Can a cruise missile fly into your window? Is this really true?

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San Sanych 01/26/2011 703

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Their guidance systems and ability to “evade” air defenses have improved by an order of magnitude. And the speeds have increased to such an extent that in the near future they will not even need wings - for a rocket flying one and a half thousand kilometers in 10 minutes, the corresponding profile of the body itself is sufficient.

Prototype of a guided hypersonic missile according to the ARRDM project (waverider design), USA. Launch range - up to 1,100 km, flight speed - 1,340 m/s

In the United States, the development of a new generation of cruise missiles (CM), which successfully fell into line with the concept of “limited nuclear war” by US President Carter, began in the first half of the 1970s. At first, the Navy wanted to get an anti-ship missile with a range of up to 500 km (project TASM), but soon found it possible to produce a strategic missile in the same dimensions. Finally, in the mid-1970s, sea-, air- and land-based strategic missile projects were announced - SLCM, ALCM and GLCM, respectively. The missiles were supposed to have a launch range of up to 2,500-2,600 km, a nuclear warhead with a power of up to 200 kt and unified guidance systems.

In 1982, the AGM-86 air-launched missile system entered service with the Air Force. Its carriers were the B-52 strategic bombers of modifications G and H, and later the B1B and B2A bombers.

The created Tomahawk BGM-109B anti-ship missile with a range of 550 km and a conventional warhead appeared in 1983, and in 1984 the Tomahawk BGM-109A sea-based strategic nuclear missile from the same company entered service. They were installed mainly on nuclear submarines and missile cruisers. On some submarines, ballistic missiles were even replaced by cruise missiles. The new missile defense systems were expected to have “long-term superiority” over a potential enemy, just like the atomic bomb once had.

However, the new generation Soviet missile launchers entered service a little later than the American ones. In 1976, the Soviet government decided to develop air-, sea-based (Granat complex) and ground-based (Relief complex) strategic cruise missiles. The first project was undertaken by PKO Raduga in Dubna under the leadership of Igor Sergeevich Seleznev, the second and third by NPO Novator in Sverdlovsk under the leadership of Lev Veniaminovich Lyulev.

Created by the Dubna team and put into service in 1983, the missile and aviation complex with the Kh-55 missile launcher with a nuclear warhead with a power of up to 200 kt and a launch range of up to 2,500 km was the basis of Soviet strategic aviation. The missile carriers were Tu-95MS bombers, and later the Tu-160 was added. Of course, the creation of a complex complex does not require just one performer. More than 100 enterprises, research and design organizations worked on the same X-55. Thus, the on-board control system was created at the Mars Design Bureau, and the dual-circuit turbojet engine was created at the Soyuz International Research and Production Association.

The X-55 missile received a number of modifications: X-55SM - with a range increased to 3,000 km (due to additional tanks); tactical X-65 - with a range of 500-600 km and a conventional (high-explosive or cluster) warhead; anti-ship X-65SE with a range of 250-280 km and radar homing in the final section.

In 1984, the RK-55 “Granat” complex developed by NPO Novator entered service with the Navy, which was used to arm submarines of projects 667AT, 671RTMK, 945A, 971. The missile is designed to be launched from a 533-mm torpedo tube. The launch range—up to 3,000 km—exceeded the Tomahawk range. A characteristic feature of the Kh-55 and Granat missiles is that not only the wing and empennage, but also the engine (on a retractable pylon) are folded inside the fuselage, and in the Kh-55, even the tail spinner of the body is folded like an accordion for placement in the intra-fuselage compartment.

Strategic cruise missile RK-55 "Granat", USSR, 1984. Sea-land class

The low visibility of the new American and Soviet missile systems for radars was facilitated by their size (due to the requirements of placement on carriers), the use of composite, radio-absorbing materials in the design, sleek contours with a minimum of protruding parts, that is, the use of individual elements of the technology of inconspicuous devices, known as “stealth”.

Ability to aim correctly.

But still, the main “highlight” of the new missiles was the guidance system. The inertial system, for all its reliability and noise immunity, does not “catch” deviations from the course due to the departure of gyroscopes and lateral drift of the rocket. At long ranges, the deviation of the actual trajectory from the given one is considerable. For the new American cruise missiles it was 900 m for every hour of flight, and the flight to the maximum range takes 2.5-3 hours. To compensate for the accumulating error, they added a correlation system with terrain correction - fortunately, by that time, radar reconnaissance satellites made it possible to create a detailed database of three-dimensional images of the Earth's surface. This is how the TERCOM guidance system of the same Tomahawk works. Several correction sections are selected along the trajectory laid down in the program, and a digitized radar image of their relief is stored in the memory of the on-board digital computer in preparation for launch. After launching with the help of a launch accelerator (if ground or sea-based) or being dropped from an aircraft, the missile starts the propulsion engine and follows the target along a given trajectory at an altitude of 60-100 m (can drop to 30 m), avoiding obstacles and previously identified strong groups air defense and changing course every 100-200 km. Upon reaching the correction site, the on-board microwave radio altimeter “feels” the underlying surface and receives a radar map of the relief. The map is digitized, the digital computer compares the resulting “cast” with the reference one and, based on identified errors, issues commands to correct the trajectory. As a result, the missile is launched into the target area with an accuracy unattainable in previous generations. The circular probable deviation, that is, the radius of the circle into which the missile hits with a probability of 0.5, does not exceed 100 m. With a nuclear warhead, this is quite enough. The guidance system of the Kh-55 missile with a flight altitude of 40-110 m works on the same basis - its inertial system is interfaced with a Doppler speed and drift meter and a terrain correction system.

The family of strategic cruise missiles adopted by the USSR is generally similar to the American one. However, since the same 1976, NPO Mashinostroenie has been developing, based on slightly different requirements, the Meteorit missile - supersonic, with a launch range of up to 5,000 km and universal (air, sea and ground) deployment. Among other innovations, it was supposed to be equipped with a device for ionizing the oncoming air flow to form a plasma plume. The latter was supposed to reduce resistance to movement and sharply reduce the radar signature of the missile - a technology that has not been implemented in the series to this day, but is still relevant. But work on “Meteorite” was curtailed by the end of the 1980s.

After the signing of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 1987, arms development was reoriented towards “conventional” wars. In the USSR and the USA, the modernization of strategic missile systems began with the replacement of nuclear warheads with “conventional” ones. The latter required greater accuracy of the guidance system. And the reason for the American “peacefulness” was confidence in technological superiority and ensuring greater accuracy of hits of its missiles, as well as greater efficiency of conventional combat units. Thus, the American passive optical-electronic homing head of the DSMAC system provided a circular probable deviation of no more than 20-30 m. However, a modification of the Soviet X-55 missile, the X-55OK, also received an optical correlator based on the reference image of the terrain. The American Tomahawk now has modifications BGM-109C with a unitary semi-armor-piercing high-explosive warhead for striking protected targets and BGM-109D with a cluster warhead for striking troop concentrations, airfields, etc. True, the launch range decreased - conventional warheads weighed more and took up more space than nuclear ones. For example, the Tomahawk had a maximum launch range of 1,600 km, while the non-nuclear air-launched AGM-86C missile had a maximum launch range of 1,100 km. Nevertheless, the Americans periodically resumed converting some of their nuclear missiles into “regular” missiles as they were used up. As for the ground-based Tomahawks BGM-109G, they were eliminated, according to the Treaty.

Strategic cruise missile X-555, Russia, 2000. Air-to-ground class

By command posts

With the liquidation of the Warsaw Pact and the collapse of the USSR, the Americans and their NATO allies (mainly the most loyal one in the person of Great Britain) began practical testing of the CD in conflicts of a different level and against other opponents. At the same time, they were able to clearly demonstrate the capabilities of high-precision missile systems in hitting strategically and tactically important targets, but they also did not forget about “aerial terror.” The scope of the use of missile launchers and the range of tasks solved with their help expanded, and the missiles themselves were improved. The characteristics of missile launchers make them an excellent means of a massive first strike, designed primarily to suppress and destroy stationary enemy air defense facilities and its control system. Then you can deliver group or single strikes against the most important targets - depending on the situation. This is how they have been used since Operation Desert Storm in 1991.

