With the development of intelligent weapons systems, the role of the human factor sharply increases
The functional concept and technical appearance of the existing and developed high-precision weapons (WTO) systems are largely determined by the features of the information support that is used in these systems. Without pretending to be clear in the chronology of the emergence of certain types of information support for WTO systems, they can be associated with the development of the following methods of aiming strike weapons at a target:
- command guidance to the target in the image of the target;
- homing to the target with "locking" on the target image;
- homing at the target by the laser spot of the external target designator;
- homing to the target with automatic recognition of the target image;
- homing to a target based on programmed control with satellite navigation.
The last of these methods became the methodological basis of the general approach adopted in the late 90s in the West, and then throughout the world, to the development of combat technology and WTO systems designed to perform the strike tasks of isolation of the battlefield and direct air support of ground forces considered here. troops. The incentive for this was the relatively low cost of high-precision bombs with programmed targeting. However, this did not diminish the importance of such a factor as the accuracy of the WTO application. And, as was shown in the author's previous publication on this topic ("Murderous Power with Delivery to the Exact Address", "NVO", No. 18, 2010), over time, problems were discovered here, the solution of which led to a certain evolution of the WTO systems of the considered combat missions …
EVOLUTION OF WTO SYSTEMS, ISOLATION OF THE BATTLE FIELD AND AIRCRAFT SUPPORT FOR GROUND TROOPS
The NATO concept of the technology for performing the considered strike missions using the WTO initially looked as follows. It was believed that the fulfillment of a combat mission was initiated by a request for air support coming from an advanced unit of ground forces to the central command post, indicating general data on the location of the target that had discovered itself. The decision of the command post worked out in this regard is transmitted to the mobile army communications post RAIDER for subsequent transmission to aviation systems supporting ground forces. The specific executor of aviation support in the WTO system is an aviation combat complex, which has all the avionics systems and weapons necessary to perform its functions in a specific WTO system.
In the case of a great remoteness of the forward-based spotter from the ground command post, to provide information communication within the WTO system, it may be necessary to have structural elements in this system that perform the functions of communication repeaters. It can be a multipurpose information complex with a repeater function and a multipurpose combat complex with the same functions, or only the last of them. The presence of these structural elements in the WTO system may, in particular, make the presence of a ground command post unnecessary. Its functions can be transferred to a multipurpose information complex or even a multipurpose aviation combat complex. The need to fulfill the combat missions under consideration with the mobility of the attacked targets led in the United States, and then in other countries, to a "modified" in a certain way the idea of the technology of combat operations and the functional appearance of the WTO system that implements this technology. The "revision" was associated with a number of additions, namely:
- expanding the capabilities of programmed control, known as the AMSTE method, which provides the use of strike weapons without terminal guidance on moving targets;
- using the means of centralized network control of combat actions based on the global information network;
- the use of means of terminal guidance of strike weapons.
The general scenario for performing the combat mission of isolating the battlefield with mobile targets is also initiated by the message of the forward-based spotter about the appearance of a target in his area of responsibility. This message is transmitted to the information network deployed over the combat zone and is received by the enemy radar surveillance aviation complex (RLNP). Using its own information means, the RLNP complex conducts a more thorough analysis of the situation on the battlefield, identifying targets that have appeared there. In the event that they are among the targets prescribed for defeat, data about them are transmitted through the information network to the ground command post. If a decision is made there to destroy targets, the RLNP complex begins continuous tracking of the movement of targets, periodically dumping data on their azimuth into the information network, from where they get on board a combat aircraft, which received an instruction from the command post to attack targets.
It is assumed that the onboard radar of this aircraft allows it to be used as an addition to the radar of the RLNP complex as part of the targeting means of the WTO system. The intersection of two azimuth directions to the target gives the exact value of the current position of the moving target on the ground. Adjustment of target designation to weapons is also made through a common information network, which includes a two-way data line, which is assumed to be on the weapon. Hard? Yes very. But all for the sake of the accuracy of hitting the target in real combat conditions.
This technology of combat operations, "modified" with a certain development of information support for the WTO system, was considered by American specialists in relation to the F-22 Raptor combat aircraft and the SDB high-precision bomb. Therefore, the described example of the WTO system and technology for the implementation of combat operations should be considered as the previously established purely promising view of American developers on the implementation of the combat mission of isolating the battlefield in conditions of mobility of targets. And it is of interest to compare it with a promising view on the solution of this issue that exists among American developers today.
Information on this topic was contained in the report of the head of the Aviation Armaments Center, Colonel of the US Air Force G. Plumb, made at the Aviation Armaments Summit, organized by the IQPC information club in London at the end of 2008. According to the current idea of a promising technology of combat operations in the task of isolating the battlefield with mobile targets, the delivery of weapons to the target zone will also be carried out using programmed control, and the following will be involved in the execution of the combat mission:
- forward-based ground spotter;
- combat aircraft (in particular, the F-22 "Raptor");
- high-precision bomb (specifically SDB).
