At the international arms show Eurosatory-2010, which opened yesterday in the French capital, a lot of interesting novelties were presented. But the sensational one is Russian.
Even the top leaders of the state are harshly criticizing the domestic defense industry today. It seems that nothing worthwhile can be born in its depths. And at the Eurosatory-2010 salon no surprises were expected from our delegation. And Rosoboronexport took it and showed that our defense industry complex is still capable of military-technical miracles.
A special design bureau "Zenith" from Zelenograd near Moscow demonstrates the work of the system of active protection of helicopters from modern anti-aircraft anti-aircraft missile systems (MANPADS), including from "Stingers". Russian designers managed to do what was beyond the power of anyone in the world.
The problem of repelling missile strikes guided by the thermal radiation of engines has been fought since infrared homing heads appeared. The first solution was the simplest but most effective. Rockets fired from MANPADS began to deceive with thermal interference. For a while, the snag worked. Today, all combat aircraft and helicopters are equipped with special devices that, in the event of a missile strike, fire off fireworks of brightly burning traps. This fireworks looks beautiful during air shows and parades. However, heat traps do not save an aircraft from being hit by the American Stinger and even more so by our Igla. The rockets got smarter. The control system of MANPADS of the latest generations instantly selects all celestial lights and directs the rocket in pursuit of a moving target - an airplane or a helicopter.
In the mid-1990s, the Americans publicly announced that they had created an integrated system to protect aircraft from thermal homing missiles. This system supposedly includes radars scanning the airspace, laser installations, classic heat traps and light suppression devices. They called her the mysterious name "Nemesis". And as if such impenetrable protection is on the presidential plane. It is quite possible that "Nemesis" really exists, but … Most likely, in a single copy and only on "board No. 1". In any case, over the past fifteen years, no one on the world market has seen an installation with a mythical name.
But Russia is showing a system of protection against MANPADS to the whole world. The complex was created by specialists from Samara, Moscow and Zelenograd. It is based on a unique optical-electronic suppression station, developed under the guidance of Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor Alexander Ivanovich Kobzar.
The protection complex was once named by someone for promotion on the market: "President-S". It is under this "modest" name that it is displayed in the general exposition of Rosoboronexport. The heart of the complex, as it was said, is an optical-electronic suppression station. It is a metal ball about half a meter in diameter. The whole secret is in the filling of the ball and in the completely unique mathematical algorithms that underlie the programmed control of the system. Mathematics was developed by specialists from Samara and Zelenograd - this is Russian know-how.
You can see how the complex works on the big screen. On the hill, on a special tower, a target is fixed - a Mi-8 helicopter, whose engines reach almost maximum power. Three balls are fixed under the body of the helicopter fuselage and on the tail boom. The operator with the Igla missile on his shoulder selects the most advantageous position for shooting - behind and to the side of the helicopter. The minimum range of fire for the helicopter is 1000 meters. The brightly glowing nozzles of the rotorcraft's engines are clearly visible in the Igla's sight. Start!
The rocket rushes towards the helicopter almost in a straight line. And unexpectedly, a real fiery whistle dance forms around the rotorcraft. It is impossible to convey in words. Where the helicopter was just clearly visible and the main thing for the rocket is the heat spot of its engines, a brightest cloud appears, in which myriads of some lights shimmer, mini-lightning flashes and, sparkling, swirls something reminiscent of the special effects of "Avatar" … The rocket, as if frightened by what he saw, abruptly leaves the planned and absolutely correct course somewhere to the side, towards self-destruction.
In the USSR, comparative tests of the Stingers captured in Afghanistan and the Eagle developed in Kolomna were specially carried out. Our MANPADS showed better performance than the American one. And if the "Needle" missed the mark, then the protection from the "Stinger" is guaranteed.
Here is what the general director of "Zenith" Professor Alexander Kobzar told the reporter:
- The operation of our complex is based on the narrowly directed and specially modulated radiation of a specially designed sapphire lamp. A phantom image of a target appears in the missile's control system, which its electronic "brain" perceives as the main target. A certain transcendental virtual reality appears, which persistently beckons to itself. The rocket rushes into empty space, where it self-destructs at the estimated time. And the fiery cloud around the helicopter is the optical effect of a very powerful sapphire lamp. It would seem that everything is very simple, but no one except us has yet solved this "simple" problem and has not embodied it in metal.
