In early June 2013, the site defenseindustrydaily.com reported that the penultimate modification of the AIM-9X Block II "Sidewinder" was brought to the level of a multipurpose WTO and is capable of striking both air and ground targets. In addition to the US Navy and Air Force, Saudi Arabia was one of the main investors in the program to optimize the guidance system of the new missile for air-to-ground missions. Firstly, this is due to the fact that most of the fighter aircraft fleet of the Royal Saudi Arabian Air Force will soon be replenished with another 84 multipurpose tactical fighters F-15SA, the main type of weapon for "dogfight" in the 21st century, which are precisely AIM-9X missiles. Secondly, the Saudis want to maximize the versatility of this missile (in terms of engaging sea and land units) in order to get rid of the need to place other highly targeted high-precision missile and bomb weapons on the suspensions of the improved "Needles" defense, interception, and air superiority gains are far from being for the better.
Contracts for the purchase of AIM-9X-2 Block II missiles have been signed with countries such as Malaysia, South Korea, Kuwait and Poland. The Polish Air Force draws special attention on this list, which is making enormous efforts today to create a full-fledged component of high-precision missile weapons. In order to create an operational-tactical "counterweight" to our "Iskander" and "Caliber", as well as to respond to the deployment of the S-300V4 and S-400 air defense systems in the Kaliningrad and Leningrad regions, millions are being made into contracts for the purchase of long-range tactical missiles of the AGM-type. 158A / B JASSM / -ER, as well as for the development of its own project of a stealthy cruise missile "Pirania" with a range of up to 300 km. Given the rather high likelihood of local conflicts in the Eastern European theater of operations in the future, Polish F-16Cs with an AIM-9X Block II missile will be able to attack ground targets while performing air defense missions over Poland and the Southern Baltic. This technical point will significantly improve the flexibility of the Polish Air Force, which has a relatively moderate fleet.
An additional threat from the Polish F-16C lies in the upcoming contracts for long-range guided air-to-air missiles AIM-120D AMRAAM, the range of which at high altitudes can reach 180 km to the front hemisphere. After purchasing the AIM-120D, as well as receiving an upgrade package from Lockheed Martin, which includes equipping the Polish Falcons with a promising radar with AN / APG-80 or AN / APG-83 SABR AFAR, the vehicles will pose a serious threat in long-range aerial combat. not only to our serial MiG-29S / SMT and Su-27SM, but also to the more advanced super-maneuverable multipurpose air defense fighters Su-30SM. Even an earlier version of the AN / APG-80 airborne radar has parameters similar to the N011M Bars (Su-30SM): the American product detects a target with an RCS of 1 m2 at a distance of 110 km, Bars - 120 km. The capacity of the American AN / APG-80 to tie target tracks (escort on the aisle) reaches 20 units, and our Н011М - 15 units. The target channel for the use of missiles with ARGSN AIM-120D at the American station is also greater, and amounts to about 6-8 targets against 4 targets at the "Bars". The active phased array of the American radar provides some advantages in noise immunity, electronic countermeasures, as well as the synthetic aperture (SAR) mode, which is of great value during independent single strike operations with high-precision weapons. In short, after the modernization, the Polish aircraft will be almost on the same level with our Su-30SM in long-range air-to-air missions, and will slightly outperform in strike missions, which will be well served by the AIM-9X-2 Block II.
The lack of large wings does not allow the AIM-9X Block II to achieve such high maneuverability as the European IRIS-T; This is especially pronounced when the solid Kh-61 propellant burns out, which contributes to the operation of the thrust vector deflection system. During the inertial flight of the AIM-9X, the whole emphasis is placed on the operation of the tail aerodynamic rudders, which allow reaching an overload of no more than 35 units. As practice shows, close air combat missiles hit the target almost immediately after the solid propellant rocket engine burns out, and therefore the deflected thrust vector usually has time to do its job - to bring the Sidewinder to the extreme sighting angle of the air target ("over the shoulder" - up to 90 degrees relative to the carrier's course). Similarly, the AIM-9X, in a critical situation, can be launched against a ground target. In addition, the American missile, in contrast to the European analogue "IRIS-T", has a serious network-centric "feature" - the ability to operate in a single tactical information network (NCW, - "Network-Centric Warfare"). What does this mean?
