“But we cannot tell you about the second car that you indicated in your fax. The secrecy label has not yet been removed from it, "- the person at the other end of the wire was not at ease even to pronounce the name of the self-propelled laser complex 1K17" Compression"
FSUE NPO Astrofizika, within whose walls this impressive installation was developed, refused to give any comments about its design, principle of operation, tactical tasks and technical characteristics.
Meanwhile, our interest was not aroused by contempt for state secrets. We saw and freely photographed the SLK "Compression" in the Military-Technical Museum, recently opened in the village of Ivanovsky, Moscow Region. There, a rare exhibit is also exhibited without annotation. They say that a decommissioned copy in a very depressing state was handed over to the museum by a military unit near Kolomna. The local warriors did not tell about the purpose of the apparatus: not because it was secret, but because they themselves somehow did not think about it. Otherwise they would not have given it.
We tried to figure out why the "laser tank" needs sixteen "eyes" and how secret is what is put on public display under the seal of secrecy.
Stiletto: Dead Souls
The second half of the 20th century can rightfully be called the era of laser euphoria. The theoretical advantages of a laser weapon capable of striking a target with direct fire at the speed of light, regardless of wind and ballistics, were obvious not only to science fiction writers. The first working prototype of the laser was created in 1960, and already in 1963 a group of specialists from the Vympel design bureau began to develop an experimental laser locator LE-1. It was then that the backbone of scientists of the future NPO Astrophysics was formed. In the early 1970s, the specialized laser design bureau finally took shape as a separate enterprise, received its own production facilities and a test bench. An interdepartmental research center of OKB "Raduga" was created, hiding from prying eyes and ears in the numbered city of Vladimir-30.
In 1978, the NPO Astrofizika was formed, the post of general designer in which was taken by Nikolai Dmitrievich Ustinov, the son of the USSR Minister of Defense Dmitry Ustinov. It is difficult to say whether this affected the already successful development of NGOs in the field of military lasers. One way or another, already in 1982, the first self-propelled laser complex 1K11 Stilet was put into service with the Soviet army.
The Stiletto was designed to disable the optoelectronic targeting systems of the enemy's weapons. Its potential targets are tanks, self-propelled artillery units and even low-flying helicopters. Having detected the target by means of radar, "Stilett" produced its laser sounding, trying to detect optical equipment by means of flare lenses. Precisely localizing the "electronic eye", the device hit it with a powerful laser pulse, blinding or burning out a sensitive element (photocell, light-sensitive matrix or even the retina of an aiming soldier's eye).
The combat laser was guided horizontally by turning the turret, vertically - using a system of precisely positioned large-sized mirrors. The accuracy of the Stiletto's aiming is beyond doubt. To get an idea of it, it is enough to remember that the laser locator LE-1, with which NPO Astrophysics began, was able to direct 196 laser beams into the target space in a split second - a ballistic missile flying at a speed of 4–5 km / s.
The 1K11 laser system was mounted on the GMZ chassis (tracked mine layer) of the Sverdlovsk Uraltransmash plant. Only two machines were manufactured, differing from each other: during the tests, the laser part of the complex was finalized and changed.
Formally, the Stilett SLK is still in service with the Russian army and, according to the historical brochure of the Astrophysics Scientific and Production Association, meets the modern requirements of conducting tactical defense operations. But sources at Uraltransmash claim that copies of 1K11, except for two experimental ones, were not assembled at the plant. A couple of decades later, both cars were found disassembled, with the laser part removed. One is being disposed of in a sump of the 61st BTRZ near St. Petersburg, the second is at a tank repair plant in Kharkov.
"Sanguine": at the zenith
The development of laser weapons at NPO Astrofizika proceeded at a Stakhanovian pace, and already in 1983, the Sanguine SLK was put into service. Its main difference from the Stiletto was that the combat laser was aimed at the target without the use of large-sized mirrors. The simplification of the optical scheme had a positive effect on the lethality of the weapon. But the most important improvement was the increased vertical mobility of the laser. "Sanguine" was intended to destroy the optical-electronic systems of air targets.
The shot resolution system specially developed for the complex allowed him to successfully shoot at moving targets. During the tests, the Sanguine SLK has demonstrated the ability to stably identify and strike the optical systems of a helicopter at ranges of more than 10 km. At close distances (up to 8 km), the device completely disabled the enemy's sights, and at maximum ranges it blinded them for tens of minutes.
The Sanguina laser complex was installed on the chassis of the Shilka self-propelled anti-aircraft gun. In addition to the combat laser, a low-power probing laser and a targeting system receiver were mounted on the turret, which recorded the reflections of the probe's beam from a glaring object.
Three years after the "Sanguine", the arsenal of the Soviet army was replenished with the shipborne laser complex "Aquilon" with a principle of action similar to the ground SLK. Sea-based has an important advantage over land-based: the power system of a warship can provide significantly more electricity for pumping a laser. This means that you can increase the power and rate of fire of the gun. Complex "Aquilon" was intended to destroy the optoelectronic systems of the enemy coast guard.
