Forward to a negotiated solution?
Proven by many tests to disrupt ballistic missile attacks, no seamless defense can currently be 100 percent effective as there are major gaps, whether maneuvering ICBMs that successfully penetrate a well-defended and integrated air defense system, or a daring and fanatical attack on the front lines. base, or the now widespread terrorist attacks on unarmed civilians on the street, requiring only a motivated and well-trained police force.
A modern ground-based integrated air defense system (GIADS Ground-based Integrated Air Defense System) must rely on three main components:
1. a functionally complete network of long-range and medium-range airspace detection and control radars;
2. an integrated system of operational control, or better operational management, communications and intelligence, and even better an automated control system;
3. a network of short, medium and long-range anti-aircraft missiles.
In order to be effective and responsive, the GIADS must have all of the above components in constant combat readiness. But with the exception of a few crisis zones, such as Israel, Korea, Syria or Taiwan, this is rarely the case, since it is very expensive to keep combat anti-aircraft batteries, manned by crews and ready for combat launches at any time. Although modern solid-propellant rocket engines are quite mature and work stably, the complete rocket is stored ready for launch in a sealed container.
The largest air command and control system in its class, ACCS (Air Command and Control System), developed by the French-American company Thales Raytheon Systems (TRS) for NATO, has been delivered to many countries. Its flexible automated control systems can adapt to changing operational needs, and seamless planning, mission statement, monitoring and control allow for various types of air and missile defense operations. The company's Skyview system is an example of an open architecture automated monitoring and control solution. It provides a single, comprehensive view of the air situation and overall situational awareness through scalable, highly interoperable command and control systems. With its built-in plug-and-play functionality, this command and control system allows users to optimize their existing systems. It also allows operators to track all airborne targets in real time so that the appropriate weapon systems can reliably respond to the threat. It also provides appropriate capabilities commensurate with the objectives to ensure that a protected area, territory or country is protected from all airborne threats around the clock. The system coordinates all networked air defense systems, for example, ultra-short, short, medium and long range.
At the recent Paris Airshow, MBDA unveiled Network-Centric Engagement Solutions (NCES), a state-of-the-art ground-based air defense architecture based on the latest real-time data exchange protocols. The system allows combining into a single network, in addition to various surface-to-air missile systems, also various military and civilian radar stations, which makes it possible to make accurate and timely decisions in real time. Currently, complex tests of the NCES system are underway, which is significantly different from previous air defense organization schemes, with the aim of delivering it in the near future to one of the NATO countries.
“In this solution, sensors are networked in order to obtain the best level of knowledge of the air situation, while launchers of ultra-short, short and medium-range missiles, as well as launch coordination and control centers are united into a single network in order to obtain a more efficient system. defense. The organization of such a system can be implemented both at the local level and at the level of national defense. MBDA can supply all the necessary tools, sensors, communications, focal points, launchers, and can also organize an integration with previous air defense systems,”explained a representative of MBDA.
Compared to the traditional air defense organization, which is very multi-level, the networking of various resources allows one to obtain significant operational flexibility and very high resiliency. With the NCES system, the organization of ground-based air defense ceases to be limited to the concept of an anti-aircraft battery, which is based around a standard radar and a command and control system. Networked executive components or launchers receive target data immediately. Likewise, connecting each sensor system to a network enhances airspace proficiency. If the center of command and control is lost, the missile and the corresponding sensor equipment are immediately transmitted through the network to another center without reducing combat readiness. This allows the NCES structure to accommodate a wide range of organizations, from mobile batteries to territorial defense systems. It can also easily integrate existing air defense systems through a gateway that converts data from conventional battery exchange with the lower or upper echelons of ground air defense into an acceptable format.
Kingdom of the Patriot
One of the world's most famous anti-aircraft missile systems, the Patriot, rose to prominence during the 1991 Gulf War, in which it was used to defend coalition forces and Israeli cities against the R-17 Scud-B missiles of the terrible dictator Saddam Hussein. Although praised to the skies at that time, the true percentage of destruction of targets of the Patriot complex was calculated in single digits. The lessons were taken into account, since then the Patriot has been almost continuously improved and as a result is now considered a highly developed missile system, capable of intercepting highly maneuverable targets.
The Patriot complex, originally developed only to combat aircraft, is currently capable of shooting down helicopters, cruise and ballistic missiles and drones. In the case of ballistic missiles, the Patriot is used to intercept warheads at the final stage of their descent. During the development of the Patriot system, two types of missiles were developed. To cover the full range of threats, the Patriot launcher can launch both missiles. The PAC-2 / GEM is capable of shooting down aircraft, cruise missiles and, to a lesser extent, tactical ballistic missiles. There are four of them per launcher. PAC-2 / GEM has an interception range of 70 km with a maximum target hitting altitude of 25 km. The new PAC-3 MSE missile is designed only for intercepting ballistic missiles. The PAC-3 MSE missile is smaller and therefore the launcher can accommodate up to 16 missiles, four launch containers of four missiles each. The missile has an interception range of up to 35 km and a maximum target destruction height of 34 km.
The formation of the Patriot system took place in the 70s and 80s, at a time when the missile defense of the battlefield was not seriously discussed, and therefore it was intended exclusively for intercepting aircraft and helicopters. Over time, the Patriot, however, proved to be surprisingly adaptable and was chosen by many NATO armies and US allies. Currently, based on the philosophy of the Patriot, the program is being implemented on the medium-scale air defense system on a wide front MEADS (Medium Extended Air Defense System) in order to replace the Patriot complexes in the United States, Germany and Italy. The MEADS complex, being a competitor to the SAMP / T complex of the MBDA company, currently deployed in air defense regiments in France and Italy, is designed to combat enemy aircraft, cruise missiles and drones, but at the same time it is capable of shooting down ballistic missiles with high accuracy. The MEADS complex also has an increased level of mobility and better compatibility with the rest of the existing air defense systems. From the very beginning, it is designed to deal with promising enemy aircraft of the next generations, as well as supersonic cruise missiles, UAVs and even ballistic missiles. The complex will include its own radar kit along with network communication systems, which will allow it to be operated either as a separate system or as a component of larger air defense facilities with missiles of various types.
