Guided air-to-ground missiles of the X-38 family

The British Army's mobile PUZUR "Rapier" is awaiting buyers. The missile entered service in 1971.

The anti-aircraft guided missile was continuously improved from 1960 to 1990, but now a limit appears to have been reached and new designs appear less frequently. Airborne targets are also improving their countermeasures against missiles, which requires missile designers to develop countermeasures in response.

The use of anti-aircraft missiles began during World War II, and by the mid-20th century they were considered accurate enough to replace heavy artillery in the fight against high-flying aircraft. In reality, however, the first anti-aircraft guided missiles were not as accurate as their creators would have liked. It is known that during the Vietnam War, the North Vietnamese army used 4244 SA-2 Guideline missiles to shoot down 76 American aircraft. In 1960, as many as 14 missiles were needed to bring down Gary Powers' U-2 over Sverdlovsk.

Since then, the characteristics of anti-aircraft guided missiles have improved, but counteraction to them has not stood still either. Depending on the type of missile guidance system, the method of final trajectory guidance, and other physical factors that can be detected and measured, it has become possible to create radars and other jamming systems to "fool" the missile. This, in turn, led to countermeasures by missile designers, and this process continues.

Portable missiles such as the Stinger or Grayle have become more reliable and very effective. They are now mounted on mobile 4- or 6-round launchers equipped with radar and fire control systems to act as light air defense weapons. The disadvantage of a portable missile, operated by one person, was a very small amount of time to see the approaching target, raise the weapon to the shoulder, aim, lock on the target and launch the missile. This drawback has now been somewhat mitigated by the advent of various simple warning radars that detect an approaching aircraft, sound an alarm and indicate the direction from which the target is moving, verify that the launcher is mounted on the shoulder, and turn on an indicator when the target enters the missile's range.

As the end of the century approaches, many projects are stopped, usually for financial reasons. The British Bloodhound missile is obsolete, but there is no replacement in sight. The Rapier 2000 is in service; and the Americans, who have not yet chosen a mobile air defense installation, are now pinning their hopes on a new launcher based on an 8x8 wheeled armored personnel carrier armed with a Gatling gun and 8 Stinger missiles.

SAM "Crotal"

In the early 1960s, the South African government awarded a contract to the French (later to become Thomson-CSF) to create a mobile all-weather anti-aircraft guided missile system. The latter became known as "Cactus": Thomson-CSF was responsible for the entire system, radar and electronics, and, having extensive experience in the design of anti-aircraft guided missiles, was responsible for the R.440 missile. The first batteries were delivered to South Africa in 1971, the end of delivery was in 1973. Since then, the Crotal system (as it is called ...

First experiments

The first attempt to create a remotely controlled projectile to engage air targets was made in Great Britain by Archibald Lowe. Its “Aerial Target,” so named to deceive German intelligence, was a radio-controlled propeller with an ABC Gnat piston engine. The projectile was intended to destroy Zeppelins and heavy German bombers. After two unsuccessful launches in 1917, the program was closed due to little interest in it from the Air Force command.

In 1935, Sergei Korolev proposed the idea of an anti-aircraft missile "217", guided by a searchlight beam using photocells. Work on the projectile was carried out for some time before the development stage.

The world's first anti-aircraft guided missiles were the Reintochter, Hs-117 Schmetterling and Wasserfall missiles created in Nazi Germany in 1943 (the latter was tested by the beginning of 1945 and was ready for launch into mass production, which never began ).

In 1944, faced with the threat of Japanese kamikazes, the US Navy initiated the development of anti-aircraft guided missiles designed to protect ships. Two projects were launched - the Lark long-range anti-aircraft missile and the simpler KAN[1]. None of them managed to take part in the hostilities. Development of the Lark continued until 1950, and although the missile was successfully tested, it was considered too obsolete and was never installed on ships.

In the UK, anti-aircraft guided missiles Brakemine and Stooge were developed for similar purposes, which were also not completed due to the end of hostilities[2].

First missiles in service

Initially, post-war developments placed considerable emphasis on German technical expertise.

In the Soviet Union, by decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, since 1946, work has been carried out on the reproduction and development of a number of German anti-aircraft missiles, both guided and unguided: Wasserfall, Reintochter, Schmetterling, Typhoon and others. Thus, the German “Wasserfall”, after some modification, received the index P-101, it was developed by NII-88, however, due to the high workload on the subject of long-range ballistic missiles, work on it progressed slowly, and there was still no understanding of the importance of the combat control system at that time . After a series of tests that revealed shortcomings in the manual guidance system, it was decided to stop modernizing the captured missile.

In the early 1950s, a decision was made to begin developing the Moscow air defense system, which was supposed to be able to repel a massive enemy air raid involving up to 1,200 aircraft. The developers of the Soviet anti-aircraft missile system under the Berkut project (chief designers Kuksenko, Beria and deputy chief designer Raspletin) eventually created the S-25 (put into service in 1955). Extremely effective for its time, the complex turned out to be very complex and expensive, and was deployed only around Moscow (2 air defense rings, 2000 km of access roads, 56 launch positions of multi-channel air defense systems and, accordingly, 56 anti-aircraft missile regiments). Further deployment of the system was abandoned for economic reasons[3]. The first widely deployed Soviet anti-aircraft missile system was the S-75.

In the United States immediately after the war, there were de facto three independent anti-aircraft missile development programs: the Army Nike program, the US Air Force SAM-A-1 GAPA program, and the Navy Bumblebee program. American engineers also attempted to create an anti-aircraft missile based on the German Wasserfall as part of the Hermes program, but abandoned this idea at an early stage of development.

The first anti-aircraft missile developed in the United States was the MIM-3 Nike Ajax, developed by the US Army. The missile had a certain technical similarity to the S-25, but the Nike-Ajax complex was much simpler than its Soviet counterpart. At the same time, the MIM-3 Nike Ajax was much cheaper than the C-25, and, adopted into service in 1953, was deployed in huge quantities to cover cities and military bases in the United States. In total, more than 200 MIM-3 Nike Ajax batteries were deployed by 1958.

The third country to deploy its own air defense systems in the 1950s was Great Britain. In 1958, the Royal Air Force adopted the Bristol Bloodhound long-range air defense system. British air defense systems differed significantly from their early Soviet and American counterparts.

In addition to the USA, USSR and Great Britain, Switzerland created its own air defense system in the early 1950s. The Oerlikon RSC-51 complex developed by her entered service in 1951 and became the first commercially available air defense system in the world (although its purchases were mainly undertaken for research purposes)[4]. The complex never took part in hostilities, but served as the basis for the development of rocketry in Italy and Japan, which purchased it in the 1950s[5].

At the same time, the first sea-based air defense systems were created. In 1956, the US Navy adopted the RIM-2 Terrier medium-range air defense system, designed to protect ships from cruise missiles and torpedo bombers.

Second generation missile defense system

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the development of jet military aircraft and cruise missiles led to widespread development of air defense systems. The advent of aircraft moving faster than the speed of sound finally pushed heavy anti-aircraft artillery into the background. In turn, the improvement of nuclear warheads and the reduction of their weight and size characteristics made it possible to equip anti-aircraft missiles with them. The radius of destruction of a nuclear charge effectively compensated for any conceivable error in missile guidance, allowing it to hit and destroy an enemy aircraft even if it missed badly.

In 1958, the United States adopted the world's first long-range air defense system, the MIM-14 Nike-Hercules. A development of the MIM-3 Nike Ajax, the complex had a much longer range (up to 140 km) and could be equipped with a W31[en] nuclear charge with a power of 2-40 kt (with a weight of this charge of more than 400 kg). Massively deployed on the basis of the infrastructure created for the previous Ajax complex, the MIM-14 Nike-Hercules complex remained the most effective air defense system in the world until 1967 [ source not specified 3400 days

].
Monument to the 9M38 missile at the entrance of PJSC DNPP in Dolgoprudny
. At the same time, the US Air Force developed its own, the only ultra-long-range anti-aircraft missile system CIM-10 Bomarc. The missile was a de facto unmanned interceptor fighter with a ramjet engine and active homing. It was guided to the target using signals from a system of ground-based radars and radio beacons. The effective radius of the Bomark was, depending on the modification, 450-800 km, which made it the longest-range anti-aircraft system ever created. "Bomark" was intended to effectively cover the territories of Canada and the United States from manned bombers and cruise missiles, but due to the rapid development of ballistic missiles, it quickly lost its importance.

The Soviet Union adopted its first mass-produced anti-aircraft missile system, the S-75, in 1957, roughly similar in performance to the MIM-3 Nike Ajax, but more mobile and adapted for forward deployment. The S-75 system was produced in large quantities, becoming the basis of the air defense of both the country and the USSR troops. The complex was exported most widely in the history of air defense systems, becoming the basis of air defense systems in more than 40 countries, and was successfully used in military operations in Vietnam.

The large dimensions of nuclear warheads of that time prevented them from arming anti-aircraft missiles. The first Soviet long-range air defense system, the S-200, which had a range of up to 240 km and was capable of carrying a nuclear charge, appeared only in 1967. Throughout the 1970s, the S-200 air defense system was the most long-range and effective air defense system in the world [ source not specified 3400 days

By the early 1960s, it became clear that existing air defense systems had a number of tactical shortcomings: low mobility and inability to hit targets at low altitudes. The advent of supersonic battlefield aircraft like the Su-7 and Republic F-105 Thunderchief has made conventional anti-aircraft artillery an ineffective means of defense.

In 1959-1962, the first anti-aircraft missile systems were created, designed for forward cover of troops and combating low-flying targets: the American MIM-23 Hawk of 1959, and the Soviet S-125 of 1961.

The air defense systems of the navy were also actively developing. In 1958, the US Navy first adopted the RIM-8 Talos long-range naval air defense system. The missile, with a range of 90 to 150 km, was intended to withstand massive raids by naval missile-carrying aircraft, and could carry a nuclear charge. Due to the extreme cost and huge dimensions of the complex, it was deployed in a relatively limited manner, mainly on rebuilt cruisers from the Second World War (the only carrier specifically built for Talos was the nuclear-powered missile cruiser USS Long Beach).

The main air defense system of the US Navy remained the actively modernized RIM-2 Terrier, the capabilities and range of which were greatly increased, including the creation of modifications of the missile defense system with nuclear warheads. In 1958, the RIM-24 Tartar short-range air defense system was also developed, designed to arm small ships.

The development program for air defense systems to protect Soviet ships from aviation was started in 1955; short-, medium-, long-range air defense systems and direct ship defense air defense systems were proposed for development. The first Soviet Navy anti-aircraft missile system created within the framework of this program was the M-1 Volna air defense system, which appeared in 1962. The complex was a naval version of the S-125 air defense system, using the same missiles. Its accuracy and efficiency were quite high, but at the same time, the complex had a number of disadvantages associated with the need to adapt a land-based missile to sea conditions: a short range (initially only 12 km) and low fire performance.