True, in the first four days of Desert Storm they accounted for only 16% of all air and missile strikes, but two months later - already 55%. The bulk were BGM-109 Tomahawk modifications C and D, launched from American surface ships (276 missiles) and submarines (40 missiles) deployed in the Mediterranean and Red Seas and the Persian Gulf. 33 missiles shot down Iraqi air defenses, 35 deviated from the target. B-52N bombers carried out 35 launches of the AGM-86С missile system, 30 of which covered their targets.

Strategic cruise missile AGM-86С, USA, 1986 Air-to-ground class

Strategic cruise missile AGM-129A, USA, 1993 Air-to-ground class

Usually several missiles were aimed at the most important targets. A large number of missiles in a salvo made it difficult for the air defense to work—not only did it not have time to hit, but even to track all the targets. In addition, as reported, part of the Kyrgyz Republic carried jamming stations. But in the hunt for mobile Iraqi missile launchers, the missiles were almost useless - the moving target left before its coordinates were entered into the flight program. In the specific conditions of the Middle East, a problem with the TERCOM system also emerged - the predominantly monotonous landscape left a small choice of areas for correction. It was necessary to send several missiles along one route, and this increased losses from air defense fire.

Then the developers again “turned their gaze to the heavens.” But not to the stars, but to the satellites. Actually, without satellite reconnaissance, communications, satellite maps of the area, the use of missile defense would be difficult in any case. But the first experience of combat use accelerated the implementation of the program developed back in the 1980s. We were talking about trajectory correction based on signals from the NAVSTAR space radio navigation system (GPS), which makes it possible to determine the coordinates and speed of an object with high accuracy. They began installing GPS receivers on the Tomahawk, pairing them with the existing guidance system. The choice of trajectories was simplified, the electromagnetic radiation of the missile on the main part of the trajectory was reduced, all-weather capability was maintained, and delivering a high-precision strike became possible anywhere in the world. At the same time, combat units were improved. On the Tomahawk, for example, the unitary warhead was lightened, made stronger, and a detonation delay was introduced to hit buried objects protected by thick concrete. They also installed warheads aimed at target radio emissions.

But when in September 1996, 44 air- and sea-based missiles were launched at various Iraqi targets, the accuracy of the strikes turned out to be low. Of the 16 AGM-86Cs released, only 5 hit targets - the result cannot be called impressive. GPS receivers also began to be installed on the AGM-86C. The AGM-86D modification received a penetrating warhead and a launch range of up to 1,320 km. For greater penetration depth, the missile was given the ability to dive onto a target almost vertically.

The upgraded missile launchers found use in Operation Desert Fox in December 1998. A dense grouping of space assets for various purposes was previously created; according to information from reconnaissance satellites, the results of the strikes were assessed in real time. 415 missiles were launched at approximately 100 military and civilian targets in Iraq, some of them (for the first time) from B-1B bombers. The share of cruise missiles in air-missile strikes increased to 72%. This was achieved both by the improvement of the “navigation support” of the missiles themselves and by the presence of a unified flight program planning system. Only 13 missiles allegedly failed to hit their intended targets. The rest “flew” not only into military and industrial facilities, but also into residential buildings, schools, etc.

In August 1998, 13 missiles were launched at “terrorist bases” in Sudan and 66 in Afghanistan, and new modifications of the missiles were additionally tested. Large-scale combat tests of cruise missiles were also carried out in Europe. Back in September 1995, the United States, in order to help Muslim groups in Bosnia, released 13 missile launchers against Bosnian Serb positions.

During the fighting against Yugoslavia in 1999 (Operation Resolute Force), NATO tested “non-contact” warfare using reconnaissance and strike combat systems. The latter are based on a combination of space surveillance, control, communications, navigation, information and control systems and high-precision missile carriers. Launches of the missile were carried out from ranges of “only” 200-800 km. Initially, strikes were carried out against air defenses. The Yugoslavs unpleasantly surprised NATO by not revealing their air defense system at the time of the first strikes. The mobile anti-aircraft systems they deployed turned on for a short time and quickly changed positions. Camouflage measures and electronic warfare equipment were used competently.

Nevertheless, NATO managed to damage the military and government systems. This made it possible at the next stage to focus on disabling communications, individual infrastructure facilities, then warehouses and oil refining facilities, striking in groups or single missile launchers in combination with the actions of manned aircraft. Cruise missile strikes (mostly at night) were carried out on more than 130 targets, of which 52 were civilian: this was how the ability to hit targets in urban areas was proven. Missiles, unfortunately, are also effective against civilians. In the first attacks, a cruise missile killed 26 people in a residential building in the town of Aleksinac. Several hospitals were destroyed in Belgrade and other places. On May 8, a memorable missile attack was carried out on the Chinese embassy in Belgrade. Later, the generals admitted that these attacks were not “accidents” (like the missiles that flew into Bulgaria), but were planned in advance.

In total, more than 700 missile launchers were used up during the raids (according to other sources, more than 1,200, of which about 80 were air-launched AGM-86C, the rest were BGM-109 modifications C, D and F). The Yugoslavs shot down 40 missiles and diverted 17 from their targets. And this despite the fact that the air defense system of Yugoslavia had already been destroyed and ravaged by the civil war. During Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan in 2001, more than 600 rockets were used. Following their massive use at the beginning of the operation (launches were carried out from American and British ships and submarines), they moved on to single strikes on the most important targets - airfields, air defense facilities, military and government buildings. The effect of the destruction of infrastructure was small - few people in Afghanistan used electricity or central heating.

CDs were used most extensively during the US-British aggression against Iraq in 2003 (“Shock and Awe”). Although here, strikes using air- and sea-based missiles accounted for only about half of all air and missile strikes. Let's compare, however: during Desert Storm, only 282 Tomahawk missiles were launched in 43 days, and during Operation Shock and Awe from March 20 to April 15 - 950. The very first missiles launched hit military and government buildings leadership in Baghdad, air force and air defense facilities. Unlike the same "Desert Storm", now the most intense raids of the Kyrgyz Republic were in the first days of the operation, then they were used to destroy individual important objects. About 150 such launches of AGM-86C and D missiles were carried out by B-52H bombers at a distance of 400-600 km from targets - over the territory of Turkey, Jordan, Iraq itself, and over the Persian Gulf. About 80% of all launches were made by Tomahawk BGM-109 modifications C and D. About 800 missile launchers were launched from surface ships and submarines of the United States and Great Britain from the Persian and Oman Gulfs (at a distance of 600-650 km from the targets), from the eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea (distance 1,250–1,600 km) through the territory of Turkey, from the Red Sea (distance 1,000–1,100 km) through the territory of Saudi Arabia. But, as we know, a “non-contact” war did not work out.

During the first week of the war, 350 civilians were killed as a result of air and missile strikes in Baghdad alone. Civilian casualties accompanied the entire operation. And “missed” missiles fell in Iran, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia.

Nevertheless, one cannot deny the effectiveness of high-precision weapons in the fight against air defense, destruction of the enemy’s control system, military and civilian infrastructure - especially when used so intensively. The United States has assigned cruise missiles the role of the main and even decisive strike weapon.

On the other hand, fifteen years of experience have shown that although air defense systems (air defense systems, air defense systems, fighters, even balloons) play an important role, the most effective defense against the Kyrgyz Republic is the destruction of their carriers. And this requires space reconnaissance systems, long-range radar detection, and leaves the main role for fighters, anti-ship and anti-submarine systems even in a “conventional” war. It is no coincidence that the United States with such diligence preliminarily isolates and “surrounds” the victims of aggression and strives to gain absolute superiority in the aerospace sphere and at sea.