Today, in the US Navy, such an important network-centric concept of the new century as "Kill web" (or "Web of destruction") is undergoing great development. Its main goal is to provide 100% systemic coordination between the submarine, surface and air components of the American fleet. It is based on the well-known coded radio channels for exchanging tactical information "Link-16", MADL and TTNT and DDS. The air component of the naval air defense missile defense has its own sub-concept, called "NIFC-CA". Here the American Admiralty, together with leading aerospace corporations, is looking for ways to move away from the hierarchical method of information exchange between units, which is still present in the Link-16 system. The Americans are striving to completely rebuild the old element base for the new principles of operation used by the Swedish CDL-39 type data exchange system, the modules of which are installed on the Jas-39NG "Gripen-E" multipurpose fighters. The "NIFC-CA" concept provides for the introduction of an additional high-speed tactical data exchange channel "DDS" ("Data Distribution System") with a high pseudo-random tuning of the operating frequency to reduce risks, interception or electronic jamming.
The presence of DDS modules on the same deck-based F / A-18E / F Super Hornets will allow achieving unprecedented coordination of actions as part of a flight, squadron, or air wing. For example, the master of the Super Hornet, synchronized via the DDS radio channel with the slave, as part of the flight, can absolutely easily hit a near ground target using an AIM-9X missile at the target designation of the slave fighter, if the detection is made by the crew of the latter. The coordinates of the enemy ground detected by the AN / APG-79 radar of the slave "Super Hornet" will be instantly sent to the VCS of the leading fighter via the "DDS" channel, after which the target designation can go directly to the AIM-9X INS, which will fall off the suspension in the same second and with the help of OVT will provide access to the target. Such qualities of tactical aviation of the US Navy and Air Force contribute to a multiple increase in combat effectiveness in theaters of military operations of the 21st century saturated with friendly and enemy equipment.
Official publications do not report anything about the range of operation of the AIM-9X Block II infrared homing head of the AIM-9X Block II, meanwhile it is known that the detection range of a heat-contrast target against the background of free space is about 2.5 times greater than against the background of the earth (7, 4 versus 18, 5 km). This suggests that such "warm" targets as MBT, cars and other equipment will be captured from a distance of about 4-5 km, which is a disadvantage in comparison with the "IRIS-T". The low target detection range against the background of the earth can be associated with the use of the long-wave infrared range of the seeker (8-13 microns). The pumping angles of the coordinator of the American-style seeker are as high as those of the European one, and reach 90 degrees. As for the AIM-9X equipment, it is slightly weaker than on its European counterpart: a rod-shaped warhead weighing 9.4 kg of the WAU-17 / B type with titanium explosives is used, which can effectively hit lightly armored vehicles, infantry fighting vehicles (in the upper projection), self-propelled air defense systems, as well as disable MBT power plants with varying degrees of success. "IRIS-T" has a 20% heavier high-explosive fragmentation warhead, which will be more effective in the fight against the above types of armored vehicles. According to the information of the famous British weekly "Janes", "IRIS-T" received a special updated software package, which added additional drivers with algorithms for guidance IKGSN TELL to ground targets. The software also includes specialized filters to help identify less warm-contrast ground units against the background of the earth's surface: this procedure is much more difficult than capturing the afterburner of an enemy fighter or bomber against the background of free space.
As we can see, the West has advanced quite far in the development of multipurpose missile weapons combining strike and anti-aircraft functions. How can the Russian aerospace and defense industries please the Russian Aerospace Forces?
