How many air defense systems do we have? We continue to review the domestic air defense systems available in the Russian Armed Forces. Today we will talk about mobile anti-aircraft cannon-missile systems designed for anti-aircraft cover of troops in the frontline zone and in the air defense facility in the depths of the defense.
ZPRK "Tunguska"
In the early 1970s, the development of a new anti-aircraft self-propelled artillery unit began, which was supposed to replace the ZSU-23-4 "Shilka". Calculations have shown that increasing the caliber of artillery machine guns to 30 mm while maintaining the same rate of fire will increase the probability of defeat by 1.5 times. In addition, a heavier projectile gives an increase in reach in range and height. The military also wanted to get an anti-aircraft self-propelled gun equipped with its own radar for detecting air targets with a range of at least 15 km. It is no secret that the Shilki radio device complex has very limited search capabilities. Satisfactory effectiveness of the ZSU-23-4 actions was achieved only upon receipt of preliminary target designation from the battery command post, which, in turn, used the data received from the command post of the divisional air defense chief, who had at his disposal a low-altitude circular radar type P-15 or P -19. In the event that communication with control points disappeared, the crews of the ZSU-23-4, acting autonomously, with their own radars in the circular search mode, could detect about 20% of air targets.
Given that the Soviet army already had a number of air defense systems and was developing new ones, the leadership of the USSR Ministry of Defense hesitated about the need to create another anti-aircraft artillery complex. The impetus for the decision to start work on a new army complex on a tracked chassis was the active use by the Americans at the final stage of the war in Southeast Asia of anti-tank helicopters equipped with ATGMs.
The anti-aircraft weapons available in the troops in the early 1970s were mainly focused on combating jet fighter-bombers, attack aircraft and front-line bombers and could not effectively counteract combat helicopters using the tactics of short-term climb (no more than 30-40 s) for launch guided missiles. In this case, the air defense means of the regimental level turned out to be powerless. The operators of the Strela-1 air defense missile system and the Strela-2M MANPADS did not have the opportunity to detect and capture the target for a short time hovering at an altitude of 30-50 m at a distance of several kilometers. The Shilok crews did not have time to receive external target designation, and the effective firing range of 23-mm assault rifles was less than the launch range of anti-tank missiles. The anti-aircraft missile systems of the "Osa-AK" divisional link located in the depths of their positions at a distance of up to 5-7 km from the attacking helicopters, according to the total reaction time of the complex and the flight of the missile defense system, could not hit the helicopter before the ATGM was launched from it.
In order to increase the firepower, probability and range of destruction of air targets, it was decided to equip the new complex with anti-aircraft missiles in addition to 30-mm artillery machine guns. The structure of the Tunguska air defense missile system, in addition to a pair of 2A38 double-barreled 30-mm cannons, included: a radar station with a circular view of the decimeter range and 8 missiles with radio command guidance through an optical channel along the missile tracer. In this self-propelled anti-aircraft installation, for the first time, the combination of two types of weapons (cannon and missile) with a single radar-instrument complex was achieved. Fire from 30-mm cannons can be fired on the move or from a place, and the missile defense can only be launched after stopping. The radar-optical fire control system receives primary information from the surveillance radar, with a target detection range of 18 km. There is also a target tracking radar with a range of 13 km. The detection of hovering helicopters is carried out by the Doppler frequency shift from the rotating propeller, after which it is taken for auto-tracking in three coordinates by the target tracking station. In addition to the radar, the OMS includes: a digital computer, a stabilized telescopic sight and devices that determine the angular coordinates and nationality of the target. The combat vehicle is equipped with a navigation, topographic and orientation system for determining coordinates.
Talking about the Tunguska air defense missile system, it is worth dwelling in more detail on its armament. The double-barreled 30-mm anti-aircraft machine gun 2A38 weighs 195 kg and provides firing with cartridges supplied from a common ammunition tape for the two barrels.
Shooting control is carried out using an electric trigger. Barrels are cooled by liquid. The total rate of fire is 4050-4800 rds / min. The muzzle velocity of the projectiles is 960-980 m / s. The maximum length of a continuous burst is 100 shots, after which cooling of the barrels is required.