Hypersonic flight

Let me introduce you to hypersonic flight. The movement of matter in a medium at a speed faster than sound is called supersonic. How much faster is shown by comparison with the local speed of sound. This comparison was called the Mach number, dividing the speed of movement by the speed of sound and denoting it M. In supersonic flight, the value of the Mach number is greater than one, for example 1.7 or 3. Supersonic aircraft fly at this Mach number. But the region of speeds with M = 5 and more was identified among the supersonic range and called hypersonic movement. With a standard speed of sound at the ground of 340 m/s, the speed M = 5 will be 1700 m/s.

The first product of man,

The one that reached hypersonic speed was Wernher von Braun's V-2 ballistic missile, which developed a flight speed of just 1,700 m/s. In the Pleistocene frost of the lower stratosphere, the speed of sound (and it depends on temperature) is 295 m/s, so the Mach number of the V-2 should have risen to M = 5.8. Later, various tactical missiles reached hypersonic speeds with a range of 400–500 km. Longer ranges are always accompanied by hypersonic reentry, and as the range increases, the Mach number increases. Some anti-aircraft missiles accelerated to hypersonic levels. For example, the 5B28 liquid-propellant rocket of the S-200 anti-aircraft complex, which was therefore used for experiments with a hypersonic engine on the topics “Cold” and “Igla”. High hypersonic speed was developed by the 53T6 missiles of the Soviet A-135 anti-missile system, the speed of which in the atmosphere, according to various sources, reached M = 13–18.

Tactical missiles

(this is a range of up to 500 km) and long-range warheads met the hypersonic flow in the form of drag. Later, aeroballistic missiles like the Iskander missiles began to use the lifting force of hypersonic flow for maneuvering, placing the smooth carrot of the missile at an angle of attack to the oncoming flow. This is also what the solid fuel missile of the Kinzhal aviation complex, an aircraft version of the Iskander missile, does.

Space technology

also goes through the hypersonic portion of the flight. Launch vehicles reach it in the upper atmosphere. The Pegasus cruise launch vehicle uses hypersonic lift, reaching hypersound in the upper stratosphere and managing to capture the remnants of the rapidly melting atmosphere with its delta wing. The Soviet winged vehicles of the Bor series entered the Buran at hypersonic speed. All today's re-entry spacecraft have a hypersonic section.

Thus, movement at hypersonic speed in itself is neither new nor an achievement today, having been known in practice for almost 80 years. Hypersound is encountered by many types of aircraft during their flight phases. Some use hypersonic flow like normal supersonic flow, generating lift with their cylindrical body or supersonic wing.

And only recently

aircraft have appeared, the design of which is completely optimized for the creation of hypersonic lift, which has become the main principle shaping the trajectory. Such devices are called hypersonic. These gizmos are made specifically for hypersonic flight and make the most of its features. They are grouped into two types, both as combat weapons. The first is vehicles without an engine, or gliding warheads. They can glide at hypersonic speeds over a distance of up to a thousand kilometers. The second is hypersonic cruise missiles, equipped with a hypersonic air-breathing engine, similar in structure to conventional cruise missiles. The design with a hypersonic engine is the most advanced, and it is what is called today a hypersonic missile in the fullest sense of the concept.

Are you here

Space is a mysterious space that cannot help but fascinate. Tsiolkovsky believed that the future of humanity lies in space. So far there is no serious reason to argue with this scientist. Space offers endless opportunities for the development of humanity and the expansion of living space. In addition, it hides within itself the answers to numerous questions. Today, man has begun to actively use outer space. Therefore, our future largely depends on how rockets take off. Equally important is people's understanding of this process. Below we will tell you about what speed a space rocket can reach and how long it will take to get to certain cosmic bodies.

Differences in hypersonic flow

But why was the hypersonic region differentiated from the supersonic region? How does it differ from supersonic and why was the boundary drawn precisely at five times the speed of sound, at M = 5? This boundary has a physical meaning, because beyond it the flow becomes different.

In supersonic flight

the oncoming flow is partially slowed down by the apparatus, compressing against it and becoming denser. Compression increases the temperature of the air, and the stronger it is, the hotter the compressed air. The flow is slowed down most strongly on the parts of the apparatus that encounter air. Therefore, the leading edges of the wings, stabilizers and fin, and other parts protruding into the flow are heated to several hundred degrees, for example, to 330 ° C at M = 3. A supersonic impact on an obstacle seems to split the high supersonic speed into myriads of tiny movements of molecules, small and multidirectional. Such a fine grinding movement converts kinetic energy into internal energy, creating heat. The increase in molecular movement becomes heat, increasing the temperature. But this heating is not reflected in any way in the air molecules themselves, which fly in simple points and collide with each other with increasing force.

flow
speed increases the impact of molecules. At M = 5, collisions are reflected in the molecules themselves. Two atoms in the molecules of the main gases of air, nitrogen and oxygen, begin to resonate and vibrate, moving closer and further apart. This is a new, vibrational movement that has climbed inside the molecule. The enormous speed of the hypersonic flow intensifies the impact on the obstacle and its grinding, crushing the kinetic energy before transforming into even smaller forms of motion - intramolecular. They add their energy to the molecule along with the energy of another new movement that begins to manifest itself - the rotation of molecules. These innovations add to the heat capacity of gas, storing more and more heat and increasing the energy of processes.

Energy pumping

weakens the bonds of atoms moving further away from each other in vibrations, and the molecules begin to disintegrate. Free atoms enter into new compounds - chemical reactions occur. They multiply, fueled by the energy of the flow and the catalytic effects of the materials of the apparatus. Atoms lose electrons, plasma appears, and its concentration increases. The shock wave from the nose and leading edges bends more and more and falls on the body, covering the entire aircraft. The wave merges with the surface layer, forming a single viscous shock boundary layer. The gas, which is no longer ideal, flows in cascades of nonequilibrium states, with high-frequency waves of instability and other complications. To adequately describe what is happening, extensive mathematical constructions and hundreds of specific variables are required. Their values ​​change all at once, simultaneously with temperatures, pressures and concentrations, energies and balances of reactions and many other factors. All this is richly flavored with radiation and absorption in the range from thermal to ultraviolet and shines brightly from the surface of the device, strikingly different from simple supersonic compression and heating.

Shock shock

This is a very important supersonic concept that determines the flight of a hypersonic rocket and, like Elbrus, has two application points, outside and inside the rocket. It is often and widely confused with a shock wave, but it is not the same thing. A shock wave occurs in a supersonic flow as the impossibility of air disturbances from any streamlined obstacles to be absorbed forward. They move only at the speed of sound and accumulate in front of the source of disturbances, unable to escape from it up the supersonic flow. The flow pushes and compacts this accumulation of disturbances, creating air compaction here. It occurs strongly and sharply, spasmodically, at a distance of a couple of molecular runs per ten-billionth of a second. This instantaneous step in density growth is a compression shock.

And in the same jump-like manner the flow is slowed down, instantly slowing down and flowing slower after the jump. The decrease in the kinetic energy of the flow turns into an increase in the potential energy of compression and heat. With a jump in density, pressure and temperature also increase sharply. In the shock wave, part of the flow energy is lost and consumed, forming gas-dynamic losses. This causes an additional slowdown in flow. Energy losses in horse racing are different, and this difference can be worked with.

The shock wave can be straight or oblique

. The direct shock stands perpendicular to the flow, “straight,” and decelerates the flow to subsonic, completing the supersonic flow. It has the greatest energy losses. Oblique shocks lie at an angle to the flow, leaving it supersonic behind them and causing fewer losses. If you need to slow down and compress the flow by a given amount, then compression with one shock will give more losses than the total of two or three weaker shocks. Oblique shock waves in the engine compress the air in a sequential cascade with less energy loss, which is inexorably wasted from the energy of the rocket's motion, slowing it down.

Beyond the jump

Gas can have two routes. If the cause of the jump is nearby—any hard surface at an angle of attack, a wedge, a cone, or another shape—then the air flows along it compressed. Behind the shock, the compressed, heated and slowed down flow continues. Then the shock wave is the leading surface and the beginning of the compressed flow.