The USSR's attempt to develop a longer-range M-2 "Volkhov" complex based on the S-75 was unsuccessful - despite the effectiveness of the B-753 missile itself, the limitations caused by the significant dimensions of the original missile, the use of a liquid engine in the sustainer stage of the missile defense system and the low fire performance of the complex, led to a halt in the development of this project.

In the early 1960s, Great Britain also created its own naval air defense systems. The Sea Slug, which was put into service in 1961, turned out to be insufficiently effective, and by the end of the 1960s, the British Navy developed a much more advanced Sea Dart air defense system to replace it, capable of hitting aircraft at a distance of up to 75-150 km. At the same time, the world's first short-range self-defense air defense system, Sea Cat, was created in the UK, which was actively exported due to its highest reliability and relatively small dimensions [ source not specified 3400 days

SAM "Shahin" SICA

This short-range anti-aircraft guided missile system has been created since 1975 specifically to meet the needs of Saudi Arabia and is a logical continuation of the Crotal system. The lead developer is the Electronics Systems division, which is responsible for the radar, electronics and the system as a whole; responsible for rockets. After successful testing of prototypes, production began in 1979; in 1982, the first installations of an anti-aircraft guided missile were delivered to Saudi Arabia, ...

SAM "Roland"

In the early 1960s, the French and West German Messerschmitt-Belkow-Blom, which formed the Euromissile consortium, began developing a mobile low-altitude anti-aircraft guided missile system, later called Roland. The French company was the leader in the clear weather version of the system, while the West German company was in charge of the all-weather version of Roland 2. Because Currently, only Roland 2 is being released, which is described below. In the West German army this system...

SAM "Bloodhound Mk 2"

The first modification of the Bloodhound Mk 1 anti-aircraft missile system was created in the late 1940s (to meet the needs of the Royal Air Force) (now British Airspace Dynamics) and Ferranti; the first units entered service in 1958. Further development of the model led to the much more effective Bloodhound Mk 2, adopted in 1964. This system was deployed to British troops stationed in England, Germany and Singapore; by 1983, missiles from Germany were returned to England, ...

Guided air-to-ground missiles of the X-38 family

In 1980, the short-range X-29 air-to-ground guided missile with two variants of homing heads was adopted by the USSR Air Force. This product was created taking into account the experience of developing and operating previous weapons of its class, due to which it was devoid of almost all the shortcomings inherent in guided missiles of the first models, with the exception of those that were fundamentally irremovable. Kh-29 missiles of various modifications are still used by the Russian Air Force and other countries, being one of the most effective types of aircraft guided weapons.

Despite the existence of various modifications with fairly high characteristics, the X-29 product remains quite old, since its main elements were created back in the late seventies. Since the early nineties, Russia has been developing a project for a new missile designed to complement or replace the aging X-29. The new product was designated X-38. A prototype of this missile was first presented in 2007 at the MAKS air show, at the stand of the Tactical Missile Arms Corporation (KTRV). Subsequently, it was repeatedly shown at various exhibitions, but no information about serial production or adoption was received until a certain time.

The X-29 missile had a modular design, which made it possible to develop several types of homing heads that could be installed on a unified unit with an autopilot, engine and warhead. In the X-38 project, it was decided to use a similar approach. In addition, KTRV specialists applied modular architecture not only in the case of the seeker, but also in relation to the warhead. Thus, depending on the combat mission, front-line aviation can use a missile with a homing head and warhead corresponding to the type of target being hit.

The X-38 missile is built according to the classical design and has a cylindrical body 4.2 m long with a diameter of 0.31 m. The shape of the head fairing depends on the type of seeker used. Fixed X-shaped stabilizers are fixed in the head of the rocket. On the middle part of the hull there are X-shaped wings with a span of 1.14 m, and in the tail there are rudders. For ease of transportation, the wings and rudders are foldable. The upper planes fold sideways and down, the lower planes fold sideways and up. With the wings and stabilizer folded, the diameter of the rocket is slightly larger than the diameter of the body, which allows the use of smaller transport containers. The launch weight of the Kh-38 rocket, depending on the modification, is up to 520 kg.

A homing head and part of the control equipment are mounted in the head of the X-38 family missiles. The middle part is dedicated to housing the warhead, and the tail contains a solid-fuel rocket engine. The dual-mode engine allows the rocket to reach speeds of up to M = 2.2 during the cruising phase of flight. Launch range – from 3 to 40 km. Launch is allowed at carrier flight speeds from 15 to 450 m/s at altitudes from 200 m to 12 km.

The X-38 family of missiles can be equipped with four types of guidance systems. Moreover, all modifications contain an inertial guidance system, which is responsible for launching the missile into a given target area. After reaching a predetermined point, the missile must turn on and use the second guidance system. The following weapon variants are known to exist: - X-38MLE. A missile with inertial and passive laser guidance systems. Designed to strike targets marked with a laser beam. Depending on the launch range, third-party target designation from a UAV or reconnaissance group may be required; — X-38MAE. A missile with an inertial and active radar seeker. After entering the target area, it is able to independently detect it using the built-in radar. External target designation is not required; the “fire and forget” principle is implemented; — X-38MTE. A missile with inertial and thermal imaging homing heads. In terms of application methods, it is similar to the Kh-38MAE, although it differs in equipment and principles for searching for targets; — X-38MKE. A rocket with inertial and satellite guidance systems. Intended for strikes against stationary targets with previously reconnoitered coordinates. To determine its own coordinates and target location, the missile uses the GLONASS satellite navigation system.

According to official data, the X-38 family of missiles can carry three types of warheads. The Kh-38MLE, Kh-38MAE and Kh-38MTE modifications can be equipped with high-explosive or penetrating fragmentation, and the Kh-38MKE carries a cluster warhead with submunitions. Depending on the modification, the warhead weighs up to 250 kg.

Not only missiles are offered for delivery to the troops, but also a number of related products intended for training personnel. Thus, there are and can be supplied size-mass mock-ups, inert, operational training, flight training and cutting-edge training missiles. In addition, the delivery package of the missile batch includes a package of necessary documentation and a set of spare parts designed for long-term operation of the missiles. For ground servicing of missiles, it is proposed to use the Oka-E-1 aviation weapons training complex.

The X-38 family of missiles can be stored for up to 10 years, subject to inspections and necessary maintenance. For mounting weapons on airplanes and helicopters, it is proposed to use devices of the APU and AKU families. There is a designated resource when used in conjunction with technology. Thus, a rocket suspended on a pylon can withstand up to 15 airplane landings or 30 helicopter landings. Allowable suspended flight time is 75 hours. The operating life of the equipment is 90 hours, regardless of the type of media.

Until a certain time, KTRV and the Ministry of Defense were in no hurry to share information about the progress of the X-38 project and the successes achieved. In January 2013, domestic media reported that the new weapon had been adopted by the Russian Air Force. It was alleged that during 2012, military and missile specialists conducted a full range of tests of new products, as a result of which the missiles were put into service in December. It was reported that the first deliveries of serial missiles of the new model are scheduled for 2013. No other details were published. Information on the supply of serial weapons was not disclosed.

Not much information is currently available about the X-38 family of air-to-surface guided missiles. Nevertheless, the published data allow us to get a general idea and draw some conclusions. An important feature of the Kh-38 missiles, which significantly increases their combat potential, is the increased range compared to previous products. The Kh-25 or Kh-29 missiles are capable of hitting targets at a range of no more than 10-12 km (up to 20-30 km for later modifications), and for the Kh-38 this parameter reaches 40 km. Thus, the carrier aircraft can release the missile at a greater distance from the target, with less risk of being attacked by short-range enemy air defense systems.

Of great interest is the existence of several homing heads that can be combined with various warheads. Thus, the most effective equipment in a given situation can be used to hit a specific target. For targeting stationary targets, it is proposed to use a satellite seeker, third-party target designation allows for more accurate targeting of a missile with a laser seeker, and thermal imaging and active radar heads provide a fire-and-forget attack. A similar situation is observed in the case of combat units. The destruction of enemy personnel and unprotected equipment can be carried out with a high-explosive fragmentation or cluster warhead. To attack fortified buildings or bunkers, in turn, a penetrating warhead is proposed.

Currently, active re-equipment of the Russian armed forces, including the air force, is underway. Current rearmament involves the construction and supply of new equipment, as well as large orders of new weapons. According to data from the beginning of 2013, by now the Tactical Missile Weapons Corporation should have mastered the full-scale production of guided missiles of the X-38 family and began delivering them to the troops.

Based on materials from the sites: https://ktrv.ru/ https://missiles.ru/ https://rbase.new-factoria.ru/ https://lenta.ru/

MANPADS "Blowpipe"

The Blowpipe system was created by the Missile System department to meet the British Army's need for a man-portable air defense system. Other portable missiles, such as the American Stinger and the Soviet Strela 2, are aimed at the thermal radiation of the jet emanating from the jet nozzle of the aircraft. The Blowpipe system consists of two main components: a missile in transport and launch containers and an aiming unit. At the front of the rocket there is guidance equipment...

SAM "Rapier"

The short-range Rapier anti-aircraft guided missile was created by the British Airspace Corporation. Design began in the 1960s, with the first batch released in 1971. The basic Rapier system operates in clear weather and consists of launchers, an optical tracking post and a generator. The first has 4 missiles in a ready-to-fire position, a surveillance radar, and a “friend or foe” system. command transmitter and computer. The system is transported by two long-wheelbase Land Rovers: one tows the launcher...

MANPADS RBS 70

The RBS 70 MANPADS has been created since the 1960s. for the Swedish army, although Switzerland also contributed funds to the development. The RBS 70 MANPADS consists of three main components: a support post, a sight and a missile in the launch tube; each element can be carried by one person. Assembly of the system takes no more than 30 seconds. If necessary, the system is equipped with “friend or foe” equipment, which is supplied to the Swedish army. The missile is guided by an optical beam. The sight generates a modulated laser beam. ...

Weapons of the USSR 1964-1982: aircraft missiles

The USSR was not inferior to its potential opponents in the missiles that were equipped with military aircraft. For example, the Americans were never able to create a missile for close maneuverable combat.

The short-range air-to-air missile was born here in Russia. The Soviet Union created three such missiles: K-55, K-60 and K-73. The K-73 missile has no analogues in the world to this day and is purchased by many countries.

Our industry produced long-range air-to-air missiles - 100 km or more, medium-range - 30-40 km and close-range missiles - no more than 10 km. Most of our cruise missiles, working with radar, other aircraft, and an automatic target guidance system, ensured the “fire and forget” principle, that is, thanks to the high perfection of the entire missile guidance system, they guaranteed hitting the target.