Anti-aircraft guided missile 9M311 with a length of 2, 56 m, weighs 42 kg (54 kg in TPK) and is built according to the bicaliber scheme. The starting and accelerating engine in a plastic case with a diameter of 152 mm, after the development of solid fuel, accelerates the missile defense system to 900 m / s and separates approximately 2.5 seconds after the start. The absence of a propulsion engine eliminates smoke and allows the use of relatively simple guidance equipment with an optical line of sight of the target. At the same time, it was possible to ensure reliable and accurate guidance of missiles, reduce the mass and dimensions of the rocket, and simplify the layout of on-board equipment and combat equipment.
The average speed of the sustainer stage of a rocket with a diameter of 76 mm on the trajectory is 600 m / s. At the same time, the defeat of targets flying at a speed of up to 500 m / s and maneuvering with an overload of 5-7g is ensured on oncoming and catch-up courses. The rod-type warhead weighing 9 kg is equipped with contact and proximity fuses. During tests at the test site, it was found that the probability of a direct hit on the target in the absence of organized interference is more than 0.5. With a miss of up to 15 m, the warhead is detonated by a proximity fuse with a laser sensor of 4 semiconductor lasers, forming an eight-beam radiation pattern perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the rocket …
When firing from anti-aircraft guns, the digital computing system automatically solves the problem of meeting a projectile with a target after it enters the affected area according to data received from the tracking radar and rangefinder. At the same time, guidance errors are compensated, angular coordinates, range are taken into account, and when the car is moving, the angles of the speed and course are taken into account. If the enemy suppressed the rangefinder channel, a transition was made to manual target tracking in range, and if manual tracking was impossible, to target tracking in range from the detection station or to its inertial tracking. When setting intense jamming of the tracking station along the angular channels, the target was tracked in azimuth and elevation with an optical sight. But in this case, the accuracy of firing from cannons is significantly deteriorated and there is no possibility of firing at targets in conditions of poor visibility.
When firing anti-aircraft missiles, target tracking in angular coordinates is carried out using an optical sight. After launch, the rocket is displayed in the field of view of the optical direction finder of the coordinate extraction equipment. According to the signal from the missile tracer, the equipment determines the angular coordinates of the missile defense system relative to the line of sight of the target, which entered the computer system. After the formation of the missile control commands, they are encoded into impulse messages and are transmitted to the missile by the transmitter of the guidance station by radio signals.
To guide an anti-aircraft missile, the target must be observed visually, which significantly limits the effectiveness of the first version of the "Tunguska". At night, with strong smoke and fog, it is possible to use only artillery weapons.
The maximum range of destruction of air targets with artillery machine guns is up to 4 km, in height - up to 3 km. With the help of missiles, it is possible to fire at a target at a distance - from 2.5 to 8 km, in height - up to 3.5 km. Initially, the car had 4 missiles, then their number was doubled. There are 1904 artillery rounds for 30 mm cannons. The ammunition includes high-explosive incendiary and fragmentation tracer shells (in a ratio of 4: 1). The probability of hitting a target of the "fighter" type when firing from cannons is 0. 6. For rocket armament - 0.65.
ZPRK "Tunguska" entered service in 1982. The tracked chassis of the GM-352 cannon-missile complex, with a combat vehicle weighing 34 tons, provides a highway speed of up to 65 km / h. The crew and internal equipment are covered with bulletproof armor providing protection against rifle-caliber bullets from a distance of 300 m. A turbo unit is available to supply the vehicle with power when the main diesel engine is turned off.
It was assumed that the combat vehicles of the "Tunguska" complex in the regimental echelon would replace the ZSU-23-4 "Shilka", but in practice this was not completely achieved. Four combat vehicles of the Tunguska air defense missile system were reduced to a missile and artillery platoon of an anti-aircraft missile and artillery battery, which also had a Strela-10 air defense system platoon.
The battery was part of the anti-aircraft battalion of a motorized rifle (tank) regiment. As a battery command post, the PU-12M control point was used, which was subordinate to the PPRU-1 command post of the regiment's air defense chief. When the Tunguska complex was coupled with the PU-12M, control commands and target designation to the combat vehicles of the complex were transmitted by voice using standard radio stations.
Although the supply of the Tunguska air defense missile system to the troops began more than 35 years ago, the artillery and missile systems have still not been able to completely replace the seemingly hopelessly outdated Shilki, the production of which was discontinued in 1982. This was primarily due to the high cost and insufficient reliability of the Tungusok. It was only by the end of the 1980s that the main "children's sores" of the new air defense systems, in which many fundamentally new technical solutions were used, were eliminated.