And when there is no disturbing object behind the shock, for example in an open atmosphere, then the compressed air behind the shock begins to expand unhindered. The higher the compression ratio, the more powerful the expansion. Its speed gives rise to inertia, and the expanding air skips the parameters of the atmosphere without stopping at them. A vacuum arises, which is soon collapsed by the surrounding atmospheric pressure until it equalizes with itself.

Deviation from equilibrium followed by a free return to it is a wave process. And the entire structure—the shock wave, the area of ​​compressed air behind it, and the region of rarefaction—makes up a shock wave. In it, the shock wave is only the front surface as thick as that very couple of molecular paths. The shock wave resembles a stack of two pancakes, compression and rarefaction, with a thin burn of the shock wave on the front compression pancake.

In a hypersonic rocket

The shock wave works both internally and externally. You could say he creates a hypersonic missile, being its sculptor. The main way works is the formation of compressed streams. They arise under the wings and body due to the angle of attack and create lift for the rocket. Supersonic shock systems are organized inside the engine to ensure its proper operation.

What must be the speed of the ship to fly to the Moon?

To fly a spacecraft to the Moon, it must start at an orbital speed of 29 thousand km per hour, and then increase to approximately 40 thousand km per hour.

A spacecraft at such a speed can move away to a distance at which the gravity of the Moon will be stronger on it than the Earth. Modern technology makes it possible to develop ships that match the above-mentioned speed of movement. But if the ship's engines do not work, it will be accelerated by the gravity of the Moon and simply fall onto it with great force, destroying the ship. For this reason, if at the very beginning of the journey the jet engines accelerated the spacecraft in the direction of the Moon, then when the lunar gravity was compared with the Earth's, the engines began to act in the opposite direction. Thus, a soft landing on the Moon was ensured, during which all people on the ship remained unharmed.

There is no air on the Moon, so you can only be on it in special spacesuits. The first person to descend on the surface of the Moon was the American Neil Armstrong, and this happened in 1969. That was when mankind first became acquainted with the composition of lunar soil. Its study has made it possible to better understand the history of the formation of the Solar System. Then geologists hoped to find some valuable substances on the Moon that could be mined.

Flame motor

The hot heart of the rocket is the hypersonic ramjet engine, or scramjet. It compresses oncoming air, burns fuel in it, pumping it with energy, and accelerates it with a jet nozzle, creating a jet stream and thrust. The hypersonic engine does all this in its own special way.

For air compression

no compressor required. The incoming flow compresses itself due to its high speed, squeezed by the surfaces of the narrowing channel, or confuser. The edges of the air intake wedge into the air, driving it into confusion. Any supersonic, with M > 1, flow in a tapering flow part is slowed down and compacted. Therefore, the scramjet confuser has the appearance of a tapering funnel, round or slit-like with inclined edges. This is where shock waves work, occurring at the edges of the air intake. The air behind them flows in the form of a compressed stream. Such jumps continue to occur in accordance with the geometry of the channel, successively slowing down, densifying and heating the flow.

Confused

supplies repeatedly compressed hot air for combustion with a given density and flow rate. Density is needed for stable combustion, consumption is needed for the level of draft. The compressed flow must remain supersonic, as at any point in the scramjet engine. This is necessary to avoid large losses due to deceleration of the flow to subsonic (then there will be a direct shock with the largest losses) with subsequent acceleration of it by the nozzle back to supersonic. To avoid unnecessary losses, the flow throughout the entire engine is left supersonic. The confuser channel is carefully designed as an efficient supersonic compression machine. It contains controls for compression parameters. All that remains is to spray fuel into the compacted hot supersonic flow and burn it. And meet two big problems with scramjet engines.

Supersonic combustion

- an extremely complex thing. Any ordinary flame will be blown away supersonic, without having time to spread. A different, supersonic combustion mechanism is needed. This is known as detonation. The detonation shock wave is supersonic, and it compresses the substance to the heat required for combustion. A mixture of hydrogen and oxygen is called detonating gas because it detonates very loudly, causing ears to ring. By adding hydrogen to the air, you can get an explosive gas, albeit highly diluted with atmospheric nitrogen, but still capable of detonation.

Detonation wave

combustion will move through this mixture at supersonic speed. Here the shock wave acts like a diesel piston, compressing the mixture until it ignites. If the speed of the supersonic flow of the air-hydrogen mixture is equalized with the speed of the detonation wave, then the combustion wave will run, remaining in place. And inhabiting this place of the flow part as a combustion chamber. At enormous supersonic speeds, it is necessary to precisely regulate the flow and detonation speed so that it does not go either forward or backward from the combustion zone. Ultra-precise and ultra-fast, otherwise the wave will fly out of the camera in a thousandth of a second. At the same time, it is important to accurately maintain the density, the temperature of the flow, and a dozen other parameters - everything affects the wave. Such management poses a serious problem.

Fuel

and the layouts with it create a second big problem. Hydrogen is easier to mix with air, but kerosene or similar dense fuels must be atomized to form a detonating mixture. Which one - from fuel vapor or from a finely sprayed mist of small liquid droplets? Fuel mist detonations are two-phase detonation systems that work well in volumetric explosion munitions. The issues of choosing types of detonation are complicated by the search for fuel structures. Anything exposed to supersonic flow disturbs it, creating shock waves. How to organize nozzles or other spraying into the stream? How to prepare a high-quality supersonic fuel-air mixture in an extremely short time - fractions of a millisecond? How to manage its composition with such speed? Fuel atomization, like a supersonic combustion wall, are very complex processes and control objects. Here they are looking for key solutions to the efficiency of scramjet engines that are not published in the press.

Finally, the detonation wave is behind, the gas is heated by the fuel burned in it. Next, a jet nozzle awaits him. But this is not the usual Laval nozzle. It does not have a tapering part - it is subsonic and is not needed here. The hot supersonic flow enters the immediately expanding supersonic nozzle. This is a diffuser, the usual expanding part of the familiar Laval “rocket” nozzle, which accelerates the jet stream and creates thrust.

Flow part

The scramjet engine thus resembles a pipe on two sides - the narrowing of the confuser, the combustion zone and the expansion of the nozzle diffuser. The flow is supersonic everywhere, but at different speeds, the lowest in the central part. And this pipe thunders its song high in the stratosphere.

Speed ​​of the ship to fly to the Moon

For the flight to the Moon, the spacecraft was launched to an orbital speed of 29,000 km/h, and then accelerated to a speed of approximately 40,000 km/h. At this speed, the spacecraft can move away to a distance at which the gravity of the Moon is already stronger than the gravity of the Earth. Modern technology makes it possible to create ships that achieve the mentioned speed of movement. However, if the ship's engines do not operate, it will be accelerated by the gravity of the Moon and fall onto it with enormous force, and all life inside the ship will die. Therefore, if at the beginning of the Earth-Moon journey the jet engines accelerate the ship in the direction of the Moon, then after the lunar gravity becomes equal to the Earth's, the engines will act in the opposite direction. This ensures a soft landing on the Moon, during which all people inside the ship remain unharmed. There is no air on the Moon, so people can only be on it in special spacesuits. The first person to set foot on the surface of the Moon was the American Armstrong, and this happened in 1969, when the first acquaintance with the composition of the lunar soil took place. Studying it will help to better understand the history of the formation of the solar system. Geologists do not rule out the presence on the Moon of such valuable substances that it would be advisable to mine. The mass of the Moon is significantly less than the mass of the Earth. This means that it is easier to take off from it and the journey to deep space will be easier to achieve from it. It is possible that humanity will use this opportunity in the future. The speed of departure into lunar orbit is much lower and amounts to 1.7 km/s or 6120 km/h.

Flight of the Bumblebee, or Tic-Tac-Toe Game

A hypersonic engine immediately changes the aircraft, giving it greater capabilities and creating a new combat weapon from it. The range of a hypersonic missile can far exceed that of a glider. With more intense maneuvering, the speed of the hypersonic missile will not drop, supported by the engine. And this is a direct combat quality - the degree of invulnerability to interception. A hypersonic cruise missile is more difficult to intercept due to its “range plus maneuvering plus speed” trump card, which exceeds the capabilities of a hypersonic glider.

