The experience gained by the end of the 1950s in the operation of the first anti-aircraft missile systems showed that they were of little use to combat low-flying targets. This became especially clear when experiments began to overcome air defense systems by aircraft at low altitude. In this regard, a number of countries have begun to research and develop compact low-altitude anti-aircraft missile systems (SAM) designed to cover both stationary and mobile objects. The requirements for them in different armies, were in many ways similar, but, first of all, they equally asserted that the air defense system should be extremely automated and compact, placed on no more than two high-cross-country vehicles (otherwise, their deployment time would be unacceptably long).
"Mauler" SAM
The first such air defense system was supposed to be the American "Mauler", designed to repel attacks from low-flying aircraft and tactical missiles. All means of this air defense system were located on the tracked amphibious transporter M-113 and included a launcher with 12 missiles in containers, target detection and fire control equipment, radar guidance system antennas and a power plant. It was assumed that the total mass of the air defense system will be about 11 tons, which will ensure the possibility of its transportation by airplanes and helicopters. However, already at the initial stages of development and testing, it became clear that the initial requirements for the "Mauler" were put forward with excessive optimism. So, the single-stage rocket created for it with a semi-active radar homing head with a launch weight of 50 - 55 kg was supposed to have a range of up to 15 km and a speed of up to 890 m / s. …
As a result, the development turned out to be doomed to failure, and in July 1965, having spent more than $ 200 million, Mauler was abandoned in favor of implementing more pragmatic air defense programs based on the use of the Side-Duinder aircraft missile, automatic anti-aircraft guns and the results of similar developments, made by firms in Western Europe.
The pioneer in this area was the British company "Short", where, on the basis of research on the replacement of anti-aircraft guns on small ships, in April 1958, work was launched on the "Sea Cat" missile with a range of up to 5 km. This missile was supposed to become the main part of a compact, a cheap and relatively simple air defense system. At the beginning of 1959, without waiting for the start of its mass production, the system was adopted by the ships of Great Britain, and then Australia, New Zealand, Sweden and a number of other countries. speed 200 - 250 m / s and placed on tracked or wheeled armored personnel carriers, as well as on trailers. In the future, "Taygerkat" was in service in more than 10 countries.
In turn, in anticipation of the Mauler, in the UK the British Aircraft company began work in 1963 on the creation of the ET 316 air defense missile system, which later received the designation Rapier..
Today, several decades later, it should be admitted that the ideas laid down in the Mauler were implemented to the greatest extent in the Soviet Osa air defense system, despite the fact that its development was also very dramatic and was accompanied by a change in both program leaders and organizations. - developers.
SAM 9KZZ "Osa"
The creation of the 9KZZ "Osa" air defense system began on October 27, 1960. A government decree adopted on that day prescribed the creation of military and naval versions of a small-sized autonomous air defense system with a 9MZZ unified missile weighing 60 - 65 kg. This self-propelled air defense system was intended for air defense of troops and their facilities in the combat formations of a motorized rifle division in various forms of combat, as well as on the march. Among the main requirements for the "Wasp" was full autonomy, which would be ensured by the location of the main assets of the air defense missile system - a detection station, a launcher with six missiles, communications, navigation and topography, control, computers and power supplies on one self-propelled wheeled floating landing gear, and the ability to detect in motion and defeat from short stops low-flying targets suddenly appearing from any direction (at ranges from 0.8 to 10 km, at altitudes from 50 to 5000 m).
NII-20 (now NIEMI) - chief designer of the air defense missile system M. M. Lisichkin and KB-82 (Tushinsky machine-building plant) - chief designer of the air defense missile system A. V. Potopalov and leading designer M. G. Ollo were appointed as the lead developers. The original plans provided for the completion of work on the "Wasp" by the end of 1963.
However, the problematicness of achieving such high requirements for the possibilities available at that time, as well as a large number of innovations adopted at the initial stage of development, led to the fact that the developers met with considerable objective difficulties. developed by various organizations. Trying to solve the problems that arose, the developers gradually abandoned a number of the most advanced, but not yet provided with an appropriate production base, technical solutions. The radar means of detecting and tracking targets with phased antenna arrays, a semi-active radar homing missile, combined with an autopilot into a so-called multifunctional unit, did not come out of the paper or experimental stage. The latter literally "scattered" the rocket.
Rocket 9M33M3
At the initial design stage, based on the value of the launch mass of the rocket, KB-82 assumed that with this unit, the mass of which was estimated at 12-13 kg, the rocket would have high guidance accuracy, allowing to ensure the required effectiveness of hitting targets with a warhead weighing 9.5 kg. In the remaining incomplete 40 kg, the propulsion system and control system had to be inscribed.
But already at the initial stage of work, the creators of the equipment almost doubled the mass of the multifunctional unit, and this forced the switch to the use of the radio command guidance method, which accordingly reduced the guidance accuracy. The characteristics of the propulsion system included in the project turned out to be unrealistic - a 10% shortage of energy required an increase in the fuel supply. The launch mass of the rocket reached 70 kg. To remedy this situation, KB-82 began to develop a new engine, but time was lost.
