Not so long ago it became known that one of the unique samples of special equipment of domestic development in the near future will begin to be used as a teaching aid. According to the domestic press, next year the military-industrial corporation "Scientific and Production Association of Mechanical Engineering" (Reutov) will transfer to several universities electronic warfare systems based on a plasma generator. This equipment was once developed for the Meteorite cruise missiles, which never went into production. In the original project, the equipment of the original type did not give the expected results, but in the foreseeable future it will be able to contribute to the further development of technologies, equipment and weapons.
Recall that the Meteorite project was launched in the mid-seventies of the last century and was developed by several organizations headed by OKB-52 (now NPO Mashinostroyenia). Also, the Research Institute of Thermal Processes (now the Research Center named after M. V. Keldysh) was involved in the work, which was supposed to develop electronic equipment for electronic countermeasures. The electronic warfare complex for a promising rocket included a plasma generator, with the help of which a cloud of ionized gas was created in the front hemisphere. This "shell" of the missile nose made it possible to reduce the likelihood of its detection by radar stations.
It is expected that the transfer of unique samples of radio-electronic equipment, which are to become teaching aids, will, to a certain extent, contribute to the training of young specialists. It is quite possible that in the future, scientists and designers, who at one time studied the plasma generators of the Meteorite rocket, will use similar technologies in their new projects. It should be noted that the use of plasma and the equipment that generates it has some prospects and can find application in new models of military equipment or weapons.
Rocket "Meteorite". Photo Testpilot.ru
In the context of the practical application of "plasma" technologies, one should first recall the project of the Meteorite cruise missile, during which the first domestic plasma generator suitable for practical operation was created. Together with other means of electronic warfare, the rocket was supposed to use the so-called. plasma cannon. If it was necessary to counteract the enemy's radar, the rocket should automatically turn on the appropriate generator, which creates a plasma cloud in the front hemisphere.
Due to its characteristic properties, the ionized gas interfered with the normal operation of radar equipment. Depending on various factors, the "plasma cannon" could hide the missile or prevent an enemy station from capturing or escorting the missile. In addition to reducing the level of the reflected signal, the plasma made it possible to "mask" the compressor of the turbojet engine. This element of the aircraft has a characteristic shape and reflects the radio signal, but at the same time, in principle, it cannot be reworked in order to reduce the visibility. In the "Meteorite" project, the problem of hiding the compressor was solved in the most interesting way.
The "plasma cannon" for the new cruise missile has reached the testing stage. This equipment was installed on experimental Meteorite rockets, together with which they were tested at test ranges. The electronic warfare complex, including plasma equipment, showed very high performance. When observing the flight of a rocket using existing radars, at least a violation of tracking and target tracking was observed. Also, there was a disappearance of the mark from the screen.
Over the past years, both in our country and abroad, persistent rumors have been circulating about the possible creation of promising aircraft models equipped with plasma generators. It is expected that the use of such equipment will sharply reduce the visibility of the aircraft for enemy air defense. Such technologies are of interest in the context of strike aircraft and missile technology. So, in the field of cruise missiles, camouflage with the help of a plasma cloud has already been tested during tests carried out by Soviet specialists in the eighties of the last century.
There is information about another method of using plasma generators as part of aviation or rocket technology. An interesting feature of an ionized gas is the change in its physical properties. In particular, it has a reduced density, which can be used to enhance the performance of missiles or aircraft. According to rumors, Russian and Chinese aircraft manufacturers are currently conducting experiments in which aircraft are equipped with special plasma generators. The task of this equipment is to create a plasma "shell" around the outer surface of the aircraft. The result should be a reduction in visibility and a certain improvement in flight performance.
In another area of "application", the formation of plasma is a side effect that can be used for one purpose or another. It is known that when an aircraft moves at hypersonic speeds, a shell of ionized gas is formed around it. In this case, atmospheric air is heated due to friction and the conversion of kinetic energy into heat. An interesting consequence of this feature of hypersonic technology is the possibility of rejecting specialized generators: their role can be a case with the required resistance to thermal and mechanical loads.
The use of plasma generators in order to reduce visibility or improve flight characteristics has already been studied to a certain extent, but it still remains a matter of the distant future. For the full use of these technologies, new research is required, the results of which will create promising projects. Nevertheless, some methods of using plasma are already used in existing technology, however, the effect of them may not be so noticeable and attention-grabbing.
AL-41F1S turbojet engine equipped with a plasma ignition system. Photo Vitalykuzmin.net
In the latest domestic projects of turbojet engines intended for advanced aircraft, the so-called. plasma ignition. The use of such a system for ignition of the air-fuel mixture makes it possible to increase the operational characteristics of equipment, as well as to simplify its design and make maintenance less complicated. All these advantages are achieved with the help of several ideas, primarily the use of a plasma arc, which initiates the combustion of fuel.