We began developing air-to-air guided missiles in the 1940s after the war. For this purpose, OKB-4 was organized, in which M. S. Bisnovat led the work on the creation of the rocket. In 1954, a special government decree was issued on the creation of air-to-air missiles, and in the mid-1950s the first missiles were manufactured.

The first K-5 and K-5M missiles were guided by a radar beam. Based on the results of the creation of the first K-8 missile with a homing head, a number of employees of NII-2 and other scientific teams were awarded state awards.

Already at the beginning of 1956, a number of dissertations were defended on summarizing the experience of creating homing missiles, including by E. A. Fedosov and V. F. Levitin. In mass production, the K-8 series missiles were called R-8. For the heavy Tu-128 interceptor fighter, a larger R-80 missile was created, which was similar to the R-8 missile.

We designed and built classical rockets. They also built rockets similar to the American Sidewinder rocket, which was based on the engineering solutions of the American scientist McClean. Each type had its own advantages and disadvantages. The creation of rockets was carried out by P. D. Grushin, I. I. Toropov, V. N. Elagin, the famous designer of the Buran spacecraft T. E. Lozino-Lozinsky, I. I. Arkhangelsky, E. S. Ioffinov, D. L Tomashevich, V. M. Bobylev, D. M. Khorol, N. A. Viktorov, P. N. Kuksenko, G. A. Sokolovsky, A. Ya. Bereznyak and other scientists, leaders of scientific teams.

According to many experts, an air-to-air missile is one of the most complex in terms of control, despite the fact that it is one of the smallest missiles: weight from several tens to hundreds of kilograms, length from a meter to two or three. Its complexity is that it is launched from a moving platform - from an airplane and must land on the moving platform.

An air-to-air missile, as a rule, has a solid propellant engine with a powerful starting impulse, which creates considerable overloads. To target and destroy the target, it is given a short period of time: from a few seconds to a minute. Low weight helps the rocket swing in the air. The need for these missiles arose in connection with the advent of jet aircraft, since an aircraft cannon successfully shoots down a target at a distance of one to two hundred meters and the most advanced sighting equipment is not able to reduce the technical dispersion of projectiles at a greater target distance.

We were armed with the following types of air-to-air missiles: K-5M, K-55, K-13, K-98, K-40, K-60, K-23, K-33, K-73, K-27T, K-27E, K-77. And this is not a complete list of air-to-air missiles that were in service with the USSR. Our wonderful aircraft, armed with these missiles, represented an impressive force for the enemy air force. They successfully shot down not only enemy planes and helicopters, but also missiles fired against our planes and targets.

Our aircraft were also armed with air-to-surface missiles. Here are the names of some of them: Kh-58 and Kh-27 anti-radar missiles, Kh-25 missile with a laser homing head, Kh-59 missile with television guidance, Kh-31 anti-radar missile, Kh-35 anti-ship missile.

Even the first front-line cruise missiles with radio command guidance had high accuracy in hitting the target. The Kh-23, installed on front-line Su-24 bombers, had an accuracy of hitting ground targets within one and a half meters.

They were afraid of us, and the West was clearly aware that time was working for the Soviet Union. Unable to oppose us with anything better, the United States widely advertised its new models of aircraft and cruise missiles. But both of them in battle, as a rule, were inferior to our aircraft and our missiles. The Americans were jealous of us, since the cost of producing Soviet airplanes, helicopters and missiles in some cases was an order of magnitude lower than the American one.

Soviet aircraft - BE-10 flying boats - were armed with K-12B missiles, equipped with a homing locator and flying at a supersonic speed of 2.5 thousand km per hour. The missile warhead weighed 216 kg and if it hit the side of the ship at an angle of less than 45 degrees, it exploded inside the ship.

In 1962, the USSR made KSR projectile aircraft with 800 kilogram parts that hit a target at a distance of 150 km. The Tu-16 took two such missiles under its wings.

In 1964, our aviation received X-22 missiles, flying at a speed of 3600 km per hour over a distance of 300-500 km. The X-22 was installed on the Soviet supersonic bomber-missile carrier Tu-22M3. They could also be carried by Tu-95 strategic bombers. The Americans nicknamed these huge missiles, deadly for the US fleet, “Kingfish”.

In the 1970s, the USSR began building relatively light Kh-29 missiles, which could be carried by Su-25, Su-17 and Su-34 attack aircraft, MiG-23, MiG-27, MiG-29 fighters, as well as Su light bombers -24. This mass-use missile is supersonic, striking like lightning. You can imagine how afraid the Americans and their fleet were of these missiles. It could hit land and sea targets. She was capable of ships with a displacement of up to 10 thousand tons, that is, even cruisers and nuclear submarines. It was the most suitable missile for arming the aircraft carriers that we began to build in the mid-1980s, but we did not have enough time to launch them.

The Kh-29 missile is a miracle not only in its combat qualities. It has a very low production cost and, as a result, a low price. The X-29 missile, even after prices were released in 1992, cost just over 6.5 thousand dollars. A similar US-made Exocet missile, half as powerful, cost about one million dollars!

Why did the American anti-ship missile cost 20 times more than the Soviet missile? In my opinion, because its price was determined in a socialist country - the USSR. At that time, in the USA and other capitalist (free) countries, as today in Russia, officials and private firms stole money allocated by the state for armaments in amounts measured in tens of billions of dollars, and all the stolen money was written off towards the price of weapons.

This example, like hundreds of other examples that allow us to compare all sorts of aspects of people’s lives and the existence of the state, indicates that statements about the superiority of the capitalist system over the socialist system do not stand up to any criticism. It seems to me that many Russian citizens are beginning to understand this today. Looking ahead, I will say that Russia, possibly at the request of the United States, has stopped production of the X-29 missiles.

The Kh-25 and Kh-29 were missiles with laser homing heads. The X-29 also had a high-explosive penetrating warhead weighing 320 kg and was used to destroy powerful reinforced concrete shelters, bridges, industrial facilities, etc.

The Kh-25 missile, which carried a warhead weighing 90 kg, was used to combat small ground and surface targets.

It is impossible to remain silent about the X-31A anti-ship tactical missile with a combined solid-fuel ramjet engine and radar homing system. The missile weighs 690 kg, which allows it to be installed even on relatively light aircraft, such as MiG-29, Su-27, Su-34 and helicopters. The missile has a speed equal to three times the speed of sound and a target engagement range of up to 70 km. Its armor-piercing 90-kilogram head pierces the side of the ship at a speed of 1000 meters per second, like the best naval projectile.

The Kh-31P missile was intended to destroy enemy air defense locators. Solid propellant missiles, for example, the X-35 missile, can be stored for years in a disposable cylindrical cartridge - a launch container. They are usually equipped with several guidance channels and an anti-aircraft maneuvering program. They often combine radar, thermal and other types of targeting. They are difficult to deceive with decoys.

A remarkable achievement of the USSR is the 3-M80 Moskit cruise missile created in 1980, created by the Raduga Design Bureau to arm our ships and Su-27K fighters. It is almost impossible to knock her off course with interference.

The missiles fly in a swarm, waiting for each other at launch, and each has not only a specific attack target, but also a specific place in the target at which it must hit. If the missiles are shot down, the targets are redistributed among the remaining missiles. That is, when attacking ships, the remaining missiles will attack the most complex, large ships. With one ship, the remaining missiles will hit the most dangerous and vital places for the ship.

This is the level of cruise missile control that the USSR reached in the 1980s during the Brezhnev era. They installed aircraft guns on our planes, which have been the best in the world since the Great Patriotic War. Guns are needed, first of all, so that an aircraft with fired missiles does not turn out to be completely defenseless, and also for use in certain situations during air combat and destruction of ground targets.

Our people did not know and today do not know about a hundredth part of the achievements of USSR aviation. Probably, at that time there was already a fairly strong pro-American, anti-Russian lobby in the country, which sought to deprive us of national pride.

Military aviation of the Soviet Union would have developed even more successfully if N. S. Khrushchev had not committed a number of actions against it that caused enormous damage to it. Under him, funding for most new projects was stopped, the plan for the production of military aircraft was reduced, many aircraft that could fly for decades to come were cut up and scrapped, ensuring the safety of our people.

After the removal of N.S. Khrushchev from government, huge investments were needed in the creation of military aircraft that were not inferior to and superior to Western types of aircraft.

But that is not all. The country also suffered billions of losses from the division of the aircraft and rocket manufacturing industries and science.

“This caused enormous damage to the development of unified aerospace technologies. All over the world – in Europe, America, and on other continents – companies that deal with rocket and space systems also work on aviation systems. Therefore, the mutual flow of ideas - design and technological culture - enriched both directions running along the same technological line. Naturally, this also led to cheaper systems, since duplication of some work was excluded. In the Soviet Union, two parallel powerful industries were created, which, due to departmental barriers, began to develop independently. And this, firstly, led to a double waste of funds on technology, equipment, the creation of teams, design schools, test bases, etc., and, secondly, a divide between related areas of knowledge was established for decades,” believes Academician E. A. Fedosov.

Our military aviation survived thanks to the fact that Khrushchev was eventually removed. But, of course, it was preserved not only thanks to the removal of the destroyer Khrushchev from the leadership of the country. Aviation of the USSR occupied a leading position in the world thanks to leaders who went through the Stalinist school of managing the country's defense and the aviation sector of the national economy.

Such leaders should include the Minister of Defense of the USSR, Marshal D.F. Ustinov, the Minister of Aviation Industry of the USSR P.V. Dementyev, the Commander-in-Chief of the USSR Air Force, the Chief Marshal of Aviation P.S. Katukhov, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force for Armaments, Colonel General M. N. Mishuk, Minister of Medium Engineering (Nuclear Industry) E. P. Slavsky, First Deputy Chairman of the Military-Industrial Commission under the Council of Ministers of the USSR N. S. Stroev.

It was under their leadership that aviation equipment and weapons were created, which allowed us to live peacefully during the Brezhnev era, and allow us to exist today.

Leonid Petrovich Maslovsky. 05/07/2016

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SAM "Circle"

Anti-aircraft missile system "Krug" of medium and high altitudes (NATO code SA-4 "Ganef"), created in the late 1950s. and first shown at a parade on Red Square in Moscow in 1964. In addition to the USSR, well-known countries that have this system are Czechoslovakia, East Germany and Poland. Several installations were deployed in Egypt, but they were returned to the USSR before the start of the Middle East conflict in 1973. SA-4 installations are organized into special brigades, three divisions each, each division has three Ganef batteries and 8 self-propelled anti-aircraft artillery installations ...

Classification

NATO countries' perceptions of Soviet air defense missiles as of the 1980s.
From left to right: S-25, S-75, S-125, S-200, S-300P, S-300V Missiles differ in type of deployment, range and height of destruction, maximum speed of targets hit, and launch principles. There are rockets powered by liquid and solid propellant engines.

