A Poseidon, from Sigonella Air Base in Sicily, carried out an operational mission over the Black Sea southwest of Sevastopol.
Obviously, in order to reduce suspicion and strengthen security, the West must first abandon its anti-Russian policy and strengthen the eastern flank of NATO.
The American analytical publication The National Interest notes: “Government bodies analyzing threats to national security are too fixated on Russia, and this is the result of a not entirely sober analysis<…>While Russia poses a serious espionage threat to the United States, the threat is only one of many national security concerns<…>
Escalating tensions with Russia prevent the United States from acting effectively in various areas<…>Russia has a unique opportunity - it can prevent the actions of the United States in many parts of the world, it constantly and deliberately counters American initiatives in order to achieve the opportunity to come to the negotiating table."
Perhaps reasonable people in Washington and Moscow will find a common language for constructive interaction, and the World Ocean will gradually turn into a zone of peace. In the meantime, we keep our gunpowder dry and develop reconnaissance technologically: the Russian Navy has begun testing the latest remote-controlled uninhabited underwater vehicle "".