RF Lider (Project 23560)

The Lider, as seen in-game

* Base
* Top

## Background History

The Lider-class (also known as the Shkval class), designated Project 23560 Lider (Лидер, lit. 'Leader'), is a class of stealth nuclear-powered guided missile destroyers.

Project approval was given in 2013, and the Severnoye Design Bureau was awarded the contract of constructing variants of the ship. The Krylov State Scientific Center handed down the preliminary designs of the ship to the Russian Navy.

There were twelve ships planned to be built initially, but only the construction of eight vessels were mentioned later.

On May 2017, it was reported that the destroyers' construction had been dropped due to financial strains; although a month later, an announcement was given that the preliminary designs were approved by the Russian Defense Ministry.

In February 2019, a decision was made to construct the heavier 19,000 ton variants instead of the proposed 13,000 ton ships. Construction of the lead ship is expected to begin during 2023.

## Overview

Bearing the name of the Russian Navy from the inhospitable and frozen boreal waters, to the distant coast of the typhoon-infested Western Pacific, representing the fiery desire of the innovative and hard-working descendants of the proletariats; the Lider sits with its counterparts as an indomitable and fearless iron monster, undaunted by the most improbable of odds.

The ship adapts well to almost all situations, and its numerous missile artillery and dual torpedo mounts give it an intimidating and respectable appeal to even its greatest rivals. Although air defense is lacking, its high speed guarantees that it will be able to catch up with any nearby allies for defense and act as a heavy support ship for the team, or to dictate the prelude of a duel as a lone raiding hunter. However it's overall lack of DPM (only having 3 missiles, 1 gun and 2 ASROCs) combined with it's subpar maneuverability makes it hard to play, especially if you just came off from a ship with 2 guns, which in case you didn't know, gives a significant boost to DPM.

Apart from its artillery, the ship also has access to a unique camouflage called "Dark Energy", and this trait is only shared with the Zumwalt. Just like the Zumwalt's unique camouflage, Dark Energy costs 14,000 gold and can display the position of the ship (even if it is undetected) due to particle effects.

This ship is one of 5 epic rarity ships available in the shop for dollars in game, with Lider itself costing 60 million dollars (will take a while to grind, but definitely doable).

## Tactics

### Playing as a Lider

Due to the extensive armaments and the fast speed of the ship, use this as a multirole ship. It is ill-advised to go alone because of your ship's lack of AA emplacements. However, because the Pantsir can attack ships if there are no planes in the vicinity, so it acts as an autocannon too. Every game has the same procedure no matter the ship, which is to spot the enemy, in this case with your helicopter, and then pick a target (prioritize CVs) and light them up like a christmas tree with your missiles and ASROCs. After CVs are gone, feel free to pick out a target and destroy them too. Remember your lack of AA and always pay attention to other enemies that you might not even be able to see while zooming in on a particular one by using the minimap (see this page for more info about the minimap). Keep in mind this ship's mediocre maneuverability, which may hamper you from time to time when trying to retreat, although the fast speed helps. Like every other ship, if you run too low on health take cover behind an island/rock/oil rig/iceberg and use repair kits to help boost your HP recovery. Do NOT approach ships with many guns or ships that have alot of weapons in general, such as Jeongjo and Pyotr (although you still have a fighting chance against pyotr)

### Playing along with a Lider

The Lider is a fierce adversary of enemy fleets, especially of submarines, cruisers, and rival destroyers. However, the ship lacks the amount of air defense to prove adequate against enemy aircraft, even with Prometheus missiles it is hard to maintain a decent ship damage rating AND anti-air damage. This is why it is important for ships that have good anti-air capabilities to support this battle vessel and provide additonal fire support when battles become heated, especialy when it comes to multiple ship engagements. It is also possible to provide additional fire support or add as a distractor against the more powerful warships or even battleships. The Lider is one of the most powerfu non-premium warships (in ship-to-ship) and it is extremely important to keep alive due to its extensive weaponary and battle capabilities.

### Playing against a Lider

A Lider is an exceptionally dangerous foe on the battlefield and is hard to counter. If you've got a battleship be sure to be fair and accurate with your shots because power means nothing if you can't hit a 28 knots warships. Most submarines may not be able to properly fight a Lider due to an extensive anti-submarine suite (grenade launchers and torpedoes). CN Type 100 or any other type of spamming submarine will be able to penetrate its mediocre air defense, however be careful as Lider has 2 torpedoes, making for a strong ASW capability. Overwhelming the ship can also work if you have the right ships, equipment, and firepower. Aircraft carriers/assault carriers may be able to overwhelm the Lider's weak air defense with repeated attacks, but do be careful with drones or bombers as in some cases Liders may still have an anti-air missile loaded (RIM-161 or Prometheus).

## Suggested Armaments

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.

* Cannons: MONARC or Koalitsiya
* Missile battery: DF-17 (both slots), SCALP (both slots), X-51 (2x slot) with S-500 (1x slot)
* Torpedoes: Yu-7 (for spam), A244 (mid-close range, fast reload)
* Grenade launchers: HWHH-003B, RUR-5B ASROC, A-22 (must be obtained in the market/BP)
* Air defense: ANSEQ-3 Laser (for "hero" status players), Pantsir-ME, Sea RAM
* Helicopters: KA-58 Black Ghost (for better anti-submarine defense, WZ-19 CAIC or SV-22 (for faster detection of enemy ships).

## Advantages and Disadvantages

### Advantages

* High speed.
* Above average missile arsenal.
* Comes equipped with two torpedo launchers.

### Disadvantages

* Mediocre anti-air defense.
* Lacks an additional cannon mount.
* Large size for a destroyer (even larger than most cruisers).

## Trivia

* The Dark Energy camo is the only camo currently that make the lights within the bridge permanently glow red.
* The *Lider* is an exceptionally large destroyer, currently being the largest destroyer in-game and larger than most of the cruisers in the game with the exception of the two Kirov-class battlecruisers.
* The *Lider* project was reported to be cancelled as of April 2020, but was reported to still be active in July of 2020.
* The large tonnage planned for the ship could explain its size and possible classification previously as a cruiser rather than a destroyer. However, it is a destroyer by ship standards or at least for the Russian Navy.
* The *Lider*'s extensive weaponry and general ship advancements is supposed to replace several other Russian ships classes and be the main anti-surface warship of the Russian Navy, as well as being a test bed for new technologies.

## Gallery

Lider's size compared to that of the Shtorm.A Lider firing its grenade launchers.