Recently, some media reported that the Russian Navy will install the "Sea Eagle" and ZALA drones on the 11711 landing ship to enhance the firepower configuration of large landing ships. As the news spread, military enthusiasts once again focused their attention on the 11711 landing ship, a new product from the Russian Amber Shipyard and currently the largest displacement landing ship in the Russian Navy. In recent years, with the commissioning of two Type 11711 landing ships, the amphibious combat capability of the Russian Navy has been strengthened. Nowadays, the deployment of multiple types of drones on ships will further enhance the combat capability of the 11711 landing ship. The predecessor of Amber Shipyard was the K ö nigsberg Shipyard, a subsidiary of the German company Hischau. During World War II, the Soviet Union occupied shipyards and renamed them. In the two industrial revolutions, the shipyard seized the opportunity and took advantage of the situation to transform from a small workshop to a large shipbuilding company, successively producing products such as the Crocodile class tank landing ship and the Fearless class frigate. In this issue of 'Military T-shaped Platform', let's get closer to Amber Shipyard and read the rise and fall story of this century old famous enterprise. In the 19th century, from a small workshop to a shipbuilding giant, the Industrial Revolution caused a dramatic change in Europe, profoundly affecting the development process of world history. This is the best era, but also the worst era. For ordinary people, the Industrial Revolution exacerbated the wealth gap and class contradictions. But for many people with dreams, the opportunities brought by industrialization are more likely to create the myth of "counterattack". In 1837, a young German engineer named Ferdinand Hirsch ended his time traveling to many places for study. He carries advanced steam engine technology and is ready to bravely explore a blue ocean in the emerging shipbuilding industry. At first, I just started a business with the idea of taking a break Years later, Ferdinand Hirsch, who had already achieved great success, admitted in an interview with reporters, "When various innovative inventions emerge around us and opportunities are within reach, it is difficult to suppress the passion of 'putting together a fight'." In response to the tide of the times, Ferdinand Hirsch founded the Hirsch Machinery Manufacturing Plant named after himself, designing and manufacturing steam engines and excavation equipment. In less than 4 years, the Xishao Machinery Manufacturing Plant successfully designed and built Germany's first dredger. From then on, the development of Xishao Machinery Manufacturing Factory entered the right track, and Ferdinand Xishao's dream blueprint slowly unfolded - in 1852, Ferdinand Xishao spent a huge amount of money to purchase land and build a factory, introducing the most advanced mechanical equipment and expanding shipbuilding business. Three years later, Germany's first propeller propelled steamship, the "Borussia," was successfully launched. In 1890, Ferdinand Hirsch decided to build a large shipyard to produce torpedo boats and destroyers for the German Navy. Thanks to advanced factory technology and excellent product quality, ships labeled as "Xi Xiao" have become a hot commodity in the military trade market. During the Westernization Movement in modern China, the "Fulong" torpedo boat and the Hailong class destroyer purchased by the Qing government from the shipyard of the Xishao Company once became the main force of the Beiyang navy. However, with the outbreak of World War II, under the deterrence of Nazi Germany's "carrot and stick" policy, the shipyard of the Hischauer Company unfortunately became a "war machine", building U-boats and various destroyers for German fascism. These warships were also almost destroyed in subsequent naval battles. When the shipyard of Xishao Company fell into an unjust and doomed war, even the most dazzling warships could only be nailed to the pillar of shame in history. When the war of World War II spread to East Prussia, the Herschel Company transferred some unfinished ships and shipbuilding equipment to mainland Germany, and several factories under its jurisdiction were occupied by the Soviet army. Among them, K ö nigsberg Shipyard was renamed as "Amber Shipyard". How can a drop of ordinary resin turn into dazzling amber to create an advanced warship with good quality and low price? This process is more well-known in Kaliningrad, the "Amber Capital" of the world. Deep underground, after millions of years of high-temperature and high-pressure tempering, and a series of chemical reactions, the resin undergoes a qualitative transformation, and amber is born. The renaming of the shipyard to "Amber" was the Soviet military's hope that shipyards could also shine like amber. After the end of World War II, the Soviet Navy was in a rapid development stage, and the continued intensification of the Cold War caused many military enterprises to have a strong sense of crisis. Creating useful and efficient equipment, strengthening the navy's strength, and becoming the driving force for the employees of Amber Shipyard. During World War II, due to the lack of specialized landing ships, the Soviet Union was unable to effectively transport armored vehicles such as tanks and heavy weapons, and could only rely on light infantry to open landing sites for amphibious operations. In view of this, Amber Shipyard has focused its attention on amphibious landing ships. Isn't this a cargo ship that can carry both personnel and vehicles? After deep consideration, the research team of Amber Shipyard boldly proposed: Can we take a different approach and modify the design of cargo ships to design a landing ship that meets combat requirements and can be quickly mass-produced? There were numerous cases of civilian ships being converted into military ships during World War II. The first aircraft carrier of the United States, the Langley, was converted from a large coal carrier. With these precedents, Amber Shipyard developed and improved the design of the Crocodile class tank landing ship based on large