Having special tasks and methods of combat work, the airborne troops need specialized weapons and equipment. In particular, they require their own air defense systems. Several years ago, a new project of an anti-aircraft missile system with the code name "Birds" was launched. A ready-made sample of such a combat vehicle should appear in a few years, but for now, the military department announces various information about the project.
On March 14, RIA Novosti published statements by the Commander of the Airborne Forces, Colonel-General Andrei Serdyukov, regarding the promising project "Birds." The military leader spoke about the current work, the timing of the creation of a new model of military equipment and plans to deploy serial combat vehicles. In his own words, the general significantly supplemented and corrected the previously existing picture.
BMD-4M during exercises. Photo by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation / mil.ru
As A. Serdyukov said, a promising anti-aircraft complex for the Airborne Forces will enter service by 2022. It will be an airborne assault vehicle suitable for transportation by existing military transport aviation equipment. Serial "Poultry" will be reduced to anti-aircraft missile batteries as part of air defense regiments. The latter will be part of the airborne and airborne assault divisions. It is curious that the new complex can be used not only by paratroopers. The possibility of using such equipment in other branches of the armed forces is not excluded.
At the moment, according to the commander of the Airborne Forces, the new project is at the stage of developing working design documentation. The result of the current stage of work will be the formation of the final appearance of the new air defense system. However, according to RIA Novosti, the basis for the new project has already been determined. The anti-aircraft complex will be built on the chassis of the BMD-4M airborne combat vehicle, which will provide the ability to transport equipment by air and parachute landing.
The latest statements by the Airborne Forces Commander noticeably change the existing picture formed by previous reports. In particular, there is reason to believe that the customer and the developers of the "Birdcatcher" project, for unnamed reasons, postponed the completion of the main work. In addition, the formation of the appearance of the future complex has not yet been completed, which is not fully consistent with older information about the project.
It should be recalled that at the beginning of August last year - shortly after the professional holiday of the airborne troops - the press published some details of the current plans of the military department in relation to the Ptitselov air defense system. The TASS news agency, citing an unnamed source in the defense industry, wrote that the new complex will go into service in 2020. It was indicated that at that time the project was at the stage of development work. All such work was planned to be completed by the end of 2019, and in 2020 the finished complex could go into service.
Now information about the progress of the Ptitselov air defense missile system was announced by an official. It turned out that the real plans of the military department are markedly different from what an unnamed TASS source reported last year. So, until now, the developers of the project have not completed the formation of the appearance of the anti-aircraft complex. Taking into account subsequent work, the adoption of equipment for service is attributed to 2022.
However, certain features of the process of developing advanced weapons and their coverage in the press make it possible not to pay attention to the differences between different messages. The appearance of official statements on the progress of work actually closes the issue, showing the real plans of the military department and the defense industry.
According to the latest data, the "Birdcatcher" project is still at the stage of shaping its technical appearance. At the same time, work on the creation of a new anti-aircraft complex for the Airborne Forces has been going on for several years. According to reports from the recent past, in the course of research and development work, the requirements for such a system and, as a result, its approximate appearance have repeatedly changed. Apparently, now we are talking about the creation of the final version of the technical appearance, which will be brought to production and operation.
Recall that the first mentions of the creation of a promising anti-aircraft complex for the airborne troops date back to mid-2013. Then the domestic press reported that a similar model of equipment was being created at the Tula Instrument Design Bureau on the basis of the Pantsir-C1 missile and cannon complex. Due to the combined armament, the new complex could hit various targets, and its small dimensions would provide the possibility of transportation by aircraft with landing or parachute landing. Such an air defense missile system was considered as a potential replacement for the Strela-10 vehicles in service with the Airborne Forces.
In May 2016, several reports appeared at once on the progress of the creation of an air defense system for the Airborne Forces. According to earlier, the new model of equipment was planned to be built on the chassis of the BMD-4M airborne combat vehicle, which gave certain advantages of a technical and operational nature. In addition, at the same time the name of the project was first published - "Birds catcher".
The Strela-10M3 complex is the basis of the current air defense system of the airborne troops. Photo Vitalykuzmin.net
Soon, the domestic media spoke about the current work on the formation of the image of the future air defense system "Ptitselov". It was reported that the Ministry of Defense and industry enterprises were considering several options for the appearance of the complex. It was proposed to equip the existing chassis with a combat module with missile weapons and sighting equipment. The module could be taken from one of the existing equipment samples, or developed from scratch.
A few weeks later, it became known about the start of technical design. At the end of this stage, the industry was to proceed to the next stage of development work. As stated, after the launch of serial production, the "Birdies" systems will have to enter service with the anti-aircraft missile regiments of the Airborne Forces, created several years ago. Due to such deliveries, the aging complexes of the Strela-10 family will be gradually replaced.