The basis of close combat fighter aircraft of the Aerospace Forces of Russia are short-range air-to-air missiles of the R-73 family. This missile has become a worthy replacement for the previous generation of R-60M maneuverable missiles. Developed by NPO Vympel in 1983, the product became a real breakthrough in the USSR's defense industry in the field of advanced missile weapons, allowing it to achieve overwhelming superiority over an air enemy in a close air collision. As one of the board members of the aircraft building corporation McDonnel Douglas, Eugene S. Edam, stated in 1995 after several consultations with the staff of the Russian Vympel design bureau, the F-15C air combat training, armed with the AIM-9M with the MiG-29A, armed with P-73 on the simulator showed the complete superiority of the Russian machine with a ratio of 1:30. The superiority of our machine was achieved, firstly, by the best flight characteristics of the R-73 rocket, and secondly, by using a promising helmet-mounted target designation system, which was not yet available on American tactical fighters.
The R-73 rocket (AA-11 ARCHER) is represented by an aerodynamic "canard" configuration with an extended aerodynamic control system, which, in addition to the nose aerodynamic rudders behind the destabilizers, also includes tail ailerons coupled to the tail wing. To ensure super-maneuverability during operation of a solid-propellant rocket engine with a thrust of 785 kg / s, a complex 4-plane interceptor thrust vector control system is located behind the nozzle device. Despite the fact that the mass of this device for deflecting the thrust vector is much higher than that of standard gas-jet 4-plane rudders (used on IRIS-T and AIM-9X), the spoiler buckets are not located in the bore but are extended far beyond it. Due to this, the jet stream of the engine can be deflected at angles of up to 75-80 degrees relative to the longitudinal axis of the rocket body (nozzle edges are not a limiting factor for spoilers). This makes it possible to accelerate the turn of the rocket and to quickly reach the required angles to the target. It was due to this gas-dynamic control body that the R-73, for the first time in the world practice of military rocketry, was able to attack an air enemy in the rear hemisphere of a carrier fighter. And it was this fact that served as the impetus for the plan to install on high-precision front-line fighter-bombers Su-34 special radar sighting systems "Kopyo-DL" tail of the Su-34.
The presence of large nose destabilizer wings, as well as even larger tail wings with ailerons, allows the rocket to maintain high maneuverability even after the rocket engine burns out the fuel. The most important feature of the R-73 family of missiles is the presence of feather slide sensors and missile angles of attack, which, together with a complex aerodynamic-gas-dynamic control system, turns the missile's autopilot into a full-fledged control complex, comparable to the EDSU of the fighter carrier itself. The technological perfection of this system to this day is one step higher than that of such missiles as AIM-9X, IRIS-T and even the Japanese AAM-5 (in the latter, the planes of the gas-jet system have the most rocket engine nozzle channel).
All these technical bells and whistles allow the R-73 to maneuver with maximum overloads of 40 units. at angles of attack up to 40 degrees; other air-to-air missiles become ineffective at similar angles of attack. From all of the above, an unambiguous conclusion can be drawn: despite the lower available overloads at maximum speeds, the rocket's maneuverability at the initial acceleration phase of the flight (immediately after leaving the suspension point) due to the more advanced interceptor OVT method surpasses even such samples as "IRIS-T": R-73 literally "turns on the spot" after a move from the P-72 / APU-73 suspension systems, and then reaches the target in the lateral, upper, lower or rear hemispheres. In addition, at one of the MAKS, held in the 90s, information was provided on the possible modernization of the OVT gas-dynamic system by installing a fully controllable nozzle, which reduced thrust loss by 2% in comparison with the interceptor method, and by more than 5 % - in comparison with the simple gas-jet principle. This is just a great help for the destruction of complex ground targets, which is what we are talking about in our today's review. Here it is just right to get acquainted with the capabilities of the infrared homing head of the domestic miracle interceptor, which is hardly subject to the laws of physics.
