The new operational-tactical missile system (OTRK) "Iskander" for the Ground Forces, created at one of the leading enterprises of the domestic "defense" by the Design Bureau of Mechanical Engineering (KBM) from Kolomna near Moscow, is classified by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation "among the absolute priorities." The ground-to-ground complex is capable of solving all combat missions that are assigned to this class of weapons.
New items in our arsenal
In the next decade, the pace of equipping troops and forces with new types of equipment and weapons will increase significantly. Specific time lines have been determined when the face of our army and navy will be determined by the most modern means of armed struggle. It is important that the groundwork in this area has been created. Today we remind the reader about the operational-tactical missile system, the latest armored vehicles, one of the models of small-sized small arms, which not only are not inferior in combat characteristics to foreign counterparts, but in many cases are unique, leading in their class of weapons.
The OTRK is designed for covert preparation and delivery of effective missile strikes against both small-sized and area targets (enemy fire weapons, missile defense and air defense systems, aviation at airfields, and other objects). Its appearance in the troops significantly increases the capabilities of the Russian Armed Forces.
It should be noted that the Iskander OTRK developed and improved the ideas embodied in the Oka Oka OTRK developed by the KBM, which was destroyed in 1989 in accordance with the agreement between the USSR and the USA on intermediate and shorter-range missiles. According to some reports, then 360 missiles and 160 self-propelled launchers were eliminated.
The new missile system, equipped with two missiles, has a high fire performance. It allows you to fire at two different targets at intervals of one minute. When developing Iskander, all the requirements of the treaties on intermediate and shorter-range missiles and on the non-proliferation of missile technologies were met, which restrict Russia's right to export missiles with a range of more than 300 km and a payload weight of more than 500 kg.
The launch range of the Iskander OTRK is 50-300 km, the launch weight is 3.800 kg, and the payload is 480 kg. The flight trajectory is not ballistic and difficult to predict for the enemy. The rocket is controlled throughout the entire flight path. At the initial stage - with gas-dynamic control surfaces, then after acceleration - with aerodynamic ones. Immediately after the launch and immediately upon approaching the target, the rocket begins to vigorously maneuver, changing, among other things, the plane of fire, which, in particular, makes it difficult to control it from space.
Most of the flight path of a stealth missile with a small dispersion surface travels at an altitude of 50 km, reducing the likelihood of being hit both from below and from above. The invisible effect is achieved due to a combination of design features. In particular, - with special coatings of the structure, dropping of all its protruding parts immediately after the start, and others.
Depending on the type of trajectory, the overloads range from 20 to 30 g. To intercept an anti-missile missile must have an overload at least 2-3 times higher. All this creates very big problems for the developers of anti-Iskander systems.
In non-nuclear weapons, the missile can be equipped with cluster, high-explosive fragmentation and penetrating warheads. Experts say that the effectiveness of this missile is equivalent to a low-yield nuclear weapon.
The closest competitor of the Iskander OTRK is the American ATAKMS complex, as well as, to a lesser extent, the Chinese M9 missiles. The firing range of the basic version of the ATAKMS is 112-115 km, with modernization by reducing the weight of the warhead - up to 180 km. The principal difference is the significantly lower accuracy, which in the American complex can only be improved by the Navstar navigation system. In terms of missile defense, Iskander is the absolute leader.
The Russian complex is capable of working both with global navigation systems and autonomously, with homing heads operating on terrain maps. Initial information - aerial, photo or satellite images. All other operations - on the preparation of the flight task, its registration and others - are performed by the Iskander systems independently. In the case of using a seeker, the accuracy of the OTRK is measured in meters.
The missile system includes a transport-loading vehicle, a maintenance vehicle, a command-staff vehicle, an information preparation point, a set of arsenal equipment and training equipment.
