The announcement of the first launch of the SM-3 block 2A interceptor missile, the announcement of the Japanese Cabinet of Ministers to abandon the policy of banning the export of weapons and military technology that had been in effect for about 40 years, the commissioning of a test complex at the Redstone Arsenal and the expansion of the plant to assemble the head stages of interceptor missiles. in Tucson, the first launch from the Aegis Ashore test complex built in Hawaii and, finally, the first successful test of the GBI anti-missile missile in the last six years - such a set of events that occurred only during March-June 2014 suggests that the pace of work on the creation of missile defense in the United States went back to the days of the "Star Wars" program.
Six years ago, after the visit of the US President to Moscow, the Americans, proceeding from the arguments and protests voiced by the Russian side, abandoned the construction in Europe of a third missile defense position area with two-stage GBI anti-missiles. However, Russia did not remain in debt, ceasing to object to the UN against the sanctions against Iran, appointed by the Americans as the "bad guy", and also refusing to sell the S-300 air defense system to this country. However, the formal refusal to deploy GBI interceptors in Europe concealed only a tactical regrouping - on September 17, 2009, Barack Obama put forward a plan for a phased adaptive approach to the creation of a European missile defense system, which in November 2010 was approved at the NATO summit in Lisbon.
Anti-missile SM-3 block 2A.
In accordance with this plan, the main emphasis was placed on the system being deployed in the Mediterranean, Baltic and Black Seas, as well as on the territory of a number of European states. It includes anti-missile weapons with high performance / cost criteria and significant modernization potential, first of all, the SM-3 anti-missile missiles in both ship-based and land-based versions.
The US Department of Defense's missile defense agency's draft budget for FY11. For the first time, allocations for the development and testing of the ground-based SM-3 were allocated on a separate line. Over the next five years for these purposes, as well as the creation of the necessary infrastructure, it was planned to spend about $ 1 billion during component testing.
Flight tests of the ground-based SM-3 were scheduled to be carried out at the Pacific Missile Range (Hawaiian Islands), where construction of a special launch pad began in 2011.
The implementation of the plans for the adaptive approach did not undergo any adjustments even after the agreement on the nuclear program with Iran was reached, which, according to experts, revealed "a discrepancy between the declared missile defense missions and the real situation." Moreover, on May 3, 2012, the US Special Representative for Strategic Stability and Missile Defense, Helen Tauscher, acknowledged the US intention not to abandon the deployment of missile defense systems even in the absence of a threat from Iran.
Against this backdrop, at the end of May 2012, NATO members agreed to combine the alliance's various assets into an intermediate missile defense system, announcing the implementation of the first stage of the missile defense system in Europe. At the same time, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that Russia cannot block this decision, since this defensive system "is not directed against Russia and will not undermine its strategic deterrent forces."
A year and a half later, on October 28, 2013, in the Romanian Deveselu, the construction of a ground missile defense base began - one of the central facilities of the second stage. It should be noted that three days later, the Russian President abolished the working group that had existed for several years on cooperation with NATO in the field of missile defense - further negotiations could only confirm that all these years no one was going to agree on anything with Russia.
Thus, by the end of 2015, when the Aegis Ashore ground system is on alert in Romania, the point of no return will be passed. At the same time, the long-term political work of the Americans in all directions practically convinced the NATO member countries of the nobility of the goals declared for the system being created.
What are the main elements of the Aegis Ashore? Since Raytheon became the main contractor for the implementation of this project, it is not surprising that it proposed to use elements of the Mk41 vertical launch ship installation, created more than 30 years ago. Moreover, as one of the options for Raytheon, the placement of missiles on ground-based mobile launchers was considered.
In accordance with the decision taken for implementation, the Aegis Ashore launcher in a single stationary module will contain eight launch containers (in two rows of four TPKs). These TPK (length 6, 7 m, base size 63, 5x63, 5 cm) are made of corrugated steel and are able to withstand internal pressure up to 0.275 MPa. They have upper and lower membrane covers, a system of irrigation valves in the upper part for supplying water when needed, plug connectors for supplying electricity, electrical cables, stabilizing and fastening devices, etc. shock wave arising from the launch of an adjacent missile. The lower membrane cover is made in the form of four petals, which are opened by the pressure created in the TPK when the rocket engine is started. The ablative coating of the inner surface of the TPK provides up to eight missile launches.
The missile launch system includes equipment for controlling the sequence of operations, a mechanism for opening and closing covers, and a power supply unit. In the lower part of the launcher there is a chamber for outflowing gases, which are thrown out through the gas outlet above the launcher. The chamber and the venting channel have an ablation coating made of phenolic fiber tiles reinforced with chloroprene rubber.