By management

radio command control
radio beam guidance
homing
combined control circuit

According to the layout (aerodynamic design)

normal (stabilizers in front, steering wheels at the back) and its subtype - tailless (the stabilizer is “fused” with the steering wheel)
canard (rudders in front, stabilizers in back)
load-bearing cone (conical fuselage with rudders at the rear)

Anti-aircraft missiles can be used in both stationary and mobile and man-portable missile systems.

SAM "Cube"

The "Cube" anti-aircraft missile system (NATO code "Gainful") was first shown in Moscow in 1967, and was used in the 1973 Middle East War by the Egyptian and Syrian armies. The system proved to be very effective, forcing Israeli aircraft to fly at low altitude, where they could be hit by MANPADS and the 23-mm self-propelled anti-aircraft gun-23-4. "Gainful" was widely exported, and besides the USSR it is found in Algeria, Angola, Bulgaria, and Cuba. Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Egypt, Ethiopia, Finland, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Hungary, India, Iraq, Kuwait, …

MANPADS "Strela-2"

The Strela-2 man-portable anti-aircraft missile system (NATO code SA-7 "Grail") was created in the early 60s. XX century and is similar in concept to the American Redeye missile. It was first used in combat during the Middle East War of 1967, and was supplied to all Warsaw Pact countries, most countries receiving Soviet assistance, as well as to many partisan formations in different parts of the world. The system is served by a crew of two people: a gunner carrying the starting handle and one missile in a canvas bag, and an assistant carrying a reserve...

SAM "Osa"

The short-range anti-aircraft missile system "Osa" (NATO code SA-8 "Geko") appeared in the early 70s. XX century, was first publicly shown at a parade on Red Square in Moscow in 1975. Unlike the first Soviet self-propelled anti-aircraft missile systems, it is completely self-sufficient, i.e. has its own surveillance and tracking radar stations and can therefore operate independently. In the Soviet army, the system quickly replaced the 57 mm non-self-propelled anti-aircraft guns S-60; each division has 5 batteries of 4 SA-8 combat vehicles and 4 vehicles...

X-25

The level of development of new technologies, microelectronics and optical-electronic technology achieved in the country made it possible by the mid-70s to design workable homing systems suitable for equipping AUR. The most effective were laser and television target designation and homing systems. The laser seeker consists of a receiving device with a photodetector, a moving focusing system (target coordinator) that tracks the object of attack, and an equipment unit that processes the coordinator signals, determines the direction to the target and generates control commands that are sent to the steering actuators. In principle, a laser seeker is similar to infrared, but requires illumination of the target with a directed beam of an optical quantum generator (laser) installed on a carrier aircraft, another target designator aircraft, or by an aircraft controller from the ground. Therefore, unlike passive IR homing, laser homing is called semi-active. The illuminated target reflects the scattered laser beam and becomes a secondary source of radiation, which the seeker is aimed at.

After making sure that the target is stable, as indicated by the display in the cockpit, the pilot launches. The first example of laser target illumination equipment was “Prozhektor-1” in a hanging container, which was supposed to be used on existing aircraft. The Kh-25 missile (product 69) was created on the basis of the Kh-23 design, equipped with a laser seeker type 24N1 developed by the Geophysics Central Design Bureau (chief designer DM Khorol). OKB P.O. was involved in the creation of the system. Sukhoi, on whose Su-7BM and Su-17M aircraft the first tests were carried out in the winter of 1973. During testing, 36 flights were carried out with 12 launches, including one salvo of two missiles.

The results were unsatisfactory in terms of accuracy and testing was continued on the Su-17M2, which had more advanced sighting equipment. In the fall of 1974, the Su-17MKG aircraft-missile system (Su-17M with a quantum generator) was presented for State testing. 69 flights were carried out, including 30 with X-25 launches. Then the X-25 was tested on the MiG-23BK (MiG-27K), equipped with a Kaira laser-television sighting system with a moving beam, and target illumination from the ground was also practiced.

The first to be adopted was the “Prozhektor-1” in combination with the “Fon” laser rangefinder (on Su-17M2 aircraft), the simplest system in a hanging container rigidly attached to the aircraft. The laser beam could be deflected downward relative to the axis of the carrier, which is why the target was illuminated and the attack could be carried out both from a dive, usually at an angle of 15-25°, and from horizontal flight at low altitude. The launch altitude was in the range of 500 - 4000 m, the range was from 3 to 7 km with a carrier speed of 730 - 1000 km/h. After the launch, the pilot only had to keep the sight mark on the target, maintaining the dive angle and direction to the target of attack (from a distance of 7 km, reliable guidance required 8-10 seconds to maintain the flight mode). The shooting accuracy of the X-25 with the “Prozhektor” in the picture plane gave a probable circular deviation of 6.4 m.

A more advanced laser rangefinder-target designator "Klen" developed by the Ural optical-mechanical design "Klen-PS" and "Klen-54" on the Su-17MZ, Su-17M4 and Su-25 aircraft, as well as the Migovsky "Klen-PM" , on the MiG-27M/D) allowed the beam to be deflected within + 12° in azimuth and 4-6 - 30° in elevation. Targets could also be attacked from horizontal flight, but in terms of accuracy, a dive launch at an angle of 25 - 30° from a distance of 4 - 5 km at a speed of 800 - 850 km/h remained preferable. The flight trajectory of the X-25 was to find a straight line with an angle of approach of the missile to the target close to the dive angle. "Maple" less constrained the pilot during the maneuver after launch.

In combination with the Kaira laser-television system on the MiG-27K and Su-24M, the missile can be used from a dive or horizontal flight. At the same time, it travels to the target along more complex trajectories, which allows the aircraft not to enter the air defense coverage area when designating targets. In addition, the Kaira complex provides target search using an optical-television sighting system that scans the area and displays a multiply enlarged image of objects of interest on the television display in the cockpit. After the missile seeker has captured a detected and irradiated target, the pilot only needs to hold its image in the crosshairs of the sight on the screen, automatically tracking it with a laser beam that can even “fall” back in elevation. In software-corrected (PCS) or automatically corrected (AKS) tracking, the beam is kept on the target with the participation of an on-board digital computer, and the pilot only controls the accuracy of the illumination. At the same time, it can perform an anti-aircraft maneuver, leaving the target in the field of view of the laser, which automatically tracks and irradiates it. The name of the complex was not chosen by chance: the guillemot is the only bird whose eyes in flight can look in different directions and at the “tail” (like the guillemot’s airplane videocon).

The X-25 inherited the layout and aerodynamic design from its predecessor. However, the installation on the rocket of a rather heavy laser seeker of the 24N1 type led to a significant shift of the alignment forward, and to maintain it, an original weight balancer appeared in the tail compartment instead of the receiving “Delta” - an additional warhead of the F-25-2M type weighing 24 kg, containing 13 kg of explosives and finished steel fragments. The next compartment was occupied by steering gears and the SUR-71 control system. The third compartment was occupied by the main high-explosive warhead F25-1M weighing 112 (80 kg of explosives) with ready-made steel fragmentation elements, the fourth by the PRD-228 powder rocket engine with side nozzles, followed by the power supply compartment.

Testing the Kh-25 on the Su-24M bomber

The increase in size and weight entailed other changes: the area of the rudders and tail surfaces was increased, batteries and a larger capacity air tank were installed, providing 25 seconds of controlled flight. The weight of the X-25 reached 320 kg. The rocket turned out to be successful, and during production it was subject to minimal modifications: from December 1976, to improve balancing, a spacer was introduced into the body between the 5th and 6th compartments. Suspension and launch of the X-25 is provided by the APU-68UM2 device.

By the mid-60s, the equipment of various types of troops with radio equipment (gun guidance and reconnaissance systems, electronic warfare stations, air defense systems) had reached such a level that it was necessary to start creating special aviation ammunition to combat these systems. The primary task was to develop means of countering air defense systems that threaten to disrupt the attack. The number of air defense systems, air defense systems and MANPADS in the combat formations of troops and in the protection of important objects does not always allow, when breaking through the air defense umbrella, to limit oneself to jamming, maneuvering, or bypassing it in height and range (skillfully planned air defense should precisely exclude such a possibility). Three-quarters of all aircraft lost by the Americans in Vietnam were shot down by missile launchers and radar-guided anti-aircraft artillery fire. In Middle Eastern conflicts, this percentage reached 90%.

On the right under the wing of the Su-24 is the Kh-28 missile, the PU-28 launcher is clearly visible in the foreground

Iraqi X-28

MANPADS "Strela-1"

The Strela-1 short-range surface-to-air missile system (NATO code SA-9 "Geskin") was created in the 1960s and publicly displayed in the 1970s. In the Soviet Army, weapons are deployed in the amount of 16 installations per division, with each regiment, tank or motorized rifle, having 4 installations. In addition to the USSR, the SA-9 is also available in many other countries, including Algeria and Egypt. East Germany, Hungary, India, Iraq, Libya, Poland, South Yemen, Syria, Vietnam and Yugoslavia. The first known combat use of an anti-aircraft missile system was in Lebanon in May 1981, when an SA-9 battery served by...

Peaceful uses of missiles

Classification of combat missiles

One of the features of modern missile weapons is the huge variety of types of combat missiles. Modern army missiles differ in purpose, design features, type of trajectory, type of engines, control method, launch site, target position and many other characteristics.

The first sign by which missiles are divided into classes is the launch location (first word) and target position (second word). The word “ground” refers to the placement of launchers on land, on water (on a ship) and under water (on a submarine); the word “air” refers to the location of launchers on board an airplane, helicopter and other aircraft. The same applies to the position of the goals.

According to the second characteristic (the nature of the flight), the missile can be ballistic or cruise.

The trajectory, i.e., the flight path of a ballistic missile, consists of active and passive sections. In the active phase, the rocket flies under the influence of the thrust of a running engine. In the passive phase, the engine is turned off, the rocket flies by inertia, like a body freely thrown with a certain initial speed. Therefore, the passive part of the trajectory is a curve called ballistic. Ballistic missiles do not have wings. Some of their types are equipped with a tail for stabilization, i.e. giving stability in flight.

Cruise missiles have wings of various shapes on their body. With the help of wings, air resistance to the flight of a rocket is used to create so-called aerodynamic forces. These forces can be used to provide a given flight range for surface-to-surface missiles or to change the direction of movement for surface-to-air or air-to-air missiles. Surface-to-ground and air-to-ground cruise missiles, designed for significant flight ranges, usually have an airplane shape, that is, their wings are located in the same plane. Missiles of the “ground-to-air”, “air-to-air” classes, as well as some; types of surface-to-surface missiles are equipped with two pairs of cross-shaped wings.

Aircraft-type surface-to-surface cruise missiles are launched from inclined guides using powerful high-thrust starting engines. These engines operate for a short time, accelerate the rocket to a given speed, and then reset. The rocket is transferred to horizontal flight and flies towards the target with a constantly running engine, which is called a propulsion engine. In the target area, the missile goes into a steep dive and when it meets the target, the warhead is fired.