The base vehicles of the American MEADS program will be American FMTV 6x6 trucks. These trucks, which can be accommodated in the cargo cabins of military transport aircraft C-130 or C-17, will carry a radar, a container-type tactical operations center, a launcher and a set of additional missiles. The MEADS complex has already passed tests for the possibility of transportation by A400M aircraft. Italy and Germany chose their national brands of trucks (Iveco or MAN) for testing, with the Germans likely leaning towards a larger cargo platform. The tactical complex MEADS is designed to protect troops moving into the forward area, as well as facilities and areas in the context of national and collective defense. The system, equipped with an all-aspect radar, a command post with the latest technology and direct hit missiles, can shoot down all air targets, including cruise and tactical ballistic missiles.
PAAMS and her European brethren
The PAAMS (Principal Anti-Air Missile System) program, launched 16 years ago, provided for the development and production of the main weapon system for a new generation of destroyers and air defense frigates. The system is aimed at a high level of unification and standardization and uses Aster 15 and Aster 30 missiles as damaging components. The system is intended mainly for the British T45 destroyers (where they bear the name Sea Viper) and the French and Italian frigates Horizon / Orizzorrte, as well as the latest frigates FREMM, although they are not directly part of the PAAMS air defense system. PAAMS is a very powerful integrated air defense system for the fleets of three countries: France, Italy and Great Britain. Now this system is well known from numerous and detailed descriptions. This air defense system, developed by major European manufacturers (MBDA, TAD, Leonardo and BAE), united in the EUROPAAMS consortium, is capable of performing three tasks simultaneously: self-defense of a frigate / destroyer, air defense of the local zone of a group of ships and medium-range air defense of a group of ships. From a technical point of view, the PAAMS system has many components in common with the FSAF systems (Famille de Systemes Anti-Aeriens Futurs - a family of promising surface-to-air missiles) developed by MBDA. In particular, the Aster 30 missile is also the main armament of the SAMP / T complex (Sol-Air Moyenne Portee / Terrestre - anti-aircraft missile system with medium-range surface-to-air missiles) along with the Arabel X-band detection and tracking radar.
Air defense systems from the Eurosam consortium are based on a modular principle, special modules or "building blocks" can be combined in different combinations to fine-tune each system. The basic system consists of one multifunctional radar system, a command and control center with computers of the Magician and workstations of Magics operators, and a vertical launch facility. Additional subsystems can be added in order to optimize the capabilities of the base system and perform special tasks, for example, the defense of an extended zone and or the fight against ballistic missiles.
The Norwegian company Kongsberg, in collaboration with Raytheon, offers one of the most advanced and flexible medium-range air defense systems in the world. The NASAMS anti-aircraft missile system (an anti-aircraft version of the AIM-120 AMRAAM ground-launched air-to-air missile) is based mainly on the Patriot and HAWK XXI missile systems. The Norwegian Air Force became the first customer under the NASAMS (Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System) program. NASAMS complexes have shown themselves very successfully during NATO exercises with combat launches. It is currently reserved by the Norwegian Air Force for deployment in international crisis management operations. Finally, the Australian government announced in April 2017 that NASAMS 2 (now stands for National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System) will be deployed as part of the Land 19 Phase 7B project to create an air defense and missile defense system for the Australian army. Today, the NASAMS mobile air defense complex is in service with seven countries, including Norway and the United States (a small number of complexes are used for Washington air defense). On October 26, 2017, a contract was signed with the Ministry of Defense of Lithuania for the supply of two batteries of the NASAMS 2 air defense system.
The Danish company Terma offers an open and flexible architecture of an integrated air defense system, which allows the integration of new and existing sensor and actuator systems on a modular basis, as well as the replacement of individual launchers and subsystems into a single integrated and coordinated system. By delivering the automated command, control and information support system ACCIS-Flex to one of the European countries, Terma has thereby added a new user to its basic software platform T-Soge. This open and flexible future-proof solution allows the use of existing and new sensors and actuators from various manufacturers, including the ability to easily add or replace sensors and actuators, while simply adding or replacing software interface components. With the modular software platform T-Core, Terma offers a general set of operational control that meets these requirements. Terma has been supplying the military and civil air traffic control services with tactical command and control systems for over 30 years.
Sweden, in turn, has also developed a specialized integrated air defense system BAMSE SRSAM. The main idea of the BAMSE SRSAM complex is to optimize the impact of the system through several coordinated launchers, which together cover an area of more than 2,100 km2. The RBS-23 BAMSE anti-aircraft missile system includes a powerful surveillance radar station Giraffe AMB, operating as a radar and as a combat control system, a launch control system MSS and a launcher with six missiles ready for launch. The BAMSE complex has a simple and user-friendly interface, which makes it possible to reduce its calculation to a minimum.
In short, today there is no effective integrated air defense without its own specialized computers that command everything! Perhaps an elegant way to defeat a complex and powerful echeloned anti-missile shield will be … cyber war? Another victory of the human mind over brute muscle strength?
The first part of the article:
Modern Integrated Air Defense Systems: Is Absolutely Reliable Air Defense Possible? Part 1
