Damn, how I like this car! Supersonic winged ship with a predatory, oblong fuselage and sharp triangles of planes. Inside, in the cramped cockpit, the gaze is lost among dozens of dials, toggle switches and switches. Here is an airplane control stick, comfortable, made of ribbed plastic. It has built-in weapon control buttons. The left palm grips the throttle control, the flap control is directly below it. Ahead there is a glass screen, the image of the sight and the readings of the instruments are projected onto it - perhaps it once reflected the silhouettes of "Phantoms", but now the device is turned off and therefore completely transparent …
It's time to leave the pilot's seat - at the bottom, by the stairs, there were others who wanted to get into the MiG-21 cockpit. One last time I glance over the blue dashboard and descend from a three-meter height to the ground.
Already saying goodbye to the MiG, I unexpectedly imagined how 24 of the same aircraft were moving somewhere under the surface of the Atlantic, waiting in the wings in the launch silos of a nuclear submarine. Such ammunition for anti-ship missiles is on board the Russian "killers of aircraft carriers" - nuclear submarines, project 949A "Antey". Comparison of the MiG with a cruise missile is not an exaggeration: the weight and size characteristics of the P-700 Granit missile are close to those of the MiG-21.
Hardness of granite
The length of the gigantic rocket is 10 meters (in some sources - 8, 84 meters excluding the SRC), the wingspan of the Granite is 2, 6 meters. The MiG-21F-13 fighter (in the future we will consider this well-known modification) with a fuselage length of 13.5 meters, has a wingspan of 7 meters. It would seem that the differences are significant - the aircraft is larger than the anti-ship missile, but the last argument should convince the reader of the correctness of our reasoning. The launch mass of the "Granit" anti-ship missile system is 7, 36 tons, at the same time, the normal take-off weight of the MiG-21F-13 was … 7 tons. The same MiG that fought Phantoms in Vietnam and shot down Mirages in the hot sky over the Sinai turned out to be lighter than a Soviet anti-ship missile!
The dry weight of the MiG-21F-13 structure was 4.8 tons, another 2 tons were for fuel. In the course of the evolution of the MiG, the takeoff weight increased and, for the most perfect representative of the MiG-21bis family, it reached 8, 7 tons. At the same time, the weight of the structure grew by 600 kg, and the fuel supply increased by 490 kg (which did not affect the flight range of the MiG-21bis - the more powerful engine "gobbled up" all reserves).
The fuselage of the MiG-21, like the body of the Granit rocket, is a cigar-shaped body with cut front and rear ends. The nose of both structures is made in the form of an air intake with an inlet section adjustable by means of a cone. As on the fighter, the radar antenna is located in the Granite cone. But, despite the external similarity, there are many differences in the design of the Granit anti-ship missile system.
The layout of the "Granite" is much denser, the rocket body has greater strength, because "Granite" was calculated for an underwater launch (on the nuclear-powered cruisers "Orlan", before launching, outboard water is pumped into the missile silos). Inside the rocket is a huge warhead weighing 750 kg. We are talking about quite obvious things, but comparing a rocket to a fighter plane will unexpectedly lead us to an unusual conclusion.
Flight to the limit
Would you believe a dreamer who claims that the MiG-21 is capable of flying a distance of 1000 kilometers at an extremely low altitude (20-30 meters above the Earth's surface), at a speed one and a half times the speed of sound? At the same time carrying in his womb a huge ammunition weighing 750 kilograms? Of course, the reader will shake his head in disbelief - miracles do not happen, the MiG-21 in cruise mode at an altitude of 10,000 m could overcome 1200-1300 kilometers. In addition, the MiG, due to its design, could show its excellent speed qualities only in a rarefied atmosphere at high altitudes; at the surface of the earth, the speed of the fighter was limited to 1, 2 speeds of sound.
Speed, afterburner, flight range … For the R-13-300 engine, the fuel consumption in cruise mode is 0.931 kg / kgf * hour, and for afterburner it reaches 2.093 kg / kgf * hour. Even an increase in speed will not be able to compensate for the sharply increased fuel consumption, in addition, no one flies in this mode for more than 10 minutes.
According to V. Markovsky's book "Hot Skies of Afghanistan", which describes in detail the combat service of the aviation of the 40th Army and the Turkestan Military District, MiG-21 fighters were regularly involved in striking ground targets. In each episode, the combat load of the MiGs consisted of two 250 kg bombs, and during difficult missions, it was generally reduced to two hundred parts. With the suspension of larger ammunition, the flight range was rapidly reduced, the MiG became clumsy and dangerous in piloting. It should be taken into account that we are talking about the most advanced modifications of the "twenty-first" used in Afghanistan - MiG-21bis, MiG-21SM, MiG-21PFM, etc.