Maneuvering

— “armor” of a hypersonic missile, the main factor of invulnerability. Maneuvering prevents interception by constantly changing the targeting of interceptor missiles and bringing them close to critical flight modes, fraught with the termination of the pursuit. Anti-missiles are forced to constantly develop adjustments to their guidance and change flight, as they approach the target more and more intensely, increasing their overloads to a critical level. The organization of anti-missile maneuvering can be based on different algorithms.

Let’s imagine that the flight control system virtually cuts off a piece of the calculated trajectory 10 or 15 kilometers long in front of itself. At the far end of this segment, the control system draws a square perpendicular to the flight with sides a couple of kilometers long, pierced by a trajectory in the center. The square is divided into equal cells, like tic-tac-toe. So the space in front of the rocket is split into a bunch of diverging spatial segments stretching forward, each of which rests on its own “tic-tac-toe” cell.

The flight control system includes a random number generator. He throws his choice strictly randomly into one of the tic-tac-toe cells. An aiming cross is drawn in the selected cell; the others remain zeros. After which the control system directs the rocket to this randomly placed cross.

Having flown through the segment and ending up in a square with a cross, thereby moving slightly from the central spoke - the calculated trajectory, the control system cuts off another piece from the further trajectory, and the game repeats. At the end of the segment, “tic-tac-toe” are again drawn across, and a target cross is placed strictly randomly.

Why is the selection of crosses strictly random? If there was at least some kind of system in this, it could be “seen through” by the enemy’s more powerful computing tools and algorithms, which would aim their anti-missile missile at the cruise missile. Future movements through any system can be correctly predicted and the interception vehicle can be directed to the correct meeting point. But a random choice cannot be predicted.

Special logical blocks as part of the flight control system do not allow the rocket to go beyond a two-kilometer square. Otherwise, step by step, you can fly into deep deviations from the trajectory, critically moving away from it. And then you won’t be able to catch up with the calculated trajectory. Logical blocks monitor the relationship between local tic-tac-toe movements and the general direction of flight to the target. As a result, the movement of a cruise missile resembles something between the flight of a bumblebee and the swinging of a maple leaf, but performed in a hypersonic format. This makes intercepting a missile critically difficult, but does not make it impossible—never say never.

Flight of a hypersonic missile

consists of large geographical elements of bypassing problem areas and anti-missile sites and local anti-missile maneuvering superimposed on them, which can be intensified with information about the launch of an anti-missile missile. The choice of architecture and maneuvering modes is a careful matter and also does not fall into the broad information exchange.

How long does it take to fly to Mars and other planets?

The distance to the planet Mars is about 56 million km. Taking into account the capabilities of the latest technologies, it will take at least 210 days to fly to Mars. This works out to be 266,666 kilometers per day at a speed of 3 km per second or 11,111 km per hour. One of the main problems when flying to other planets is that the speed of a rocket in space, kilometers per hour, will not be enough. At the moment, a flight to Mars for Martian samples will seem more realistic.

If it takes about 210 days to fly to the nearest planet Mars, which is physically difficult, but achievable for humans, then flights to other planets are simply impossible due to the physical capabilities of people.

It is worth noting that the speed of the rocket depends on the engine. The faster the gases escape from the engine nozzle, the faster the rocket flies. The gas that is formed during the combustion of modern chemical fuels reaches a speed of 3-4 km per second (10,800 - 14,400 km per hour). At the same time, the maximum speed of movement that can be imparted to a rocket with a spacecraft is reduced.

Winged messenger design

To perform intensive maneuvers, a large lifting force is required, by tilting which you can turn the rocket's course in different directions. In contrast to subsonic and supersonic flight, in hypersonic mode the lift force arises only due to shock gas-dynamic compression of the flow on the lower surfaces of the vehicle. It is compressed by shock waves on the wings and body, which arise due to the angle of attack. Compressed air flows from below the surfaces and presses on them. Pressure forces are collected into the lifting force of the apparatus.

Correct organization of compression zones

and their parameters will determine the hypersonic aerodynamic quality of the rocket, its “volatility”. Sharp leading edges reduce drag. The missile receives a specialized gas-dynamic appearance - hypersonic. Its design is quite complex and requires a deep description of the complex processes of hypersonic flow. This requires a deep understanding of them. We need greater computing power and mathematical models with increasing adequacy. Experimental measurements and data are needed. Therefore, the choice of rocket shapes, the balance of geometry and flow, is also key and is a great acquired value.

Repeatedly, up to tens of times,

Air compression levels create high aerodynamic loads on the structure and high resistance. To reduce them, the flight takes place in very rarefied layers of the stratosphere, at altitudes of 25–30 km. This also reduces the heat flow into the rocket, its heating at such a speed. The lower layers for hypersound are always hotter. Therefore, the stratosphere becomes the main stage of a hypersonic missile. The rocket is lifted there by a carrier - an airplane or an accelerating rocket stage. However, an accelerator is also needed during an aircraft launch to bring the hypersonic engine to operating flow conditions. He must receive hypersound in a ready-made form, even in the lowest range.

For flight control

there is a navigation system, a flight control system and executive organs. The navigation system consists of an inertial unit, celestial navigation and satellite navigation, the flight control system processes navigation and on-board data, from controlling the engine block to the displacement of the rocket's alignment due to fuel exhaustion. She calculates control commands. The command lines carry them to the engines, to attitude control controls such as ailerons, and to other rocket subsystems, including the charge control unit, which moves the charge in flight to increasingly higher levels of readiness for explosion.

Thermonuclear warhead

The hypersonic missile will be compact, the size of a cooler bottle, and weighing 200 kg. This compactness will not prevent the charge from releasing the full 150–300 kilotons of power written on its label over the target. Tactical charge power is also possible, up to a non-nuclear warhead. Therefore, a hypersonic missile will cover a wide range of combat missions with high reliability resulting from its flight features.

Can a cruise missile fly into your window? Is this really true?

It is well known that data on any, especially technically complex, weapon in service with any army is strictly confidential.

At the same time, all open sources of information (printed and electronic) are simply overflowing with discussions of the capabilities of the latest weapons. It is reasonable to ask the question: “If the tactical and technical characteristics of all military equipment are classified and therefore unknown, then what are the authors of numerous analytical articles discussing?”

Obviously, there are two sources of information for all Internet “research”:

— Deliberate leaks of information from weapons manufacturers or the military. Weapons concerns use such leaks for self-promotion, and the military uses them to mislead opponents. In this case, some of the data, although not entirely correct, is generally reliable. This applies to secondary characteristics. (Length, width, weight, etc.) The rest, i.e. the key parameters determining the effectiveness of the combat use of weapons are outright disinformation. It is almost impossible to separate one from the other.

- “Fantasies and speculation” of patriotic and anti-patriotic bloggers. At the same time, the outright invention of one armchair strategist is replicated in all publications as a reliable fact. And after some time it becomes a truism for the next generation of researchers.

What then should a curious reader of open publications be guided by? How to understand what a particular type of weapon can and cannot do?

Take, for example, the widespread myth about the accuracy of cruise missiles (CM), which allows the latter to “fly through the window.” How reliable is this assessment?

There are a lot of articles on the Internet with mutually exclusive conclusions and clearly implausible figures. Impressive images flash on televisions. In the image of a building (it is not clear which one, large or small. After all, the scale is not indicated.) a threatening cross is dancing - a symbol of high technology. Then a camera-blinding explosion. That's all. But the question of whether we hit where we wanted or not, and if we missed, by how much, remains unanswered!

Accuracy is perhaps the most closely guarded characteristic of any ammunition. Therefore, it is naive to expect that it can be learned from newspapers.

In such a situation, when there is no reliable information and cannot be, I would like to try, putting aside all the numerous publications about the missile defense, on the basis of even the most general, but clearly reliable reasoning, analysis of a few but trustworthy figures, to try to determine the accuracy of the hit on target for missiles of this class.

And although it is unrealistic to calculate with strict methods the accuracy with which these ammunition hits the target, it is nevertheless possible to at least “feel on your fingers” the value of this most important and most secret parameter. Such an attempt will be made in this article.