Although the developers from the very beginning used the latest electronic element base at that time, the reliability of the electronic units left much to be desired. For the timely elimination of malfunctions of very complex instrumental and radio equipment and missile testing, three different repair and maintenance vehicles were created (based on Ural-43203 and GAZ-66), and a mobile workshop (based on ZIL-131) for repair in the field the conditions of the tracked chassis GM-352. Ammunition replenishment should be carried out using a transport-loading vehicle (based on KamAZ-4310), which carries 2 ammunition cartridges and 8 missiles.
Despite the fact that the combat capabilities of the Tunguska significantly increased in comparison with the Shilka, the military wanted to get a simpler, more reliable and cheaper cannon-missile system capable of operating missiles in the dark and in poor visibility conditions. Taking into account the shortcomings identified during operation, since the second half of the 1980s, work was underway to create a modernized version.
First of all, it was about increasing the technical reliability of the hardware of the complex as a whole, and improving combat controllability. The combat vehicles of the modernized complex "Tunguska-M" were mated with the unified battery command post "Ranzhir", with the possibility of transmitting information via a telecode communication line. For this, combat vehicles were equipped with appropriate equipment. In the case of controlling the actions of the Tunguska fire platoon from the battery command post, the analysis of the air situation and the selection of targets for shelling by each complex were carried out at this point. In addition, new gas turbine units with a resource increased from 300 to 600 hours were installed on the modernized machines.
However, even taking into account the increased reliability and command control of the Tunguska-M air defense missile system, such a serious drawback as the impossibility of firing rockets at night and with low atmospheric transparency was not eliminated. In this regard, despite problems with funding in the 1990s, a modification was created that could use missile weapons, regardless of the possibility of visual observation of the target. In 2003, the radically modernized Tunguska-M1 air defense missile system was adopted in Russia. The most noticeable external difference of this option from previous modifications is the aerial surveillance radar antenna, which has an oval shape. When creating the Tunguska-M1 modification, work was carried out to replace the GM-352 chassis produced in Belarus with the domestic GM-5975.
For the modernized complex, a new 9M311M missile defense system was created with improved characteristics. In this missile, the laser proximity sensor of the target is replaced by a radar one, which increases the likelihood of hitting small-sized high-speed targets. Instead of a tracer, a flash lamp was installed, which, together with an increase in the engine operation time, made it possible to increase the range of destruction from 8000 m to 10000 m. At the same time, the firing efficiency increased by 1, 3-1, 5 times. Thanks to the introduction of a new fire control system into the hardware of the complex and the use of a pulsed optical transponder, it was possible to significantly increase the noise immunity of the missile defense control channel and increase the likelihood of destroying air targets that operate under the cover of optical interference. The modernization of the optical sighting equipment of the complex made it possible to significantly simplify the process of target tracking by the gunner, at the same time increasing the accuracy of target tracking and reducing the dependence of the effectiveness of the combat use of the optical guidance channel on the professional level of the gunner's training. The refinement of the system for measuring the pitch and heading angles made it possible to significantly reduce the disturbing effects on the gyroscopes and reduce the errors in measuring the inclination and heading angles, and increase the stability of the control loop of anti-aircraft guns.
It is not entirely clear whether the Tunguska-M1 air defense missile system received the ability to operate missiles at night. A number of sources say that the presence of thermal imaging and television channels with an automatic target tracking on the installation guarantees the presence of a passive target tracking channel and all-day use of existing missiles. However, it is not clear whether this has been implemented on the complexes available in the Russian army.
In connection with the collapse of the USSR and the "economic reforms" that began, the modernized Tunguska-M / M1 air defense missile systems were supplied mainly for export, and our armed forces received very little of them. According to information published by The Military Balance 2017, the Russian army has more than 400 Tunguska air defense systems of all modifications. Considering that a significant part of these self-propelled anti-aircraft guns were built during the Soviet era, many of them are in need of refurbishment. Operation and maintenance of "Tungusok" in a working condition requires costly and time-consuming operations. Indirectly, this is confirmed by the fact that the Russian armed forces are still actively operating ZSU-23-4 "Shilka", which, even after modernization and introduction into the armament of the "Strelets" missile system, are significantly inferior in combat effectiveness to all versions of "Tungusok". In addition, the radar systems of the modernized ZSU-23-4M4 Shilka-M4 and ZPRK Tunguska-M no longer fully meet the requirements of noise immunity and stealth.