The combat load of the MiG-21F-13 consisted of one built-in HP-30 cannon with an ammunition load of 30 rounds (weight 100 kg) and two guided air-to-air missiles R-3S (weight 2 x 75 kg). I dare to suggest that the maximum flight range of 1300 km was achieved without any external suspensions at all.
The anti-ship "Granite" is more "optimized" for low-altitude flight, the frontal projection area of the missile is less than that of a fighter. The Granit has no retractable landing gear and brake parachute. And yet, there is less fuel on board the anti-ship missile - the space inside the hull takes up 750 kg of the warhead, we had to abandon the fuel tanks in the wing consoles (the MiG-21 has two of them: in the nose and middle root of the wing).
Considering that Granit will have to break through to the target at an extremely low altitude, through the densest layers of the atmosphere, it becomes clear why the real flight range of the P-700 is much less than the declared range of 550, 600 and even 700 kilometers. On a supersonic PMV, the flight range of a heavy anti-ship missile is 150 … 200 km (depending on the type of warhead). The resulting value fully coincides with the tactical and technical assignment of the military-industrial complex under the USSR Council of Ministers from 1968 for the development of a heavy anti-ship missile (the future "Granit"): 200 km on a low-altitude trajectory.
Hence one more conclusion follows - the beautiful legend about the "rocket-leader" remains just a legend: the low-flying "flock" will not be able to follow the "rocket-leader" flying at high altitude.
The impressive figure of 600 kilometers, which often appears in the media, is only valid for the high-altitude flight path, when the rocket follows the target in the stratosphere, at an altitude of 14 to 20 kilometers. This nuance affects the combat effectiveness of the missile system, an object flying at high altitude can be easily detected and intercepted - Mr. Powers is a witness.
The legend of 22 rockets
Several years ago, a distinguished admiral published his memoirs about the service of the 5th OPESK (Operational Squadron) of the USSR Navy in the Mediterranean Sea. It turns out that back in the 80s, Soviet sailors accurately calculated the number of missiles to destroy aircraft carrier formations of the US Sixth Fleet. According to their calculations, the AUG air defense is capable of repelling a simultaneous strike of no more than 22 supersonic anti-ship missiles. The twenty-third missile is guaranteed to hit an aircraft carrier, and then a hellish lottery begins: the 24th missile can be intercepted by air defense, the 25th and 26th will break through the defenses again and hit the ships …
The former sailor was telling the truth - a simultaneous strike of 22 missiles is the limit for the air defense of an aircraft carrier strike group. It is easy to verify this by independently calculating the capabilities of the Aegis cruiser of the Ticonderoga class to repel missile attacks.
So, the Project 949A Antey nuclear-powered submarine reached the launch range of 600 km, the target designation problem was successfully resolved.
Volley! - 8 "Granites" (the maximum number of missiles in a salvo) pierce the water column and, having shot up a fiery tornado to a height of 14 kilometers, lie on a combat course …
According to the fundamental laws of nature, an outside observer will be able to see "Granites" at a distance of 490 kilometers - it is at this distance that a rocket flock, flying at an altitude of 14 kilometers, rises above the horizon.
According to official data, the AN / SPY-1 radar phased array is capable of detecting an air target at a range of 200 American miles (320 km). The effective scattering area of the MiG-21 fighter is estimated at 3 … 5 square meters. meters is quite a lot. The RCS of the rocket is less - within 2 sq. meters. Roughly speaking, the Aegis cruiser radar will detect a threat at a distance of 250 km.
Group target, distance … bearing … The confused consciousness of the command center operators, exacerbated by impulses of fear, sees 8 terrible "flares" on the radar screen. Anti-aircraft weapons for battle!
It took the crew of the cruiser half a minute to prepare for rocket firing, the covers of the Mark-41 UVP threw back with a clang, the first Standard-2ER (extended range) climbed out of the launch container, and, fluffing up its fiery tail, disappeared behind the clouds … behind it one more … and another …
During this time "Granites" at a speed of 2.5M (800 m / s) approached 25 kilometers.
According to official data, the Mark-41 launcher can provide a missile release rate of 1 missile per second. The Ticonderoga has two launchers: bow and stern. Purely theoretically, let's assume that the real rate of fire in combat conditions is 4 times less, i.e. The Aegis cruiser fires 30 anti-aircraft missiles per minute.
Standard-2ER, like all modern long-range missiles, is a missile with a semi-active guidance system. On the marching leg of the trajectory, the "Standard" flies in the direction of the target, guided by a remotely reprogrammed autopilot. A few seconds before the point of interception, the missile homing head is turned on: the radar on board the cruiser "illuminates" the air target and the missile seeker catches the signal reflected from the target, calculating its reference trajectory.