So.

(1). Types of cruise missiles

All cruise missiles existing in the world can be divided into 2 unequal groups.

(A). First group. "Blind" ammunition. Missiles without homing heads.

The vast majority of such missiles are in the arsenal of any country. These include Tomahawks (with the exception of probably the latest model), the domestic X-55, the famous Caliber family missiles, etc.

The operating algorithm of even the most modern cruise missile comes down to the following. Before the start, the coordinates of the target and the main points of the route are entered into its memory. Following a given course, the rocket will always determine its location. If it deviates from the route, its “brain” detects the accumulated deviation and gives a command to the rudders to correct the direction of movement. "Eye", i.e. This type of missile does not have homing heads (GOS). Therefore, they are not able to “see” their goals. Thus, the ammunition is aimed not at the target itself, but at a point with given coordinates.

Further we will assume that the coordinates of the target are known with very high accuracy. In other words, the location of the target is reliably known (No errors).

(b). Second group. "Sighted" ammunition. Homing missiles.

Information about such CDs appeared in open sources quite recently. Thus, according to the American press, the latest modification of the Tomahawk (Block IV) has a device, a picture from which the missile transmits to the operator via a satellite communication channel. This manager, sitting somewhere in America, looks for a target in the received image and points it to a missile, which takes this object for tracking and begins to aim directly at it.

Unlike missiles of the first group, for missiles with a seeker, errors in the cruise missile’s knowledge of its place do not have a particular impact on anything. The homing head itself, aimed by a remote operator, points the missile directly at the target.

It is still not entirely clear on what physical principles such seekers can operate.

It could be a television camera. But what will prevent the defending side from covering the target of attack with a camouflage network? And how to attack if there is bad weather or night in the yard?

The use of an infrared camera may also yield nothing if the temperature background of the target does not contrast with the background of the area (If they have the same temperature).

This could be a millimeter wave radar. But even in this case, the defender can make its use meaningless by simply covering the object of attack with a camouflage net with metal threads.

(2). Factors leading to cruise missiles missing their target.

(A). Errors in determining one's own place. For missiles without seeker.

Let us assume that the missile launcher is moving in airless space. And no deflecting atmospheric phenomena (wind, rain, turbulence, thin air) will knock it off its combat course. What could be the reason for the miss in this case?

The missile follows a given trajectory and continuously calculates the coordinates of its location point, and “in its mind” connects this point with the center of the target with a combat course line. Having approached the target, the missile launcher will try to align its location with the coordinates of this target. In this hypothetical case, no deflecting factors affect the cruise missile. The trajectory of the missile is stabilized long before approaching the target and the missile moves exactly in accordance with the data of its navigator. (i.e. all transient processes caused by maneuvering have long been completed and the ammunition flies strictly along the combat course line).

Thus, in the case of the absence of deflecting factors, it can be argued that the accuracy of pointing a cruise missile at a target will be approximately equal to the accuracy of its knowledge of its location

(i.e. the error in the hit is equal to the error of the navigation device).

In fact, this statement is not entirely accurate. There may be systematic errors; the rocket may have just completed a turn and not have time to stabilize its trajectory, etc. However, for our purposes, i.e. for a rough estimate of the accuracy of any ammunition, this assumption is quite acceptable. And besides, by accepting this assumption we give the aggressor some advantage. We “overestimate” its capabilities a little. In order to know how to cope with this even in such a “difficult” situation for us.

A corollary to what has been said. If the CD knows its coordinates absolutely reliably, it is guaranteed to hit the target. Those. a cruise missile, simply by controlling its flight, will combine its own coordinates with the coordinates of the target. And if both are absolutely accurate, a mistake is excluded (As noted earlier, the influence of the atmosphere is neglected for now).

Thus, errors in navigation are the first factor leading to a missile miss.

All of the above is, of course, only true for missiles without a seeker.

(b). Influence of atmospheric factors.

From an aerodynamic point of view, the KR is a small aircraft of fairly significant mass (up to 1.5 tons) equipped with “tiny wings.” In other words, for its large weight, this aircraft has a very small wing area (since its wings are foldable) and the area of ​​the rudders (course and altitude) on the tail of the rocket.

That is why any CD, regardless of model and company, has flight characteristics. It requires high speed (close to the speed of sound) just to stay in the air. Any atmospheric influence can easily knock a missile off its combat course. But it is quite difficult for her to quickly return to this course due to the small surface of the aerodynamic control surfaces. And even having returned to the aiming line, the massive missile launcher will most likely “slip” past this line and then return to it again. Again and again (Damped oscillatory process along the line of motion).

Thus, a cruise missile, due to the influence of atmospheric deflecting influences, “walks” or one might say “yaws” around the axis of movement in 2 planes (course and altitude).

This is the second main factor leading to misses when firing cruise missiles.

This factor applies equally to both missiles with a seeker and missiles without it.

Taking into account the above, it can be argued that the error of the missile’s navigation device (the error of its knowledge of its place) and its yaw relative to the aiming line are the 2 main factors leading to the deviation of the guided munition from the center of the target.

(3). The influence of deflecting factors on missiles of different types.

Cruise missiles without a seeker are simultaneously influenced by both of the above deflecting factors.

For missiles with a seeker, the error of its navigation receiver, in principle, does not matter much. The accuracy of any navigator is enough to fly to the target area, where a given object will be detected by the operator and entered into the seeker as a target (If the operator does not detect a given object, then the missile will become a first type missile. That is, it will be guided according to the data of its navigator) .

Thus, it is clear that missiles with a seeker aiming at a target will be influenced by only one deflecting factor - its “yaw” on the combat course due to the influence of the atmosphere. It is also obvious that the worse the aerodynamics and thrust-to-weight ratio of the ammunition, the more difficult it is for it to return to course after the end of the deflection effect. And, accordingly, the lower the accuracy of the CD will be.

Thus, in order to calculate the accuracy of hitting the target of any cruise missile, it is necessary:

— Calculate the accuracy of the rocket's navigation receiver.

— Determine the accuracy of a missile hit when its flight is influenced by deflecting atmospheric influences.

— For missiles without a seeker, it is necessary to add up the navigator’s accuracy and deviations due to yaw. To obtain the resulting accuracy (Not arithmetically, but using probability theory methods). For homing missiles, the accuracy of guidance will be determined only by the accuracy of the hit when exposed to deflecting atmospheric phenomena.

(4). Indicators of efficiency and accuracy of cruise missiles.

If you fire a large number of cruise missiles at a point target and look at the results of this strike from somewhere above, you will see that the impact points relative to this target form a dispersion pattern in shape resembling a circle filled with craters (sometimes an ellipse) with a “vague” outer border. The density of hits per unit area of ​​this circle increases as it approaches the center.

In other words, very little ammunition hits the target accurately. The hit points of the rest are scattered relative to the aiming point.

And despite the fact that the point of impact of a missile relative to the target is always random, methods for assessing accuracy exist.

When conducting any shooting, a generally accepted indicator characterizing accuracy is used. This is the circular probable deviation. (KVO).

(A). Definition of QUO.

CEP is the radius of the circle into which the missile will hit with a 50% probability. In other words, the KVO is the radius of the circle into which half of the ammunition fired at the target will “fly”. (From the point of view of probability theory, this is not an entirely correct formulation, but to achieve our goal, we can express it this way).

From probability theory it is known that 93% of all ammunition will fall into a circle of radius 2 (two) KVO. And accordingly, 99.8% of all cruise missiles will be in a circle of radius 3 (three) KVO.

At the same time, as follows from the definition, KVO characterizes the dispersion of ammunition relative to the aiming point along 2 coordinates simultaneously. And to assess the probability of a hit along 1 coordinate in artillery shooting practice, another parameter is often used - probable deviation (PD). This is often called the median deviation.

(b). Definition of VO.

VO (average deviation) is half the interval into which any ammunition will hit with a probability of 50% (Evaluation is carried out on 1 coordinate). Accordingly, based on probability theory, 96% of all missiles will fall into the interval equal to 6 VO.

