The photo shows the launch of the anti-aircraft version of the AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missile, carried out from the MML (Multi-Mission Launcher) in the USA on March 29, 2016. A few days earlier, a test launch of the FIM-92 missile defense system was carried out. In this case, you have an "extended" version of an inclined launcher with 15 transport and launch containers for various types of missiles. The MML can rotate 360 degrees in azimuth and 0-90 degrees in elevation. The ability to assume the vertical position of the launcher is of decisive importance during the massive use of tactical aviation and other means of enemy air attack from all air directions. Thus, the AIM-9X missile with a vertical launch will not use the over-the-shoulder target turnover mode, which spends precious seconds of the missile reaching the interception trajectory, for the FIM-92 it becomes possible to attack a target flying from any direction shooting "over the shoulder")
Among the promising military air defense and missile defense systems designed to cover stationary military installations, moving units of the ground forces, naval strike groups of the Navy in the littoral zone, as well as various strategic industrial facilities, in addition to short and long-range air defense systems, anti-aircraft missile systems have received great tactical importance. medium range. Their spread in the air defense of the Ground Forces is explained by excellent mobility, the small size and mass of the elements of the complexes (from the antenna post of the radar to the launcher), as well as the facilitated and faster process of reloading light ammunition with the help of specialized transport and launch-loading vehicles. For example, launchers of the 9A39M1 family of the Buk-M1 complexes, in addition to transporting four 9M38M1 missiles on the lower tier of fixed transport cradles, are capable of launching anti-aircraft missiles from the upper tier of inclined guides (4 pcs.), Which significantly reduces the rate of depletion of ammunition while repelling an air attack.
But modern trends towards the universalization of various types of missile weapons have not bypassed medium-range anti-aircraft missile systems. In the West, the US-Norwegian NASAMS SAM project is turning into such a multipurpose missile system.
For the multifunctional AN / MPQ-64 "Sentinel" radar, a mast placement of the antenna post is provided, thanks to which the NASAMS / NASAMS II and SL-AMRAAM air defense systems can use all the capabilities of the AIM-120 family of missiles to intercept low-altitude air attack weapons by increasing the radio horizon range
According to information published on March 24 on the website defensnews.com, the US Armed Forces launched an FIM-92 "Stinger" anti-aircraft missile from a new "home-made" multipurpose launcher MML (Multi-Mission Launcher) on the American air base Eglin. Also, according to the US Air Force, the new MML universal launcher will be able to launch AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missiles integrated into ground-based air defense systems, as well as AGM-114L Longbow Hellfire multipurpose air-to-ground missiles with active radar guidance. This means that a small inclined launcher, firstly, will be much stronger than the Stinger MANPADS in terms of positional air defense, and secondly, it can be used to deliver high-precision strikes with Longbow Hellfire missiles against fortified enemy ground targets, regardless of weather conditions and the use by the enemy of means of optical-electronic countermeasures or GPA, since the AGM-114L is equipped with ARGSN. The idea, of course, is ambitious, and allows even a small military unit equipped with an MML battery to simultaneously resist a ground enemy and provide its own self-defense from enemy airstrikes. But the ultimate goal of the US Armed Forces is to build on the basis of the MML an advanced short-range missile defense system for the destruction of all types of high-tech weapons, as well as various types of unguided rockets and artillery shells. The implementation of such an idea raises many technical questions due to the characteristics of the above types of missiles.
Launch of the FIM-92 SAM from the experimental TPK-PU MML. The modular platform of the universal launcher allows you to form a launch unit with any number of TPKs, designed to be placed on any type of off-road or truck transport, or a full-fledged installation of 15 cells. The installation can also be installed on surface ships of various displacement
First of all, it must be borne in mind that in order to detect, tie a track and hit targets such as "artillery shell" or "NURS", the air defense firearm must have a sufficiently powerful multifunctional radar for illumination and guidance of the G / X / Ka-band, providing high targeting accuracy for missiles, since its seeker may not "capture" a small-sized target with a too large error in the output of coordinates.