Since the nature of their flight and general structure of such cruise missiles are similar to an unmanned aircraft, they are often called projectile aircraft. Cruise missile propulsion engines have low power. Usually these are the previously mentioned air-breathing engines (WRE). Therefore, the most correct name for such combat aircraft would not be a cruise missile, but a cruise missile. But most often a projectile equipped with a propellant engine is also called a combat missile. Sustaining jet engines are economical and allow you to deliver a missile over a long range with a small amount of fuel on board. However, this is also the weak side of cruise missiles: They have low speed, low flight altitude and are therefore easily shot down by conventional air defense systems. For this reason, they have now been withdrawn from service by most modern armies.

The shapes of the trajectories of ballistic and cruise missiles designed for the same flight range are shown in the figure. X-wing missiles fly along trajectories of various shapes. Examples of air-to-ground missile trajectories are shown in the figure. Guided surface-to-air missiles have trajectories in the form of complex spatial curves.

Based on their controllability in flight, rockets are divided into guided and unguided. Unguided missiles also include missiles for which the direction and range of flight are set at the moment of launch by a certain azimuth position of the launcher and the elevation angle of the guides. After leaving the launcher, the rocket flies like a freely thrown body without any control input (manual or automatic). Ensuring flight stability or stabilization of unguided rockets is achieved using a tail stabilizer or by rotating the rocket around the longitudinal axis at a very high speed (tens of thousands of revolutions per minute). Spin-stabilized missiles are sometimes called turbojets. The principle of their stabilization is similar to that used for artillery shells and rifle bullets. Note that unguided missiles are not cruise missiles. Rockets are equipped with wings in order to be able to change their trajectory during flight using aerodynamic forces. This change is typical only for guided missiles. Examples of unguided rockets are the previously discussed Soviet powder rockets from the Great Patriotic War.

Guided rockets are those that are equipped with special devices that allow you to change the direction of the rocket's movement during flight. Control devices or systems ensure that the missile is aimed at a target or that it flies precisely along a given trajectory. This achieves unprecedented precision in hitting the target and high reliability in hitting enemy targets. The missile can be controlled over the entire flight path or only over a certain part of this trajectory. Guided missiles are usually equipped with various types of rudders. Some of them do not have air rudders. Changing their trajectory in this case is carried out due to the operation of additional nozzles into which gases from the engine are diverted, or due to auxiliary low-thrust steering rocket engines, or by changing the direction of the jet of the main (main) engine by rotating its chamber (nozzle), asymmetric injection liquid or gas into the jet stream, using gas rudders.

Start of development

guided missiles were introduced in 1938 - 1940 in Germany. The first guided missiles and their control systems were also created in Germany during the Second World War. The first guided missile is the V-2. The most advanced are the Wasserfall (Waterfall) anti-aircraft missile with a radar command guidance system and the Rotkaphen (Little Red Riding Hood) anti-tank missile with a manual wired command control system.

History of SD development:

1st ATGM - Rotkampfen

1st SAM – Reintochter

1st KR - FAU-1

1st OTR – FAU-2

Depending on the number of stages, rockets can be single-stage and composite, or multi-stage. A single-stage rocket has the disadvantage that if it is necessary to achieve greater speed and flight range, then a significant supply of fuel is required. The reserve fuel is placed in large containers. As the fuel burns out, these containers are released, but they remain part of the rocket and are useless cargo for it. As we already said, K.E. Tsiolkovsky put forward the idea of multi-stage rockets, which do not have this drawback. Multistage rockets consist of several parts (stages) that are sequentially separated during flight. Each stage has its own engine and fuel supply. The steps are numbered in the order of their inclusion in the work. After a certain amount of fuel is consumed, the released parts of the rocket are released. The fuel tanks and the first stage engine, which are not needed for the further flight, are jettisoned. Then the engine of the second stage operates, etc. If the size of the payload (the warhead of the rocket) and the speed that needs to be imparted to it are given, then the more stages included in the rocket, the smaller its required launch weight and dimensions.

However, with an increase in the number of stages, the rocket becomes more complex in design, and the reliability of its operation when performing a combat mission decreases. For each specific class and type of rocket there will be its own most advantageous number of stages.

Most known military missiles consist of no more than three stages.

Finally, another feature by which rockets are divided into classes is the engine capacity. Rocket engines can operate using solid or liquid rocket fuel. Accordingly, they are called liquid rocket engines (LPRE) and solid propellant rocket engines (SFRM). Liquid rocket engines and solid propellant rocket engines differ significantly in design. This introduces many features into the characteristics of the missiles on which they are used. There may also be rockets on which both of these types of engines are installed simultaneously. This is most common with surface-to-air missiles.

Any combat missile can be classified into a certain class based on the criteria listed earlier. For example, rocket A is a surface-to-surface missile, ballistic, guided, single-stage, liquid-propellant.

In addition to dividing missiles into main classes, each of them is divided into subclasses and types according to a number of auxiliary characteristics.

Surface-to-surface missiles. In terms of the number of created samples, this is the most numerous class. Depending on their purpose and combat capabilities, they are divided into anti-tank, tactical, operational-tactical and strategic.

Anti-tank missiles are an effective means of fighting tanks. They are light weight and small in size, easy to use. Launchers can be placed on the ground, on a car, or on a tank. Anti-tank missiles can be unguided or guided.

Tactical missiles are intended to destroy enemy targets such as artillery in firing positions, troops in battle formations and on the march, defensive structures and control posts. Tactical missiles include guided and unguided missiles with a firing range of up to several tens of kilometers.

Operational-tactical missiles are designed to destroy enemy targets at ranges of up to several hundred kilometers. The warhead of missiles can be conventional or nuclear of varying power.

Strategic missiles are a means of delivering high-power nuclear charges and are capable of hitting objects of strategic importance and deep behind enemy lines (large military, industrial, political and administrative centers, launch positions and bases of strategic missiles, control centers, etc.). Strategic missiles are divided into medium-range missiles (up to 5000 km )

and long-range missiles (more than 5000 km). Long-range missiles can be intercontinental and global.

Intercontinental rockets are those designed to be launched from one continent (mainland) to another. Their flight ranges are limited and cannot exceed 20,000 km, i.e. half the circumference of the Earth. Global missiles are capable of hitting targets anywhere on the earth's surface and from any direction. To hit the same target, a global missile can be launched in any direction. In this case, it is only necessary to ensure that the warhead falls at a given point.

Air-to-ground missiles

Missiles of this class are intended to destroy ground, surface and underwater targets from aircraft. They can be uncontrollable and controllable. According to the nature of their flight, they are either winged or ballistic. Air-to-ground missiles are used by bombers, fighter-bombers and helicopters. For the first time, such missiles were used by the Soviet army in the battles of the Great Patriotic War. They were armed with Il-2 attack aircraft.

Unguided missiles are not widely used due to their low accuracy of hitting the target. Military experts in Western countries believe that these missiles can be used successfully only against large-sized area targets and, moreover, in large numbers. Due to their independence from the effects of radio interference and the possibility of massive use, unguided missiles remain in service in some armies.

Air-to-ground guided missiles have the advantage over all other types of aircraft weapons that, after launch, they fly along a given trajectory and are aimed at the target, regardless of its visibility, with great accuracy. They can be launched at targets without the carrier aircraft entering the air defense zone. High flight speeds of missiles increase the likelihood of them breaking through the air defense system. The presence of control systems allows missiles to perform an anti-aircraft maneuver before moving to target guidance, which complicates the task of defending a ground target. Air-to-ground missiles can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads, which increases their combat capabilities. The disadvantages of guided missiles include a decrease in their combat effectiveness under the influence of radio interference, as well as a deterioration in the flight-tactical qualities of carrier aircraft due to the external suspension of the missiles under the fuselage or wings.

According to their combat purpose, air-to-ground missiles are divided into missiles for arming tactical aviation, strategic aviation, and special-purpose missiles (missiles for combating ground-based radio equipment).

Surface-to-air missiles

These missiles are more often called anti-aircraft missiles, that is, they fire upward, at the zenith. They occupy a leading place in the modern air defense system, forming the basis of its firepower. Anti-aircraft missiles are intended to combat air targets: aircraft and cruise missiles of the "ground-to-ground" and "air-to-ground" classes, as well as ballistic missiles of the same classes. The task of the combat use of any anti-aircraft missile is to deliver the warhead to the desired point in space and detonate it in order to destroy one or another enemy air attack weapon.

Anti-aircraft missiles can be unguided or guided. The first rockets were unguided.

Currently, all known anti-aircraft missiles in service with the armies of the world are guided. An anti-aircraft guided missile is the main component of anti-aircraft missile weapons, the smallest firing unit of which is the anti-aircraft missile system.

Air-to-air missiles

Missiles of this class are intended for firing from aircraft at various air targets (airplanes, some types of cruise missiles, helicopters, etc.). Air-to-air missiles are usually carried by fighter aircraft, but they can also be used on other types of aircraft. These missiles are distinguished by their high accuracy and reliability of hitting air targets, so they have almost completely replaced machine guns and aircraft cannons from aircraft armament. At the high speeds of modern aircraft, firing distances have increased, and the effectiveness of small arms and cannon fire has decreased accordingly. In addition, a cannon projectile does not have sufficient destructive power to disable a modern aircraft with one hit. Arming fighters with air-to-air missiles has dramatically increased their combat capabilities. The area of possible attacks has significantly expanded, and the reliability of shooting down targets has increased.

The warheads of these missiles are mostly high-explosive fragmentation, weighing 10-13 kg. When they are detonated, a large number of fragments are formed, easily hitting vulnerable spots of targets. In addition to conventional explosives, nuclear charges are also used in combat units.

By type of combat units. Missiles have high-explosive, fragmentation, cumulative, cumulative-fragmentation, high-explosive fragmentation, fragmentation-rod, kinetic, volumetric-detonating types of warheads and nuclear warheads.

The Soviet Union achieved outstanding success in the peaceful use of missiles, especially in; space exploration.

Meteorological and geophysical rockets are widely used in our country. Their use makes it possible to study the entire thickness of the Earth's atmosphere and near-Earth space.

To carry out the tasks of space exploration, a completely new branch of technology called space technology has now been created in the USSR and some other countries. The concept of “space technology” includes space aircraft, launch vehicles for these vehicles, launch complexes for launching rockets, ground flight tracking stations, communications equipment, transport and much more.

Spacecraft include artificial Earth satellites with equipment for various purposes, automatic interplanetary stations and manned spacecraft with astronauts on board.

To launch an aircraft into low-Earth orbit, it is necessary to provide it with a speed of at least the first space speed. At the Earth's surface it is equal to 7.9 km/sec .

