Since the second half of the 60s, anti-aircraft missile systems began to play a noticeable role in the course of regional conflicts, significantly changing the tactics of using combat aviation. Now the side to the conflict, which possessed overwhelming air superiority, could not achieve unambiguous dominance in the theater of operations.
The Soviet S-75 air defense system, created primarily to counter long-range bombers and high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft, turned out to be quite effective against tactical and carrier-based aircraft. Although the share of American aircraft shot down in Vietnam by anti-aircraft missiles is relatively small (according to the crafty American statistics, air defense systems shot down a little more than 200 out of 4,000 aircraft), the very alleged presence of an air defense system in the area of a combat departure required an increased number of forces and means to counter. As a result, it significantly reduced the effectiveness of bomb strikes. It is also worth remembering that the main task of the air defense forces is not to defeat air targets, but to effectively cover the protected objects. The Vietnamese air defense forces coped well with this task, the American "air offensives" were never able to completely destroy the military and industrial infrastructure of the DRV and force North Vietnam to make concessions.
The last moments of the American F-105
The low-altitude S-125 complex and the mobile Kvadrat (export version of the Kub air defense missile system) proved to be no less effective weapons in the Middle East, providing effective air cover for the Arab armies in the first stage of the 1973 war.
Wreckage of the Israeli fighter "Kfir"
Only the emergency assistance of the United States allowed Israel to quickly make up for the losses of the Air Force. Of the Western anti-aircraft systems in terms of the prevalence and effectiveness of combat use, only the American Hawk medium-range air defense system could be compared.
Taking into account the experience of the combat use of air defense systems in local conflicts in the USSR, work began on a new generation of missile systems, which were supposed to be able to simultaneously fire at several targets and be placed on a mobile chassis with a short transfer time from the traveling and standby position to the combat position (and vice versa). This was due to the need to leave the firing position after firing before the approach of the enemy air strike group. So, for example, the standard clotting time of the C-125 complex - 1 hour 20 minutes, was brought to 20-25 minutes. Such a reduction in the standard was achieved by improvements in the design of the air defense missile system, training, the coherence of combat crews, but the accelerated folding led to the loss of cable facilities, for which there was no time left.
Since the possibilities of improving the S-75 air defense system with single-channel radio command guidance on the target and the use of a two-stage liquid missile defense system were exhausted, the need to create a fundamentally new medium-range system was determined. For this, by the end of the sixties, sufficient technical prerequisites were formed. Lamp technology was replaced by semiconductors, analog computers by digital computers. The introduction of phased array antennas provided fast scanning of the radar beam with a "transfer" to the field of view necessary for multichannel complexes. Solid propellant engines in terms of mass and energy perfection approached the level of propulsion systems running on liquid fuel.
All these innovations were introduced on the S-300PT anti-aircraft missile system (S-300P anti-aircraft missile system) that entered service in 1978. Anti-aircraft missile forces received a new medium-range air defense system designed for the defense of administrative and industrial facilities, stationary command posts, headquarters and military bases from attacks by strategic and tactical aviation and the Kyrgyz Republic.
For the first time, a system with full automation of combat work was created. All tasks - detection, tracking, target distribution, target designation, target designation, target acquisition, tracking, capture, tracking and guidance of missiles, assessment of firing results - the system is able to solve automatically using digital computing tools. The operator's functions are to control the operation of the facilities and launch missiles. In a difficult situation, manual intervention in the course of combat work is possible. None of the previous systems possessed these qualities. The vertical launch of missiles ensured the shelling of targets flying from any direction without turning the launcher in the direction of fire.
PU S-300PT
All elements of the anti-aircraft system were installed on wheeled trailers towed by cars. The air defense missile system included 5V55 type missiles with a radio command guidance system and a maximum range of damage of 47 km, the maximum height of damage was 27 km.
Initially, the S-300PT battery consisted of three launchers (4 TPKs each), a radar cabin for illumination and RPN guidance, and a control cabin. In the mid-80s, the system underwent a series of upgrades, receiving the designation S-300PT-1.