Therefore, on the agenda of the American Air Force specialists is the task of synchronizing the MML launcher with the AN / MPQ-64F2 "Sentinel 3D" multifunctional radar (MRLS), which is also used in the US-Norwegian NASAMS air defense system, and is referred to in some sources as AN / TPQ-64. This radar is developed on the basis of the AN / TPQ-36A "Firefinder" counter-battery artillery reconnaissance radar and has improved energy qualities, and also operates in the X-band, which allows it to detect small-sized artillery shells at considerable distances (15-18 km), accompany them to passage, as well as issue target designation to the available interception means. The presence of a passive HEADLIGHT provides a high throughput of the Sentinel 3D by tracking 60 air targets. The instrumental range is about 75 km, and the target detection range with an RCS of 2 m2 is up to 50 km, and the CD is 30 km. Apparently, thanks to the totality of all these qualities, it is the analogue of NASAMS - SL-AMRAAM that is an important link in Washington's echeloned air defense. Regarding the accuracy index of "Sentinel 3D", one can determine its similarity with our modern surveillance radar of the centimeter range 64L6 "Gamma-C1". The accuracy of determining the elevation coordinates of targets for the American and Russian radars is approximately the same (0, 17 degrees); in azimuth - Sentinel 0.2 deg, Gamma 0.25 deg, range accuracy 30 versus 50 m in favor of the American radar. This is quite enough for target designation of AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles used in NASAMS / SL-AMRAAM. The frequency of mechanical rotation of the AN / MPQ-64 antenna post is 0.5 rev / s, i.e. tactical information about the air situation at the operator's MFI AWS is updated every 2 seconds, which is enough to detect and assess the threat from mortar shells fired even from minimal distances.
But the fight against such air targets usually involves active or semi-active radar guidance of interceptor missiles, and from the multipurpose MML launcher for air defense purposes, it is supposed to use infrared AIM-9X and FIM-92, which are effective only against heat-contrast targets with a significant range of infrared radiation (jet stream TRDDF, ramjet, helicopter theaters). And, for example, 82 and 120-mm mortar shells have extremely small linear dimensions, and the initial departure speed of 211-325 m / s (760-1170 km / h) not only does not contribute to the heating of the projectile head, but moreover, - cools the block of stabilizers (empennage), heated during the detonation of the powder charge at the time of the shot. The dependence of the heating of the surface of the aircraft on the speed of its movement can be seen in the graph (Fig. Below).
Thus, the FIM-92B / C / E anti-aircraft guided missile of even the latest "Blocks" with a dual-band (IR / UV) seeker of the POST-RMP type immediately falls out of the category of an "effective interceptor" of an artillery shell. Even the introduction of a correction radio channel with a battery-operated Sentinel 3D radar will not allow hitting a miniature and cooling mine in flight, especially since the mass of the FIM-92 warhead (2, 3 kg) is insufficient to hit such an object even with a minimal miss.
The AIM-9X "Sidewinder" has a better chance of intercepting than the Stinger "Fimka". Here, to hit the target, in addition to the IKGSN, a non-contact laser fuse of the DSU-36/37 type is also used, which provides accurate detonation by laser radiation reflected from the target. Yes, and the sensitivity of the seeker itself is much higher than that of POST-RMP, it is capable of "capturing" a fighter-type target in a ZPS (against the background of free space) at a distance of up to 17 km, which indicates a better ability to detect a small low-contrast object of the " mine”, but at minimum distances. AIM-9X can perform a maneuver at close "capture" more successfully than FIM-92, because it is equipped with a gas-dynamic type thrust vector deflection system, which gives 1, 5 - 2 times greater available overloads; and the warhead has a mass of 9 kg. But even this does not make it a high-class means of combating projectiles, since for accurate detonation next to a mine by the reflected laser radiation of the fuse, an ideally close flight is needed, which neither the IKGSN nor the ground radar can implement.