Official sources indicate that the flow angles of the infrared GOS MK-80 "Mayak" gyrocoordinator of the URVV R-73 reach only ± 75 degrees (15 degrees less than that of the AIM-9X and "IRIS-T"), nevertheless, the target designation sector the bearing for this rocket is 120 degrees (while on the suspension), and 180 degrees (after leaving the suspension), and this is noticeably higher than that of its western counterparts, this result was achieved again due to the high maneuverability of the rocket. A wide range of targets to be hit is possible due to another quality of the Mayak seeker - the presence of a highly sensitive dual-band photodetector with deep cooling. It is installed on a modification of the R-73 RMD-2 rocket. Developed by the Ukrainian PA "Arsenal" IKGSN OGS MK-80 "Mayak" is built on a digital element base, and therefore can be easily programmed for various modes of use. Such modes are known as: low-altitude interception of tactical and strategic cruise missiles at altitudes of 5 meters, interception of anti-ship missiles, destruction of some types of missiles, as well as anti-radar missiles and air-to-air missiles.
When intercepting URVV, SAM and PRLR missile guidance can occur both on the rocket engine torch (shortly after launch) and on the rocket nose cone, heated by aerodynamic drag at speeds of more than 2M (temperature about 130-170 ° C). Some sources indicate the ability of the R-73 RMD-2 to defeat ground targets, this is confirmed by the dual-range IKGSN "Mayak". Obviously, its two platforms operate both in the 3-5 micron range and in the 8-12 micron range, which gives huge advantages when attacking ground targets: the long-wavelength range is most stable when working in smoky and dusty conditions at long distances, short-wavelength, on the contrary allows you to more stably capture a moderately "warm" ground target at close range, where the former may have complications (the channels complement each other).
The only drawback in terms of the destruction of ground units is the insufficient power and type of the R-73 RMD-2 warhead. The rod-type warhead has a mass of 7.3 kg, which is 56% less than that of the IRIS-T rocket. The striking effect in the radius of the uranium rods is relatively good, but it may not be enough to disable heavy armored vehicles. The radius of expansion is only 3.5 m, which is very good for hitting small moving armored vehicles. Taking into account the fact that a complex maneuvering air target is destroyed by the R-73 RMD-2 missile with a probability of up to 70%, it will be hit with an even greater probability on a ground target (more than 85%). The optimal point for detonating a warhead is accurately calculated by non-contact laser or radar fuses.
The only negative fact is that the strike technique of using the R-73 RMD-2 air-to-air missiles needs careful testing. If, for example, Western missiles have already passed a number of full-scale tests on ground targets in the new role of high-precision air-to-ground weapons, then nothing has been reported about such tests of the domestic missile. Moreover, for this, the software of the R-73 RMD-2 must be correctly optimized, as well as the target designation systems of the carrier must be adapted. So, when firing at a ground target in the front hemisphere of a tactical fighter, there will be no particular difficulties: target designation will be able to set onboard radars such as "Bars" "Irbis-E" or Sh-141. But this is only if the object was previously detected by its own radar, or its coordinates were transmitted by radar means of optical-electronic or radio-technical reconnaissance aircraft. If the presence of a target after turning on its radar or launching a missile defense system is suddenly detected, the use of helmet-mounted target designation systems of the Shchel-ZUM-1 type, Sura / -K / M or NSTs-T, will be required.
Theoretically, given the possibility of direct software interface of the NSC with the Mayak homing head of the R-73 RMD-2 missile, bypassing the standard optical-electronic sighting systems of the OLS-35 type (not intended for work with ground targets), a land object can be captured by itself GOS, but only in a limited 75-degree pumping angle of the Russian rocket's gyro-coordinator. For large targeting angles, the installation of specialized containerized or built-in optical-electronic sighting systems of the lower hemisphere will be required. The most advanced device of this class is the OLS-K all-aspect optical-location system for viewing the lower hemisphere. This complex is equipped with TV / IR sighting channels and is capable of detecting a target of the "tank / BMP" type at a distance of 18-20 km, a "boat" - 40 km, an ATACMS launcher or MLRS MLRS (M270A1) of about 45 km. There is also a laser rangefinder designator. In the near future, such complexes will be equipped with the MiG-35 generation 4 ++ multipurpose tactical fighters. The OLS-K turret is installed in an overhead container on the lower surface of the fighter's right engine nacelle and makes it possible to detect and track ground targets up to the horizon angle, which is facilitated by the significant removal of the turret relative to the structural elements of the airframe.
