On April 15, Russia celebrates the Day of the Specialist in Electronic Warfare (EW). Currently, technology is actively developing, new complexes are being created for fighting on land, in the air and at sea. Last year, tests began on the components of an electronic warfare ground complex capable of protecting troops and civilian objects from aerospace attacks.
The electronic warfare system is the most important component of the military organization of the state and an integral part of all armed conflicts in recent years, including it has proven its effectiveness during the operation of the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) in Syria.
The history of electronic warfare in Russia dates back to the times of the Russo-Japanese War. So, on April 15, 1904, during the artillery shelling of the Japanese squadron of the internal raid of Port Arthur, the radio stations of the Russian battleship Pobeda and the coastal post "Zolotaya Gora" interfered with the Japanese radio air, which made the transmission of telegrams from enemy spotter ships very difficult.
As noted by the deputy head of the military department, Yuri Borisov, all military conflicts show that electronic warfare is the most effective and is in great demand among the troops in all directions.
According to Major General Yuri Lastochkin, Chief of the Electronic Warfare Troops of the RF Armed Forces, modern Russian equipment surpasses Western counterparts in a number of characteristics, including range. It is achieved through the use of more powerful transmitters and more efficient antenna systems.
Also, considerable attention is paid to the development of technology with unmanned aerial vehicles. By 2018, it is planned to create a specialized training ground for electronic warfare troops.
Electronic warfare aviation complexes
As the ex-head of the electronic warfare service of the Air Force of the Russian Federation, now adviser to the first deputy general director of the concern "Radioelectronic Technologies" (KRET, part of Rostec) Vladimir Mikheev, told TASS, the survivability of aircraft with modern electronic warfare systems increases 20-25 times.
Defense complexes exchange all the necessary information with on-board computers:
about the flight, combat missions;
about the purposes and routes of flight of the protected object;
about the capabilities of your weapon;
about the real radio-electronic situation on the air;
about potential threats.
In the event of any danger, they can adjust the route so that the protected object does not enter the fire impact zone, ensuring electronic defeat (suppression) of the most dangerous air defense weapons and enemy aircraft, while increasing the combat effectiveness of their weapons.
Vitebsk
One of the most effective airborne defense systems. It is designed to protect aircraft and helicopters from anti-aircraft missiles with radar and optical (thermal) guidance heads. "Vitebsk" is installed on:
modernized attack aircraft Su-25SM;
attack helicopters Ka-52, Mi-28N;
transport and combat helicopters of the Mi-8 family;
heavy transport helicopters Mi-26 and Mi-26T2;
special and civil aircraft and helicopters of domestic production.
In the future, Vitebsk will receive military transport aircraft of the Il-76MD-90A type.
There is also an export version of the complex called President-S, which is very popular in the foreign market and is supplied to a number of countries that operate Russian aircraft.
Lever-AB
A specialized helicopter - jammer, the main task of which is to provide electronic suppression and create a false situation to cover their aircraft or helicopters, as well as to protect the most important ground objects.
"Lever-AV" is capable of completely "blind" the enemy within a radius of several hundred kilometers and can suppress several targets at once. In conditions of interference from this station, anti-aircraft missile systems, as well as aircraft intercept systems of the enemy, are deprived of the ability to detect any targets and aim at them guided missiles of the "air-to-air", "ground-to-air" and "air-to-ground" classes, while survivability and the combat effectiveness of their aircraft is significantly increased.
Now the specialized Mi-8MTPR-1 helicopters equipped with the "Lever" are being received by the RF Ministry of Defense. In total, the military ordered 18 vehicles. In the coming years, serial production of an upgraded version of the system - "Lever-AVM", may be launched.
Khibiny
In 2013, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation received the Khibiny electronic suppression system designed to protect aircraft from air defense systems.
The Khibiny complex differs from the stations of the previous generation by its increased power and intelligence. He is able to help in controlling the aircraft's weapons, create a false electronic situation, and also ensure a breakthrough of the enemy's echeloned air defense.
This happened with the American destroyer Donald Cook in 2014, when the Su-24 was taken for escort by naval air defense systems.
Then information appeared on the ship's radars, which put the crew in a dead-end position. The plane then disappeared from the screens, then suddenly changed its location and speed, then created electronic clones of additional targets. At the same time, the information and combat weapons control systems of the destroyer were practically blocked. Considering that the ship was located 12 thousand km from the territory of the United States in the Black Sea, it is easy to imagine the feelings that the sailors experienced on this ship.
A new Khibiny-U complex for front-line aircraft, in particular the Su-30SM, is currently under development.
Himalayas
This complex is a further development of the Khibiny; it is "sharpened" for the fifth generation T-50 aircraft (PAK FA).
Its main difference from its predecessor is that the Khibiny is a kind of container that is suspended on the wing, occupying a certain point of suspension, while the Himalayas are fully integrated into the side and made as separate elements of the aircraft fuselage.
Antenna systems of the complex are built on the principle of "smart casing" and allow performing several functions at once: reconnaissance, electronic warfare, location, etc. The complex will be able to put active and passive interference with infrared homing heads of modern missiles, as well as modern and promising radar stations.