The moment of the exit of the AIM-9X from the transport and launch container MML. Due to the versatility of the launcher, it uses exclusively "hot start" of any type of missile. The development of the MML project towards an increase in the ability to combat artillery shells and NURS can lead not only to the integration of SACM-T or AIM-120B / C, but also to the revival of previously closed projects on the Sidewnder family
First of all, this is the AIM-9R. In the photo in the section, you can see flexible power loops going from the battery compartment to the autopilot compartment and the INS, and then to the TVGSN, the aerodynamic rudder control servos are powered by a black loop. The missile was developed by the US Navy's Armaments Center on the basis of the AIM-9M and used a fundamentally rare, as for air-to-air missiles, WGU-19 television-optical homing head, which operates in the standard visible optical range, like most digital cameras on our devices … The image sensor is a matrix of indium antimony (InSb) with a resolution of 256x256, or a higher quality platinum silicide (PtSi) with a higher resolution. For high image quality, the matrix module is cooled with ammonia. The video stream from the matrix is digitized by the GPU processor, and then transmitted to the missile control system. This seeker is capable of aiming directly at the silhouette of an air target, regardless of the use of heat traps or the background on which the target approaches (free space, water or earth surface). This guidance system, as opposed to infrared. much better adapted for detecting and "capturing" ultra-small objects such as "projectile", "mini-UAV", "free-fall bomb", but only in the daytime and in normal weather conditions. The AIM-9R rocket was tested and was ready for mass production by 1991, but the project was curtailed after the collapse of the USSR. An upgraded seeker of this type with a resolution close to 4K can be equipped with the new super-maneuverable AIM-9X
Another example of modernization could be the AIM-9C project. This missile, the only one in the Sidewinder family, has a semi-active radar homing head. AIM-9C, despite the age of its development (the beginning of the 60s), to this day has every chance of being renewed in the AIM-9X hardware. Designed specifically to work in conjunction with the AN / APQ-94 airborne radar of the F8U-2 carrier-based fighters, the AIM-9C could be guided to a target illuminated by radar in any meteorological conditions, like the AIM-7M "Sparrow". Consequently, the AIM-9X can teach a more advanced ARGSN, which would not have problems with the destruction of "blanks"
The third modification of the "Sidewinder", the modernized template of which can be integrated into the "Multi-Mission Launcher", is the anti-radar AGM-122A "SideARM", developed by the US Navy in conjunction with Motorola. It is designed based on the AIM-9C. The rocket received serious changes to the avionics, in particular: as in most PRLR, a passive radar seeker is installed on the "SideARM"; the fuse was replaced with an active radar (this was done to break the WDU-17 warhead not at the target itself, but at a distance of several tens of meters, in this case, the core filling receives an optimal expansion cone and damages the enemy radar antenna sheet with high efficiency); The main mode of the INS is the “slide” maneuver, during which the PRGSN searches for a source of radar radiation.
In comparison with the AGM-114L, the AGM-122A operating on ground targets has the main advantage - 2 times higher flight speed, which is why even some modern air defense systems may not intercept it.
Based on this, it can be stated that any passive-type homing head (except for television) will be ineffective against a low-speed and small-sized "black" body, and therefore the MML multipurpose missile battery has almost no capabilities to combat artillery shells in action, which cannot be said about SAM NASAMS or SL-AMRAAM, where AIM-120 missiles with ARGSN can freely operate on small targets such as "mine" or "HE shell". It is not for nothing that the Tamir anti-missile missiles of the Israeli Iron Dome missile defense system are equipped with an active radar seeker. Therefore, from a technical point of view, it would be more logical to talk about the modernization of NASAMS / SL-AMRAAM or MML anti-aircraft anti-missile missiles of the SACM-T type (they were discussed in a recent article), which are capable of fighting all types of missiles and shells thanks to the modified ARGSN and the "belt" gas-dynamic rudders in the bow, i.e. "Shoot down a fly with a bullet."
