But half-ton ASP-500 failed to break through the wall of bureaucratic indifference
The forest fires of an abnormally hot summer showed the weakness of the current firefighters and made them look for more effective extinguishing means. Among other things, they remembered the "aircraft fire extinguishing agent - 500" - a half-ton "water bomb" ASP-500. In one of the commercials, the former head of military acceptance, and now the chief designer of the Basalt enterprise, turns in his hands a plastic model of the bomb, which, it seems, is the first time he sees, and claims that it could replace all the firefighters in the country. Another activist claims that the "water bomb" urgently needs some kind of certificate. Another expert said that one and a half billion rubles are needed to complete the work on the bomb.
I have to calm them down. The ASP-500 fire bomb has been ready for a long time and is even protected by patents in a number of countries, including the United States. No additional certificates or licenses are required at all.
UNFURSED EXPECTATIONS
Initially, in 1990, the ASP-500 was conceived as a training ammunition. Basalt has already produced a 50-kilogram P-50T bomb for practicing practical skills in aerial bombing. In those days, training flights were intense, but the light and smoke effect that the P-50T produced lasted only 15-30 seconds and was not noticeable enough. Then the designer Vladimir Korenkov came up with the idea to create a full-size analogue of a 500-kilogram bomb, but equipped with water. In an explosion, a cloud of spray would clearly demonstrate the accuracy of the hit. Naturally, the idea immediately arose to combine useful with even more useful - training bombing with extinguishing forest fires.
The project was supported at the highest level. An interesting concept related to space technology was proposed. At this time, the NGO them. Lavochkin deployed a low-orbit satellite constellation and took over the function of detecting forest fires at an early stage. The Far East was considered the most fire hazardous region, where there is a small population, large forest areas and annually huge damage from fires. After the fire was reported, a combat training operation was to be carried out to extinguish by means of the Air Force, which solved two tasks. On the one hand, military pilots practiced bombing, and on the other, they performed an important economic function of preserving the unique Far Eastern ecosystem. The bomb made it possible at least to localize the fire and prevent its spread. After that, it was possible to finally extinguish it even with simple manual means.
The concept was adopted and supported at the level of the Ministry of Forestry. It was supposed to include its implementation in the state order. Moreover, further development of the idea led to the concept of a system of three types of bombs for fighting natural fires at different stages. In addition to the ASP-500, which stops the flames along the front and localizes the fire, a remedy against a top fire was proposed. It was supposed to be a bomb of a volumetric explosion, which knocked down needles, dry and small branches within a radius of 30–40 m with a shock wave.
The third bomb was supposed to be a cluster bomb containing small camouflage ammunition. Camouflage means exploding in the ground. They were supposed to create a so-called mineralized zone - a strip of plowed land. Usually such a strip is plowed by a tractor. But it is not always possible to quickly transfer heavy equipment into the depths of the taiga.
However, the people who supported the project at the highest level were involved in the Emergency Committee. And they retired along with all projects, ideas, concepts and plans. They were replaced by new statesmen, incompetent in technology, but closely monitoring budget flows.
However, 10 years later, work on the ASP-500 aircraft extinguishing agent was resumed under the leadership of Vladimir Korenkov, Director - Chief Designer of the State Scientific and Production Enterprise "Basalt", at the expense of the enterprise's own funds. The know-how used in the construction was protected by patents No. 2242259 dated 20.12.2004, No. 2254153 dated 20.06.2005, No. 2245181 dated 27.01.2005. Authors: Korenkov V. V., Tereshin A. A., Suprunov N. A., Vlasov V. F., Tikhomirov A. A., Kishkurno V. T., Kopylov N. P., Tsarichenko S. G.
In Russia, the fire bomb did not arouse interest, but abroad it generated a real stir. After all, nothing like this existed in the world. ASP-500 was protected by patents in the USA, Germany, Greece and many other countries where forests burn every year. Delegations even from Australia and the USA came to get acquainted with the new extinguishing technology. Bulgaria was ready to open a joint venture to assemble our products on its territory in the interests of an all-Balkan firefighting center. But this persistent desire ran into a stubborn misunderstanding of Russian officials.
The situation was aggravated by the prosecution of Vladimir Korenkov. The endless history of his removal from office and the transfer of the Basalt enterprise into the wrong hands destroyed many international projects. Among others, a fire bomb fell victim to bureaucratic raids.
In 2005, the state administration "Avialesokhrana" was ready to adopt the ASP-500 fire-fighting aerial bomb. This was stated in the media by the head of this department, Nikolai Kovalev. He was present at the stationary tests when the bomb was detonated on the ground, successfully eliminating the ignition in an area of 1000 square meters. m. But the forest protection would like to increase the power of the bomb, so that the area of its action was at least 10 hectares. It was supposed to test the improved bomb by dropping it onto a burning area of the forest from a Su-25. However, funding did not appear, and the issue was hushed up …
The Ministry of Emergency Situations showed no particular interest. The Air Force completely forgot that they once wanted to have a training "water bomb". Naturally, the state order for the ASP-500 never existed. And the bomb itself is not in the arsenals. There were a couple of samples left on the ruining Basalt.
Working on a heavy bomb that is not meant to be destroyed is a new design ideology. As a result, the ASP-500 received a new form, radically different from the previous design schemes. It can be considered a kind of prototype for future free-fall aviation bombs (ABSB).
Firstly, it does not have a pointed nose, typical of aerial bombs. It is a cylinder that allows an increase in the internal volume. A small disc in front stabilizes the bomb in flight - design know-how.
