On July 8, our country celebrates the Day of the Anti-Aircraft Missile Forces of the Russian Armed Forces. This is an unofficial holiday, which is directly related to the date of the appearance of anti-aircraft missile forces. The date of foundation of the domestic anti-aircraft missile forces is July 8, 1960. On this very day, by a special directive of the Chief of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces, the post of commander of the anti-aircraft missile forces of the Air Defense was introduced to the staff of the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Defense Forces of the country. At the same time, the first domestic stationary anti-aircraft missile system S-25 "Berkut", which was originally developed to provide air defense in Moscow, was officially adopted back in 1955.
The first Soviet anti-aircraft missile system
It was the S-25 system, the deployment of which around the capital was completed before 1958, that became the first domestic model of anti-aircraft guided missile weapons brought to mass production and put into service. The system, codenamed "Berkut", could hit various types of air targets at an altitude of 3 to 25 kilometers. After its adoption in service in 1955, the system was constantly modernized, which allowed it to serve until the early 1990s. After modernization in 1977, the system was able to hit air targets flying at speeds up to 4300 km / h in the altitude range from 0.5 to 35 kilometers, while the maximum range of the complex was 58 km.
According to experts, the S-25 system was considered very perfect for its age. In technical terms, this was a real breakthrough - the first multi-channel anti-aircraft missile system, which could simultaneously solve tasks and track and defeat a large number of air targets. At the same time, the designers initially realized the possibility of coordination and interaction between the individual batteries of the system. The highlight of the complex was the presence of multi-channel radars, until the end of the 1960s, no other complex could boast of such capabilities.
At the same time, the system also had obvious shortcomings, which included stationarity (the complex is completely immobile), and the military units themselves, armed with the C-25, were large objects that were vulnerable to nuclear strikes from a potential enemy. Separately, we can highlight the high cost and complexity of the complex operation. It is no coincidence that the USSR quickly abandoned the further construction of the S-25 in favor of creating simpler, cheaper, but at the same time mobile anti-aircraft missile systems S-75 and S-125.
The first combat experience of anti-aircraft missile forces
It was the S-75 "Desna" complex, which was put into service in 1957, that was tested for the first time in the USSR in combat conditions, having chalked up the downed American U-2 reconnaissance aircraft. It should be noted that the S-75 has become the most used air defense system in the world. The complex turned out to be really successful, it was successfully delivered to more than 40 countries, and in total, about 800 divisions of the complex were sent for export from the USSR.
But the complex recorded the first aerial victory not in the skies over the USSR. On October 7, 1959, a Taiwanese high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft RB-57D was shot down by a missile of the C-75 complex located near Beijing. Chinese missilemen, who worked together with Soviet military specialists, managed to hit the enemy plane at an altitude of 20,600 meters, the pilot was killed. This episode was the first in history when the plane was destroyed by an anti-aircraft guided missile launched from the ground. At the same time, for the sake of secrecy, this victory was attributed to an interceptor aircraft.
Over the Soviet Union, the calculations of the S-75 complex first distinguished themselves on November 16, 1959, when an American reconnaissance balloon flying at an altitude of almost 28,000 meters in the Stalingrad region (Volgograd since 1961) was successfully hit by a missile of the complex. And already on May 1, 1960, the most famous case of the successful use of an anti-aircraft missile system in Russian history took place. On this day, an American high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft Lockheed U-2 was shot down over Sverdlovsk (today Yekaterinburg).
The Lockheed U-2, piloted by pilot Francis Powers, took off from Pakistani airfield Peshawar on May 1, 1960. The plane's route passed first over Afghanistan, and then over the territory of the Soviet Union, which the pilot had to cross practically from south to north, the final point of the route over the territory of the USSR was Murmansk, the high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft was to land at the Norwegian Bodø airbase. The increased combat readiness of the Soviet air defense forces ensured almost immediate detection of the intruder aircraft, but for a long time it was impossible to intercept the reconnaissance aircraft with high-altitude fighters and interceptor aircraft due to the high altitude of the U-2.
Everything was decided in the skies over Sverdlovsk, when the plane found itself in the zone of operation of Soviet anti-aircraft missile systems. At 8:53 am Moscow time, the intruder was shot down by fire from the ground by the S-75 air defense missile system of the second division of the 57th anti-aircraft missile brigade by a crew commanded by Major Mikhail Voronin. This happened near the village of Kosulino, located in the area of the Verkhne-Sysertsky reservoir near Sverdlovsk. In total, 7 anti-aircraft guided missiles were fired at the plane, but the target was hit by the first missile, as a result of which the plane collapsed while still in the air. The numerous debris of the aircraft, which were observed on the screens by the radar operators, were identified as possible targets, and small debris as used interference. Therefore, the neighboring division fired at new targets fixed in the air. The reconnaissance plane crashed near the village of Povarnya, Francis Powers was not injured by the rocket explosion and managed to leave the plane, landing by parachute near the village of Kosulino, where he was detained by local residents.
This incident had a great impact on relations between the USSR and the United States, complicating the dialogue between the two countries. At the same time, the Americans were forced to recognize the program of reconnaissance flights of spy planes in violation of the airspace of the Soviet Union, for the United States the U-2 plane shot down near Sverdlovsk was a serious blow to its reputation. And Francis Powers, sentenced to 10 years in prison for espionage, was successfully exchanged for the famous Soviet intelligence officer Rudolf Abel in 1962.
The current state of the anti-aircraft missile forces
More than 60 years have passed since the appearance of the first domestic anti-aircraft missile systems, during which time they managed to go a long way in development. Today, it is the Russian Federation that is one of the leading manufacturers of air defense systems, which are in consistently high demand on the world arms market and, along with aviation equipment, are purchased today by many countries. The latest bestseller on the international arms market is the S-400 Triumph anti-aircraft missile system, which has already been owned by the armed forces of Turkey, China and India, and the number of potential customers for the system has long exceeded ten.
The S-400 Triumph anti-aircraft missile system, which continues the glorious traditions of earlier domestically produced air defense systems, is today the main means of protecting Russian airspace. Nowadays, the Russian Aerospace Forces have modern anti-aircraft missile systems, which, in addition to the S-400 complex, include the S-300 complex (of various modifications) and the Pantsir-C1 anti-aircraft missile and cannon systems. At present, the process of rearmament of the army for the S-400 complex is being completed, in total, by 2020, the Russian armed forces should receive 56 S-400 Triumph divisions from the industry, at present this order is almost completely fulfilled.
Thanks to the availability of modern and effective weapons with outstanding tactical and technical characteristics, Russian anti-aircraft missile forces constitute the main force in the Russian air defense system. Their main purpose is to reliably protect the command posts of the highest echelons of the country's military and state administration, important economic and industrial centers of Russia, groupings of troops, as well as other objects on the territory of the country from possible attacks from the air and space attack means of a potential enemy. To maintain the combat readiness of the troops, the anti-aircraft missile forces regularly conduct exercises, including tactical exercises with live firing at the Telemba (Trans-Baikal Territory) and Ashuluk (Astrakhan Region) training grounds.
