Modern means of naval air defense and missile defense in the fleets of the leading countries of the world every year increase their combat potential both in high-altitude and long-range, as well as in production parameters; the flight characteristics of interceptor missiles are also becoming more and more perfect, just like the guidance systems, most of which today are represented by active radar seeker, which significantly increase the target channel of shipborne anti-aircraft missile systems. The most advanced air defense missile systems today can be considered such as "Polyment-Redut" (there are problems with the implementation of interception of targets at ranges over 50 km), the updated "Standard-2/3" The radar is in the design stage), as well as the German "Standards-2" controlled by the multi-channel APAR radar, the French PAAMS and the Sea Sparrow air defense missile system of the Japanese Akizuki-class destroyers with the unique 2-band multifunctional radar from the Thales company - FCS- 3A. China has not lagged behind world indicators with its HQQ-9 installed on surface ships of the main classes - destroyers of the Lanzhou and Kunming class.
In direct proportion to the shipborne air defense systems, anti-ship missile systems are also improving their combat qualities, the best modifications of which have recently been developed and entered into service with the Russian Navy, as well as the Indian and Chinese navies. Modern anti-ship systems are the most serious deterrent weapon in the maritime and ocean theater of operations, since, as a rule, the massive use of modern anti-ship missiles at the time of confrontation between two or more KUGs leads to a partial breakthrough of even the most advanced shipborne air defense systems, as a result of which both sides can receive significant damage. incompatible with further actions of the ship group.
If the fleets of the Russian Federation, India and China have high-speed supersonic anti-ship missiles such as "Onyx", X-41 "Mosquito", "BrahMos" and YJ-18, which leave the enemy's air defense missile defense systems a minimum of time to repel a strike, then almost all of them are in service The US Navy's anti-ship missiles are subsonic, and therefore intercepting them is a much simpler task for our KZRKs. At the same time, even a small radar signature of American LRASM and Harpoon missiles cannot fundamentally change the situation due to the equipping of surface ships of air defense missile systems with high-energy radars for illumination and guidance based on PFAR and AFAR, which can easily detect and capture American anti-ship missiles appearing from beyond the radio horizon with an effective scattering surface of 0.01-0.1 m2, and this is without taking into account the optoelectronic sighting systems, which are able to correct the operation of the air defense system in the event that the US Navy at the time of impact uses electronic warfare aircraft such as F / A-18G "Growler" …
In such a situation, the Americans are trying to eliminate the lag behind the Eurasian maritime superpowers by introducing various technological innovations into existing weapons systems. Leading American aerospace corporations are working on many projects of anti-ship missiles of the future, but the most famous of them, presented in detail on the network and in print, are the supersonic anti-ship missile based on the long-range anti-aircraft missile RIM-174 ERAM (SM-6) (on the project Corporation "Raytheon") and hypersonic HAWC ("Hypersonic Air-Breathing Weopon Concept") (in development at the Agency for Advanced Defense Research Projects DARPA).
The work on the design of the anti-ship version of the RIM-174 ERAM became known on February 8, 2016 from the words of US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter. Spending only $ 2.9 billiondollars, the Pentagon plans to equip the US Navy with 3.5-speed anti-ship missiles with a range of up to 370 km. Naturally, to achieve such a range, the rocket will fly along a semi-ballistic trajectory, most of which will take place in the stratosphere, where the deceleration of any body is minimal. The missiles will have a significant drawback - approaching the enemy's warship at an angle of 20-45 degrees, which will make it easy to intercept the anti-ship "Standard-6" with modern shipborne missile defense systems of the enemy, given that its speed at the final stage is unlikely to exceed 2200-2500 km / h Interception can be carried out by the S-300F / FM "Fort / -M", "Shtil-1", "Dagger" and "Pantsir-M" complexes.
But the anti-ship RIM-174 ERAM also has a serious advantage. All missiles of the Standard-2/3 family are unified with the Mk 41 universal VPU, and therefore, unlike the 8 RGM-84L anti-ship missiles (located in 2 inclined quadruple Mk 141 launchers on American NKs), any American EM URO class " Arley Burke "or RCR" Ticonderoga "can carry on board any number of supersonic anti-ship missiles, limited only by the number of launcher cells UVPU Mk 41 (90 operating - for" Arley Burke "and 122 - for" Ticonderoga "). The ratio of the ammunition load of the RIM-174 ERAM missiles, RIM-161A / B interceptor missiles, as well as promising anti-ship missiles based on the RIM-174 may be in favor of the latter (40 - 50 anti-ship missiles), and therefore even 1 AUG as part of 1 Ticonderoga missile-launcher and 3 EM "Arley Burke" can arrange the enemy's KUG "star raid" of 200 anti-ship missiles, flying up at speeds up to 2.5M. It would be almost impossible to completely intercept such a swarm. Armed with "Harpoons", the American AUG could fire a salvo of no more than 30-40 missiles, not taking into account the air wing of carrier-based tactical aviation.
