In Russia, no one is responsible for the safety of the atmospheric space
Last week, the Non-Departmental Expert Council on the Problems of Aerospace Defense of Russia held a press conference in connection … with the protracted absence of any important events or practical decisions in the field of aerospace defense. And her current condition was assessed as "terrible".
Meanwhile, two days later, the commander of the 5th aerospace defense brigade, Colonel Eduard Sigalov, whose 4, 5 thousand subordinates cover Moscow and Moscow economic zone. All of them and the military equipment at their disposal are capable, according to the colonel, to perform any task to protect the Central region from an air enemy and, in the future, from an attack from space. So the assessments turned out to be diametrically opposite. Does this mean that one of the two sides distorts the real state of affairs?
Let's not rush to give a definite answer. The non-departmental expert council was represented at a press conference by its co-chairman, former commander-in-chief of the Air Force and Air Defense, General of the Army Anatoly Kornukov, member of the council, ex-chief of armaments of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Colonel-General Anatoly Sitnov and former head of the orders, supplies and repairs of weapons and military equipment of the Troops Air Defense Major General Sergei Kolganov.
They, of course, are now retired military leaders, but they were and remain very competent specialists in their field, well aware of its current state. If only because they are now advisors to the general designers of well-known defense companies. Their direct responsibility is to monitor all the weaknesses in the equipment of the army and to ensure that the troops enter service with more modern military equipment, and that manufacturers receive new orders for its development and production.
So the experts put the question bluntly: is the Russian aerospace defense capable of repelling the strikes of modern offensive weapons? And, in fact, they answered "no", citing a number of evidences to support it.
Anatoly Kornukov noted that the work to create an aerospace defense system in Russia is unreasonably slow. After the concept of aerospace defense was approved in 2006, little has changed. “Years go by, but everything stands still. And to say now that we are ready for something would be an exaggeration. We can now resist in terms of air attack with the remaining S-300 systems. Well, and those remnants of the Su-27 and MiG-29 aircraft, most of which are without engines and without spare parts. The picture is just awful,”the ex-commander-in-chief said. New samples of technology are being created, but very slowly. They enter service even more slowly. As for the S-300PM anti-aircraft missile systems in service, according to Kornukov, “they show themselves well in firing, but it is impossible to endlessly prolong their service life … you need to pull the veins out of the equipment before it collapses, but it is already falling."
UNRELIABILITY RATIO
And what, after all, can the weapons available in the troops guarantee? Experts argue that the assets of the Operational-Strategic Command of Aerospace Defense (the former Moscow Air Force and Air Defense District) are capable of hitting only one of five targets.“If earlier the reliability was 0, 96–0, 98, now the efficiency (of the systems in service. - OV) is within 0, 15–0, 20. I mean how many planes out of 100 can pass without impact. Now up to 80,”said Kornukov. Thus, the effectiveness of the air defense of the central region of the country has actually decreased by a factor of 5 in recent years. At the same time, the Operational-Strategic Command of the Aerospace Defense Forces in general can hit exclusively air targets. For this, there are anti-aircraft systems, detection equipment and fighter aircraft, but the operational-strategic command does not have the means of protecting the region from strikes from space. “It's funny when a brigade is called an anti-aircraft missile brigade of the VKO, but it has only the lower part of the VKO - air defense, and there is no“space”as such,” the general noted.
Here, as they say, a direct reproach was made against the recently formed military structures that replaced the air defense corps, and serious doubts were expressed about the combat capabilities of the formations designed to protect the skies over the central part of the country. However, the commander of the 5th aerospace defense brigade, Colonel Eduard Sigalov, who has a zone of responsibility from Kaluga to Sergiev Posad, gave completely different assessments in the radio program "Echo of Moscow".
“All units and subdivisions of the 5th brigade are units of constant readiness, the terms of these units for performing tasks as intended have been reduced from a few days literally to hours. Units and units on alert - the period for opening fire is quite short, within 10 minutes … We were striving for this, and now it is all implemented in practice, "Colonel Sigalov said. He also said that the unit is armed with "the most modern complexes - both S-300PM and S-400." These systems, according to the commander, allow the brigade to hit all air targets that are in the air. And in the future, they will give the opportunity to work on targets that are in outer space.
Of course, Sigalov's assessments are fairly objective. The colonel spoke on the air about what he knows thoroughly, what he was repeatedly convinced of during the exercises and for which he bears personal responsibility as the commander of the formation. He is absolutely confident in the readiness of his subordinates and the military equipment entrusted to them to work in those modes and for those goals that were successfully tested "yesterday." The problem lies in the vague prospects for the development of weapons, which were promised to him and the commanders of other aerospace defense brigades of the same kind. In very near and distant prospects.
AND AGAIN FORCED TO CAPTURE
In addition to the S-300PM, Colonel Sigalov named the S-400 system "Triumph" - a project that was announced as transitional to systems capable of hitting targets not only in airspace, but also in space. However, in order for this complex to acquire such a quality, it needs to be equipped with a new rocket. Those that are in service today can shoot at objects at an altitude of no more than 30 km. Two more missiles have been created, one of which is supposed to fire to an altitude of 185 km. She is being tested. True, the timing of the completion of the tests is something that is not visible, and, accordingly, no one can yet say for sure when the new missiles will enter service.