During 1962 - 1963, at the Donguz test site, they performed a series of throw launches of prototypes of missiles, as well as four autonomous missile launches with a full set of equipment. Positive results were achieved in only one of them
Problems were also caused by the developers of the combat vehicle of the complex - the self-propelled launcher "1040", created by the designers of the Kutaisi Automobile Plant together with specialists from the Military Academy of Armored Forces. By the time it entered testing, it became clear that its mass also exceeded the established limits.
On January 8, 1964, the Soviet government created a commission that was instructed to provide the necessary assistance to the developers of the Wasp. and P. D. Grushin. Based on the results of the commission's work, on September 8, 1964, a joint resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR was issued, according to which KB-82 was released from work on the 9MZZ rocket and its development was transferred to OKB-2 (now MKB Fakel) PD. Grushin. At the same time, a new deadline for the presentation of the air defense system for joint tests was set - the P quarter of 1967.
The experience that the OKB-2 specialists had by that time, their creative search for solutions to design and technological problems made it possible to achieve impressive results, despite the fact that the rocket had to be developed practically from scratch. In addition, OKB-2 proved that the requirements for the rocket in 1960 were overly optimistic. As a result, the most critical parameter of the previous assignment - the mass of the rocket - was practically doubled.
Among others, an innovative technical solution was applied. In those years it was known that for maneuverable low-altitude rockets the most suitable aerodynamic configuration "duck" - with the front location of the rudders. But the air flow, disturbed by the deflected rudders, further affected the wings, generating unwanted roll disturbances, the so-called "oblique blowing moment". In principle, it was impossible to cope with it by the differential deflection of the rudders for roll control. It was required to install ailerons on the wings and, accordingly, equip the rocket with an additional power drive. But on a small-sized rocket there was no extra volume and a reserve of mass for them.
PD Grushin and his staff ignored the "oblique blowing moment", allowing a free roll - but only the wings, not the entire rocket 'The wing block was fixed on the bearing assembly, the moment was practically not transmitted to the rocket body.
For the first time, the latest high-strength aluminum alloys and steel were used in the design of the rocket, three front compartments with equipment to ensure tightness were made in the form of a single welded monoblock. Solid fuel engine - dual mode. The telescopic two-channel solid fuel charge located at the nozzle block created maximum thrust during combustion at the launch site, and the front charge with a cylindrical channel - moderate thrust in cruising mode.
The first launch of the new version of the rocket took place on March 25, 1965, and in the second half of 1967, Osu was presented for joint state tests. At the Emba test site, a number of fundamental shortcomings were revealed and in July 1968 the tests were suspended. This time, among the main shortcomings, the customers pointed to the unsuccessful layout of the combat vehicle with the air defense system elements spaced out on the body and its low operational characteristics. With the linear arrangement of the missile launcher and the radar antenna post at the same level, the firing of low-flying targets behind the car was excluded, at the same time, the launcher significantly limited the radar field of view in front of the car. As a result, the object "1040" had to be abandoned, replacing it with the more lifting chassis "937" of the Bryansk Automobile Plant, on the basis of which it was possible to constructively combine a radar station and a launcher with four missiles into a single device.
Director of NIEMI V. P. Efremov was appointed the new chief designer of "Wasp", and M. Drize was appointed his deputy. Despite the fact that work on the Mauler had stopped by that time, the developers of the Wasp were still determined to see the case through. A large role in its success was played by the fact that in the spring of 1970 at the Embensky training ground for preliminary (and additional to firing tests) assessment of the processes of functioning of the "Wasp" they created a semi-natural modeling complex.
The final stage of testing began in July, and on October 4, 1971, the Osu was put into service. In parallel with the final stage of state tests, the developers of the complex began to modernize the air defense system. with the aim of expanding the zone affected by it and increasing the combat effectiveness ("Osa-A", "Osa-AK" with the 9MZM2 missile). The most significant improvements of the air defense system at this stage were 'increasing the number of missiles placed on a combat vehicle in transport and launch containers to six, improving the noise immunity of the complex, increasing the missile's service life, reducing the minimum target destruction height to 27 m.
Osa-AK
In the course of further modernization, which began in November 1975, the air defense missile system received the designation "Osa-AKM" (9MZMZ missile), its main advantage was the effective defeat of helicopters hovering or flying at practically "zero" altitude, as well as small-sized RPVs. The Osa-AKM, which was put into service in 1980, acquired these qualities earlier than its counterparts, which appeared later, the French Cro-tal and the Franco-German Roland-2.
Osa-AKM
Soon, "Osu" was first used in hostilities. In April 1981, while repelling bomb attacks on Syrian troops in Lebanon, the missiles of this air defense missile system shot down several Israeli planes. The Osa air defense missile system retained its high efficiency even in the presence of intense interference, which made it necessary to combat it, along with electronic warfare means, to use a variety of tactics, which in turn reduced the effectiveness of strike aviation.
Twin launcher ZIF-122 SAM Osa-M
In the future, military experts from almost 25 states, where these air defense systems are currently in service, were able to assess the high characteristics of various versions of the Osa air defense system and its ship version of the Osa-M. The last of them to receive this effective weapon, which in terms of cost and efficiency is still among the world leaders, was Greece.