At the end of July of the same year, on the eve of the Airborne Forces Day, the Deputy Commander of the Airborne Forces, Lieutenant General Andrei Kholzakov, again raised the topic of the air defense system "Birds". According to him, as part of the implementation of existing plans, already in 2017, the troops were to receive the first copies of the "Birdcatcher" complex and the "Typhoon" armored car. However, the general did not rule out the possibility of changing such plans for one reason or another.
The next time the Ptitselov air defense system became the topic of news only in August 2017. From last year's reports, it followed that plans for the supply of the first samples of equipment in 2017 could not be fulfilled. However, it was now argued that by the end of 2019, the industry will complete development work and in 2020 the new equipment will go into service. No new information about the technical appearance of the complex was provided last year.
According to the latest information announced by the commander of the Airborne Forces, the project is still at the stage of determining the technical appearance. Development work will continue over the next few years, and the Birds will enter service only in 2022. Such plans look less optimistic than the news of the recent past, but this time we are talking about real data from an official.
In the past, starting in 2013, there was an active discussion of the possible appearance of the future anti-aircraft missile system for the airborne forces. Naturally, the versions changed in accordance with new messages on the progress of work and proposals for the use of certain components. As it became known the other day, by now only one of the aspects of the future project has been determined - the base chassis of the future car. However, having certain data, you can try to make a forecast and try to guess the shape of the future air defense system.
According to the first reports, the new complex for the Airborne Forces was supposed to be based on the missile-gun "Pantsir". However, a few years later, the combat module with combined weapons was abandoned. Now it was about a combat vehicle carrying exclusively short-range missile weapons. As before, it was planned to create a sample suitable for landing by landing and parachute methods.
Since a certain time, in the context of the Ptitselov air defense system, the chassis of the BMD-4M airborne assault vehicle has appeared. To date, this sample of armored vehicles has been adopted and went into production. Thus, the future release of "Birdcatchers" will not require the production of separate chassis. In addition, unification is expected to simplify the joint operation of combat vehicles for various purposes, including in terms of organizing transportation and landing.
In the past, it was mentioned that a combat module from the Sosna anti-aircraft complex can be installed on the BMD-4M chassis. In this case, "Birdies" would receive a swivel tower with a central support, which has mounts for swinging launchers and a block of optoelectronic equipment. As a further development of the Strela-10M3 system, the Sosna complex uses optoelectronic surveillance equipment and laser-guided missile guidance with automatic control of the combat vehicle.
According to open data, the Sosna air defense missile system carries 12 missiles of the 9M337 Sosna-R type with a mass of 30 kg (42 kg including a transport and launch container). The missile is capable of accelerating to 900 m / s and maneuvering with an overload of up to 40. The laser guidance system provides an attack on targets at any time of the day. The range of destruction of the complex is from 1300 m to 10 km, the altitude is from 2 m to 5 km. The standard equipment of the launcher allows you to independently observe the airspace or receive external target designation. Depending on the type of target, the auto-tracking range reaches 12-14 km.
SAM "Sosna" last year successfully completed state tests, and should soon be adopted. Serial systems of this type will replace the outdated equipment of the Strela-10 family in the army. In addition, such a complex may be of interest in the context of the rearmament of the airborne forces. The installation of the Sosny combat module on the BMD-4M chassis will provide obvious operational and production advantages while ensuring the required combat potential.
SAM "Sosna" - a possible source of components for "Ptitselov". Photo Rbase.new-factoria.ru
It cannot be ruled out that the existing launcher with search and guidance equipment will need improvements. The combat module "Pines" is not compact and may not meet the requirements for airborne vehicles.
However, it should be remembered that so far only one of the versions. The final appearance of the "Birdman" has not yet been determined, and therefore may not include the units of the "Sosna" air defense missile system. It is possible that the command of the Airborne Forces decided to order a complex with a completely new combat module. However, the officially announced completion date hints at the use of ready-made components. The development of the entire complex from scratch would take too long and would not be completed by 2022.
According to known data, the program for the development of air defense systems for the airborne forces started at least five years ago. Over the past time, some work has been done, but they still have not led to the desired results. Recent posts on the Poultry system may be cause for optimism. After several years of uncertainty, a full-fledged development of the project has started, which should give the desired results in the foreseeable future.
There is reason to believe that the industry will continue design work by the end of this decade, and by 2020 or later a prototype of the new Ptitselov will be tested. Thus, after all the necessary checks, a promising air defense system can be adopted by the Airborne Forces in the announced time frame - in 2022.
In connection with special tasks, the airborne troops need equipment with characteristic features. Several years ago, it was decided to strengthen this branch of the military with its own anti-aircraft systems, created in accordance with its requirements. Work on the "Birds" theme is not yet completed, but continues and should soon give the desired results. At the beginning of the next decade, new complexes will enter service with the Airborne Forces, and in a few years they will be able to obtain the desired equipment in the required quantities and increase their potential.
