Perhaps the military-industrial complex of Russia has recently become one of the most dynamically developing industries in the country. In past materials, we have already talked about some promising developments in this area. However, any novelties, even if they are reaching the finish line, but have not yet been launched into the series, leave the spiteful critics room for criticism of the Russian defense industry - they say, all these are nothing more than interesting projects, but in fact, the army still uses technology that was born in Soviet Union. Yes, and not the most friendly foreign policy situation makes us sometimes think about whether our country has the time that will pass before the adoption of modern models for service. Will you have to use outdated models in battle if there is a conflict in the near future? Therefore, this time we will talk about equipment that meets the requirements of today, which is already being supplied to the Russian armed forces.
Military cargo transportation
Fighting is not only about gunfights, air strikes and armored vehicle clashes. This is a whole complex of measures, one of which is the operational transfer of troops to the desired point. For this purpose, it is effective to use military transport aircraft. For a long time, this task was performed by Il-76 aircraft, which had been produced since the 70s of the last century. They managed to prove themselves in the best way in business not only as part of our army, but also in the armed forces of other countries of the post-Soviet space, as well as Algeria, India, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria, China and other states.
Nevertheless, constructively, the Il-76 can hardly be called a modern aircraft. But this is not even the main problem. As often happened with military equipment of the times of the USSR, with the collapse of the Union, the production of the 76s remained outside of Russia - in this case, in Uzbekistan. In 2005, for example, this nuance did not allow us to fulfill our obligations to produce and supply 38 of these aircraft to China. At the same time, the Russian leadership took care of organizing the assembly of the modernized version of the Il-76 on its own territory, and since 2006 the Ulyanovsk plant "Aviastar-SP" has been engaged in this.
At the same time, there was no question of transferring production, we were creating a new aircraft, based on the drawings used in Tashkent at the early stages of the Il-76 production, and on the current model of the aircraft, delivered specifically for various measurements. “There were some funny moments,” recalls the deputy head of the project, Sergei Bondarenko. - The radar antenna, located under the cockpit, and its fairing were made in accordance with the dimensions that we copied from the classic "Ila". But as soon as the test flights began, it turned out that the radar in motion was "scraping" against the fairing and gradually rubbing it. It was not possible to find out why the old aircraft did not have such a problem, but the St. Petersburg company "Kotlin-Novator", which created avionics for the new modification, received the task to slightly raise the heel of the locator. It took additional time for revision and subsequent certification actions, but we solved the problem."
It is not surprising that in the end the new aircraft, named Il-76MD-90A, resembled its Tashkent ancestor rather only outwardly. The transport has been extensively redesigned. Due to the use of one-piece long panels, it was possible to create wings without a joint in the middle, which not only increased their resource, but also, in conjunction with new engines and a reinforced chassis, increased the carrying capacity of the apparatus. The maximum take-off weight increased by 20 tons - up to 210, and the possible payload began to reach 60 tons against 48 in the IL-76.
The new engines are 12 percent more economical than the previous ones, which provides a significant increase in the flight range without refueling (from 4,000 to 5,000 kilometers with a load of 52 tons). And the takeoff run length of the Ulyanovsk aircraft with the maximum takeoff weight, on the contrary, was reduced by 150 meters.
Analog flight and navigation complex, automatic control system and instruments in the cockpit have been completely replaced with digital ones. A satellite system appeared.
This year, Aviastar has already produced two aircraft under the order of the Ministry of Defense, the third is next in line. In 2016, production capacity is promised to be brought out by 6 aircraft per year, and in 2018 - by 18 units per year. In total, under the terms of the state order, the troops will receive 39 such aircraft. In addition, on the basis of the Il-76MD-90A, a new air tanker is being developed, as well as a Premier spy plane.
The closest foreign analogue of the Ulyanovsk aircraft is the American C-17 Globemaster III, the production of which started in 1991 and will officially end exactly in 2015. Over the years, two and a half hundred of these aircraft rolled off the assembly line, which can be found in the armies of the USA, Australia, Canada, India, Great Britain and other countries.