A new missile of the 5V55R type with a range of up to 75 km, which was guided according to the principle of "target tracking through a missile", entered service.
In 1982, a new version of the S-300PS was adopted by the air defense forces, the elements of which were placed on powerful four-axle MAZ-543 vehicles. In the 5V55RM SAM, which was put into service in 1984, the range was increased to 90 km. At the same time, up to 6 targets can be fired with 12 missiles at a rate of 3-5 seconds, while aiming at one target up to two missiles. A mode of shooting at ground targets is provided.
S-300PS
The S-300PS mobile multichannel anti-aircraft missile system includes controls, self-propelled launchers (up to six), and hardware. Unlike the S-300PT systems, which are located mainly in prepared positions, the S-300PS were intended for use with the use of maneuver on the ground. All combat elements of the system, located on the basis of a high-cross-country vehicle chassis, provide a transfer to a combat position from a march within 5 minutes without preliminary preparation of a position.
Over the decade that has passed since the creation of the first model of the S-300PT, a new element base has been created, which makes it possible to develop a practically new S-300PM system with high noise immunity and better combat characteristics. In 1993, a new 48N6E missile defense system entered service with a launch range of 150 km. In this missile, a combined guidance system is used - radio command in the initial and middle sections of the trajectory, semi-active - in the final.
S-300PM were serially supplied to the troops from the late eighties to the mid-nineties. Unfortunately, not many S-300PM air defense systems were built, for the most part they were sent to the Moscow air defense zone, or for export. As a result, the main air defense systems in the air defense and air force of the Russian Federation are the well-deserved S-300PS, most of which need repair and modernization. Earlier S-300PT systems, due to the full depletion of the resource, are currently decommissioned or transferred "for storage". A further development of the S-300P family systems was the S-300PMU2 and S-400 universal mobile multichannel anti-aircraft missile system.
According to foreign data, about 3000 launchers of the S-300P systems were deployed in various regions of the USSR. Currently, various modifications of the S-300 air defense system, in addition to the Russian army, are available in Ukraine, the Republic of Belarus, and Kazakhstan. SAM systems S-300P were supplied to foreign countries, in particular to China, Slovakia and Greece. In the early 90s, elements of the S-300PT air defense system (without launchers and missiles) were delivered for "familiarization" in the United States. That made it possible for our "partners" to get acquainted in detail with the characteristics of radio equipment and develop countermeasures.
Satellite image of Google Earth: elements of the S-300P air defense system at the test site in the USA
Even at the design stage of the S-300P, it was planned to create on its basis a single unified system for anti-aircraft missile units of the Land Forces of the Soviet Army and the air defense of the fleet. However, in practice, complete unification did not take place. This happened for several reasons, the fact is that the main elements of the specific modifications of the S-300 system, in addition to the all-round radar and missile defense systems, were designed by various enterprises based on their own components, technologies and operational requirements. Moreover, the need for a military air defense system to protect important objects from operational-tactical ballistic missiles, caused an even greater isolation of the first topic in the S-300P project.
One of the main tasks facing long-range systems is their use to combat ballistic and cruise missiles. The improvement of anti-aircraft systems is carried out in the direction of building up the capabilities to defeat the largest possible number of such targets.
The S-300V air defense system (S-300V anti-aircraft missile system) was conceived as a front-line air defense system to combat various air attack weapons (SVN) - Lance and Pershing ballistic missiles, SRAM, cruise missiles (CR), aircraft, combat helicopters - with their massive use in conditions of active fire and electronic countermeasures of the enemy.
The S-300V was put into service somewhat later than the country's S-300P air defense system. The first truncated version of the air defense system (which did not include the program review radar, the 9M82 missile defense system and the corresponding launchers and launchers) under the designation S-300V1 was adopted in 1983. In 1988, the S-300V anti-aircraft missile system in a full set of all its means was adopted by the air defense of the SV.