We return to the confrontation between 8 "Granites" and "Ticonderogi". Despite the fact that the Aegis system is capable of simultaneously firing at 18 targets, there are only 4 AN / SPG-62 illumination radars on board the cruiser. One of the advantages of the Aegis is that, in addition to observing the target, the CIUS automatically controls the number of missiles fired, calculating the firing so that no more than 4 of them are at the end of the trajectory at any given time.
The ending of the tragedy
Opponents quickly approach each other. "Granites" fly at a speed of 800 m / s. The speed of the anti-aircraft "Standard-2" is 1000 m / s. The initial distance is 250 km. It took 30 seconds to make a decision on counteraction, during which time the distance was reduced to 225 km. By simple calculations, it was found that the first "Standard" will meet with the "Granites" in 125 seconds, at this moment the distance to the cruiser will be equal to 125 km.
In fact, the situation of the Americans is much worse: somewhere at a distance of 50 km from the cruiser, the seeker heads of the Granites will spot the Ticonderoga and the heavy missiles will begin to dive at the target, disappearing for a while from the cruiser's line of sight. They will reappear at a distance of 30 kilometers, when it is too late to do anything. Anti-aircraft guns "Falanx" will not be able to stop the band of Russian monsters.
The US Navy has only 90 seconds in reserve - it is during this time that the Granites will overcome the remaining 125 - 50 = 75 kilometers and dive to a low altitude. These one and a half minutes "Granita" will fly under continuous fire: "Ticonderoga" will have time to release 30 x 1, 5 = 45 anti-aircraft missiles.
The probability of hitting an aircraft with anti-aircraft missiles is usually given in the range of 0, 6 … 0, 9. But the tabular data does not quite correspond to reality: in Vietnam, anti-aircraft gunners spent 4-5 missiles per shot down by the Phantom. The high-tech Aegis should be more effective than the S-75 Dvina radio command air defense system, however, the incident with the shooting down of the Iranian passenger Boeing (1988) does not provide clear evidence of an increase in efficiency. Without further ado, let us take the probability of hitting the target as 0, 2. Not every bird will reach the middle of the Dnieper. Only every fifth "Standard" will hit the target. The warhead contains 61 kilograms of powerful brizant - after meeting with an anti-aircraft missile, "Granit" has no chance of reaching the target.
As a result: 45 x 0, 2 = 9 targets destroyed. The cruiser repulsed a missile attack.
A dumb scene.
Consequences and conclusions
The Aegis cruiser is probably capable of single-handedly repelling an eight-missile salvo of the 949A Antey nuclear submarine, using up about 40 anti-aircraft missiles. It will also repel the second volley - for this it has enough ammunition (in 122 cells of the UVP there are 80 "Standards"). After the third volley, the cruiser will die a brave death.
Of course, the AUG has more than one Aegis cruiser … On the other hand, in the event of a direct military collision, the aircraft carrier group had to be attacked by dissimilar forces of the Soviet aviation and navy. It remains to thank fate that we did not see this nightmare.
What conclusions can be drawn from all these events? And no! All of the above was true only for the mighty Soviet Union. Soviet sailors, like their counterparts from NATO countries, have long known that an anti-ship missile turns into a formidable force only at extremely low altitudes. At high altitudes, there is no escape from the SAM fire (Mr. Powers is a witness!): The air target becomes easily detectable and vulnerable. On the other hand, the launch distance of 150 … 200 km was quite enough to "pinch" the aircraft carrier groupings. Soviet "pikes" more than once scratched the bottoms of US Navy aircraft carriers with periscopes.
Of course, there is no room for "hat-handed" sentiments - the American fleet was also strong and dangerous. "Flights of Tu-95 over the deck of an aircraft carrier" in peacetime, in a dense ring of Tomcat interceptors, cannot serve as reliable evidence of the high vulnerability of the AUG; it was required to get close to the aircraft carrier unnoticed, and this already required certain skills. Soviet submariners admitted that secretly approaching an aircraft carrier group was not an easy task; this required high professionalism, knowledge of the tactics of a "potential enemy" and His Majesty Chance.
In our time, American AUGs do not pose a threat to purely continental Russia. No one will use aircraft carriers in the "marquis puddle" of the Black Sea - there is a large Inzhirlik airbase in Turkey in this region. And in the event of a global nuclear war, aircraft carriers will be far from being the primary targets.
As for the anti-ship complex "Granit", the very fact of the appearance of such weapons was a feat of Soviet scientists and engineers. Only supercivilization was able to create such masterpieces, combining the most advanced achievements of electronics, rocket and space technology.
Tabular values and coefficients - www.airwar.ru
