The emergence of new technologies is invariably changing the face of weapons and the tactics of warfare. Often, the appearance of a new type of weapon completely "covers" the weapon of the previous generation. Firearms completely supplanted bows and arrows, and the creation of tanks led to the disappearance of the cavalry.
No less changes can occur within the framework of one type of weapons, as its characteristics change. For example, using the example of manned aircraft, one can see how the designs of aircraft and their weapons changed, and in accordance with this, the tactics of air war changed. The skirmishes between the pilots from the personal weapons of the pilots of the first wooden biplanes were replaced by fierce maneuverable air battles of the Second World War. In the Vietnam War, the use of guided air-to-air missiles (V-B) began, and at the moment, long-range air combat with the use of guided missile weapons is considered the main method of combat in the air.
Weapons based on new physical principles
One of the most important directions in the development of weapons in the 21st century can be considered the creation of weapons based on new physical principles (NFP). Despite the skepticism with which many view weapons in NFP, their appearance could radically change the face of the military in the near future. Speaking of weapons in NFP, they primarily mean laser weapons (LW) and kinetic weapons with electric / electromagnetic projectile acceleration.
The world's leading powers are investing heavily in the development of laser and kinetic weapons. Countries such as the USA, Germany, Israel, China, Turkey are the leaders in terms of the number of projects being implemented. The political and geographical scatter of the ongoing developments does not allow us to assume about a "conspiracy" with the aim of withdrawing the enemy (Russia) into a deliberately dead-end direction of weapons development. To carry out work, in particular, on the creation of laser weapons, the largest defense concerns are involved: American Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, General Atomic and General Dynamics, German Rheinmetall AG and MBDA, and many others.
When they talk about laser weapons, they often recall the negative experience gained in the 20th century within the framework of Soviet and American programs for the creation of combat lasers. Here one must take into account the key difference - lasers of that period, capable of providing power sufficient to destroy targets, were either chemical or gas-dynamic, which caused their significant size, the presence of flammable and toxic components, inconvenience of operation and low efficiency. The failure to adopt combat models based on the results of those tests was perceived by many as the final collapse of the idea of laser weapons.
In the 21st century, the emphasis has shifted to the creation of fiber and solid-state lasers, which are widely used in industry. At the same time, targeting and tracking technologies have advanced significantly, new optical schemes have been implemented and the batch combination of the beams of several laser units into a single beam using diffraction gratings has been implemented. All this made the advent of laser weapons a near reality.
At the moment, we can assume that the supply of serial laser weapons to the armed forces of the leading countries of the world has already begun. At the beginning of 2019, Rheinmetall AG announced the successful completion of tests of a 100 kW combat laser, which can be integrated into the MANTIS air defense system of the Bundeswehr armed forces. The US Army has signed a contract with Northrop Grumman and Raytheon to create a 50 kW laser weapon to equip Stryker combat vehicles converted for a short-range air defense mission (M-SHORAD). But the greatest surprise was presented by the Turks, using a ground-based laser system to defeat a combat unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) during real hostilities in Libya.
At the moment, most of the laser weapons are being developed for use from land and sea platforms, which is understandable by the lower requirements imposed on the developers of laser weapons in terms of weight and size characteristics and energy consumption. Nevertheless, it can be assumed that laser weapons will have the greatest impact on the appearance and tactics of using combat aircraft.
Laser weapons on combat aircraft
The possibility of effective use of laser weapons on combat aircraft is due to the following factors:
- high permeability of the atmosphere for laser radiation, which increases with increasing flight altitude;
- potentially vulnerable targets in the form of air-to-air missiles, especially with optical and thermal homing heads;
- weight and size restrictions imposed on anti-laser protection of aircraft and aviation ammunition.
At the moment, the United States is most active in equipping military aviation with laser weapons. One of the most likely candidates for the installation of a LH is the fifth-generation F-35B aircraft. During the installation process, the lifting fan is dismantled, which provides the F-35B with the possibility of vertical takeoff and landing. Instead, a complex should be installed, including an electric generator driven by a jet engine shaft, a cooling system and a laser weapon with a beam guidance and containment system. The estimated capacity should be from 100 kW at the initial stage, followed by a gradual increase to 300 kW and up to 500 kW. Taking into account the outlined progress in the creation of laser weapons, we can expect the first results after 2025 and the appearance of serial samples with a laser of 300 kW or more after 2030.
Another example under development is Lockheed Martin's SHiELD complex to equip the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters. Ground tests of the SHiELD complex were successfully completed at the beginning of 2019, air tests are scheduled for 2021, and it is planned to enter service after 2025.