To send a device to the Moon or to the planets of the solar system, its speed must be no less than the second
cosmic speed, which is sometimes called the escape speed, or the release speed. At Earth it is 11.29 km/sec. Finally, to go beyond the solar system, the vehicle’s speed is required to be no less than a third of the cosmic speed, which at the start of the Earth’s surface is 16.7 km/sec.

SAM "Buk"

This system was a replacement for the Buk anti-aircraft missile system, which had been in service for almost 20 years. The chassis remains the same, but carries 4 missiles on a turntable that can rotate 360°. The second vehicle is equipped with radars: search, guidance and tracking, providing information about the course, altitude and range of the target. According to American sources, the missile has a length of about 5 m and an effective height of 100 to 14,000 m. Range - from 3 to 30 km. According to unconfirmed reports, the anti-aircraft missile system was supplied to the Soviet Army in limited quantities...

Air-to-surface missiles

The armament of modern fighter-bombers includes air-to-surface missiles intended for striking ground or sea targets (Table 13). SDs of this class are usually divided into types: air-to-ground, air-to-ship, anti-radar and anti-tank.

Air-to-ground missiles.

Air-to-surface missiles include the Bullpup AGM-12, Maverick AGM-65 (USA); "Martel" AJ-168 (Great Britain); AS-12, AS-20, AS-30 (France); Rb-04, Rb-05 (Sweden). The Bullpup and Rb-04 missiles are made according to the “duck” design; "Maverick", AS-30 and Rb-05 - according to the normal aerodynamic configuration; AS-12 and AS-20 - according to the “swivel wing” scheme. The range of this type of missile is from 10 to 60 km. Air-to-ground missile defense systems are equipped with high-explosive, high-explosive fragmentation, armor-piercing, cumulative or cluster warheads weighing from 30 to 450 kg. This variety of warheads makes it possible to use missiles to strike various ground targets: bridges, airfields, fortifications, enemy equipment and manpower. The warhead charge is usually initiated by an electromechanical or mechanical contact fuse (the exception is the AGM-65E missile, equipped with a remote radio fuse). All of the missiles mentioned above are equipped with solid propellant engines, with the exception of the Bullpap, which has a 55.8 kN (5,700 kg) thrust preloaded with fuel. These missiles use various guidance systems, including command and homing systems. For example, the French AS-12 missile launcher is equipped with a wired telecontrol system. Control commands are sent by the operator (or pilot) based on visual observation of the rocket's flight. The disadvantages of this control scheme are the short flight range (only 10 km) and the need for the aircraft to remain in the target area, which is usually protected by air defense systems. Therefore, the AGM-12, As-20, Rb-05 missiles use a radio remote control system. After launching such missiles, as in the case of the AS-12, the pilot must continue to monitor their flight, issuing commands that correct the trajectory to accurately hit the target. To improve flight monitoring, the AGM-12 missile is equipped with special tracers. After launching the rocket, which is usually carried out from a shallow dive, the pilot uses the buttons on the control stick to give commands “up-down” and “right-left”, focusing on the tracer trail. The F-105, F-4, A-6, A-7, A-10 aircraft are armed with AGM-12 Bullpup missiles, and the Mirage III, Mirage 5, and AS-20, AS-30 missiles. "Jaguar".

The radio and telecommand method of guiding missiles to a target made it possible to slightly increase the flight range (up to 17 km for the AGM-12C), but did not eliminate the need for the carrier aircraft to be in the enemy’s air defense coverage area. In addition, the missile's guidance accuracy remains low and decreases as the distance from the carrier aircraft to the target increases, so that the effective range of the missile, providing a high probability of hitting the target, is only 3.5-7 km.

To eliminate these shortcomings, new, more advanced missiles and their guidance systems were developed. An example of such a missile launcher is the English AJ-168 Martel missile, which has a flight range of up to 60 km and is equipped with a television command guidance system. When using such a system, the missile launcher is equipped with a television receiving installation, equipment for transmitting a television image of the terrain to the aircraft, a receiving device for radio telecontrol commands for the missile, and the carrier aircraft is equipped with a receiving device for television signals with a screen indicator based on a cathode ray tube and transmitting radio telecontrol equipment. When approaching the target, the operator turns on the missile equipment and the terrain recorded by the missile's television equipment is displayed on the television screen in the aircraft cockpit. After the missile is launched, the operator, guided by the image on the indicator screen in the cockpit, carries out radio and telecontrol by issuing commands similar to those used when controlling the Bulpap missile launcher. At the same time, the guidance accuracy is significantly increased, and the attacking aircraft itself can change its flight direction immediately after the missile launch, without entering the coverage area of the air defense systems guarding the object. A missile can be launched at a considerable distance from the target, outside the range of its capture by the television system. In this case, the missile is aimed at landmarks known in advance to the crew. The disadvantage of television-command guidance is its poor noise immunity and the possibility of disruption of two-way communication between the missile and the carrier aircraft by enemy active radio countermeasures.

According to US experts, the AGM-65 (A or B) Maverick missile launcher, equipped with a television homing system, does not have this drawback. A characteristic feature of the complex is the absence of information exchange between the missile and the aircraft and, therefore, invulnerability from radio countermeasures. A missile attack is carried out in the form of a specific sequence of operations. When approaching the target, the operator (pilot) turns on the air defense television system, which transmits images of the terrain to the indicator screen in the cockpit. Having detected a target, the operator combines its image with the crosshairs on the screen and gives a command to capture the target with the television homing head. After this, the engine starts and the rocket carries out autonomous flight.

The disadvantage of missiles with a television guidance system is the impossibility of using them at night and in poor visibility conditions (low clouds, heavy rainfall, fog, smoke). This drawback is absent in the AGM-65D missile launcher with a thermal imaging guidance system, which can operate at any time of the day and in any weather conditions, but has a slightly worse target resolution.

In addition to aircraft missiles with television and thermal imaging guidance systems, missile launchers using laser semi-active homing heads (AGM-65C, AGM-65E, AS-30L) have recently become widespread.

The advantages of laser guidance systems, the development of which began in the West in the 60s, are high accuracy, insensitivity to weather conditions, time of day and associated interference (dust, smoke), and the difficulty of organizing effective countermeasures. The implementation of this guidance method turned out to be possible thanks to the development of small-sized, sufficiently powerful lasers, optical-electronic radiation receivers and microelectronic control equipment.

According to Western experts, existing laser guidance systems are most effective at altitudes of 400-8000 m and distances to the target of less than 20 km.

In the case of using laser guidance systems, the aircraft's on-board equipment includes means for detecting and tracking targets, a laser irradiator, a digital computer and power supplies. A receiver of reflected laser radiation, a computer and a control unit are installed on the rocket. Typically, aircraft equipment is placed in a special hanging container or installed permanently inside the airframe (built-in guidance equipment). The first method is more preferable, since it allows you to install this equipment on various aircraft. An example of such a system is the Pave-Tek AVQ-26 (container length 4.10 m, diameter 0.5 m, weight 595 kg), developed in the USA. The container consists of a fixed body and a movable spherical nose part, which houses an infrared target designator and a laser irradiator. In the middle and tail sections of the container there are power supplies, a computer and a drive unit for the nose section. The electronic computer calculates parameters for the aircraft's navigation system when bringing it to a target, controls the laser beam, ensuring its deflection up to 190° in elevation and 270° in azimuth, and generates information displayed on the indicator in the cockpit. However, this system is difficult to operate and requires a second crew member on the aircraft. Another example of a container-type laser guidance system developed in the USA is the Pave-Spike (container length 3.66 m, diameter 0.25 m, weight 193 kg). This system is equipped with F-4D aircraft (more than 150 aircraft to date), as well as the Anglo-French Jaguar and the Israeli Kfir. The Pave-Spike system, unlike the Pave-Tek system, consists of television viewing equipment, a laser rangefinder and an irradiator. After appropriate modifications, it is planned to equip the F-16 fighters with the Pave-Spike system.

More advanced laser guidance systems, developed in recent years by joint efforts of US and French specialists, are Atlis 2 (French version) and Pave-Penny (American version), intended for use on Mirage 2000, Super- Mirage" 4000, F-16 and F-18.
The systems are equipped with television and infrared target designators, respectively, and have a gyro-stabilized platform on which target designation and laser irradiation devices are located, providing the necessary information for the navigation system and weapon control system, as well as automatic laser illumination of the target. Table 13. Main characteristics of air-to-surface guided missiles
Regardless of the specific laser system used on the carrier aircraft, the principle of targeting a target remains virtually unchanged; it is similar to the principle of semi-active radar guidance. When approaching a target, the operator turns on the guidance system equipment and, using a television or infrared device, searches for it. Having detected a target, the operator turns on the laser irradiator. The direction of the beam, which constantly illuminates the target, is maintained automatically (on a single-seat aircraft) or by operator commands (in the case of a two-seat aircraft). In this case, the aircraft can change course, altitude and perform maneuvers without entering the air defense coverage area of the object. When the aircraft approaches the target at a sufficient distance, a missile is launched. The homing head begins to perceive the laser radiation reflected from the target, directing the missile at it. The disadvantage of this guidance method is the need for constant illumination of the target with a laser irradiator and, therefore, the presence of the carrier aircraft in the target area.

The process of improving the missile weapons of aircraft of the United States and other Western countries is carried out taking into account the latest achievements of science and technology, as well as changing military concepts and the results of the use of weapons in combat situations during the American-Vietnamese and Arab-Israeli wars. In accordance with this, promising air-to-ground guided missiles, developed in the USA (YMRASM program) and France (ASMP), are equipped with combined guidance systems (inertial and radar or laser) and a power plant and should have increased range and flight speed.

Rice. 1.93. Air-to-ship missiles, a-"Sea-Killer"; b-"Harpoon"; c-"Cormoran".

Air-to-ship missiles.

Air-to-ship guided missiles include Otomat, Exocet, AS-15TT (France); "Sea-Killer" (Italy); AGM-84 "Harpoon" (USA); SeaScue (UK); "Cormoran" (Germany) and others. For the most part, these missiles are equipped with semi-armor-piercing warheads (Kormoran and Harpoon are equipped with cumulative and high-explosive warheads, respectively), have a subsonic flight speed and a range of up to ~ 120 km. The Otomat and Harpoon missiles are equipped with turbojet engines, and all the rest of the mentioned missiles are equipped with solid-fuel rocket engines. With the exception of the Sea-Killer and Sea-Scue missiles, which are equipped with radio command and active radar guidance equipment, respectively, all other missile launchers have a combined guidance system consisting of inertial and active radar operating at the final part of the trajectory.

Rice. 1.94. HARM anti-radar missile on the underwing pylon.