At the same time, only two divisions are armed with the S-400 "Triumph" complex in the Moscow region. Two more are to be admitted during 2010. For the next, 2011, delivery of four more divisions is planned. And that's it! For 2012, the Ministry of Defense did not make orders. And since the full production cycle of such equipment is 24 months, we can already talk about the actual completion of the program for the production of the S-400. Of course, it has already been announced more than once that the production of the S-500 complex with significantly improved performance characteristics will begin next. But even according to the most optimistic forecasts, its development is expected to be completed in 2015.
The non-departmental expert council is sounding the alarm: threats from aerospace are today the most dangerous for Russia's military security! "An air attack from space is now deciding everything, and decides in a very short time," says ex-commander-in-chief Kornukov. Russia's eventual opponents are actively developing means of aerospace attack and defense. “They are preparing, but we are standing still,” the general states. The expert believes that in terms of the introduction of new technologies in the aerospace defense sphere, our country lags behind the leading military powers by 20-30 years.
“We have lost more than 300 super technologies in various industries, primarily in aviation and missile defense. In particular, in the production of supergraphite, which is used for fairings for missiles, for nuclear units, etc. Everyone is busy with the global development of budgetary funds, and no one is busy with the strategic development of new technologies,”said Colonel-General Anatoly Sitnov. And he noticed that to create modern systems that cover space and air and reconnaissance satellites, missile attack warning and relaying, an ultra-modern element base, new materials, gunpowder and new developments in the field of control systems are required.
In fact, our country was once a pioneer in the development of space combat systems and means of defense against attacks from near-earth orbits. “But we were told all the time that we shouldn't be engaged in the militarization of outer space. We stopped and America started. We start all the time, and then we have to catch up. This lack of system, this inconsistency of ours is some kind of fatal factor in our affairs,”complained Sitnov. - All the experience that we once gained and then lost is now being successfully implemented by the Chinese, Americans and others. And we are lagging behind again."
Since 2003, the members of the expert council have tried to explain everywhere that there has been a real technological leap in the development of space attack vehicles. At first, many officials of the apparently interested departments were somewhat skeptical about this. And when the Americans tested the X-37 space plane, and there the X-50 appeared on their way, everyone suddenly wondered: where did the reusable aerospace system, which was developed by Molniya, go? Mriya ", and an orbital ship, and a rocket launch system? The fate of the anti-missile defense was no better. In the USSR, there were two special zones for protection against aerospace strikes - Balkhash, where the tests were carried out, and the Moscow economic zone. "So where are they now?" - General Sitnov once again asks an unpleasant question.
And General Kornukov publicly answered him again: “As for aviation and missiles that fly in the air, we will cope with aviation and a 400 system. With regard to operational missiles, I doubt that we can handle it. Now we do not have the ability and means to combat such missiles."
NAME RESPONSIBLE PERSON
However, the lack of the necessary missiles is not the only reason hindering the formation of a full-fledged aerospace defense in Russia. According to Anatoly Sitnov, the second serious (if not the main) reason for "stagnation" in this type of defense is the absence of a target command of the Aerospace Defense Forces. “There is no one to lead, there is no one to control forces and means, to order new air defense systems,” the general said. He stressed that "it is time to move from words to deeds, to create targeted directorates, targeted programs to create new aerospace defense systems."
The colleague was supported by Anatoly Kornukov: “At one time, the entire rocket and space defense was in the same hands - the commander-in-chief of the air defense. He was responsible for both air defense and missile defense. Now the ideology is inexplicable: everyone dies alone. There is no person assigned even to be responsible for air defense. I think that the right decision would be that everything should be in the same hands, and one person is responsible for the condition, preparation, use of aerospace defense means. " And when the ex-commander-in-chief was asked exactly who should be responsible for aerospace defense, Kornukov said: "Of course, the Air Force." He recalled that earlier anti-missile defense assets were part of the Air Defense Forces, but later they were transferred first to the Strategic Missile Forces, and then to the Space Forces.
In turn, the former head of the orders, supplies and repairs of weapons and military equipment of the Air Defense Forces, Major General Sergei Kolganov, clarified that today in Russia there is no person responsible for the country's sovereignty in aerospace. He recalled that if the enemy launches the most modern missiles from submarines, the available time for making a strategic decision on our part will be 5-10 minutes. How can two or more bosses agree and make a strategic decision in such a short period of time? There is no effective leadership in the field of not only the application, but also the development of aerospace defense tools. “Today, personal responsibility for any element of the weapons program has been destroyed. Therefore, not a single weapons program has been implemented in recent decades,”said Kolganov.
Anatoly Kornukov, co-chairman of the non-departmental expert council, expressed the common position of his colleagues as follows: “We are not hawks and do not want to fight. The aerospace defense system is created as a warning and protection system. VKO is a warning to a potential aggressor that he will be given a proper rebuff”. But so far, in order to make this warning weighty, there is a lot missing.
