Since the end of September, Russian aviation has been participating in the fight against terrorist organizations in Syria. Numerous strikes are made against enemy targets using various aircraft weapons, including the newest. By now, some types of weapons have become known that are used to destroy terrorist targets. According to some reports, the fighting in Syria even became a testing ground for new weapons.
On October 3, RIA Novosti, citing an unnamed representative of the Russian Aerospace Forces, reported that Russian military aircraft were using bombs and missiles of several types. Among others, KAB-250 corrected aerial bombs are used. Due to a number of characteristic features, such a weapon is capable of hitting selected targets with great efficiency and causing damage to the enemy.
According to the source, the new ammunition, after being dropped from the carrier aircraft, adjusts its trajectory. To determine the relative position of the bomb and the target, the GLONASS satellite navigation system is used. This allows the bomb to be used at any time of the year, regardless of weather conditions. The used control systems ensure hitting the target with an accuracy of no more than 2-3 meters. All this makes it possible to destroy enemy targets without the risk of causing damage to the civilian population.
Bomb KAB-250 at the MAKS-2011 salon. Photo Missiles.ru
RIA Novosti writes that the carriers of the KAB-250 bombs are Su-34 front-line bombers. These vehicles are capable of dropping new bombs from heights of up to 5 km.
According to other sources, the newest bomb is currently being tested, but is not used as part of the operation in Syria. This, in particular, is reported by the TV channel "Zvezda". Thus, the issue of using KAB-250 products in Syria is still open and can be an excellent reason for disputes.
The information published in early October is of great interest. Until recently, there was no detailed information about the KAB-250 project. Only the most general information about this weapon was known, which allowed only speculation. According to RIA Novosti, this weapon has passed some preliminary tests and is already in trial operation, or has been adopted by the Aerospace Forces.
The existence of the promising KAB-250 adjustable aerial bomb became known in 2011. During the MAKS-2011 exhibition, the Tactical Missile Armament Corporation (KTRV) showed a model of this product. Then it was reported that the project of a new bomb was created in the State Scientific and Production Enterprise "Region". In addition, some of the most common characteristics were announced. So, the weight of the bomb was 250 kg, length - 3.2 m, diameter - 25.5 cm, wingspan - 55 cm.
The KTRV leadership said that the new ammunition is intended for arming promising aircraft. For example, it is possible to transport such bombs in the internal cargo compartments of the T-50 aircraft (PAK FA). In addition, other equipment will be able to use this weapon. The type of guidance systems was not specified at first, but later on, new information appeared on this score.
Back in November 2008, a patent of the Russian Federation No. 2339905 "Roll stabilized aircraft bomb with an inertial satellite guidance system" was published, obtained by the State Scientific and Production Enterprise "Region". The description and the image of the product attached to the patent made it possible to assume that the document was the result of work on a promising project and describes the design of the KAB-250 bomb. The patent, "found" by specialists shortly after the first demonstration of the bomb, made it possible to seriously update the existing picture, supplementing it with a lot of interesting details.
From the available data, it follows that the KAB-250 product has a standard architecture for such weapons. All the main equipment is located inside the cylindrical body with the ogival head fairing. On the side surface of the hull, in turn, X-shaped wings and rudders are installed. In the head part of the hull, a compartment is provided for accommodating guidance systems, the middle part is given under the warhead, and in the tail is part of the control equipment, primarily steering cars.
According to some sources, a promising bomb is equipped with a high-explosive fragmentation warhead weighing 127 kg. The remaining weight of the product falls on structural elements, control equipment, etc.
The patent No. 2339905 mentions curious features of the new project regarding the guidance systems used. Due to some circumstances, the authors of the project proposed using a combined guidance system that could significantly increase the accuracy of an attack on a selected target.
The patent notes that the maximum hitting accuracy of the order of 3-5 m is provided only if there are differential referencing stations with previously known coordinates. In the absence of such stations, the accuracy of the attack is noticeably reduced: deviation from the target can reach 20-30 m. In combat conditions, it is far from always possible to deploy referencing stations. For work in such conditions, a combined guidance system is proposed.
In order to improve the accuracy of hits, it is proposed to equip a bomb with a so-called. closer - an additional infrared homing head. Such equipment allows you to solve several existing problems. First of all, an infrared seeker-closer will greatly increase the accuracy. The second plus of this proposal is that there is no need to use an antenna for receiving differential corrections. In the latter case, the composition of the bomb equipment is reduced and significantly simplified.
The combined guidance system, proposed in patent No. 2339905, allows the bomb to be launched into the target area using signals from navigation satellites, after which, in order to improve accuracy, an infrared seeker should be turned on. It is he who must "bring" the bomb to the target. As a result, high hitting accuracy is ensured without the need for relatively sophisticated equipment. So, the patent notes that infrared seeker with a target search and lock range of no more than 2-3 km can be used as part of a bomb.
In the new project, it was decided to abandon the use of some components and assemblies, replacing them with more convenient analogues. So, the domestic bomb KAB-500S, according to available data, is equipped with an electric turbine generator, which generates energy under the action of the propellant gases of a special pyrotechnic cartridge. After the generator, the gases go to the steering cars, where they are used to control the rudders. The new project KAB-250, apparently, involves the use of simpler systems. So, for the power supply of electronics, it is proposed to equip the bomb with rechargeable batteries, and to equip the rudders with air-dynamic drives using an incoming air flow.
Scheme of a bomb from a patent
According to the patent, the use of a promising aerial bomb is as follows. Before dumping, the target coordinates are loaded into the product memory. They can be known in advance or determined by the carrier aircraft before using the weapon. After dropping due to the wings and the available speed, the bomb is directed to the target, adjusting the trajectory with the help of the rudders. At this stage, control is carried out by a satellite guidance system. At a distance of about 2-3 km, an infrared homing head with a pre-loaded target image is turned on. At a relatively short distance from the target, this seeker takes over control of the bomb and ensures the most accurate destruction of a given object.
It should be noted that in patent No. 2339905 there is no direct indication that it describes the product KAB-250. Nevertheless, some of the available data allow us to speak with some certainty about the similarity of the bomb from the exhibition and the product described in the patent. For example, during the MAKS-2011 show, the KAB-250 inert bomb was demonstrated with a cover cap for the seeker, which indicated the use of a transparent nose fairing and corresponding guidance systems. This feature of the presented sample made it possible to say that it should be equipped with an infrared seeker or other similar system with an optical coordinator.
According to the latest data, which has not yet received official confirmation, promising corrected aerial bombs KAB-250 are used to attack terrorist targets in Syria. It is already known about the use of KAB-500S bombs in this operation. Now, apparently, the range of weapons of the Russian Aerospace Forces has been replenished with another new type of weapon.
The use of guided weapons, including the KAB-250 and KAB-500S corrected bombs, makes it possible to attack targets with previously known coordinates with greater efficiency. Such weapons are capable of destroying small targets with minimal damage to surrounding objects or civilians. In addition, it is able to reduce the number of required aircraft sorties and ammunition consumption.
RIA Novosti reports that since the beginning of October, Russian aviation has been using guided bombs of 250 kg caliber. It is possible that the results of the use of such ammunition have already been published in the form of one of the videos of the Ministry of Defense. The available video materials clearly show the high efficiency of domestic guided bombs, including, possibly, the newest KAB-250.