Improvement of air-to-ship missiles is carried out in the direction of increasing speed and flight range, as well as guidance accuracy in conditions of strong radio countermeasures from the enemy. So, for example, the promising Anglo-French-West German ASSM missile should have a flight speed of 2.3? with a launch weight of ~ 1000 kg (warhead weight 200 kg). The missile is supposed to be equipped with a combined system consisting of inertial and infrared guidance equipment.

Anti-radar missiles.

Unlike air-to-surface and air-to-ship missiles, anti-radar missiles are equipped with passive radar homing heads operating in a wide range of frequencies. These missiles, designed to destroy enemy radars, are usually equipped with solid fuel engines that provide high supersonic flight speeds and a range of up to 80 km. Missiles of this type include AGM-45 Shrike, AGM-78 Standard, AGM-88 HARM (USA); "Martel" AS-37 (France). The AGM-78 missile homing system is capable of “remembering” the coordinates of the target and thereby hitting the radar even if its operation stops after the missile launch.

Table of contents

SAM "Strela-10"

The Strela-10 anti-aircraft missile system was created in the late 1970s, it was first seen by Soviet troops in the GDR in the spring of 1980. It is a replacement for the Strela-1 anti-aircraft missile system and is deployed in the amount of 16 installations per tank or motorized rifle division. In early 1983, several such installations were installed around Kabul Airport in Afghanistan. The Strela-10 launcher is mounted on an MT-LB chassis and carries 4 missiles in a ready-to-launch position. The missiles are in containers of the same type as anti-aircraft missiles...

SAM MIM-104 "Chapparel"

The M48 Chapperal short-range self-propelled anti-aircraft missile system was created by order of the US Army. It consists primarily of a modified M548 tracked transporter chassis with a missile launcher. The latter consists of a support frame and a tower with 4 Chapperel missiles in the ready-to-launch position. Chapparal is an air-to-air missile with a Sidewinder infrared homing head, adapted for launch from the ground. In the US Army, the mixed anti-aircraft division has 24 Chapparel launchers...

DEVELOPMENT TRENDS OF SMALL-SIZED AIR-SURFACE GUIDED MISSILES

According to open information, the general direction of missile development is the desire to universalize them. This trend can be seen to the greatest extent in the development of ATGMs. The latest modifications of the famous AGM-114 Hellfire missile are equipped with thermobaric, high-explosive and armor-piercing/high-explosive fuses designed to destroy a wide variety of targets, not just armored vehicles. It is significant that in the open press, Hellfire is now extremely rarely called an ATGM (anti-tank guided missile); the term “guided missile” is more often used.

Plug-in compartments with guidance and control units of the APKWSII system, designed for the modernization of unmanned aerial vehicles.

However, the desire to universalize the intended purpose and equip missiles with multi-band seekers leads to an increase in the cost of products. Already today, the cost of such missiles as the AGM-114R is comparable or even exceeds the cost of the objects they are intended to destroy. Against this background, interest in equipping NARs with homing heads of various types has intensified throughout the world - a completely logical step after the modification of conventional bombs into adjustable ones. Modified NARs are designed to destroy point targets, even an individual “terrorist,” while initially light NARs of about 70 mm caliber (Hydra type) were considered as cheap weapons designed to hit area targets. NARs upgraded into guided missiles are presented as “cheap” precision weapons.

On the one hand, this is true: the cost of the American upgraded Hydra APKWSII missile is approximately a third of the cost of the Hellfire. On the other hand, “cheapness” turns out to be very relative. The mass of the warhead (warhead) of the Hydra missile launcher is less than that of the Hellfire missile launcher, therefore, the damaging effect is less. The launch of NAR from helicopters and airplanes, as a rule, is carried out in a salvo of at least two missiles in order to avoid the appearance of a turning moment for the carrier. The launch torque of “real” missiles is greater, but such missiles are used much less frequently than unmanned missiles, and are launched by more trained crews. In the case of a salvo launch of modified missiles, the “cost” of a shot comes close to the launch of a guided missile. Without a doubt, equipping the NAR with various seekers is one of the most promising ways to develop missile weapons, but such weapons are unlikely to become truly mass-produced, as they are trying to present in advertising brochures and in the press.

Nevertheless, judging by the publications of the last four years, it is the NAR with a seeker that in many countries (especially those that do not have a defense industry as developed as in the United States and Europe) receive the greatest attention.

SAM MIM-104 "Patriot"

The MlM-104 Patriot tactical anti-aircraft guided missile was created in 1965 by order of the US Army to replace the Hawk and Nike Hercules anti-aircraft guided missiles. The lead developer is , the main contractors are Martin-Marietta Aerospace (missile airframe and launcher) and Hazltine (friend-or-foe interrogator). The first test launches were carried out in 1970, but for many reasons, including financial and technical, the start of production was delayed, and only in 1983 was ...

SAM MIM-23B "Advanced Hawk"

"Hawk" (HAWK - short for "constantly homing killer") was created by order of the US Army. The first controlled launch was in June 1956, when the missile shot down a QF-80 target aircraft. The first division of the US Army, armed with MIM-23A HAWK missiles, entered combat duty in August 1960, since then the system has been purchased by more than 20 countries, and is also produced under license in Europe and Japan. Since its introduction, the system has been continuously improved to respond to changing means of attack. Rockets participated for the first time in...

Man-portable anti-aircraft missile system "Stinger"

The Stinger man-portable anti-aircraft missile system (MANPADS) with the official designation F1M-92A was created by the Pomona department (which previously developed the Redeye system) commissioned by the US Army and Marine Corps. The main improvements compared to the Redeye can be briefly characterized as follows: giving the missile all-aspect control (i.e., you can hit an aircraft flying towards the operator), adding a “friend or foe” system, increasing the range and maneuverability of the missile, much greater resistance to interference, ...

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The Soviet Union was one of the founders and world leaders in the construction of helicopter technology. Soviet developers achieved no less success in the field of creating guided weapons, in particular, anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM). The combination of these two areas predetermined the appearance of combat helicopters in the armed forces of the USSR.

Mi-1MU helicopter with 3M11 Phalanx ATGM

Helicopters

The first Soviet helicopter equipped with an ATGM was the Mi-1MU in 1962, armed with four 3M11 Phalanx ATGMs. Due to the lack of interest in it from the USSR Armed Forces, it was not adopted for service, like its improved version with six missiles. The next generation helicopters, the Mi-2 and Mi-4, also did not receive significant development as ATGM carriers.

The first truly combat helicopter of the USSR was the Mi-24 combat helicopter created in 1972. First of all, it was optimized not for anti-tank use, but for fire support of ground troops, although it could carry up to four Phalanx ATGMs, and later the more advanced Shturm-V ATGMs. The design of the Mi-24 and its modifications was not optimized for combat operations from the hover mode, characteristic of helicopters from NATO countries. In fact, the Mi-24 was used as an attack aircraft with a short take-off and vertical landing or as an aerial infantry fighting vehicle. Due to the presence of a spacious landing compartment, the Mi-24 turned out to be significantly larger and heavier compared to the American AH-1, however, these helicopters were originally created to solve different problems.

In the latest modifications of the Mi-24VM (Mi-35M), the helicopter received shortened wings, engines of increased power and 8-16 Sturm-V or Ataka-M ATGMs, which allows it to relatively effectively solve the problem of destroying armored vehicles.

Mi-24D helicopter and its latest modification Mi-35M

The total superiority of the USSR and the Warsaw Pact in armored vehicles compared to the USA and NATO did not make the creation of an anti-tank helicopter a priority. In this regard, the appearance in the USSR of a helicopter similar in capabilities to the newest American AH-64 Apache was significantly delayed. First of all, this was due to the collapse of the USSR, but a significant contribution was made by the confrontation between the Kamov Design Bureau and the Design Bureau named after. Mile. During the long-term “competition” of the Ka-50 and Mi-28 helicopters, and then their successors Ka-52 and Mi-28N, the parties poured a lot of dirt on each other, which undoubtedly negatively affected the export potential of both machines, however, this topic has been reviewed many times in specialized publications and on thematic forums.

Initially, the Kamov Design Bureau with the Ka-50 helicopter was recognized as the winner of the competition for a new army helicopter. Previously, in the USSR there was an unspoken division of labor, in which the Kamov Design Bureau prioritized the development of helicopters for the USSR Navy, and the Design Bureau named after. Mile for ground forces. With the advent of the Ka-50 helicopter, this tradition was broken.

The car turned out to be extremely interesting. First of all, the single-seat layout of the helicopter with a high level of automation attracted attention. For the first time in the world, a pilot's ejection seat was installed with the blades being shot off before ejection. Installed closer to the center of mass of the 30-m, the 2A42 cannon with selective ammunition and an ammunition load of 460 shells made it possible to hit targets at a range of up to four kilometers. 12 supersonic Vikhr ATGMs with a laser path guidance system and an estimated firing range of 8-10 kilometers were to be used as anti-tank weapons. The coaxial design made it possible to provide the helicopter with excellent maneuverability and a high rate of climb of up to 28 m/s (for comparison, for the Mi-28 this figure is 13.6 m/s, for the AH-1 – 8.22 m/s, for the AH-64 – 7 ,2-12.7 m/s). The spectacular appearance and catchy name “Black Shark” quickly made the Ka-50 famous in Russia and abroad, where it received the name “Werewolf”.

Combat helicopter Ka-50 “Black Shark”

The joint operation of Ka-50 combat helicopters with Ka-29VPNTSU helicopters equipped with automation and communications systems to provide navigation, target designation and closed radio communications with other branches of the military was envisaged. Also, according to some reports, the option of teaming the Ka-50 with the two-seat “commander” modification of the Ka-52 and the Ka-31 long-range radar detection (AWACS) helicopters was considered, however, this may be someone’s individual vision of the problem.

Long debates on the issue of the final adoption of a combat helicopter in the Russian Federation led to the refusal of the Kamov Design Bureau from the single-seat modification - Ka-50 and the promotion of its two-seat modification Ka-52, with pilots placed side by side (side-by-side), which is not quite typical for attack helicopters. However, the main characteristics of the Ka-50 were preserved; in addition, a millimeter-wave radar station (radar) was placed under the radio-transparent nose fairing, designed to detect targets and fly in terrain-following mode.

Radar "Crossbow", located under the nose radio-transparent fairing of the Ka-52 helicopter

Ultimately, both vehicles were put into service - the Ka-52 and Mi-28N, which received both positive and negative reviews from the troops. In general, while superior in armor and maneuverability compared to the AH-64 Apache, both vehicles are inferior to it in avionics and armament. It is expected that avionics comparable to those installed on AH-64D/E helicopters will appear on the modernized Mi-28NM helicopter. Also, by 2021-2022, it is planned to upgrade the Ka-52 helicopter to the level of the Ka-52M with improved surveillance and sighting systems and extended-range missiles.