The S-300V air defense system ensured the defeat of aerodynamic targets at a distance of 100 km and an altitude of 0, 025-30 km, with a probability of 07, -0, 9 with one missile. Ballistic targets were hit at an altitude of 1-25 km.
All combat assets of the system were deployed on unified tracked chassis with high maneuverability and maneuverability, equipped with navigation, topography and mutual orientation equipment. They were also used for the "Pion" self-propelled artillery mount and unified in separate units with the T-80 tank.
The adoption of the S-300V coincided with the beginning of the collapse of the USSR, which in many respects had a negative impact on the number of built air defense systems intended to replace the Krug air defense system. A complete replacement in a 1: 1 ratio never happened. Compared to the country's air defense systems S-300P, the military S-300V were built about 10 times less.
The C-300B4 air defense system is a further upgrade of the C-300V air defense system. It ensures the destruction of ballistic missiles and aerodynamic targets at ranges up to 400 kilometers and altitudes up to 37 kilometers. The air defense system has increased combat capabilities, achieved through the introduction of new components, the introduction of modern element base and computing facilities, which made it possible to improve the technical and operational characteristics of the air defense system. The efficiency of the new version of the S-300V4 is 1, 5-2, 3 times higher than that of the previous modifications. In 2012, the modernization of all S-300V complexes to the S-300V4 level was completed, 3 new S-300V4 divisions were also delivered in 2015 and a contract was signed for the supply of more new divisions by the end of 2015.
In the 80s, the monopoly of the USSR and the USA as the main developers of medium and long-range air defense systems was lost. Work on the creation of such complexes began in Europe, China, Israel and Taiwan. Often, when creating an air defense system, developers relied on existing air-to-air missiles or shipborne anti-aircraft systems.
In 1980, the Swiss company "Oerlikon Contraves Defense" created a medium-range anti-aircraft missile system - Skyguard-Sparrow. It was a combination of two systems: the Skyguard fire control system, previously used to control the fire of the twin 35-mm towed Oerlikon anti-aircraft gun, and the AIM-7 Sparrow air-to-air missile.
During the conduct of hostilities, the Skyguard / Sparrow complex carries out a survey of space and identification of detected targets using a surveillance pulse-Doppler radar with a detection range of up to 20 km. The target is accompanied by either a tracking radar or an optoelectronic module. The maximum launch range is 10 km, the altitude reach is 6 km.
Anti-aircraft missile and artillery complex Skyguard-Sparrow
Guidance of the missile at the target is carried out using a passive infrared homing head (GOS), created on the basis of the GOS of the South African air-to-air guided missile "Darter". The target is captured by the seeker (viewing angle 100 °) both when the missile is on the launcher (before launch) and during its flight. In the first case, shooting is carried out at airborne vehicles at a distance of no more than 3 km. To hit targets at a distance of 3-8 km, the second method is used, which is as follows. The missile launcher is launched at the interception point, determined by the tracking radar data, and the flight control before the target is captured by the target head is carried out using the on-board inertial-measuring unit based on the program entered into it before the start of the program.
The launcher with 4 missile guides is mounted on the chassis of a twin towed anti-aircraft gun. The stabilizers of the missile are deployed after its departure from the transport and launch container. Two pairs of rockets are located on the right and left sides of the operator's workplace. All equipment is located in a unified cabin mounted on a two-axle towed trailer, armored personnel carrier or other chassis.
The Skyguard system includes: a radar for detecting air targets, a radar for tracking targets, an optoelectronic module and control panels for operators of the fire control system.
The most common configuration of the system consists of a Skyguard fire control station, two paired 35-mm GDF anti-aircraft guns, and two anti-aircraft missile systems. Due to the fact that anti-aircraft guns block the "dead zone" of the missile defense system, the system fully protects the protected area.
The Skyguard-Sparrow anti-aircraft missile system of various modifications is in service with Switzerland, Taiwan, Italy, Spain, Greece, Canada and Egypt. In many countries, the Skyguard complex is used as a "clean" air defense system, without anti-aircraft artillery installations.