The most advanced is the HAWC hypersonic long-range tactical missile project, which DARPA is working on. One of the points of the program provides for the implementation of the hypersonic speed of the product, which should be 5320 km / h with a further increase to 10630 km / h. These speed indicators are no longer unique in rocket technology, since it is known that the 5V55R and 48N6E missiles have a speed of 6, 25 to 6, 6M, but are unique for air-to-ground / ship cruise missiles. A swarm of 30-40 HAWC missiles approaching at a speed of 7M (2066 m / s) will pose a serious threat to even the most modern ship and ground air defense systems. This will become possible for one more reason - the low RCS of HAWC. The fuselage, made of composite materials with radio-absorbing coatings, will reduce the missile's radar signature to hundredths of a square meter, which is why the Type-346 AFAR (installed on Chinese Type 052D EMs) will be able to detect HAWC at a distance of no more than 80 km. There will be no more than 1 minute left for interception. Imagine, in just 40-60 seconds it is necessary to intercept 30 subtle hypersonic anti-ship missiles, it is almost impossible to accomplish this with modern shipborne missile defense systems! Today this is the most dangerous project of a promising anti-ship missile system. From images published on Western news and information resources, it can be seen that HAWC may be a continuation of the project of the X-51A Waverider-type hypersonic tactical missile - the basis of the American concept of the Global Rapid Strike (BSU), and therefore it is worth expecting that progress in the development and initial combat readiness of HAWC may take place as early as 2025.
ANTI-SHIP ATACMS - “THUNDERSTORM” OF SEAS, STRAITS AND BAYS
In the final part of the article, we will consider another American program for transforming the existing offensive missile weapons of a land theater of military operations into a long-range anti-ship complex.
According to the information and analytical resource "Military Parity" with reference to the Taiwanese media, on October 28, 2016, the US Department of Defense announced the start of a program to expand the combat and functional capabilities of the operational-tactical missile complex (OTRK) ATACMS. The main part of the update will directly affect operational-tactical ballistic missiles (OTBR) of the MGM-140B (ATACMS Block IA) and MGM-164B (ATACMS Block IIA) types. It is these modifications that have the maximum range in the ATACMS family of 300 km, and also, in addition to the inertial guidance system, are equipped with a satellite correction module via GPS and a system of ring laser gyroscopes, which made it possible to achieve a circular probable deviation (CEP) within 15-25 meters.
Based on the official data of the US Armed Forces, they abandoned the use of inhuman cluster warheads of the M-74 APAM (Anti-Personnel, Anti-Material) type, and therefore, together with Lockheed Martin, they concentrated all efforts on the modernization of the monoblock warhead, "smart" combat equipment with self-guided warheads of the cumulative type P31 BAT, as well as further improving the accuracy of the aerodynamic rudders. The most interesting solution is to endow the OTBR ATACMS, in a monoblock version of the warhead, with the ability to surgically accurately hit small-sized moving sea and ground targets. To do this, Lockheed Martin specialists must equip the rocket with an active millimeter Ka-range radar homing head, which will ensure the accuracy of the CEP of the order of 3-7 meters; gas-dynamic impulse engines of lateral control may also be required in case the target maneuvers. The danger posed by this project cannot be underestimated. In fact, we are dealing with the copying by the Americans of the Chinese concept of the DF-21D medium-range anti-ship ballistic missiles, but on a smaller scale, limited to 300 km, which indicates some tactical features of the use of the updated ATACMS.
Firstly, these complexes are created exclusively for use in small water theaters - inland seas with small straits and bays, where modernized anti-ship versions of MGM-140 / 164B missiles can calmly attack enemy surface ships at the entire possible distance of maneuvering. Examples include the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland, as well as the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Strengthening their ground component of troops in Western and Central Europe, the Americans can deploy a division of similar ATACMS somewhere in Denmark, northern Germany, Poland or Estonia, which will cause another and very serious threat to the warships of the Baltic Fleet, given that "Polyment-Redut", capable of effectively destroying such air attack weapons, is installed on a small number of surface ships (corvettes of project 20380). And launchers M142 (1 ATACMS missile) or M270 (2 missiles, respectively) States can pull up to several dozen, so there will be something to work on the calculations of our "Three hundred" and "Four hundred" in the Kaliningrad and Leningrad regions.
Secondly, the maximum flight speed of the OTBR of the ATACMS family is 1500 m / s (about 5400 km / h), which is why the old versions of the complexes, for example, Buk-M1 and S-300PS, will not be able to intercept them on the marching segment. flight trajectories, and therefore the solution to the issue can only be the renewal of the ship composition of the Baltic Fleet with new NKs of the frigate "Admiral Gorshkov" type, which have full-fledged missile defense systems, and the air defense and military air defense units - promising S-300V4, S-400 and Buk-M3 air defense systems ". The development and start of serial production of the ATACMS anti-ship modification will take a minimum of time and financial investments in comparison with the same hypersonic HAWC, and therefore we can learn about the appearance of uninvited guests in the Baltic States or near the borders of the Southern Military District in the coming years.