January 2015, completion of the construction of an anti-missile defense ground base in Deveselu.
As noted by Raytheon specialists, it takes from three months to one year to prepare a ground launch position based on the Mk41.
For information and reconnaissance support for the use of the ground version of the SM-3, it is planned to use multifunctional radars: the shipborne AN / SPY-1 and the mobile AN / TPY-2, designed to detect, recognize and track ballistic targets in the middle and final sections of the flight trajectory, targeting anti-missiles, evaluating the results of their firing, as well as for issuing target designation to other information and reconnaissance missile defense systems.
The AN / SPY-1 S-band radar, used as part of the Aegis shipborne system, has a maximum range of up to 650 km and a detection range for a ballistic target with an image intensifier tube of the order of 0.03 m2, according to various estimates, from 310 to 370 km.
The AN / SPY-2 X-band radar, used as part of the THAAD ground forces anti-missile system, has a maximum range of up to 1,500 km. The detection and recognition range of this radar for ballistic targets with an image intensifier tube of the order of 0.01 m2 is estimated to be 870 km and 580 km, respectively.
As fire control points, the developers of Aegis Ashore envisage the use of the THAAD system gearbox, which includes combat control and launch control cabins placed on the chassis of multipurpose off-road vehicles.
The main tasks of the third stage of the deployment of the missile defense system, the implementation of which is scheduled for 2018, is the construction of the Aegis Ashore ground base in Poland, as well as the improvement of the assets deployed during the implementation of the second stage in Romania. In addition, by 2018, it is planned to launch the PTSS (Precision Tracking Space System) orbital tracking system and the ABIR (Airborne Infrared) airborne infrared detection system. In particular, it is planned to have three combat air patrols with four MQ-9 medium-altitude multipurpose unmanned aerial vehicles equipped with such equipment, which, according to estimates, can simultaneously track up to several hundred missiles.
Diagram of the construction of a ground missile defense base in Deveselu.
By the same time, it is planned to adapt the SM-3 block 2A anti-missile missiles to the ground-based method, the development of which has been carried out by the United States together with Japan since 2006. As noted, they will be able to intercept ballistic missiles on the ascending (before the start of warhead disengagement) and descending sections of the trajectory, at ranges of up to 1000 km and altitudes of 70-500 km.
The main role in this work, the cost of which can reach $ 1.5 billion (and the cost of the first missile samples - $ 37 million) is played by the American company Raytheon and the Japanese Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The latter develops a flap nose cone, propulsion systems of the second and third stages, an improved seeker and the design of a homing combat stage. Raytheon manufactures the combat stage, and another American company, Aerojet, manufactures the first stage of the rocket, the basis for which is the Mk72 solid-propellant engine used in all SM-3 variants.
The main external difference of the SM-3 Block 2A is the constant diameter along the entire length of the rocket - 533 mm, the maximum allowable for its placement in the Mk.41 UVP.
At the end of October 2013, the successful defense of the anti-missile project took place. A significant role in this success was played by the fact that on October 24, 2013 at the White Sands test site, the first test launch of the SM-3 Block 2A was performed. Interestingly, the message about him appeared only in early April 2014, after the Japanese cabinet announced the abandonment of the policy of banning the export of weapons and military technology, which had been in effect for about 40 years. Such a statement saved Mitsubishi from possible political scandals.
What results did the first launch of the SM-3 Block 2A show? According to program director Mitch Stevison, "the test showed that the noticeably heavier missile can be safely launched using the existing Mk72 starter engine from the Mk41 vertical launcher, which will be used to launch the rocket from ship and ashore."
After analyzing the results, on March 13, 2014, Raytheon representatives announced that the firm was preparing to submit to the ABM Agency a proposal to begin production of the first series of 22 SM-3 Block 2A missiles prior to the first full-scale flight test.
The wheelhouse with the radar information and reconnaissance support of the missile defense ground base is similar to the superstructure of the Ticonderoga-type URO cruiser with the AEGIS system.
At the same time, reinforcing this proposal, Raytheon disseminated information about the commissioning of a new automated test complex with an area of 6.5 thousand m2, located near the Redstone Arsenal, where the production of SM-3 Block 1В and SM-missiles began a year earlier at the new Raytheon plant. 6. As noted, the creation of this center will "increase the throughput of the plant by 30%."