However, the gap in ATGMs still remains. If American helicopters can use ATGMs in the “fire and forget” mode, then Russian helicopters using ATGMs “Attack” or “Whirlwind” require target tracking by a carrier throughout the missile’s flight. This was a consequence of the lag in the domestic element base and, accordingly, the lack of compact multi-range homing heads.

The newest Russian combat helicopter Mi-28VN and naval combat helicopter Ka-52K "Katran"

ATGMs and multifunctional air-to-surface missiles

The first generation ATGMs, in which it was necessary to manually direct the missile at the target, did not provide any acceptable probability of hitting the target. The first effective anti-tank system used from the Mi-24 helicopters and the Navy Ka-29 helicopters was the Shturm-V ATGM. The complex ensured the destruction of armored targets at a range of up to five kilometers with a supersonic missile with radio command guidance. At the time of its appearance, the characteristics of the Shturm-V ATGM allowed combat helicopters to effectively fight armored targets. Subsequently, on the basis of the Shturm-V ATGM, an improved Ataka ATGM was developed with a firing range of up to eight kilometers, which can be used from Mi-28 helicopters, and in a laser-guided version from Ka-52 helicopters.

Rocket 9M120 "Attack"

The supersonic Vikhr ATGM being developed for the Ka-50 with a laser path guidance system was supposed to have a range of up to eight kilometers, and in the Vikhr-M version up to 10 kilometers. Large-scale production of the Vikhr ATGM has never been established; the Vikhr-M ATGM has been mass-produced since 2013 for use in the Ka-52, but information about their actual use is extremely limited.

ATGM "Vikhr-M"

Ka-52 combat helicopter with 24 Vikhr ATGMs in transport and launch containers (TPK)

In general, the Vikhr-M ATGM has higher characteristics compared to the Ataka ATGM, but at the same time, both systems are outdated by modern standards and belong to the second generation. The speed of even supersonic ATGMs is in any case significantly inferior to the flight speed of modern anti-aircraft guided missiles (SAM). As a result, a helicopter attacking armored vehicles covered by air defense systems will most likely be destroyed before the ATGM hits the target. Based on this, Russian combat helicopters need weapons capable of operating on the “fire and forget” principle, that is, third-generation ATGMs.

For a long time, the topic of the development of the Hermes ATGM by the Tula Instrument Design Bureau (KBP JSC) has been discussed on the Internet. Such a complex has indeed been developed for a long time, initially under the name “Klevok”, then being renamed “Hermes”. The Hermes complex is supposed to be deployed on ground, surface and air carriers. According to various sources, the range of the aviation version of the Hermes complex missile should be about 25 km, the range of the ground version of the complex can be up to 100 km. There is an opinion that a firing range of 100 km can be achieved when launched from any type of carrier and largely depends on the carrier’s ability to provide target designation at maximum range. The rocket speed is supersonic, maximum about 1000 m/s, average 500 m/s. The Hermes-A complex (aviation version) was primarily intended to equip Ka-52 helicopters.

The missiles of the Hermes complex cannot be classified as ATGMs; rather, they are a multifunctional air-to-ground (w-w) or ground-to-ground (w-w) missile. The missiles of the Hermes complex provide for the use of several guidance systems, in particular, with a high probability we can talk about the presence of an inertial guidance system, a radio command guidance system and a laser homing head (GOS), similar to those used in guided artillery shells (UAS) of the Krasnopol type. . Other proposed seeker options include a passive thermal imaging homing head, an active radar homing head, or a combined thermal imaging + laser homing head. Presumably, the inertial guidance system can be supplemented with correction based on data from the Glonass satellite navigation system, which would be reasonable for hitting stationary, distant targets. Which of these seeker options for the Hermes complex have already been developed, which are in work, and which will not be implemented at all is not known with certainty.

ATGM Hermes and also in the TPK under the wing of a Ka-52 helicopter

The image published in the previous article (on the right) shows a presumably hypersonic anti-aircraft guided missile (SAM) of the Pantsir-SM complex. Considering the range of up to 40 kilometers and hypersonic flight speed, this begs the question of the possibility of implementing this product in an anti-tank version. In this case, almost the entire second stage will be occupied by “scrap” - the core of an armor-piercing finned sabot projectile (BOPS) made of tungsten or depleted uranium alloys. Taking into account the inevitable increase in the size and weight of the second stage, the range should be noticeably reduced compared to 40 kilometers for missile defense systems, but even a range of 15-20 kilometers will allow combat helicopters equipped with such a hypersonic ATGM to successfully solve anti-tank missions in the face of enemy air defense systems. An additional advantage can be considered the difficulty of hitting hypersonic targets with active protection systems (APS) of modern armored vehicles. And the use of a BOPS core as a warhead will make it possible to increase the resistance of an ATGM to secondary fragments formed when one of the ATGMs is hit by KAZ elements (during a paired launch). Reaching hypersonic flight speeds for ATGMs can partly compensate for the Russian Federation's lag in the development of homing heads.

Presumably a hypersonic missile defense system for the Pantsir-SM air defense system/air defense missile system (on the right) with a firing range of up to 40 km, on the left a missile defense system for the Pantsir-S, on the

In the summer of 2022, a video with a demonstration of the launch of a promising product 305, a light guided multifunctional rocket (LMUR) from aboard a Mi-28NM helicopter, circulated the network.

Application of product 305 (LMUR) from the Mi-28NM

Product 305 is called the Russian answer to the American JAGM. Some materials suggest that product 305 is the Hermes missile, while others say that it is a completely different product. Based on the analysis of the video image, one can rather lean towards the second option, since the product suspended under the Mi-28NM does not look like a Hermes missile in a container. The fact that product 305 does not belong to the Hermes complex is also evidenced by the fact that it is being tested on the Mi-28NM. KBP JSC, the developer of the Hermes complex, traditionally has a partner, so it is logical that new products would first be tested on the Ka-52.

Let's return to product 305 (LMUR). Presumably, product 305 was conceptually derived from the Kh-25 and Kh-38 air-to-ground missiles; there are even opinions that the LMUR is based on the design of the R-73 short-range air-to-air missile. The LMUR missile, made according to the “canard” design (with front-mounted control surfaces), is equipped with a highly sensitive multispectral optical-electronic seeker using semi-active laser, television and dual-band, medium-wave and long-wave (3-5 microns and 8-13 microns) infrared guidance channels . The LMUR missile should attack targets in the upper hemisphere with dive angles over 60-70 degrees, which will allow it to bypass many modern KAZs and hit armored targets in the most vulnerable upper projection. Questions remain about the speed and weight and size parameters of the 305 product and how many of them can be placed on the underwing mounts of the Mi-28NM and Ka-52 helicopters.

Russian high-precision missile Kh-38

There is currently no point in comparing the Russian LMUR with the American JAGM due to the lack of more or less reliable characteristics of the 305 product. The JAGM indicates the presence of a three-mode homing head with infrared, active radar and laser guidance channels. As part of the LMUR, the possibility of having an active radar seeker is not stated, which can be a significant drawback when used in bad weather conditions, but it is quite possible that the LMUR is ahead of the JAGM in terms of other characteristics - range and flight speed, warhead power. In any case, the appearance of LMUR in the ammunition of the Mi-28NM and Ka-52 combat helicopters can be considered an important milestone in the development of Russian army aviation.

High-speed helicopters

Following the trend set by Western developers, Russian manufacturers are developing promising high-speed combat and transport helicopters.

primarily focuses on the creation of a high-speed transport helicopter Ka-92 with a traditional coaxial design and a pusher propeller.

Ka-92 high-speed helicopter concept

Plans to create a promising combat helicopter can be judged from preliminary images.

Concept of a promising combat helicopter

In 2015, the Mi-X1 took off, a flight prototype based on the Mi-24 with improved aerodynamics and a new propeller. The maximum speed declared by the developer is 520 km/h with a flight range of 900 kilometers.

Flight prototype of the Mi-X1 based on the Mi-24

In 2022, information was announced that the Moscow Helicopter Plant named after M.L. Mil had been chosen as the main developer of the high-speed combat helicopter. However, recalling the history of the confrontation between the Ka-50 and Mi-28 helicopters, we can say that this is not a final decision. In any case, the developments of Russian companies are at an initial stage; as projects develop, conceptual changes are possible, including based on the results of studying foreign experience in operating such machines. It can be assumed that in the period at least until 2030, domestic army aviation can only rely on new and modernized aircraft of the Ka-52 and Mi-28 family.

How critical is our lag behind the United States in the creation of high-speed helicopters? Even if the United States is able to adopt and produce high-speed combat helicopters in a fairly large series in the near future, it will take a lot of time to develop tactics for their use and gain experience in trouble-free operation. There is no doubt that, like tiltrotors, high-speed helicopters will reap their harvest in the form of irretrievable losses of experimental and production vehicles. And the appearance of high-speed helicopters in itself cannot be compared in significance either with the transition from piston aircraft to jet aircraft, or with the creation of hypersonic weapons; they will not have a radical impact on combat tactics.

Based on the foregoing, it can be assumed that at the current stage and in the near future, the main task of the Russian defense industry will be the refinement and debugging of effective missiles with multispectral seekers, as well as the creation of hypersonic ATGMs. In addition to development, an equally important task is the deployment of large-scale production of new products and saturation of the armed forces with them.

In terms of modernization of combat helicopters, the priority remains the task of increasing the efficiency of on-board electronic equipment and reconnaissance equipment. Increasing the security of combat helicopters will not go unnoticed, in order to minimize the likelihood of them being hit by small-caliber artillery weapons and small-caliber weapons. Another direction for improving combat helicopters will be the development of helicopter self-defense systems, primarily against attacks by man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS). However, it is quite possible that self-defense systems will also be effective against third-generation ATGMs, such as the American Javelin complex, equipped with a thermal imaging homing head, while second-generation ATGMs, controlled by wire or along a “laser path”, will still be pose a serious threat to combat helicopters moving at low speeds and low altitudes.

Air-to-surface guided missiles (2017)

SAM "Crotal"

Story

First experiments

First missiles in service

Second generation missile defense system

SAM "Shahin" SICA

SAM "Roland"

SAM "Bloodhound Mk 2"

Guided air-to-ground missiles of the X-38 family

MANPADS "Blowpipe"

SAM "Rapier"

MANPADS RBS 70

Weapons of the USSR 1964-1982: aircraft missiles

SAM "Circle"

Classification

SAM "Cube"

MANPADS "Strela-2"

SAM "Osa"

X-25

MANPADS "Strela-1"

Peaceful uses of missiles

SAM "Buk"

SAM "Strela-10"

SAM MIM-104 "Chapparel"

DEVELOPMENT TRENDS OF SMALL-SIZED AIR-SURFACE GUIDED MISSILES

SAM MIM-104 "Patriot"

SAM MIM-23B "Advanced Hawk"

Man-portable anti-aircraft missile system "Stinger"

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Helicopters

ATGMs and multifunctional air-to-surface missiles

High-speed helicopters