The devices are very similar in their capabilities. The American has a higher carrying capacity - the maximum payload is about 78 tons. However, the standard load of 56 tons is comparable to ours - 52 tons. At the same time, despite the large carrying capacity of the S-17, it is slightly inferior to the Ulyanovsk Ilu in terms of infantry capacity: 102 paratroopers versus 126 or 144 soldiers versus 145 (and when installing the second deck - 225!), Respectively. When using planes as mobile hospitals, our unit will also fit a little more casualties.
But the main advantage of the Russian aircraft is its simplicity. Landing on ice or ground without preparation, in the absence of ground navigation, and in difficult climatic conditions is a task that is feasible for an Ulyanovsk citizen, but inaccessible to gentle foreign samples.
Element in service
Descending from heaven to earth, it is worth talking about new multiple launch rocket systems - the main fire support of motorized rifle troops. Our country has always been famous for its MLRS, which cost only Katyusha. However, over time, we began to lose leadership in this segment, and the Grad systems, produced from 1960 to 1988, remained the best equipment in service with the Russian army. MLRS "Tornado" are called upon to bridge the growing gap and take over their baton.
The Tornadoes were ready back in 2012, but the then Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov closed the project, considering them initially outdated and not too seriously modernized versions of the Grad. The ground forces reacted with surprise to this decision. The Grads and Hurricanes in service could hardly meet modern requirements, and the large-caliber Smerchs could not be used at the battalion-brigade level.
Calling the Tornado systems, which were nevertheless put into service in 2014, as “slightly modernized versions” of the previous MLRS, does not dare. Designed to destroy open and sheltered manpower, armored vehicles, artillery and mortar batteries and command posts of a potential enemy, the installations have a modular structure and are produced in three versions: U "for the" Hurricane "caliber of 220 millimeters and the" Tornado-S "for the largest 300-millimeter shells that the" Smerch "fires. The modules necessary for a specific task are placed on a unified chassis, which greatly facilitates the maintenance of the systems (before there were separate chassis for "Tornadoes" and "Hurricanes", and there were already three of them for "Grads").
Analog and mechanical sighting systems of the former MLRS in the "Tornado" are replaced by digital ones, which facilitates the exchange of information between the commander and the crew of the launcher. The on-board computer allows you to fire without preliminary topogeodetic referencing of the machine, aiming directly from the cockpit. The MLRS crew was reduced to two people.
But the changes in the lethality look even more interesting. According to the developers themselves, Tornado-G is 15 times more efficient than Grad. It was possible to achieve such impressive results by working on the shells: instead of fuel checkers, they began to use composite fuel. Largely due to this, it was possible to increase the firing range by 2, 5 times - from 40 kilometers to 90-100. The shells themselves, the body of which is a high-strength thin-walled tube, have become cheaper and easier to manufacture.
The time required for the next volley was significantly reduced: from seven to three minutes. Ammunition is enough for three volleys. As for each of them, Tornado-G fires 40 missiles in 38 seconds, and preparation for firing a vehicle that has taken up a position takes one minute. At the same time, the released package of ammunition is capable of covering an area of 840,000 square meters versus 40,000 that the Grad could have previously hit.
And in order not to be hit by himself, the "Tornado" manages to retire 4-5 kilometers from the moment of the shot until the time the last shell reaches the target. The car can move at a speed of 60 kilometers per hour and cover 650 kilometers with a single refueling.
The main competitor of the "Tornado" abroad is the 227-mm MLRS HIMARS from the United States. Supporters of Serdyukov's decision to close the Tornado project explained their position precisely by its presence. In their opinion, the domestic development was inferior to the American one in two main parameters. First, it used half the caliber. And secondly, it had an insufficient firing range - HIMARS, when using ATACMS series ammunition, is capable of hitting a target at a distance of up to 270 kilometers, which is more than twice the maximum range of a Tornado shot.
However, skeptics miss two important points. Firstly, the caliber of its American counterpart is second only to the Tornado-G, while the Tornado-U is comparable to it, and the Tornado-S is even superior to it. Secondly, the shorter range only makes the Russian MLRS not so versatile, which is easily compensated for by working in a pair with the same Iskander, which, according to this indicator, will give American HIMARS a bang.
If we consider the MLRS from the point of view of the tasks for which they were conceived, that is, shelling a large area, then the reload time is extremely important here. And this is where the Russian system gains the upper hand - the installation from the United States requires a seven-minute break between volleys, and during this time the Tornado will have time to shoot three times and retire to a considerable distance.