In addition to the creation of laser weapons, the development of compact power supplies is equally important. In this direction, work is also actively underway, for example, in May 2019, the British company Rolls-Royce demonstrated a compact hybrid power plant for combat lasers.
Thus, it is highly probable that in the coming decades, laser weapons will occupy their niche in the arsenal of combat aircraft. What tasks will it solve in this capacity?
The use of laser weapons by combat aircraft
The main declared task of laser weapons on board combat aircraft should be to intercept enemy attacking air-to-air and land-to-air (W-E) missiles. At the moment, the possibility of intercepting unguided mortar mines and projectiles of multiple launch rocket systems with lasers with a power of 30 kW (the optimal value is considered to be from 100 kW) at a distance of several kilometers has been confirmed. Systems for setting up laser and optical jammers have already been adopted and are actively being used, providing temporary blindness of the sensitive optical heads of portable anti-aircraft missile systems (MANPADS).
Thus, the appearance on board aircraft of laser weapons with a power of 100 kW and above will ensure the protection of the aircraft from V-V and Z-V missiles with optical and thermal homing heads, that is, MANPADS missiles and short-range V-V missiles. Moreover, such missiles are likely to be hit at a distance of up to five kilometers or more in a short period of time. At the moment, the presence of short-range all-aspect B-B missiles is considered one of the reasons for the absence of the need for maneuverable close combat, since the combination of transparent armor technology and advanced guidance systems allows directing missile weapons without significantly changing the position of the aircraft in space. The limited weight and size characteristics of V-V missiles and MANPADS missiles will make it difficult to install effective anti-laser protection on them.
The next candidates for the destruction of laser weapons will be long and medium-range V-V and Z-V missiles, which use active radar homing heads (ARLGSN). First of all, the question arises of creating a radio-transparent protective material that protects the ARLGSN canvas. In addition, the processes that will occur when the nose fairing is irradiated with laser radiation require a separate study. It is possible that the resulting heating products will prevent the passage of radar radiation and disruption of the target lock. If a solution to this problem is not found, then it will be necessary to return to the radio command guidance of the V-V and Z-V missiles directly by an airplane or an anti-aircraft missile system (SAM). And this will again bring us back to the problem of a limited number of channels for simultaneous missile guidance and the need to maintain the aircraft's course until the missiles hit the target.
With an increase in the power of laser radiation, not only the elements of the homing system, but also other structural elements of the V-V and Z-V missiles, can be damaged, which will require them to be equipped with anti-laser protection. The use of anti-laser protection will increase the size and weight, and significantly reduce the range, speed and maneuverability characteristics of the V-V and Z-V missiles. In addition to the deterioration of the tactical and technical characteristics (TTX), which makes it difficult to hit the target, missiles with anti-laser protection will be more vulnerable to highly maneuverable anti-missiles such as CUDA, which do not require protection from laser radiation.
Thus, the appearance of laser weapons on combat aircraft is, to some extent, a one-sided game. To protect the V-V and Z-V missiles from being hit by a laser, they will need to be equipped with anti-laser protection, an increase in flight speed to hypersonic to minimize the time spent in the laser radiation zone and, possibly, abandonment of homing heads. At the same time, the ammunition load of larger and more massive V-V and Z-V missiles will decrease, and they themselves will be more susceptible to interception by small-sized highly maneuverable anti-missile missiles of the CUDA type.
The limited ammunition load of fifth-generation aircraft, which will be especially evident due to the growth in the size and mass of V-V missiles, in combination with a high probability of interception by a laser or an anti-missile missile, can lead to the fact that opposing combat aircraft with laser weapons on board will enter the melee range., weapons for which are even more vulnerable to laser weapons.
Laser weapons and close air combat (BVB)
Let us assume that two combat aircraft, having fired at their stock of guided V-V missiles, reached a range of 10-15 km relative to each other. In this case, a laser weapon with a power of 300-500 kW can act directly on an enemy aircraft. Modern guidance systems at such a range are quite capable of pinpoint aiming of a laser beam at vulnerable elements of an enemy aircraft - the cockpit, reconnaissance equipment, engines, and control drives. At the same time, on-board radio-electronic equipment, based on the optical and radar signature of a particular aircraft, can independently select vulnerable points and aim a laser beam at them.