On the high-precision front-line fighter-bomber Su-34, such a task can be greatly simplified due to the presence of the radar observation of the rear hemisphere "Kopyo-DL". The station can be programmatically optimized for operation on ground targets. There is also a passive radar targeting method for the R-73 RMD-2. It will act exclusively on radio-emitting targets located in any hemisphere for the carrier. The list of targets will include surveillance and multifunctional radars of self-propelled air defense systems, target designation for which will be carried out by modern radiation warning stations, for example, SPO L-150 "Pastel". This station has a modern digital open architecture with several interfaces (RS-232C, MIL-STD-1553, etc.) for synchronization with the avionics of attack helicopters, fighters and bombers of generations "4 + / ++". In addition, among the modules receiving radiation, there is a so-called "precise direction finder", which determines the coordinates of the radar radiation source many times more accurately than the antennas of the outdated SPO-15LM "Birch" indicator-block antenna installed on MiG-29S, Su-27, deck-mounted Su-33 and other vehicles. It is known that the error in determining the coordinates in the elevation and azimuthal planes of the "Birch" is ± 15º and ± 10º, respectively, which is unacceptable for precise target designation.
Domestic air combat missiles R-73 RMD-2 are practically in no way inferior, and in some cases are technologically ahead of their Western counterparts - AIM-9X Block II and "IRIS-T" -Earth". But these missiles also have such a characteristic that will not yet allow them to be attributed to a full-fledged high-precision weapon - a short range. Designed for air battles in the entire range of altitudes (from low-altitude lines to near space 19-21 km), short-range missiles, just like long-range air-to-air missiles, have the greatest range at altitudes over 12 km, where sparse the stratosphere does not create high aerodynamic drag, reducing the deceleration coefficient and the energy capacity of the rocket. R-73 RMD-2 at high altitudes retains its combat effectiveness within a radius of 40-45 km from the launch point. Western AIM-9X and "IRIS-T" - 30-35 km. When used just above sea level, the R-73 RMD-2 will lose speed and controllability already at 15-17 km, the Sidewinder and Iris - no more than 12-14 km, which is slightly better than the missiles of the Hellfire family. … In addition, a guided air-to-air missile, which is by no means a small air attack weapon (R-73 is 2900 mm long, 17 cm in diameter), having lost speed up to 1500 km / h after the propellant burns out, it becomes an excellent target for modern air defense systems such as "SL-AMRAAM" or more advanced "VL-MICA". Consequently, the effective range of missiles at sea and land targets does not exceed 8-10 km. Long-range missiles with IKGSN are needed. There are at least one Western European and one domestic product that can be adapted to carry out strike missions.
The first can be safely attributed to the French guided medium-range air combat missile "MICA-IR". The highly maneuverable infrared homing missile has an effective range of about 55 km. In the nozzle channel there is a gas-jet thrust vector deflection system, standard for western URVV, represented by 4 heat-resistant planes. They provide maneuvers with overloads of up to 50 units. A solid propellant rocket engine from Protec, which uses a low-smoke composite propellant, propels the rocket to a speed of approximately 4300 km / h. When used at low altitudes, the effective range of "MICA-IR" reaches 20-25 km, which is about 2 times higher than that of guided missiles for maneuverable combat. This missile is excellent for use as a strike weapon. The brainchild of French engineers has a bispectral-type infrared homing head just as advanced as the "Mayak", which has shortwave (3-5 microns) and longwave (8-13 microns) ranges with the ability to analyze and compare the thermal image of the target during the approach to her. Despite the fact that the seeker of this rocket has a pumping angle of the coordinator of only 60 degrees, a modern INS with powerful computing means and a receiver for the correction radio channel from the carrier and other target designation means allows it to be launched at the coordinates of targets located at an angle of 90 degrees or more relative to the heading direction of the fighter …
The dual-band type of IKGSN from the Sagem Defense Segurite company gives similar privileges in the development of software for work "on the ground" that are used in IKGSN "Mayak": work at long distances and in bad meteorological conditions. The warhead of the high-explosive fragmentation missile has a mass of 12 kg. The backlog of "MICA-IR" is excellent, however, no information about its tests as a WTO has been received from French sources to date.