civilian cargo ships. In 1964, Amber Shipyard's design "killed" many competitors. The Crocodile class tank landing ship has a full displacement of over 4000 tons and can carry 20 medium tanks and deploy a naval infantry battalion. With a tilt angle of no more than 30 degrees, armored vehicles can easily land on the bow of the ship. Subsequently, the Soviet military ordered 14 Crocodile class tank landing ships to equip the navy fleet. Until today, the Crocodile class tank landing ship is still in service with the Russian Navy. In the 1980s, the military strategy of the Soviet Navy shifted from "long-range offensive" to "regional defense", and the design and production concept of warships also shifted from emphasizing quantity to "fewer but more refined". In this context, the expert group of the Soviet Ministry of Defense vigorously carried out the research and development of the next generation of ocean going frigates. The requirements put forward by the navy are very strict: ships must be equipped with well-equipped anti-ship, anti submarine, and anti-aircraft weapons, and their performance cannot be inferior to the popular American Perry class frigates and German Bremen class frigates... In short, new ships should strive to be as cost-effective as possible. The idea of having both "fish" and "bear's paw" has caused many companies to retreat when faced with difficulties. But in the eyes of the senior management of Amber Shipyard, turning the "impossible" in the eyes of others into reality is a rare opportunity to prove one's own strength. In 1988, the sparkling blue waters on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea witnessed a historic moment for the shipyard. As the first Fearless class frigate, dressed in a silver gray coat, slowly sailed out of the dock, military representatives and onlookers were amazed. This is the first Soviet frigate to fully adopt stealth design - the superstructure of the entire ship is inclined at an angle, and the two chimneys are almost parallel to the superstructure; To enhance stealth capability, torpedo launch tubes are integrated with the two sides of the main deck, and missile launch devices are also placed on the lower side of the front deck of the ship; Adopting a new generation sonar system, the target detection distance is farther. The outstanding performance of the Fearless class frigate, including stealth design, multi-purpose combat, and multi-channel air defense, has attracted worldwide attention. Back then, some Western media commented that "the Fearless class frigate is a representative work of the Soviet shipbuilding industry's level." After the difficult transformation and development opportunities brought by the collapse of the Soviet Union, the development of Russian military industrial enterprises fell into a low period. Many enterprises backed by the government's "blood supply" have gone bankrupt due to their insufficient ability to "generate blood" due to the national economic downturn and significant reduction in military spending. A set of data shows the difficulty of enterprise development at that time - by the end of the 20th century, the loss rate of industrial equipment in Russia reached 30%. The military industry is a vital tool for safeguarding national security and an important support for the national economy. Faced with difficulties, Amber Shipyard did not sit idly by. The senior management of the shipyard quickly decided to switch to a multi field development strategy for self-protection. In the absence of research and development and production funds, shipyards have turned their attention to projects with low investment, short cycles, and quick results, using existing large-scale equipment to engage in civilian ship production. With a deep foundation in shipbuilding, Amber Shipyard quickly designed a series of civilian boats and received many orders in the market, enduring the most difficult years. In July 1997, Amber Shipyard held a groundbreaking ceremony for the "Xin Gui" frigate. On site, applause and cheers echoed over the shipyard, and many old employees shed tears on the spot. Six years later, Amber Shipyard was included in the list of strategic enterprises in Russia and received government support of one billion rubles. The first thing Amber Shipyard did after receiving the funding was to update its technical equipment and increase the training of technical talents. In the spring of 2004, Amber Shipyard won the "race track" of defense procurement bidding projects and signed a contract with the Russian Navy to build two 11711 landing ships. Two years later, Amber Shipyard's flagship product, the Krivak class frigate, was favored by foreign buyers and received nearly $1.7 billion in orders. From then on, Amber Shipyard entered a period of rapid development. Only by producing more advanced warships can the foundation of national defense, which supports the development of the country, be firmly established Under the guidance of this concept, Amber Shipyard corrected its development direction. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the shipyard earned funds from other civilian projects and continuously fed back into the research and development of military ship projects, continuously improving the level of shipbuilding for the enterprise. In 2006, Russia restructured its shipbuilding industry. Riding on this spring breeze, Amber Shipyard, together with Northern Shipyard, Baltic Shipyard and other shipyards, established a joint shipbuilding group and carried out drastic reforms: by "merging similar projects", it broke away from the phenomenon of single product lineage, similar production and sales processes and homogenization, and achieved the synergy and efficiency of research and development, production and sales; The shipyard has restructured its production structure, integrated various businesses, further improved its technical exchange and talent training system... After this round of "blood transfusion", Amber Shipyard's market competitiveness has been significantly enhanced. Now, Amber Shipyard has once again entered the fast lane of development, continuing to write a new story for this century old shipyard. (New Society)