RF Shtorm

The Shtorm, as seen in-game.

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## Background History

Project 23000e, or Shtorm, is a proposal for a new aircraft carrier designed by the Krylov State Research Center for the Russian Navy. nk

The ship is being considered for service within the Russian Navy's Northern Fleet as a replacement for the *Admiral Kuznetsov.* As recently as of 2020, it was reported that, if built, the carrier might also be fitted with the proposed S-400 missiles.

During July of 2016, the design of the aircraft was offered to India for purchase.

## Overview

The RF Shtorm is a new aircraft carrier added into the game during update 0.45.5, which was made public in August 5, 2021. The ship's chef d'oeuvre is its bomber, which can deal significant damage to surface targets and brings about an exhilirating experience to players who enjoy delivering destruction from above.

Just like with most other Russian aircraft carriers, the ship comes armed with missiles, allowing it to function like a missile cruiser also.

## Tactics

### Playing as an RF Shtorm

The ship, even with its new features, offers a familiar experience to seasoned aircraft carrier players.

Just like with any aircraft carrier, the ship should provide reconaissance at the start of the match, providing allies a significant tactical advantage which will be crucial for the outcome of the match.

After detecting the enemy ships, the player can then deploy the ship's air units. It is suggested to deploy several air units at a given time, so as to maximize the effectivity of the air units (the game's AI will automatically control any "idle" air unit, and the player can as easily switch between units).

The bomber, even with its high durability, should be used wisely, especially since it only comes as a single-use aircraft, and cannot be replaced when it is shot down. Players should avoid attacking any fleet of three warships or more, and concentrate on attacking lone ships rather.

However, bear in mind that the ship is also armed with other weapons. The ship's missiles can supplement the damage from the ship's aircraft, and its grenade launchers allow the ship to defend itself against submarines.

### Playing alongside an RF Shtorm

With its notorious reputation, rival ships will not hesitate to target and sink the ship, and its defense should be of considerable priority for the team, since losing an allied Shtorm would be a significant drawback.

Allied surface combatants should aim in warding off any hostile vessels that draw near and threaten the ship, aircraft carriers should aid with any air raids, while submarines should be on the watch for any hostile submarines targeting the ship.

### Playing against an RF Shtorm

Even with its forboding capabilities, the ship does have vulnerabilities that are easily overlooked. The ship, for one, has an anti air defense that can be easily overwhelmed with a concentrated air attack or through a relentless wave of missiles. Its bomber can also be easily intercepted using RIM missiles, which will take 3 of them to destroy one.

Surface ships should operate in an organized fleet. The resulting anti air umbrella would deny the Shtorm any chance of a coordinated air strike and significantly limit its damage output.

Submarines would also be effective at dealing with an unsuspecting Shtorm, but be warned of any patrolling rival ships.

Arming a ship with an S-500 missile will also be very detrimental to the Shtorm's bomber, although this tactic is only practical to do so on a ship with more than a single missile slot.

## Suggested Armaments Setup

The ship, with its flexible armaments setup, can be armed with various weapons that will furthermore improve the ship's performance. Below are some suggested weapons setup. But, bear in mind that these are just suggestions.

Unlike the other ships in the game, some of the armaments are locked and cannot be replaced.

* Missile battery: Zircon(for hero’s) or RUM-139 Swarmer, DF-17, S-500 Prometheus (to combat ground and air targets).
* Grenade Launcher: RUR-5B ASROC, A22.
* Strike Fighter: F-35 Lightning II (for heavy damage), or F/A-XX (for a multipurpose setup) Su-75, J-31(also heavy damage dealers).
* Bomber: PAK DA (to deal heavy damage to surface targets), XIAN H-20 (To fight with both land and submarine targets, as it comes pre-armed with torpedoes).
* Fighter: Su-57-A Felon (Missiles do high damage but only 10 ammo), F-22 Raptor (Fastest Fighter), MiG-41.
* Helicopter: WZ-19 CAIC or SV-22 Osprey (for fast reconaissance of enemy ships), or RAH-66 Commanche (for a better anti-submarine defense), MUH-1 Marineron(to inflict heavy damage to ground targets and support against air targets “planes, drones, bombers). AP Phoenix for a good multi-role heli.
* Autocannon: Marlin (40mm) (has lower damage but longer range), 3M-47 Gibka Anti-Tank (has higher damage, but can be affected by missile deterrents)..

## Advantages and Disadvantages

### Advantages

* Has access to the powerful bomber aircraft.
* Comes equipped with grenade launchers, improving its defense against torpedoes and submarines.
* Is equipped with missiles.
* The powerful S-400 anti air defenses can easily repel any unorganized air attacks, even bombers.
* High durability, a bit less than ROKS CVX, but still good.
* Its anti-aircraft defenses have the smallest reload rate of any aircraft carrier, with a reload of 0.84 seconds.
* Comes pre-assembled with the new Gibka autocannon, which launches a missile for high damage, so no need to replace.
* It is the only aircraft carrier whose defensive and offensive measures are based on missiles.

### Disadvantages

* Extremely high price at 80,000,000 dollars.
* Has the poorest maneuverability among aircraft carriers, on par with the *Ulyanovsk*.
* Comes pre-armed with low-performance Su-57-B Felon strike fighters (can be replaced, however). Note: has been buffed
* Although powerful, the S-400 anti air defenses are limited and can be easily overwhelmed by concentrated air attacks or by spamming missiles.
* Quite slow at 12 knots max.
* Unlike Enterprise and Type 004, does not feature a drone slot

## Trivia

* The ship has a unique indicator at the top of the screen and at the store (instead of appearing as an arrow with three attenuations like a regular aircraft carrier, it appears as a double-sided arrow with three attenuations instead).
* This ship is currently only one of three ships able to wield bombers alongside the USS Enterprise (CVN-80) and the CN Type 004. (version 0.46.0).
* Before the July 2023 update, the ship only had a single S-400. Now that it has been buffed, it has 3.