In service with our Aerospace Forces, there is also a long-range version of the interceptor missile, which may well be endowed with technical capabilities to engage ground targets at long distances. The most suitable for this can be considered "Product 470-3E" (R-27ET extended-range guided missile). The R-27ET developed by the GosMKB "Vympel" has a maximum operating range in the PPS of about 120 km. This variant is an "energy" modification of the R-27T IKGSN missile and is designed to intercept American supersonic bombers of the B-1B "Lancer" type, as well as 3, 2-stroke strategic reconnaissance aircraft SR-71A "Blackbird" in pursuit, where the R-27T, with a lower charge of the fuel mixture and flight speed, had no chance. Despite the officially announced range of 120 km, R-27ET today has a reach of about 20-30 km, which is limited by the radius of capture of IKGSN 36T, developed by NPO Geofizika (the possibility of radio correction and target capture on the trajectory of this missile, according to the aggregate data, does not).
Meanwhile, the URVV R-27ET is the most suitable option for the destruction of ground units. The R-27ET rocket, like the R-27R / ER “radium” variants, has a very rare and advanced aerodynamic combination, where the “canard” scheme is successfully combined with large-area butterfly-type aerodynamic rudders. After the fuel burns out in the solid propellant rocket compartments, the rudders are in the center of mass of the rocket body. Due to this, the moment of the applied force when turning the rudder planes falls not on the front or rear of the rocket, but on the entire center of mass: the rocket maneuvers in leaps and bounds, with a lightning-fast transfer towards the target. A large lengthening of the butterfly-shaped aerodynamic rudders, tapering towards the attachment points to the "cars" of rotation, made it possible to achieve the removal of aerodynamic disturbances above the line of action on the tail stabilizers. Thanks to this, it was possible to reduce the mass of the rocket, abandoning the ailerons, coupled with the tail fins.
The permissible overload limits of the R-27ET at the time of maneuvering are approaching 25-30G, due to which the rocket is also capable of reaching large bearing angles relative to the fighter's heading direction. The seeker 36T / 9-B-1023 is a two-platform. The matrix photodetector of the first platform is cooled with liquefied nitrogen (in this case, the maximum capture range of a heat-contrast target is realized), the photodetector of the second platform is uncooled, which significantly limits the target acquisition range, but in this case the rocket can be used without refrigerant on board the fighter. The high energy qualities of the R-27ET make it possible to enter a mode with a semi-ballistic flight trajectory and hitting a ground target at a distance of several tens of kilometers.
A separate item is the powerful core warhead of the R-27ET missile. Its mass is 39 kg, which is 5.3 times the mass of the warhead of the R-73 RMD-2 rocket. The radius of operation of the fuse reaches 5-6 meters, and from this we calculate that the expansion zone of the 5 times more massive warhead R-27ET falls on the affected area, the area of which is only 4 times larger than that of the warhead of the R-73 RMD-2 missile. In other words, the density of the damaging effect of rods in the R-27ET is about 25% higher than that of the R-73. The effectiveness of this warhead will also allow hitting heavy armored vehicles, since the speed of expansion of the rods, as well as their armor penetration, will be higher due to the 2 times higher flight speed of the R-27ET.
Summing up the results of our today's review, it can be noted that Despite the due technological perfection of our missiles with infrared homing heads, as well as their modernization potential for introducing the capabilities of attacking ground targets, the AIM-9X and IRIST-T missiles lag behind the advancement of the same “loophole” to this day. While in the West, more than one test of these missiles has been carried out to destroy sea and land targets, and it is also announced that the software of missiles and SUV fighters is regularly upgraded to update such functionality, our missiles with the most unique aerodynamic structures and flight performance are R- 73 RMD-2 and R-27ET never fully entered the network-centric race of the new millennium, which requires both multitasking and proper systemic coordination in the tactical networks of theaters of war of the 21st century. The hope of the defense industry in this direction continues to be the RVV-MD guided missile project, which can embody everything that has bypassed the Archer and Alamo families.
