Russian tactical missile systems in Syria are especially useful in the spring
On March 27, in the program "I Serve Russia", one of the stories of which was dedicated to our military group at the Khmeimim airbase, the 9P78-1 launcher of the Iskander-M operational-tactical complex was captured. But the first information about the deployment of OTRK 9K720 in Syria appeared at the end of last year.
Recently, the Iskander in the eyes of ordinary people has acquired the aura of the "long arm of the Kremlin", capable of destroying NATO troops in Europe in a matter of minutes and demolishing the entire missile defense system created by the United States in the Czech Republic and Poland in one salvo.
The Russian military department is actively re-equipping the missile brigades of the Ground Forces with the latest 9K720 complexes. The developer of OTRK, the Kolomna Machine Building Design Bureau, which is part of the High-Precision Complexes holding, is not standing still either. In just two or three years, the Iskander's ammunition load included not only new types of aeroballistic missiles, but also the cruise R-500 developed by the Novator design bureau.
Let's try to figure out what tasks the latest missile systems in Syria can solve and what kind of new products are being tested in real combat conditions.
Elbrus? Take it higher
From the very beginning of the civil war, forces loyal to Assad have actively used tactical missile systems against militants, which have become a fairly cheap but very effective substitute for combat aviation. At the beginning of the conflict, according to the Stockholm Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the Syrian Arab Army had dozens of 9K720 Elbrus OTRKs (Scud - according to NATO classification) in service with the Syrian Arab Army. (p. 272), even R-17VTO missiles with an optical photo reference homing head were included. In addition to the outdated Scuds, the CAA boasted 18 more modern Tochka shopping malls, supplied by the Soviet Union in the mid-80s.
The peak of the use of OTRK by government troops fell on 2013-2014. During this time, the SAA shot almost the entire missile stock and lost part of the launchers, which were called upon to replace the Fateh family complexes supplied by Iran as military assistance.
At first glance, the use of operational-tactical missile systems in a civil war looks somewhat excessive. "Points" and "Elbrus" compensate for the relatively low accuracy of the power of the warheads installed on them, especially when it comes to the so-called cluster warheads. OTRK, depending on the type, can hit targets at a distance of up to 300 kilometers and do not depend on weather conditions, which is especially important in Syria in the spring and autumn periods with sandstorms and strong winds that prevent the use of military aircraft. It takes less time to prepare and launch a rocket than to take off, which results in high operational efficiency.
In fact, the OTRK allowed the SAA in 2013–2014 not only to suspend the militants' offensive, but also to hold in their hands a large number of settlements, even encircled. It is noteworthy that since the beginning of this year, the Syrian government forces have again actively used the Tochka TRK, including with the more modern 9M79-1 Tochka-U missiles.
Conspicuous compartment
In fact, the only evidence of the presence of Russian 9K720 Iskander-M operational-tactical complexes in Syria is the above-mentioned footage from the Zvezda TV program, which shows a car resembling the MZKT-7903 Astrologer, produced at the Minsk Wheeled Tractor Plant.
Currently, Astrologers are used as a base chassis for launchers in two missile systems. In addition to Iskander - to K-300 Bastion.
It should be noted that at least two sets (according to other sources - batteries) "Bastion" in export version CAA received from Russia in several batches under the 2007 contract. All items ordered by Syria were reportedly delivered in early 2011, shortly before civil war broke out in the country.
In the transport position, the launchers of both complexes are similar, but the Iskander can be distinguished by the APK-40T (TM) power unit installed in the front of the missile compartment behind the chassis propulsion system, which is used as an autonomous energy source.
The compartment of the launcher caught in the frame ends immediately after the last pair of wheels, which is typical for the 9P78-1 launcher of the Iskander complex. Whereas the self-propelled K-340P launcher of the Bastion complex has a much larger compartment with a characteristic long protrusion in the rear of the vehicle.
According to one of the versions, it was not the 9P78-1 launcher itself that got into the Star plot, but the 9T250 transport-loading vehicle, which differs from the launcher with a transport compartment closed with an ordinary tarpaulin, where two missiles and a special crane are located, with which the reloading takes place combat vehicles of the complex. In terms of dimensions, the missile compartment of the launcher and the transport compartment of the TZM are identical. Moreover, the power supply unit APK-40 is also mounted on the transport-charging machine.