However, all these elements of the WTO system have certain differences from those considered earlier. So a high-precision second-generation SDB bomb (SDB-II), in addition to a thermal imaging seeker with an automatic target recognition system, will also have to have a laser seeker. This provides the possibility of using in this case, in addition to homing at the target with automatic recognition of the target image, also targeting by the laser spot. In contrast to the previously considered WTO systems, the duty of the spotter in the general technology of combat operations here is not only to transmit to the command post a message about the appearance of a target, that is, to perform the functions of one of the information sensors of the WTO system, but also to issue target designation to weapons. This is done by laser illumination of the target and requires the presence of appropriate equipment in the technical equipment of the spotter - a laser designator.
The transfer of certain control functions in the technology of combat operations to the ground spotter when performing the combat mission of isolating the battlefield and the more active use of the ground spotter in this technology of targeting weapons for laser target designation distinguish today's idea of American specialists about the functional appearance of promising WTO systems used in the combat missions under consideration, from the idea that they expressed four or five years ago.
The destruction of several units of the enemy's armored vehicles on the battlefield is no longer considered a task that deserves the involvement of RLDN information systems and global information networks. The locality of the combat missions performed determines the locality of the WTO systems used for this, the structure of which is actually limited to one aviation combat complex and a forward-based ground spotter.
As the saying goes, "cheap and cheerful." But the implementation of this requires an appropriate strike weapon on a combat aircraft in the air and an appropriate forward-based spotter on the ground. Therefore, it is impossible not to dwell specifically on these components of the WTO system.
A set of equipment for the "strategic soldier": laser designator, GPS-navigator, computer, radio station.
DEVELOPMENT OF IMPACT WEAPONS WITHIN THE GENERAL EVOLUTION OF WTO SYSTEMS
In recent years, the evolution of the general understanding of American specialists about the functional appearance of promising WTO systems designed to perform combat missions of isolation of the battlefield and direct air support of ground forces has become a defining moment in the development of strike weapons designed to perform these tasks. Basically, this development took place within the framework of programs for the modernization of existing weapons. And here one cannot fail to note the programs for the further development of such high-precision aircraft bombs as the American JDAM and the French AASM.
Conducted by Boeing and Sagem, respectively, these programs primarily, of course, track the interests of their national armed forces. However, they have many similarities. And we can talk about the presence in American and Western European practice of some common trends in the development of high-precision strike weapons within the framework of the general evolution of WTO systems designed for the combat missions considered here.
Designed for implementation in the period 2002-2010, the development process of the strike weapons of the JDAM family, which in its original form was conventional aerial bombs of 900, 450 and 250 kg caliber, includes seven separate areas of development that comprehensively affect the entire technical appearance of these weapons. First of all, it was supposed to implement the SAASM and PGK programs, which were aimed at installing on the JDAM bombs, respectively, the Anti-Jam GPS anti-jamming satellite navigation system and the thermal imaging seeker with the DAMASK target recognition system, built on the use of civilian technologies. This was to be followed by modifications to the weapon associated with the installation of a wing that can be deployed in flight, new variants of the warhead (warhead), data transmission lines and laser seeker. The allocation of priority tasks to increase the noise immunity of the bomb navigation system and the implementation of its autonomous terminal guidance to the target reflected the state in which all high-precision strike weapons found themselves after the appearance of systems for creating a local jamming environment for high-precision strike weapons with satellite navigation.
The use of these areas of modernization has taken its place in the implementation of a promising technology of combat operations for the tasks of isolating the battlefield and air support for ground forces. However, the emergence in American practice of a new vision of ways for the further development of this technology has led to the fact that in recent years the attention of developers associated with JDAM weapons has sharply switched to the use of a different homing method. The implementation of terminal guidance of bombs of the JDAM family for laser target designation began to be considered as the primary task of the development of this strike weapon. At the same time, it was assumed that the target designation itself would be carried out mainly by ground spotters equipped with appropriate laser target illumination systems.
The need to use the JDAM bombs modified in this way also for moving targets supplemented the upgrade package by installing data transmission lines on this weapon, which make it possible to adjust the coordinates of the target in the bomb control program. Conducted within the framework of the special program DGPS (MMT) & AMSTE, these improvements led to the creation at the end of 2008 of the first samples of bombs of the JDAM family, adapted for use within the WTO systems, implementing a promising technology of combat operations in its current presentation by American specialists. At the end of 2008, the first tests of a high-precision JDAM bomb, equipped with a data transmission line and a laser seeker, took place. Designated Laser JDAM (or L-JDAM for short), this bomb was tested as part of the A-10C combat aircraft, the primary ground support aircraft used by the United States Marine Corps.
Development programs similar to those discussed above have been carried out in recent years in Europe, an example of which is the work of the French firm Sagem on the development of the AASM strike weapon. Originally created as a high-precision aircraft bomb with a 250 kg warhead and programmed targeting, this weapon was later replenished with options with 125, 500 and 1000 kg warheads.