In Greece, the Skyguard-Sparrow complex was named Velos, it uses the RIM-7M rocket. From 1984 to 1987, 18 batteries of the Skyguard-Sparrow air defense system, which received its own name Amoun, were delivered to Egypt. In Spain, the Skyguard system was combined with the Spada launcher, with Aspide missiles.
In 1983, the Italian Air Force put the Spada air defense system on alert, and in 1986, the Italian Air Force was armed with 12 air defense systems. Four more complexes entered service by 1991.
SAM Spada
The Italian all-weather medium-range anti-aircraft missile system Spada is designed for air defense of air bases, groupings of troops and other important military and administrative-political facilities.
The complex is towed, the radar equipment for detecting the operational control center and the fire control center is placed in standard equipment containers, which are equipped with special jacks for installation on the ground. Launchers, platforms with detection radar antennas and illumination radar are also installed on jacks. The firing section includes one control point and three container-type launchers (6 missiles each).
With a mobility comparable to that of the American Hawk air defense systems available in Italy, the Spada complex is inferior to it in range - 15 km and target hitting altitude - 6 km. But it has a shorter response time, a higher degree of automation, noise immunity and reliability.
The Spada air defense system includes an Aspide-1A solid-propellant missile with a semi-active seeker (created on the basis of the American Sparrow AIM-7E missile), which is also used in the Albatros shipborne air defense system.
To transport the Spada air defense system, including 48 spare TPKs with missiles, 14 vehicles are required, three of which must be equipped with truck cranes. The complex is also air transportable and can be transported by military transport aircraft of the C-130 type or CH-47 Chinook helicopters.
The Spada air defense system has been repeatedly modernized, the last version of the complex with a range of up to 25 km was designated Spada-2000. In addition to the Italian Air Force, deliveries of this air defense system were carried out to Taiwan and Peru.
In the mid-60s, American specialists came to understand that the long-range air defense system "Nike-Hercules" in the future would not be able to meet the modern realities of aviation confrontation. This long-range and high-altitude stationary complex was created primarily to protect North America from Soviet long-range bombers.
After the modernization of missiles and guidance equipment, the Nike-Hercules was able to relocate, but in terms of maneuverability characteristics, it was inferior to the Soviet long-range air defense system S-200, which had a large engagement zone.
In addition, the capabilities of the American complex to combat tactical aircraft were very limited, it was single-channel, and its noise immunity left much to be desired.
The American military wanted to get a multi-channel long-range complex capable of simultaneously firing at several actively maneuvering targets, with the possibility of hitting ballistic targets, which is not inferior in mobility to the Hawk medium-range air defense system.
In May 1982, a new air defense system under the designation Patriot (Modern Air Defense Systems, Patriot) was adopted by the US Army. The Patriot is primarily intended to cover large administrative and industrial centers, naval and air bases from all existing air attack weapons. The complex is capable of simultaneously detecting and identifying more than 100 air targets, continuously accompanying eight selected ones, preparing initial data for firing, launching and guiding up to three missiles to each target. The anti-aircraft battery includes 4-8 launchers (PU) with four missiles each. The battery is the smallest tactical-fire unit that can independently carry out a combat mission.
The flight control of the missile defense system is carried out using a combined guidance system. At the initial stage of the flight, programmed control is implemented, at the middle - by radio command, at the final - by the method of tracking through a rocket, which combines command guidance with semi-active. The use of this guidance method made it possible to significantly reduce the sensitivity of the system to various electronic countermeasures, and also made it possible to organize the missile's flight along optimal trajectories and hit targets with high efficiency.
Launch of SAM MIM-104
PU is mounted on a two-axle semitrailer and is moved using a wheeled tractor. The launcher includes a lifting boom, a mechanism for lifting missiles and guiding them in azimuth, a drive for installing a radio mast, which is used to transmit data and receive commands to a fire control point, communication equipment, a power unit and an electronic unit. PU allows you to rotate the missile in the container in azimuth in the range from +110 to -110 ° relative to its longitudinal axis. The launch angle of the rockets is fixed at 38 ° from the horizon.