Previously, to increase altitude or to launch at high altitudes, turbojet engines were equipped with an oxygen make-up system, supplying the necessary gas to the combustion chamber. The use of an oxygen system to a certain extent complicates the design of the aircraft, and also requires an appropriate airfield infrastructure. The requirements for the "Advanced Aviation Complex of Frontline Aviation" (PAK FA) project set the task of eliminating the need for oxygen supply. The combustion chamber and afterburner nozzles of the new engines have their own plasma systems. When fuel is supplied, an arc is formed, with the help of which it is ignited. As a result, there is no need for additional oxygen supply.
In theory, plasma can be used not only for supporting roles. Several decades ago, research and experiments were carried out in our country, the topic of which was the use of a cloud of ionized gas as a damaging element. Similar principles could be used in missile defense in order to destroy the warheads of enemy missiles. Nevertheless, the original method of missile defense has not been brought to practical use, and its prospects at the moment are in serious doubt.
The original concept of missile defense implied the use of standard radar detection systems in combination with unusual missile defense systems. It was proposed to include several so-called ones in the complex of military equipment. plasmoid guns, consisting of plasma generators and bus conductors. The task of the latter was to accelerate a bunch of ionized gas. Depending on the assigned combat mission and the parameters of the equipment, the complex could send a jet, a diverging flow or toroidal plasma clots to the target. The latter were named "plasmoids".
According to the calculations of the authors of the idea, a complex of combat equipment could send toroids at the highest possible speed to an altitude of up to 50 km. The task of the control systems and the combat complex was to send plasma clots to the lead point of the enemy missile's flying warhead. It was assumed that upon contact between the plasmoid and the warhead, the latter would encounter serious disturbances in the flow. Getting into a cloud with different physical parameters was supposed to lead to the convergence of the warhead from a given trajectory. In addition, the unit had to be subjected to overloads, including those beyond the limit, destroying it.
In the past, it was proposed to build a prototype of a plasma missile defense system and test it using simulators of warheads. Nevertheless, due to the complexity, high cost and the presence of various problems, the original proposal was never tested in practice.
All proposals for the use of plasma and installations creating it in the field of weapons and military equipment are of great interest in the context of their further development. However, the use of all ideas and suggestions in practice can be associated with a number of inherent problems. All these disadvantages are associated with both technological features and problems in the field of practical application. Thus, in order to master promising equipment, it is necessary to solve a number of complex design problems, as well as to form methods of using technology that would allow obtaining the highest possible efficiency.
Diagram of a missile defense complex using plasmoids. Figure E-reading.club
Perhaps the most noticeable problem with plasma generators with the required characteristics is their high power consumption. To create a cloud of ionized gas, the executive bodies of special equipment require an appropriate power supply. Equipping an aircraft with an electric generator of the required power is itself an engineering challenge. Without its solution, the aircraft or rocket will not be able to use the plasma generator and, as a result, will not receive the required capabilities.
It should be noted that within the framework of the old project "Meteorite", the designers of OKB-52 and related organizations successfully solved the problem of power supply for the "plasma cannon". The results of this are well known: the missile has become an extremely difficult target for enemy air defense systems.
The use of a plasma cloud to camouflage an aircraft is of great interest in the context of a hidden breakthrough to the intended targets, but this technology also has some operational problems. Becoming a screen for the radiation of enemy radar systems, the plasma "shell" will necessarily interfere with the operation of the aircraft's own electronic devices or other aircraft. As a result, there may be communication problems or the full use of the airborne radar may be excluded. Thus, the original equipment for reducing the signature will require the creation of new methods of combat use of aircraft equipment or weapons.
Another challenge for designers and scientists is to protect the aircraft structure from ionized high-temperature gas. In the case of hypersonic aircraft, this problem is solved already at the stage of creating their gliders, initially adapted to such loads. "Conventional" combat aircraft and missiles are still flying at a lower speed and, as a result, do not need special protection from high ambient temperatures.
Thus, for the full use of plasma generators that surround the aircraft with a cloud of ionized gas, an appropriate airframe design is required to exclude the negative effect of the "shell" on the skin and other elements of the aircraft.
To date, plasma physics has been sufficiently studied so that ionized gas can be used in practice for one purpose or another. Some areas of application of plasma generators have already been studied and determined, and the advantages that such equipment can give are known. Nevertheless, the unusual technologies have not yet reached full-fledged practical application. Individual samples of this class have already been tested both independently and as part of larger products. Some devices using the principles of plasma formation are already close to the beginning of operation.
One of the samples of special equipment that has come down to tests and checks in practice is the so-called. plasma cannon for cruise missiles. According to the latest reports of the domestic press, unclaimed samples of such equipment should become teaching aids next year. The surviving products are planned to be handed over to several leading technical universities in the country. It is possible that the use of plasma generators in the training of young specialists will in one way or another contribute to the further development of technologies. With a successful development of events in the future, new technologies will not only be studied and tested, but also used in projects with real prospects.