But due to the quality of the video, it is difficult to assert that it is 9P78-1 or 9T250 in the frame. Although, by and large, such a dispute is not fundamental: the presence of Iskander in Syria can be considered proven.
We disassemble the wreckage
It can be assumed that the Russian operational-tactical complexes deployed in Syria perform the same tasks as their younger brothers from the Syrian armed forces: they inflict lightning strikes on the positions and objects of the militants.
Probably, the target designation of the Iskander missiles is given by the gunners from the Russian command of the special operations forces, the information also comes from the UAV. We can safely say that in both cases, combat work is going on in real time.
Let's try to figure out what kind of missiles the Iskander missiles can use in Syria. As already mentioned, there are currently two types in the arsenal of the OTRK: winged and aero-ballistic in several versions. Since 2014, it is the R-500 (9M728) that has been launched in almost all official videos from the exercises of the ground forces' missile brigades.
The cruise missile developed by the Novator design bureau is capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 500 kilometers. Tests of the 9M728 as part of the Iskander complex began in 2007, but the missile itself, according to available data, was put into service only in 2013.
It can be assumed that the R-500 is equipped with an inertial guidance system with trajectory correction by comparing the terrain map with the radio altimeter data. The missile control, in our opinion, is based on a gyro-stabilized platform (GSP) and a digital computer. The control and guidance systems installed on board the 9M728 ensure the guaranteed destruction of even small targets: according to VPK, the circular probable deviation does not exceed one meter.
As already mentioned, the Iskander launchers can launch several variants of the 9M723 aeroballistic missiles. But in the conditions of the Syrian operation, where it is not the radius of destruction that comes first, but the accuracy, most likely, missiles with correlation homing heads are used, in particular optical ones, which are guided along the reference image of the target in the final section of the trajectory.
9M723 missiles with optical correlation seeker were tested at the Kapustin Yar test site at the end of 2011. It was expected that the products will begin mass production and enter the rocket brigades of the Ground Forces no later than next year.
In addition to missiles with optical homing heads, the Design Bureau of Mechanical Engineering, in cooperation with the research and production enterprise Radar-MMS, developed the 9M723, but this time with the radar seeker, which received the index 9B918.
True, there was no reliable confirmation that new missiles were added to the Iskander's arsenal. Moreover, in 2014 it became known that KBM began developing a new rocket.
Note that numerous photographs and videos from the combat zones in Syria have not yet captured the characteristic remnants of 9M723 missiles. Although there are a lot of frames with the wreckage of the 9M79 and 9M79-1 missiles launched by the Tochka and Tochka-U TRKs, and not only the details of the products, but even technical inscriptions are easily viewed on them.
It can be assumed that the Iskander missiles do not launch as often as the Syrian TRKs. Therefore, the wreckage of the latest Russian aeroballistic missiles has not yet hit the lenses. But another version is more probable: in Syria, the "main caliber" of the Iskander was not aeroballistic missiles, but the cruise R-500. It is possible that some of the debris included in the photo and video chronicles from the battlefield and identified as the remains of the Kh-101, Caliber or Kh-555SM missiles belongs to the 9M728 launched by the Iskander.
How many are there under the olives?
If we assume that the 9K720 operational-tactical complexes operate only in the area of the Khmeimim airbase, then in this case such hot zones as Aleppo, the suburbs of Damascus, Kessab, Jisr al-Shugur, even Raqqa and Deir are within reach. ez-Zor. In fact, both aeroballistic and Iskander cruise missiles cover the entire territory of Syria from the Mediterranean coast.
In the context of the reduction of part of the Russian grouping, the withdrawal of part of the front-line bombers Su-24 and Su-34, all the Su-25 attack aircraft, as well as the deterioration of weather conditions characteristic of the Syrian spring, the Iskanders are guaranteed to ensure rapid delivery of high-precision strikes even against small targets.
The exact number of deployed OTRK 9K720 is unknown. But judging by the fact that during the entire period of the Russian military operation only one launcher got into the camera lens, it can be assumed that now there is no more than a missile battery operating in Syria. These are two or three 9P78-1 launchers, one transport-loading vehicle and one command-staff vehicle. However, it is not excluded that the launcher that has appeared in the plot of "Star" is still the only one.