Squeeze: laser rainbow
SLK 1K17 "Compression" was put into service in 1992 and was much more perfect than the "Stilet". The first difference that catches the eye is the use of a multichannel laser. Each of the 12 optical channels (upper and lower row of lenses) had an individual guidance system. The multichannel scheme made it possible to make the laser setup multi-band. As a countermeasure to such systems, the enemy could protect his optics with light filters that block radiation of a certain frequency. But the filter is powerless against simultaneous damage by beams of different wavelengths.
The lenses in the middle row are referred to as aiming systems. The small and large lenses on the right are the probing laser and the receiving channel of the automatic guidance system. The same pair of lenses on the left are optical sights: a small day and a large night one. The night sight was equipped with two laser rangefinder illuminators. In the stowed position, the optics of guidance systems, and the emitters were covered with armored shields.
The SLK "Compression" used a solid-state laser with pump fluorescent lamps. Such lasers are compact and reliable enough for use in self-propelled units. This is also evidenced by foreign experience: in the American system ZEUS, installed on the Humvee all-terrain vehicle and designed to "set fire" enemy mines at a distance, a laser with a solid working body was mainly used.
In amateur circles there is a bike about a 30-kilogram ruby crystal, grown especially for the "Compression". In fact, ruby lasers became obsolete almost immediately after their birth. Nowadays, they are used only for creating holograms and tattooing. The working fluid in 1K17 could well have been yttrium-aluminum garnet with neodymium additives. The so-called YAG lasers in pulsed mode are capable of delivering impressive power.
Generation in YAG occurs at a wavelength of 1064 nm. This is infrared radiation, which is less scattered than visible light in severe weather conditions. Due to the high power of a YAG laser on a nonlinear crystal, it is possible to obtain harmonics - pulses with a wavelength twice, three times, four times shorter than the original. Thus, multi-band radiation is generated.
The main problem with any laser is its extremely low efficiency. Even in the most modern and sophisticated gas lasers, the ratio of the radiation energy to the pump energy does not exceed 20%. Pump lamps require a lot of electricity. Powerful generators and an auxiliary power unit occupied most of the enlarged cabin of the 2S19 Msta-S self-propelled artillery unit (already rather big), on the basis of which the Szhatiye SLK was built. The generators charge the capacitor bank, which in turn delivers a powerful pulsed discharge to the lamps. It takes time to "fill" the capacitors. The rate of fire of the SLK "Compression" is, perhaps, one of its most mysterious parameters and, perhaps, one of the main tactical flaws.
In secret to the whole world
The most important advantage of laser weapons is direct fire. Independence from the whims of the wind and an elementary aiming scheme without ballistic corrections means an accuracy of fire that is inaccessible to conventional artillery. If you believe the official brochure of the NGO Astrophysics, which claims that the Sanguine could hit targets at a distance of over 10 km, the Squeeze range is at least twice the firing range of, say, a modern tank. This means that if a hypothetical tank approaches 1K17 in an open area, then it will be incapacitated before it opens fire. Sounds tempting.
However, direct fire is both the main advantage and the main disadvantage of laser weapons. Line of sight is required for it to work. Even if you are fighting in the desert, the 10-kilometer mark will disappear over the horizon. To greet guests with a blinding light, a self-propelled laser must be displayed on the mountain for everyone to see. In real life, this tactic is contraindicated. In addition, the overwhelming majority of theaters of military operations have at least some kind of relief.
And when the same hypothetical tanks are within a shot distance of the SLK, they immediately gain advantages in the form of rate of fire. "Compression" can neutralize one tank, but while the capacitors are charged again, the second will be able to avenge the blinded comrade. In addition, there are weapons that are much more long-range than artillery. For example, a Maverick missile with a radar (non-dazzle) guidance system is launched from a distance of 25 km, and observing the vicinity of the SLK on the mountain is an excellent target for it.
Do not forget that dust, fog, atmospheric precipitation, smoke screens, if they do not negate the effect of the infrared laser, then at least significantly reduce the range of its action. So the self-propelled laser complex has, to put it mildly, a very narrow area of tactical application.
Why were the SLK "Compression" and its predecessors born? There are many opinions on this. Perhaps these vehicles were considered as test benches for testing future military and military space technologies. Perhaps the country's military leadership was ready to invest in technologies, the effectiveness of which at that time seemed questionable, in the hope of empirically finding the superweapon of the future. Or maybe three mysterious cars with the letter "C" were born because Ustinov was the general designer. More precisely, the son of Ustinov.
There is a version that the SLK "Compression" is a weapon of psychological action. The mere possibility of the presence of such a machine on the battlefield makes gunners, observers, snipers be wary of optics under fear of losing their sight. Contrary to popular belief, "Compression" does not fall under the UN Protocol prohibiting the use of blinding weapons, as it is intended to destroy optoelectronic systems, not personnel. The use of weapons for which blinding people is a possible side effect is not prohibited.
This version partly explains the fact that news about the creation in the USSR of the most highly classified weapons, including the Stiletto and the Compression, quickly appeared in the free American press, in particular in the Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine.