When the complex is located on the ground, a sector of space is assigned to each of the launchers, and these sectors overlap many times. Thus, it is possible to achieve all-aspect shooting, in contrast to air defense systems, which use vertically starting anti-aircraft missiles, which make a turn towards the target after the start. However, the total deployment time of the complex from the march is 30 minutes, which significantly exceeds the deployment time of Russian air defense systems.
Soon after it was put into service, the question arose of modernizing the Patriot air defense system, primarily with the aim of giving it anti-missile properties. The most perfect modification of the complex is the Patriot PAC-3. SAM MIM-104 of the latest version provides the defeat of air targets at a distance of 100 km and an altitude of 25 km. The ERINT anti-missile missile introduced into the complex specifically for engaging ballistic targets has a maximum firing range of up to 45 km and an altitude of up to 20 km.
In view of the significantly smaller size of the ERINT anti-missile, it is planned to place it in the amount of 16 pieces as part of the existing launchers (four anti-missiles in each container of the MIM-104 missile defense system). In order to maximize the capabilities of the Patriot PAC-3 air defense system, it is planned to combine launchers with MIM-104 and ERINT missiles, which will increase the battery's firepower by 75%.
Satellite image of Google Earth: the position of the Patriot air defense system in Qatar
Complex "Patriot" in various modifications is in service with: Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Japan, Israel, South Korea and Saudi Arabia. The chassis of the Patriot complex has a different base, depending on the country. If in the USA it is, as a rule, Kenworth truck tractors, in Germany it is “Man”, and in the Netherlands it is “Ginaf”.
SAM "Patriot" received the baptism of fire during the military conflict in Iraq in 1991. Located at American bases in Saudi Arabia and on Israeli territory, the Patriot PAC-2 air defense system repelled the attacks of the Iraqi tactical ballistic missiles of the R-17 Scud type. The first successful interception took place on January 18, 1991 over the territory of Saudi Arabia. At the same time, the Patriot air defense missile system did not always effectively hit the R-17 ballistic missiles, which often deviated only slightly from the original trajectory. Despite the shooting in almost ideal conditions (no false targets and radio interference), the effectiveness of the complex was low - about 0, 5. As a rule, targets were fired with two missiles. When intercepting Iraqi "Scuds" in most cases, only the hull was damaged, and not the destruction of the warhead with an explosive charge, which practically does not reduce the damage when firing at areal targets. Fortunately for the Americans and their allies, the Iraqi BRs carried warheads equipped with conventional explosives, if Saddam Hussein had decided to use weapons of mass destruction, the damage and casualties could have been much greater.
During the hostilities, there were cases of defeat by "friendly fire", for example, in March 2003, on the Iraqi-Kuwait border, the American Patriot battery shot down a British fighter-bomber Tornado. The last case of combat use was recorded in September 2014, when an Israeli Patriot air defense system shot down a Syrian Air Force Su-24 bomber that had invaded Israeli airspace.
In the domestic media, it is customary to speak disparagingly about the Patriot and point out its real and imaginary shortcomings in comparison with the S-300P and S-400 air defense systems. However, it should be understood what and with what to compare. The American Patriot air defense system of the PAC-2 and PAC-3 modifications of which only the US Army has more than 480 launchers is indeed inferior in a number of parameters to the latest versions of the S-300PM and S-400. However, there are not many of these new anti-aircraft systems in the armed forces yet, for example, the S-400 was delivered taking into account the 19 divisions deployed in Kamchatka. That, if there are 8 launchers in one division, it corresponds to a total of 152 launchers. The basis of the air defense system of the anti-aircraft missile forces is made up of rather worn-out S-300PS air defense systems produced in the early-mid 80s, which do not have any particular advantages over the latest modifications of the Patriot air defense system.