Following this, Raytheon announced the beginning of the expansion of its plant in Tucson, where, since 2002, the production of combat stages for the SM-3 and GBI antimissiles has been underway. At the same time, it is planned to increase the dimensions of especially clean rooms by almost 600 m2, where the most important assembly operations are carried out. In an interview about this, Vic Wagner, head of Raytheon's advanced kinetic weapons division, noted that “cleanliness is the key to success because the optics and sensors of the homing stages must be absolutely clean. We have a much bigger challenge than chip makers - they keep flat plates from dust, and we need to keep our 3D objects clean. The plant has a unique infrastructure, there are rooms of three levels of cleanliness, in which there are sensors that measure air pressure, humidity and the amount of dust particles in it. The condition of the premises is constantly monitored, they are cleaned using various means, including alcohol wipes, and in some laboratories there are pumps that replace air every 27 seconds. Each tool with which the assembly is carried out undergoes the corresponding processing. However, not only the technology and levels of cleanliness are unique, but also the people who work here, who have been engaged in improving the technologies for creating such devices for several decades. No other company in the world has such specialists”.
In accordance with the plans outlined so far, the first attempt to intercept a ballistic target using the SM-3 Block 2A is planned to be completed by September 2016, two years later than expected at the initial stages of the rocket's creation. In general, by 2018, before deciding to start its deployment, it is planned to carry out four such tests. By the same time, the issue of the scale of the deployment of these missiles is expected to be resolved. Thus, the Czech Republic and Turkey are also considered as places of their probable placement as part of the launching positions of the ground systems Aegis Ashore, along with Romania and Poland, the possibility of their inclusion in its national missile defense system is being studied in Israel. Undoubtedly, a large part of the most powerful SM-3s will go to the US Navy.
Currently, the list of the American fleet includes 22 Tikonderoga-class cruisers and 62 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers equipped with the Aegis system, about 30 of which have been upgraded to solve missile defense missions. According to plans, the number of US Navy ships capable of solving missile defense missions by September 30, 2015 should reach 33 units, and by mid-2019 - 43.
However, the new SM-3 interceptor missiles will be able to be deployed not only on American ships. Back in July 2004, the United States signed a 25-year missile defense memorandum with Australia, which resulted in the equipping of three Australian Navy destroyers with Aegis systems. Since 2005, the Japanese Navy has been implementing a program of equipping four Kongo-type missile-defense missile destroyers with the Aegis system (versions 3.6.1 and 4.0.1), upgraded to solve missile defense missions, and SM-3 block 1A and 2A anti-missiles. In the Korean Navy, three destroyers of the KDX-III project are equipped with the Aegis system.
Regarding European fleets, Wes Kramer, vice president of Raytheon, told Aviation Week magazine that British and French ships would be excluded from these plans due to the incompatibility of their launch vehicles with the American missile and, conversely, SM -3 can be placed on Danish, Dutch and German ships.
At the same time, practically nowhere and no one touches on the topic of implementing other capabilities of the missile defense system deployed on the basis of SM-3 missiles.
It should be noted that back in 1998, on the basis of the SM-2 Block II / III rocket (in fact, it was she who became the basis for the future SM-3), the development of the SM-4 (RGM-165) rocket, designed to deliver strikes against ground targets (Land Attack Standard Missile - LASM) with the aim of adopting it by 2004 into service.
The SM-4 was equipped with an inertial guidance system, corrected by signals from the GPS satellite navigation system. In addition to the standard high-explosive fragmentation warhead, the missile could be equipped with a penetrating warhead. As conceived by the developers from Raytheon, such a missile, when launched from a ship, could play a large role in delivering strikes from the sea to a depth of 370 km, providing flexible point fire support for the American marines.
Tests of the SM-4 fully confirmed its ability to perform these tasks, and the US Navy expected to receive up to 1200 of these missiles and reach initial operational readiness by 2003. However, in 2003 the program was stopped under the pretext of lack of funding. However, it was in this year that Raytheon first announced the start of work on a ground-based SM-3 missile, and in 2010 it was reported that it was planned to create an ArcLight long-range strike system based on the SM-3 Block IIA.
As noted, the sustainer stages of this rocket will accelerate to hypersonic speeds a gliding vehicle that can fly up to 600 km and deliver a warhead weighing 50-100 kg to the target. The total flight range of the entire system can be 3,800 km, and at the stage of independent flight, the hypersonic glider will fly not along a ballistic trajectory, having received the ability to maneuver for high-precision targeting.
Thanks to its unification with the SM-3, the ArcLight system can be placed in vertical Mk41 launchers, both on ships and on land. Moreover, launchers can be mounted, for example, in standard sea containers transported by merchant ships, trucks, can be placed in any transport terminal or just in a warehouse.
However, in the several years that have passed since the appearance of information about the ArcLight project, no additional information or analysis of the possibility of its implementation has appeared. Therefore, the question remains whether this US plan is a de facto way to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty without unnecessary fuss, or the traditional Cold War stuffing of “hot” information.