Given the high reaction speed that laser weapons can provide, as a result of a short-range aircraft clash, both conventional aircraft will most likely be damaged or destroyed, first of all, both pilots will die
One of the solutions could be the development of compact high-speed short-range ammunition with radio command guidance, capable of overcoming the protection provided by laser weapons due to the high speed of flight and the density of the salvo. Just as several anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM) are required to defeat one modern tank equipped with an active protection complex (KAZ), to defeat one enemy aircraft with laser weapons, a simultaneous salvo of a certain number of small-sized melee missiles may be required.
End of the era of "invisible"
Speaking about the combat aviation of the future, one cannot fail to mention the promising radio-optical phased antenna array (ROFAR), which should become the basis for the reconnaissance of combat aviation. The details about all the possibilities of this technology are not yet known, but the potentially emergence of ROFAR will put an end to all existing technologies for reducing the signature. If difficulties arise with ROFAR, advanced models of radar stations with active phased antenna arrays (radar with AFAR) will be used on promising aircraft, which, in combination with the intensive use of electronic warfare technologies, can also significantly reduce the effectiveness of stealth technology.
Based on the foregoing, it can be assumed that in the event that aircraft with laser weapons appear in the arsenal of the enemy's air force, an effective solution will be the use of aircraft with a large number of weapons on an external sling. In fact, there will be a certain "rollback" to the 4 + / 4 ++ generation, and deeply modernized Su-35S, Eurofighter Typhoon or F-15X can become actual models. For example, the Su-35S can carry weapons at twelve suspension points, the Eurofighter Typhoon has thirteen suspension points, and the upgraded F-15X can carry up to twenty V-V missiles.
The newest Russian multifunctional fighter Su-57 has slightly less capabilities. The Su-57 can carry a total of up to twelve V-V missiles on the external and internal suspensions. It is likely that for Russian fighters, suspension assemblies can be developed that provide, by analogy with the F-15X fighter, the placement of several ammunition on one node, which will increase the ammunition load of the S-35S and Su-57 fighters to 18-22 V-V missiles …
Armament
A rapprochement with an aircraft equipped with laser weapons can be extremely dangerous due to the high reaction speed of the aircraft. In the event that this happened, it is necessary to maximize the likelihood of hitting the enemy in the shortest possible time. As one of the possible solutions, rapid-fire automatic aircraft guns of about 30 mm caliber with guided projectiles can be considered.
The presence of guided projectiles will allow attacking an enemy aircraft from a greater distance than is possible with the use of unguided ammunition. At the same time, the interception of 30-40 mm caliber shells with a laser can be difficult due to their small size and a large amount of ammunition in the queue (15-30 shells).
As mentioned earlier, laser weapons primarily pose a threat to missiles with optical and thermal seeker, and possibly also to missiles with ARLGSN. This will affect the nature of the weapons used by combat aircraft to counter enemy aircraft with LO. The main armament designed to destroy aircraft with LO should be remote-controlled V-B missiles with protection from laser radiation. In this case, the radar's capabilities for the simultaneous guidance of several V-V missiles at a target will be of particular importance.
Equally important is the equipping of V-V and Z-V missiles with ramjet engines (ramjet). This will make it possible not only to provide the rocket with the energy necessary for maneuvering at maximum range, but also will reduce the exposure time of the aircraft due to the high speed of the rocket in the final flight phase. In addition, high-speed B-B missiles will be a more challenging target for CUDA-type interceptor missiles.
And finally, part of the fighter's ammunition should be small-sized anti-missiles, placed in several units at one point of suspension, capable of intercepting enemy V-V and W-V missiles.
conclusions
1. The appearance of laser weapons on combat aircraft, especially in combination with small-sized anti-missiles, will require an increase in the ammunition load of V-V missiles for combat aircraft. Since the capacity of the internal compartments of fifth-generation aircraft is limited, it will be necessary to place missiles on an external sling, which will have an extremely negative effect on stealth. This could mean a certain "renaissance" of the 4 + / 4 ++ generation aircraft.
2. Laser weapons will be extremely dangerous in close combat, therefore, in the event of an unsuccessful attack from a long and medium range, pilots will, if possible, avoid close combat with aircraft equipped with LO.
3. The possibility of confrontation between a 4 + / 4 ++ / 5 generation combat aircraft with a large number of V-B missiles and an unobtrusive generation 5 aircraft with laser weapons on board is determined by the performance of the aircraft and interceptor missiles in intercepting V-V missiles. Starting from a certain point, the tactics of using massive launches of V-V missiles against aircraft equipped with LO and anti-missile missiles may become inoperable, which will require a rethinking of the concept of multifunctional combat aircraft, which we will consider in the next article.