The characteristics of this complex are still classified, the T-50 is the latest fighter and has not yet been adopted by the Russian Aerospace Forces.
Ground-based electronic warfare systems
Modern ground-based electronic warfare systems operate in the digital signal processing mode, which helps to significantly increase their efficiency.
According to the adviser to the first deputy general director of KRET Mikheev, earlier the operator of the electronic warfare station had to independently determine the type of the tracked object based on the characteristics of the reconnaissance signal and select the type of interference for it.
Krasuha-C4
This complex has incorporated all the best from the EW technology of previous generations. In particular, the Krasukha inherited a unique antenna system from its predecessor, the SPN-30 jamming station.
Another advantage of the new system is its almost complete automation. If earlier the system was controlled manually, in "Krasukha-4" the principle "do not touch the equipment, and it will not let you down" is implemented, that is, the role of the operator is reduced to the role of an observer, and the main mode of operation is centralized automated control.
The main purpose of the Krasukhi-S4 is to cover command posts, groupings of troops, air defense systems, and important industrial facilities from airborne radar reconnaissance and high-precision weapons.
The capabilities of the complex's broadband active jamming station make it possible to effectively combat all modern radar stations used by aircraft of various types, as well as cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles.
Krasuha-2O
This version is intended for electronic suppression of American early warning and control systems (AWACS) AWACS. This is the most powerful reconnaissance and control aircraft with a whole crew on board. It takes a lot of energy to blind this plane. The power and intelligence of the second "Krasukha" will be enough to fight this plane.
The entire complex is deployed in a few minutes, without human intervention, and after deployment, it is able to "turn off" AWACS at a distance of several hundred kilometers.
Moscow-1
The complex is designed to conduct electronic reconnaissance (passive radar), interact and exchange information with command posts of anti-aircraft missile and radio-technical troops, aviation guidance points, issue target designation and control jamming units and individual electronic suppression devices.
The "Moscow-1" includes a reconnaissance module and a control point for jamming subunits (stations). The complex is capable of:
carry radio and radio-technical reconnaissance at a distance of up to 400 km;
classify all radio-emitting devices according to the degree of danger;
provide track support;
ensure target distribution and display of all information;
to provide reverse control of the efficiency of the work of subdivisions and individual means of electronic warfare, which it manages.
The "debut" of the Moscow complexes took place in March 2016 as part of a joint tactical exercise of air defense and aviation forces in the Astrakhan region.
Infauna
The complex, developed by the United Instrument-Making Corporation (OPK), provides radio reconnaissance and radio suppression, protection of manpower, armored and automobile equipment from aimed fire from melee weapons and grenade launchers, as well as from radio-controlled mine-explosive devices.
Broadband radio reconnaissance equipment significantly increases the radius of protection of covered mobile objects from radio-controlled mines. The possibility of installing aerosol curtains allows you to shelter equipment from high-precision weapons with video and laser guidance systems.
Currently, these complexes on the unified wheeled chassis K1SH1 (BTR-80 base) are mass-produced and supplied to various units of the Russian army.
Borisoglebsk-2
This complex of electronic suppression (EW), also developed by the defense industry complex, is the technical basis of the EW units of tactical formations.
Designed for radio reconnaissance and radio suppression of HF, VHF lines of ground and aviation radio communications, subscriber terminals of cellular and trunk communications in tactical and operational-tactical control levels.
The complex is based on three types of jamming stations and a control point located on the MT-LBu armored personnel carriers - a traditional tracked base for ground-based electronic warfare equipment. Each complex includes up to nine units of mobile equipment.
The complex implements fundamentally new technical solutions for building radio intelligence equipment and automated control systems. In particular, broadband energetically and structurally covert signals are used, providing anti-jamming and high-speed data transmission.
The range of reconnaissance and suppressed frequencies is more than doubled compared to previously supplied jamming stations, and the frequency detection rate is increased by more than 100 times.
Electronic warfare maritime complexes
These complexes are designed to protect ships of various classes from reconnaissance and fire damage. Their peculiarity lies in the fact that for each ship, depending on its type, displacement, as well as the tasks it solves, there is a special set of electronic warfare equipment.
The ship complexes include:
radio and radio intelligence stations;
active and passive means of electronic warfare;
automatic machines that provide camouflage of the ship in various physical fields;
devices for shooting false targets, etc.
All these systems are integrated with the ship's fire and information systems to increase the survivability and combat effectiveness of the ship.
TK-25E and MP-405E
They are the main shipborne electronic warfare systems. Provide protection against the use of radio-controlled air and ship-based weapons by creating active and passive interference.
TK-25E provides creation of impulse disinforming and imitation jamming using digital copies of signals for ships of all main classes. The complex is capable of simultaneously analyzing up to 256 targets and providing effective protection of the ship.
MP-405E - for equipping small displacement ships.
It is capable of anticipating detection, analyzing, and also classifying the types of emitting electronic means and their carriers according to the degree of danger, as well as providing electronic suppression of all modern and promising means of reconnaissance and destruction of the enemy.