ZRPK "Pantsir" 1C and 2C
In 1989, the USSR Ministry of Defense expressed interest in creating an anti-aircraft missile and cannon complex designed to protect military columns on the march, and to provide air defense of important stationary objects. Although the complex received the preliminary designation "Tunguska-3", from the very beginning it was envisaged that its main weapon would be missiles, and the guns were intended for completing air targets and self-defense against a ground enemy. At the same time, the tactical and technical assignment specifically stipulated the possibility of the all-day use of all types of weapons and resistance to organized electronic and thermal interference. Since the complex was supposed to be used outside the line of contact with the enemy, in order to reduce the cost, it was decided to place it on a partially armored wheeled chassis. The promising ZRPK created in the Tula Instrument Design Bureau had a high succession with the Tunguska air defense missile system.
The first modification of the new complex on the Ural-5323.4 automobile chassis was armed with two 30-mm 2A72 cannons (used as part of the BMP-3 armament) and 9M335 anti-aircraft guided missiles was tested in 1996. However, the complex with a range of destruction - 12 km, and height - 8 km did not impress the specialists. Radar station 1L36 "Roman" worked unreliable and could not demonstrate the declared characteristics, the complex was not capable of destroying targets beyond 12 km, and could fire only after stopping. The effectiveness of firing at air targets from 30-mm 2A72 cannons with a total rate of fire of 660 rds / min was unsatisfactory.
In the mid-1990s, in the face of a radical reduction in the country's military budget and the presence in the troops of a large number of various anti-aircraft systems inherited from the USSR, the need to fine-tune the new air defense missile defense system to a standard for the leadership of the RF Ministry of Defense did not seem obvious. Due to the lack of knowledge of the radar equipment, an option was worked out with a passive optoelectronic system and a thermal imaging channel for detecting air targets and targeting missiles, but in this case there was no particular advantage over the Tunguska-M1 air defense missile system
The Pantsir ZRPK got a ticket to life thanks to the contract concluded with the United Arab Emirates in May 2000. The Russian side undertook to supply 50 complexes, totaling $ 734 million (50% was paid by the RF Ministry of Finance to pay off Russia's debt to the UAE). At the same time, the foreign customer allocated an advance payment of $ 100 million to finance R&D and testing.
The complex, which received the name "Pantsir-C1", differed in many respects from the prototype presented in 1996. The changes affected both weapons and hardware. The export version "Pantsir-S1E" was housed on an eight-axle MAN-SX45 truck chassis. This modification used foreign-made equipment, 2A38 anti-aircraft guns and 9M311 SAMs - also used as part of the Tunguska air defense missile system.
In November 2012, the Pantsir-S1 air defense missile system on the KamAZ-6560 chassis entered service with the Russian army. A vehicle weighing about 30 tons with an 8x8 wheel arrangement is capable of reaching speeds of up to 90 km / h on the highway. The power reserve is 500 km. The crew of the complex is 3 people. Deployment time is 5 minutes. Threat reaction time - 5 seconds.
The combat module is armed with two blocks with six 57E6 anti-aircraft guided missiles and two double-barreled 30-mm 2A38M cannons.
The combat module includes: a phased detection radar, a radar complex for tracking targets and missiles, and an optoelectronic fire control channel. The ammunition load is 12 57E6 anti-aircraft missiles and 1400 ready-to-use 30-mm rounds.
The 57E6 anti-aircraft missile is similar in appearance and layout to the 9M311 SAM used in the Tunguska air defense missile system. The bicaliber rocket is made according to the "canard" aerodynamic design. To aim at the target, radio command control is used. The engine is in the first separating stage. Missile length - 3160 mm. The diameter of the 1st stage is 90 mm. Weight in TPK - 94 kg. Weight without TPK - 75, 7 kg. The mass of the rod warhead is 20 kg. The average flight speed of missiles at a range of 18 km is 780 m / s. The firing range is from 1 to 18 km. The height of the defeat is from 5 to 15000 m. The detonation of the warhead in case of a direct hit is provided by a contact fuse, in case of a miss - by a proximity fuse. The probability of hitting an air target is 0, 7-0, 95. It is possible to fire at one target with two missiles.
Two double-barreled 30-mm 2A38M anti-aircraft guns have a total rate of fire of up to 5000 rds / min. The muzzle velocity is 960 m / s. Effective firing range - up to 4000 m. Height reach - up to 3000 m.