In the event that the dispersion of ammunition hits relative to the center of the target for each of the coordinates is subject to the normal law, independent of each other and equal (which can be taken as an assumption for most rough calculations), then the KVO and VO are related to each other by a simple ratio.

KVO = 1.75 * VO (1)

Thus, to assess the hit accuracy of a cruise missile, it is sufficient to somehow calculate its CEP.

If, as in our case, the accuracy of the CR is influenced by 2 independent biasing factors, the coefficient of coefficient of each of them should be determined. In other words, calculate the KVOYsk. when yawing the missile on course, then determine the KVOGPS of the navigator installed on this type of homing munition.

And then add these 2 values ​​(according to the rules of probability theory) and get the resulting accuracy estimate - the QCR of a cruise missile without a seeker.

And for missiles equipped with a seeker, the hit accuracy will be determined solely by the amount of their dispersion due to yaw on the KVOrysk course.

However, knowledge of the CEP alone does not allow one to understand the effectiveness of the ammunition. In order to assess the danger of a missile, it is necessary to be able to calculate the probability of it hitting the target.

(V). Calculation of the probability of hitting the target.

From the probability theory course, we know a formula by which you can calculate the probability of ammunition hitting a round target with a radius R knowing the value of VO or KVO.

Where: R is the radius of the circular target

VO is the probable deviation for a given type of missile. (VO = 1/1.75 * KVO)

In cases where the probability of being hit by 1 missile is high, for example it is equal to 0.95, we can assume that the target will be confidently hit by one missile.

However, if the probability of a hit is small, in order to talk about a sure hit, it will be necessary to calculate the probability of at least one missile hitting the object from a salvo.

(G). Calculation of hitting the target with at least one missile from a salvo of several missiles.

To carry out this calculation, it is enough to use several formulas from the probability theory course.

Let the probability of hitting a target with 1 missile be equal to P1 of the missile.

If 2 ammunition are fired at an object, then the probability of at least one of them hitting the target is:

If there are 3 missiles in a salvo, then the probability of one of them hitting the target is:

And so on for 4, 5 or more missiles in a salvo.

The above formulas will be sufficient for carrying out the simplest, rough, rough calculations.

So, all that remains is to calculate the CEP for the KR navigator. And then evaluate the coefficient of yaw of the rocket on course.

(5). Calculation of the CEP of navigation receivers for cruise missiles.

At different times, systems based on different principles were used as the main navigators in cruise missiles.

(A). Accuracy of the TERCOM navigation system. (Radio altimeter method)

This system was used in the very first samples of the CD. The navigation device, using a radio altimeter, took a 3-dimensional picture of the terrain in the area where the missile was flying. The image obtained in this way was compared with the reference one stored in the memory of the on-board computer. And based on the identified discrepancies, the location of the missile was calculated.

The CEP of this method in the presence of a “pronounced relief” was estimated at about 90 -110 meters. Those. The diameter (not to be confused with the radius) of the circle in which 93% of all missiles fell was 360 -440 meters. This is quite acceptable accuracy when using an atomic charge as a warhead (the very first missiles were designed based on this type of warhead).

If the relief was monotonous, i.e. if a rocket flew over a steppe, desert, or continuous forest, the likelihood that it would detect anything at all was very low. In other words, the accuracy of this method of determining the location directly depended on the degree of “development” of the relief.

Currently, this navigation method can only be used as a backup. And when equipping a cruise missile with a “conventional” warhead, it is not applicable.

(b). Accuracy of the DSMAC navigation system.

As in the first example, the DSMAC navigator uses the method of comparing the resulting “picture” of the terrain with a reference value to determine the location of the radar. But in this case, to obtain the specified “picture”, a more accurate meter was used - a television camera. The resulting image was compared with the same image stored in the memory of the on-board computer. The CEP of this method was already about 20 meters (the circle with a 93% probability of hitting had a diameter of 80 meters).

Due to low accuracy, this navigation system is also inapplicable for cruise missiles with a “conventional” warhead.

(V). Navigation accuracy when using a GSM (or GLONASS) receiver

There are several types of GPS receivers.

— Ordinary “civilian” receivers. Their accuracy in determining coordinates can be found in open sources. This is the simplest type of navigation devices.

— GPS receivers for military purposes. Unlike “ordinary” navigators, military devices simultaneously use 2 frequency ranges and a set of more noise-resistant codes (giving greater accuracy).

— Geodetic and other stationary receivers. For example, installed at stations of differential correction and monitoring systems. Stationary receivers have several technical advantages over other portable civilian and military navigators.

Firstly, they use fairly large and elevated antennas, maximizing the signal-to-interference ratio. And therefore increasing accuracy.

Secondly, they can accumulate measurement results and, averaging them, achieve very high accuracy in determining coordinates.

For receivers of both the first and third groups, you can find fairly reliable data. For obvious reasons, there is simply no sane information on military navigators in the open press. And it is not possible to get it from anywhere.

In such a situation, when a fairly rough assessment of the capabilities of the Kyrgyz Republic to determine its place is made, the following approach can be used.

Evaluate the CEP of “civilian” and stationary receivers separately, and then make the assumption that the accuracy of the “military” navigator lies somewhere in the middle between them. Those. consider that the accuracy of the coordinate meter on the rocket is very approximately equal to the arithmetic mean between “civilian” and “stationary” navigation instruments. In fact, there is simply no other way to somehow understand the accuracy of “military” portable navigators.

So, the American government for interested specialists using conventional i.e. “civilian” receivers, all the necessary information about the capabilities of the GPS system was posted on the official website: “Official US Government Information about GPS”. The data from this site is used by American engineers to carry out relevant calculations.

According to this source, the minimum accuracy of a “civilian receiver” in 1 coordinate is determined as follows. The measured location will fall within the interval of 7.8 meters with a probability of 95%. (“Worst case accuracy 7.8 meter 95% confidence interval”)

At the same time, from the definition of probable deviation it is known that 6 (six) VOs cover the interval of 7.8 meters with a probability of 96%. See paragraph (4) (a)

Therefore, by dividing the specified interval by 6, you can obtain the value of the probable deviation (PD) along 1 coordinate. VO will be equal to 1.3 meters.

Using formula (1), which connects VO and KVO, it is possible to calculate the circular probable deviation for a “civilian” GPS navigator. KBOGPS will be approximately 2.275 meters.

According to the website “Russian System of Differential Correction and Monitoring System”, specialized stationary stations for generating correction signals that increase the accuracy of satellite navigation on the territory of the Russian Federation measure their location using GPS data.

The assessment of the accuracy of coordinates at these stations with a single measurement can be considered close to the maximum value for today. According to the specified official website, all measured coordinates without using the procedure of accumulation and averaging of results fall within the interval of 4.5 meters with a probability of 96%.

Then, in the same way as for “civilian” navigators, it is easy to calculate for “stationary” receivers VO = 0.75 meters, KVO = 1.3 meters.

In accordance with the previously made assumption, we will assume that the accuracy of the “military” receiver lies somewhere in the middle between “civilian” and “stationary” devices.

In the future, for carrying out calculations, we will simply take the CEP of any “military” navigator approximately equal to the arithmetic mean CEP of these 2 types of navigation devices. KVOGPS = 1.8 meters.

(6). Assessment of the deviation of a cruise missile from its course due to the influence of destabilizing atmospheric factors.

What deviations from the target of strategic cruise missiles are caused by the effects of wind, turbulence, rising air currents, areas of low pressure, etc.? Any reliable data of this kind simply cannot exist in open sources of information. After all, this is probably it. one of the most secret parameters in the performance characteristics of any cruise missile.

How then to evaluate the QUO? The only possible option is an indirect assessment based on reliably known characteristics of similar aircraft. In this case, it is pointless to study fighters, because in their aerodynamic properties they are very different from the cruise missiles.

For a very rough estimate, you can take any other missile that is at least a little similar to the missile launcher. This missile must be guided according to the homing head data. Those. strive to hit the target visible to it. And the only factor deviating it from the target will be the influence of the atmosphere.