ASP-500 length - 3295 mm, diameter - 500 mm, weight - 525 kg, internal volume for filling with flame-extinguishing liquid - 400 liters.
Application mode: altitude - 300–1000 m, speed - up to 600 km / h.
The bomb body is made of plastic. The amount of explosive is only 6–8 kg. The bomb does not splinter or cause environmental damage. Another of the applied know-how: the metal parts of the harness are separated in flight, but fly afterwards, since they are connected to the bomb with a special cord. After the explosion, they fall into the center of the funnel. That is, their dispersal and hitting people are completely excluded.
Another security know-how is that the bomb cannot be used for terrorist purposes. It can only be equipped with water or other flame-extinguishing liquid. If you try to pour gasoline, other fuel or explosives, spontaneous combustion will occur, and the terrorists themselves will suffer. If you try to fill the case with a poisonous substance, the result will be about the same - holes will appear in the plastic shell, and the contents will leak out. This is guaranteed by special components inside the housing.
In 2005 prices, the selling price for ASP-500 was about 30 thousand rubles. Even if the cost of manufacturing and materials has doubled since then, the fire bomb remains an extremely effective and relatively cheap extinguishing agent.
FIRST IMPACT MEANS
The fire bomb has always had opponents. Firstly, this is a cheap product, you can't weld millions on it, you won't get serious kickbacks. Secondly, many people see it as a kind of alternative means of extinguishing, opposing the existing technological solutions for fire extinguishing. Thirdly, there are also purely ideological opponents who see an attempt to pull the traditional soviet costly work to the level of today's decisions, knock out money for it, spend it and not report.
The biggest misconception is to believe that the "water bomb" is an independent extinguishing agent. Nothing like this! It is used in combination with other extinguishing agents. This is a means of first striking a flame, after which a localized fire can be suppressed by dumping water from planes and helicopters.
Extinguishing a forest fire with the help of Il-76 and Be-200 aircraft looks impressive, but the real effectiveness of this extinguishing technique is extremely low. Especially when it comes to powerful top fires that turn into a firestorm. The ascending convection currents of hot air over the burning forest reach a speed of 25–30 m / s. At this speed, the wind is considered to be on the verge of a hurricane, it breaks trees.
The aircraft is forced to fly at dangerously low altitudes, experiencing severe turbulence. The dropped tons of water, scattering into millions of droplets, run into a hurricane oncoming air flow. Some of the water simply evaporates in the hot jets. From the hot air cushion, a significant amount of water rolls to the edges of the fire. In fact, only about 5–7% of what is discharged gets into the fire.
The ASP-500 "water bomb" is not demolished by the oncoming stream. It hits exactly the right place. After the explosion, an aerosol cloud of flame-extinguishing liquid with an area of 1000 square meters is formed. m and a height of 5–6 m. As a result, the burning material is cooled and insulated. The shockwave knocks down the flames. The air temperature drops sharply, and the speed of the convection air flow drops to several meters per second.
After this first strike, when, in military terms, the enemy's main firepower is suppressed, the second strike is made by firefighting aircraft. Since the hot air cushion is no longer there, 90–95% of the water reaches the combustion zone. That is, the extinguishing efficiency due to ASP-500 increases tenfold.
Naturally, “water bombs” can be used not only against forest fires, but also against any fire storm - when extinguishing tire warehouses, petrochemical facilities, and various buildings.
OWNER REQUIRED
One of the reasons why ASP-500 is not used for extinguishing forest fires is the lack of an authorized body that could apply it. Now the situation is rather ridiculous. The Ministry of Defense and the Air Force of the Russian Federation have aircraft carrying such bombs, but their functions do not include extinguishing forest fires. Which, however, turns out to be sideways for them - remember the naval air force base burned down in the Moscow region. The Ministry of Emergency Situations is engaged in extinguishing, but does not have a suitable fleet of aircraft. The same applies to all structures involved in forest protection.
It is quite obvious that the country should have a single authorized body that can, on behalf of the state, carry out forest protection tasks. Including forests belonging to private owners, if a fire on their territory begins to threaten the lives of people or can spread to other territories. This body could accumulate resources and distribute them correctly, and also have the right to attract aircraft carriers, that is, the Air Force. The interests of the Air Force in this matter are combat training tasks at the expense of appropriations for fighting fires. And the protection of the facilities of the Ministry of Defense.
In 1990, calculations were carried out, and the required amount of reserves of ASP-500 bombs was determined at 5-10 thousand pieces for the entire territory of the USSR. Now, of course, a slightly smaller amount will be required. Stocks can be dispersed in regional warehouses. The guaranteed shelf life of a plastic bomb, not loaded with a flame-extinguishing liquid, in unheated rooms is at least five years. It can also be stored for a year in the open air at temperatures from +50 to –50. That is, it does not require large expenses for the creation of special storages. Bombs that have passed the warranty period can be used as training bombs in the Air Force.
The Ministry of Emergency Situations could become such a single authorized body for fire fighting, taking into account its experience and developed structures throughout Russia. It should be mentioned that ASP-500 has serious commercial potential. After all, forests are burning not only in Russia. And they can be extinguished for currency in a complex way: the helicopter drops bombs from the pylons, and the Be-200 floods the localized fire zone with water. Among other things, such effective actions strengthen the prestige of the country and the ministry.
However, it is easier for the ASP-500 bomb to penetrate the convection cushion of a fire storm than the cushion of bureaucratic indifference and self-interest.