A radar station with a circular view of the decimeter range is capable of detecting an air target with an RCS of 2 sq. m at a distance of up to 40 km and simultaneously track up to 20 targets. A radar for target tracking and missile guidance with a phased array operating in the millimeter and centimeter frequency ranges ensures the detection and destruction of targets with an EPR of 0.1 sq. m at a distance of up to 20 km. In addition to radar facilities, the fire control system also contains a passive optoelectronic complex with an infrared direction finder, which is capable of digital signal processing and automatic target tracking. The whole system can work in automatic mode. The optoelectronic complex is designed for daily target detection, tracking and missile guidance. The tracking range in automatic mode for a fighter-type target is 17-26 km, the HARM anti-radar missile can be detected at a range of 13-15 km. The optoelectronic complex is also used for firing at sea and ground targets. Digital signal processing is carried out by a central computer complex, which provides simultaneous tracking of 4 targets by radar and optical channels. The maximum speed of capturing airborne objects is up to 10 units per minute.
ZRPK "Pantsir-S1" is capable of operating both individually and as part of a battery. The battery contains up to 6 combat vehicles. The effectiveness of the complex increases significantly when interacting with other combat vehicles and when receiving external target designation from the central command post of the air defense of the covered area.
The Pantsir-C1 complex is highly advertised by the Russian media and bears the aura of a "superweapon", but at the same time it is not devoid of a number of significant drawbacks. In particular, the Russian military has repeatedly pointed to the unsatisfactory passability of the KamAZ-6560 base chassis and its tendency to overturn. In the past, the options for placing the combat module on various wheeled and tracked chassis were worked out, but there are no such vehicles in our army. In addition, the capabilities of the optoelectronic station in terms of target detection and missile tracking are very dependent on the transparency of the atmosphere, and therefore it is rational to switch to radar tracking of missiles, but this can increase the cost of the complex. The defeat of actively maneuvering small targets is difficult and requires more missiles.
In 2016, supplies to the troops of the improved Pantsir-C2 modification began. The updated air defense missile system differs from the previous version by the presence of a radar with improved characteristics and an expanded missile range. In 2019, information appeared in the media about the tests of the Pantsir-SM air defense missile system. The features of this complex are: a new multifunctional radar station with a phased array capable of seeing a target at a distance of up to 75 kilometers, a high-speed computing complex and longer-range anti-aircraft missiles. Thanks to these innovations, the "Pantsir-SM" firing range has increased to 40 kilometers.
Although complexes of the Pantsir family have been adopted by the Russian army relatively recently, they have already passed the baptism of fire. According to RIA Novosti, in 2014, Pantsir-S1 air defense missile systems shot down in Crimea several drones flying from Ukraine. According to information published in open sources, the missile and cannon systems deployed at the Khmeimim airbase in Syria were repeatedly used to intercept unguided rockets and unmanned aerial vehicles.
At the end of December 2017, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that during the entire presence of the Russian Armed Forces contingent in Syria, 54 NURS and 16 UAVs were destroyed with the help of the Pantsir-C1 air defense missile system. However, the use of 57E6 missiles for the destruction of such targets is a very expensive pleasure, so a decision was made to create relatively inexpensive compact missiles with a shorter launch range.
At present, the main task of the Pantsir family of air defense missile systems is to protect important stationary objects from air strikes operating at low altitudes. In particular, the Pantsir-C1 / C2 batteries have been assigned to some anti-aircraft missile regiments armed with S-400 long-range air defense systems. This approach is quite justified, it allows not to spend expensive long-range missiles "four hundred" on secondary targets and minimizes the danger of cruise missiles breaking through to the S-400 positions at low altitude. This is a significant step forward. Based on personal recollections, I can say that in the past, the positions of the S-200VM and S-300PT / PS air defense systems in the "threatened period" had to be defended with 12.7 mm DShK machine guns and Strela-2M MANPADS. Until the mid-1990s, 14, 5-mm towed ZPU-4 installations were attached to individual radar companies.
According to information published in open sources, as of 2018, 23 batteries were armed with the Pantsir-C1 complex. Foreign research organizations specializing in assessing the military power of various states agree that the Russian armed forces have more than 120 Pantsir-C1 / C2 air defense missile systems. Considering the size of our country and the number of strategically important facilities that need protection from air strikes, this is not such a large number. It should be admitted that our army is still far from being saturated with a sufficient number of modern air defense systems, with missile and cannon systems so far only part of the positions of long-range air defense systems are covered.