For example, there are already outdated domestic aircraft missiles for firing at stationary targets, the X-29T.

Their aerodynamic design is different than that of the KR (“Duck”). But their weight is close to that of cruise missiles. (Their weight is approximately 700 kg, the weight of the warhead is 300 kg). The guidance method is “according to television camera data.”

Strictly speaking, the Kh-29T in its aerodynamic characteristics (as can be seen from the picture) does not fully correspond to strategic cruise missiles. But we will still consider it as a prototype, because... the yaw of this missile on a combat course will be less than that of the missile launcher. Due to better aerodynamics and thrust-to-weight ratio.

There is combat experience in using these missiles in Afghanistan. During the Afghan conflict, 139 launches were carried out. Based on the results of the combat use of these aircraft missiles, the CEP value was 2.2 meters for the television seeker and the CEP was 3.5-4 meters for laser guidance.

Thus, all X-29Ts fired at the target fell into a circle with a diameter of 8.8 meters with a probability of 93% and into a circle with a diameter of 13.2 meters with a probability of 99%

We will assume that the CEP of strategic cruise missiles, due to the influence of atmospheric deflecting factors, is approximately equal to that of the Kh-29T missiles and is 2.2 meters. (In fact, most likely the CEP of the Kyrgyz Republic is somewhat higher due to the worse aerodynamic design and lower thrust-to-weight ratio. But we made the assumption that we would put the “enemy” in a more advantageous position and give him an advantage in order to see the worst option for ourselves).

(7). Calculation of cruise missile coefficient of resistance.

(A). Cruise missiles guided according to data from the seeker itself.

As noted earlier, the reason for the deviation of such missiles from the target is only atmospheric phenomena, forcing the missile, aimed at a stationary target according to its own seeker, to scour the combat course in 2 planes.

Approximately the accuracy of strategic cruise missiles can be quite confidently set with a CEP parameter of 2.2 meters.

(b). Cruise missiles guided to a target using data from a GSM navigation receiver.

As stated earlier, the error in hitting such missiles is determined by the influence of 2 factors.

Errors of the navigator itself - CEP = 1.8 meters and errors due to the yaw of the missile on the combat course - CEP = 2.2 meters.

For any missile that does not have its own guidance head, both factors act simultaneously.

Knowing the CEP of each of these influences, it is possible to calculate, using the methods of probability theory, the resulting CEP (In this case, it is not the deviations themselves that are added up, but the power of fluctuations for each of the coordinates).

Calculated in this way, the total CEP of a strategic cruise missile without a seeker is 2.85 meters.

(Some open sources give a value of 3 meters. Therefore, this estimate can be considered quite reliable) / This is of course not hitting the window, but pretty close.

This means:

— That 93% of the missiles will hit a circle with a diameter of 11.4 meters.

— That 99.9% of missiles will hit a circle with a diameter of 17.1 meters.

The warhead power of most strategic missile systems in TNT equivalent is approximately 500 kg. The force of the explosion of such a mass of explosive will be sufficient to destroy any unprotected object in the center of a circle with a diameter of 17 meters.

A house, vehicle, tent city, bridge, power plant will be almost certainly destroyed.

Consequently, with a CEP equal to 2.85 meters, the cruise missile is capable of solving the problem of destroying unprotected objects.

Now it remains to understand how effective cruise missiles are for hitting protected objects. For example, ballistic missile silos. Indeed, in recent years, America has constantly threatened the Russian Federation with the possibility of delivering a disarming strike.

However, for the destruction of small-sized protected objects, such as an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) silo, a cruise missile is not so effective. It's easy to make a quick calculation.

Let's assume that the ICBM shaft with a concrete cap around the lid is a circle with a diameter of approximately 6 meters.

What is the probability of a cruise missile with COE = 2.85 hitting the cover of an ICBM silo?

For quantitative assessment, you can use formula (2) given above.

Having carried out the appropriate calculations, it is not difficult to obtain the probability of a missile hitting the cover of an ICBM silo.

This probability P is equal to 54%.

Using formula (3), which allows you to calculate the probability of 2 ammunition hitting a round target, you can calculate the total probability of at least 1 of 2 missiles in a salvo hitting the lid. In this case (for 2 missiles) P = 80%

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For 3 missiles in a salvo, the probability of hitting an ICBM silo is 90%.
As you can see, to ensure a guaranteed hit on the mine cover, you need to use 3 rockets. In addition, even a direct hit on this cover or the concrete head of the mine does not guarantee the sure destruction of an ICBM. Since the missile launcher does not have a cumulative warhead, and with a cover thickness of 1.5 meters of steel, the ballistic missile may be undamaged.

It should be taken into account that our calculations were made for missiles that do not have their own seeker and attack the target according to GPS receiver data.

For cruise missiles with a television seeker, as indicated above, the CEP will be approximately 2.2 meters. For such a QUO:

— The probability of 1 missile hitting an ICBM silo is 72%

— The probability of at least 1 missile hitting in a 2-missile salvo is 92%

— The probability of hitting at least 1 missile in a 3-missile salvo is 98%

In fact, all the calculations we performed are very approximate and only help to feel the order of magnitude and roughly estimate the capabilities of modern strategic cruise missiles.

At the same time, by carrying out these albeit primitive, but understandable calculations, all advantages were given to the side using cruise missiles. This was done in order to understand the “worst case scenario” for the defenders. (In other words, things couldn’t get any worse for those on the defensive).

Thus, the accuracy of “military” GPS system navigators used for calculations will actually be less than the value that we accepted for making estimates. (This accuracy is still closer to a regular civilian receiver than to a stationary system)

A comparison of the maneuverability of cruise missiles and USSR air attack weapons of the Kh-29T type is made in favor of the Kyrgyz Republic. In fact, the magnitude of their yaw on a combat course, due to lower thrust-to-weight ratio and worse aerodynamics, will be higher.

In addition, the calculations made here take into account only the 2 “heaviest” deflecting factors, but in fact there are much more of them. For example, at the very beginning it was assumed that the coordinates of the target were reliably known. But that's not true. And the target coordinates are also known with some error, and this error has its own CEP.

In addition, after each turn, the process of establishing a new trajectory begins, accompanied by damped oscillations of the CR around the course line. In our calculations, we assumed that all processes in flight were strictly stationary and did not take this phenomenon into account.

Therefore, the estimates of the accuracy of the CD given in the article are the most optimistic for the aggressor and put him in a more advantageous position. And even in this case, cruise missiles can be fought against.

Summarizing what has been said, we can safely say based on the very real figures given above.

For the defending side:

— Very roughly, but absolutely reliably, we can consider the CEP of strategic cruise missiles guided according to GPS receiver data to be 3.5 - 4 meters.

For winged aircraft, according to our own seeker data, the CEP is approximately 2.5 - 3 meters.

-Since cruise missiles with a homing head are 1.5 times more effective than missiles guided by GPS data, the strictest measures to camouflage objects should be applied not only in the front-line zone, but everywhere within a radius of 1.5 thousand km from the possible launch point. Those. The CD should be forced to be guided not according to the seeker data, but according to the navigator. The hit accuracy in this case will be significantly lower. And to confidently hit a target, the enemy will need to have many more missiles in a salvo.

— For small, well-protected objects (pillboxes, headquarters in bunkers, basements of houses, silos with ballistic missiles, etc.) and moving objects (convoys, trains, etc.), cruise missiles are not very dangerous. Their hit accuracy is not high enough.

“This type of weapon poses a particular danger to unprotected large-area objects. For example: warehouses, bridges, houses, power plants, campgrounds, airfields, cars and airplanes in parking lots, etc. To protect such targets, it is best to use electronic warfare.

— Wherever there are large, unprotected objects of significant value, the GPS signal must be suppressed. And if for this the antenna of the interference transmitter needs to be raised on the balloon, then this should be done. It is possible to jam the GPS signal even with ground-based electronic warfare systems. In Syria, 60% of all missiles in a salvo did not reach the target area at all - the Syrian Air Force air base.

Valery Pryamitsky