It is known that the batteries of the MML multipurpose launchers will be "tied" into the integrated air / missile defense control system IBCS, which was developed by Northrop Grumman. It is a rapidly deployable stationary object of the command and staff level, equipped with numerous computerized operator workstations, a high-speed tactical information exchange bus with a single interface, as well as numerous modems of the C2 network-centric system, which integrates information from many external devices, including MRS "Sentinel", and RPN AN / MPQ-53 ("Patriot"), and IR / TV viewers, and then displays in the IBCS interface. The open architecture of IBCS allows you to adapt any modern electronic equipment for system diagnostics, various sensors, radars of various ranges, and in the future - laser installations. All this speaks of the high survivability of the IBCS in the most unpredictable combat environment: the elements of the system have a high degree of interchangeability.
Schematic representation of the IBCS system. Various consumers and information sources can be connected to the interface of the integrated air defense and missile defense control system: launchers and multifunctional radar of the Patriot air defense missile system, airships AWACS / ORTR, Sentinel radar, etc.
The introduction into the MML and IBCS of the AGM-114L "Longbow Hellfire" multipurpose missile for the destruction of armored vehicles and other ground targets can be considered isolated. The fact is that initially the IBCS system was developed as a promising control link in the structure of the air defense and missile defense forces, but now additional software will need to be installed to adapt to firing at ground targets. The AGM-114L multipurpose heavy ATGM for its effective use must receive target designation as quickly as under the control of the AN / APG-78 millimeter-wave supradar radar of the AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopter, which, when launched from a ground-based launcher, will require accurate target designation from RER / RTR of UAVs, tactical aviation or ground target designation aircraft of the E-8C type. But in conditions of active hostilities with the presence of a powerful and modern enemy air defense, the use of drones with an EPR of more than 0.01 m2 often leads to their destruction, and the electronic means of multipurpose fighters and E-8C from considerable distances may not find out the exact location of the target, if the enemy uses powerful electronic warfare systems. Apache Longbow, as a highly maneuverable and manned platform with a full range of radar and optoelectronic equipment, will cope with the task more skillfully, especially when it comes to mobile armored vehicles.
If the US Armed Forces plan to use the Longbow Hellfire missile from the MML installation in the European or Far Eastern theater of operations, then all their ideas are doomed to failure in advance, because the Pantsir-C1 and Tor-M1 complexes already in service with the Russian military air defense and the Aerospace Forces / 2U ", S-300PMU-2 and S-400 can destroy not only carriers of PRLR and other tactical missiles, but also the missiles themselves, this also applies to AGM-114L" Hell Flame ", the average flight speed of which does not exceed 1300 km / h, and therefore it is not so difficult to intercept this "flame", with the exception of the old samples of the "Wasp", "Arrow" or "Cube" type air defense systems. The active protection systems that will saturate our armored brigades will also be protected from Hellfire missiles.
Assessing the effectiveness of MML launchers with Stinger, Sidewinder and Hellfire missiles in general, we can talk about very mediocre possibilities of intercepting modern high-precision missile weapons with their massive use; the interception of artillery ammunition is also impossible, contrary to the statements of the representatives of the US Armed Forces. The only thing is that the system will have significantly higher capabilities than the "Stinger" MANPADS, thanks to the use of the AIM-9X missile: the range of destruction of air targets can increase from 5-6 to 12 km, the speed of targets hit will be about 2M, on a collision course - up to 2, 5 - 3M, which is typical for airborne Sidewinder. And the use of IKGSN will allow fighting any number of enemy aircraft in the affected area, it all depends on the number of MML launchers assembled according to the modular principle of 15 TPK cells (each TPK can be equipped with one AIM-9X and at least 4 FIM-92), as well as on the correct distribution of targets by the IBCS system.
The Longbow Hellfire missile will allow effective operation only against a weak enemy armed with neither promising air defense systems, nor wide-range electronic countermeasures. Considering the costs of the US Armed Forces for the development of two MML prototypes in the amount of $ 119 million, the combat payback of the project leaves much to be desired, and only in combination with the AIM-120 and SACM-T missiles or various modifications of the AIM-9X, created on the basis of earlier versions " Sidewinder ", MML will be able to show high fighting qualities.