In recent years, however, the attention of French developers has focused on issues of terminal targeting of weapons. It is characteristic that initially the attention of the developers in solving these issues was drawn to the use of a thermal imaging seeker and a target recognition system in this weapon, which led to the appearance of a corresponding version of the AASM bomb with a warhead of 250 kg caliber. However, in recent years, the attention of developers has shifted towards the use of data transmission lines on this weapon to adjust the program control of the bomb during its flight to the target and the laser seeker for terminal guidance. Moreover, judging by the information provided at the aforementioned Aviation Armament Summit, the deployment of this version of the AASM bomb in service is currently a priority.
It would be possible to continue consideration of examples of the creation of new and modernized models of high-precision strike weapons with passive aiming at a target using a laser spot. But it is worth touching on that structural component of modern OBE systems, which ensures the active imposition of this laser spot on the target.
FORWARD-BASED GROUND CORRECTOR
The conclusion that suggests itself from the presented analysis of the information about the reorientation of developers of strike weapons abroad using methods of active or programmed targeting to the method of passive and semi-active guidance using laser target designation may not be fully clear without additional explanations. First of all, it is necessary to emphasize once again that in this case we are talking only about two combat missions - air support for ground forces and isolation of the battlefield - and that strike weapon, which is oriented in its technical appearance and characteristics to perform precisely these tasks. And most importantly, it must be borne in mind that the emphasis of the developers on the long-known technology of aiming weapons at the target - laser target designation - happened with a new level of its use. In this one can obviously see the validity of the well-known position of dialectics that the process of development moves in a spiral and periodically finds itself in the same place, but at a qualitatively new level.
The essence of this "new level" is that today it is not the weapon carrier itself (a combat aircraft or a helicopter) that is considered as a source of target designation, which carries out laser illumination of a target, but a ground-based spotter of forward basing. Methodically, this means that the implementation of target designation (as well as target destruction) has gone beyond the air combat complex and has become a function of the WTO system as a whole.
The broad discussion at the Air Armament Summit of the IQPC information club held in London at the end of 2008 on the use of laser-guided strike weapons could not fail to raise the issue of the participation of a forward-based ground spotter in this process. (Recall that in foreign practice, it has been assigned the designation FAC, and in the case of considering the actions of coalition or mixed armed forces, the designation JTAC). At the same time, all the opinions and assessments voiced about the role of the forward-based ground spotter in the WTO system were based on the experience of the recent hostilities in Iraq and Afghanistan. Based on this experience, Colonel D. Pedersen, who represented NATO staff structures at the summit, said: “FAC is not a simple serviceman, and even less just a soldier. This is a soldier with a certain set of knowledge and strategic thinking. This is a strategic soldier."
The strategic importance of the forward-based ground spotter was reinforced by the information at the summit about the qualified training and maintenance of this "strategic soldier". The resulting idea of the functional face of a forward-based ground spotter as an element of the WTO system is reduced to the following. FAC (JTAC) is:
- a serviceman from among the former pilots who have gained experience in staff work in the planning of military operations;
- an officer whose military rank, as a rule, is not lower than the captain's;
- a person who has the ability to personal command on the battlefield.
The last feature of the functional face of the "strategic soldier" is due to the specifics of its functioning within the WTO system. The actions of the FAC (JTAC) are not individual in nature, but take place within the framework of the actions of a special combat group that protects the "strategic soldier" from being captured by the enemy. According to the information voiced at the summit, during the hostilities in Afghanistan, the hunt for ground spotters of the forward-based coalition forces manifested itself as a specific form of warfare by Taliban units.
A special issue is the implementation of information support for FAC actions (JTAC) when it performs the functions of an element of the WTO system. Although, to ensure information communication of FAC (JTAC) with other elements of this system in foreign practice, even specially allocated army communication points have been considered, it should be considered typical to use portable means such as PRC-346 radio stations included in the standard set of technical support for the actions of a ground spotter forward-based. In addition to the radio station, it includes laser target illumination equipment, a GPS navigator and a military-grade personal computer.
The special role that is assigned abroad today to the ground spotter as an element of the WTO system involuntarily raises the question of the quantitative presence of these "elements". Indeed, to a certain extent, the combat capabilities of WTO systems will be determined not only by the stock of high-precision weapons in warehouses, but also by the number of available “strategic soldiers”. The answer to this question is unlikely to be made public. But in a qualitative sense, no special secrets are made about this.
The SMi information club previously mentioned by the author has planned a special summit "Aviation support for ground forces in urban environments" in 2010. And its main topic should be the training of forward-based ground spotters. Scheduled reports will focus on training programs for the "strategic soldier", simulation tools and simulators used in this training in special training centers, practical experience of FAC participation (JTAC) in hostilities in Afghanistan. It is characteristic that the training of "strategic soldiers" deployed in the West today has gone beyond the scope of those countries that are leaders in the development and production of the WTO. At the aforementioned summit, it will be possible to learn about the activities of the special training center FAC (JTAC), created by the Dutch army, and about the training in the United States of "strategic soldiers" for the armies of Poland, Hungary and Latvia.
