Cruise missile speed. Cruise missiles of Russia and the USA

1) Family of guided missiles "Caliber"Cruise missiles became widely known after they were used to strike terrorist positions in Syria. Work on this project was carried out in the 1980s on the basis of two products: the 3M10 strategic nuclear cruise missile with a combat radius of 2500 km and the Alpha anti-ship missile complex (R&D Turquoise). The Caliber missiles were first presented at the MAKS-1993 air show. NATO received the codification Sizzler (“Incinerator”). The range of action against sea targets is up to 350 km, against coastal targets - up to 2600 km. 2) Strategic air-to-ground cruise missile X-101 The X-101 strategic air-to-ground cruise missile (X-102 with a nuclear warhead), using radar signature reduction technologies, also received its first combat use in Syria, where they were used to strike terrorist positions. The main carriers are Tu-22 and Tu-160 bombers. The development of the product was carried out by the Raduga design bureau (1995-2013). The exact characteristics are not disclosed. According to some reports, the launch range reaches 9000 km, and the probable circular deviation is 5 m at a range of 5500 km. 3) Anti-ship missile P-270 “Mosquito” P-270 Mosquito (according to NATO codification SS-N-22 Sunburn, literally “Sunburn”) is an anti-ship missile developed in the 1970s in the USSR. Capable of destroying ships with a displacement of up to 20 thousand tons, in particular, those from naval strike groups, landing forces, convoys and single ships. Firing range - from 10 to 120 km along a low-altitude trajectory, 250 km - with a high-altitude flight profile. When approaching a target, the Mosquito moves at a height of 7 m, moving “above the crest of the waves,” and in order to break through air defenses, the missile is capable of performing an anti-aircraft “snake” maneuver with rotation angles of up to 60 degrees and an overload of more than 10 g. 4) Strategic aviation cruise missile X-55 The Kh-55 missile is a cruise missile for strategic bombers. After launch, it travels at subsonic speed, skirting the terrain, which makes its interception extremely difficult. The Kh-55 carriers are the Tu-95 and Tu-160 strategic bombers, while the latter can carry up to 12 such missiles. The mass of the warhead of each of them is 200 kt, which is more than 20 times greater than the explosion power of the Little Boy bomb dropped by the United States on Hiromima in 1945. 5) P-700 “Granit” - long-range anti-ship cruise missile The P-700 “Granit” was created primarily to combat powerful naval groups, including aviation ones. When creating the complex, an approach was used for the first time, the basis of which is the mutual linkage of three elements: target designation means (in the form of spacecraft), a carrier and anti-ship missiles. Range of action - 550 km along a combined trajectory. These missiles are also in service with the heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov.

Emerged (or rather, revived) in the late 1970s. in the USSR and the USA as independent class strategic offensive weapons, long-range aviation and naval cruise missiles (CR) have been considered since the second half of the 1980s as high-precision missiles (HPT), designed to destroy particularly important small-sized targets with conventional (non-nuclear) warheads. Equipped with high-power (weight about 450 kg) non-nuclear warheads, the AGM-86C (CALCM) and AGM-109C Tomahawk cruise missiles have demonstrated high effectiveness in combat operations against Iraq (continuously conducted since 1991), as well as in the Balkans (1999) and other parts of the world. At the same time, tactical (non-nuclear) missiles of the first generation had relatively low flexibility in combat use - entering a flight mission into the missile guidance system was carried out on the ground, before the bomber took off or the ship left the base, and took more than a day (later it was reduced to several hours ).

In addition, the missile launchers had a relatively high cost (more than $1 million), low hit accuracy (circular probable deviation - CEP - from tens to hundreds of meters) and a combat range several times smaller than that of their strategic prototypes (respectively , 900-1100 and 2400-3000 km), which was due to the use of a heavier non-nuclear warhead, which “displaced” part of the fuel from the rocket body. The carriers of the AGM-86C missile launcher (launch weight 1460 kg, warhead weight 450 kg, range 900-1100 km) are currently only the B-52N strategic missile-carrying bombers, and the AGM-109C is equipped with surface ships of the "destroyer" and "cruiser" class ", equipped with universal vertical container launchers, as well as multi-purpose nuclear submarines (NPS) that use missiles from an underwater position.

Based on the experience of combat operations in Iraq (1991), American missile systems of both types were modernized in the direction of increasing the flexibility of their combat use (now the input of a flight mission can be carried out remotely, directly on board the aircraft or carrier ship, in the process of solving a combat mission) . Due to the introduction of an optical correlation system for final homing, as well as equipping with a satellite navigation unit (GPS), the accuracy characteristics of the weapon were significantly increased (COE -8-10 m), which made it possible to hit not just a specific target, but a specific area of ​​it.

In the 1970-1990s, up to 3,400 AGM-109 missiles and more than 1,700 AGM-86 missiles were produced. Currently, the AGM-109 missile launchers of early modifications (both “strategic” and anti-ship) are being massively modified into the tactical version of the AGM-109C Block 111C, equipped with an improved guidance system and having an increased combat range from 1100 to 1800 km, as well as reduced CEP (8-10 m). At the same time, the mass (1450 kg) of the rocket and its speed characteristics (M = 0.7) remained practically unchanged.

Since the late 1990s, work has been ongoing in parallel to create a simplified, cheaper version of the Tactical Tomahawk missile launcher, intended exclusively for use on board surface ships. This made it possible to reduce the requirements for the strength of the airframe, to abandon a number of other elements that ensure the launch of a missile in an underwater position from the torpedo tubes of a nuclear submarine, and thereby improve the weight efficiency of the aircraft and increase its performance characteristics (primarily, the range, which should increase to 2000 km ).

In the longer term, due to the reduction in the mass of avionics and the use of more economical engines, the maximum range of the modernized AGM-86C and AGM-109C missile launchers will increase to 2000-3000 km (while maintaining the same efficiency of non-nuclear warheads).

However, the process of transforming the AGM-86 aircraft missile launcher into a non-nuclear version in the early 2000s slowed down significantly due to the lack of “extra” missiles of this type in the US Air Force (unlike the Tomahawk missile launcher in the nuclear version, which, in accordance with Russian-American agreements, removed from the ships' ammunition loads and transferred to coastal storage, the AGM-86 continues to be included in the nuclear classification, being the basis of the strategic armament of the US Air Force B-52 bombers). For the same reason, the transformation into a non-nuclear version of the strategic low-profile AGM-129A missile system, which is also exclusively equipped with B-52H aircraft, never began. In this regard, the issue of resuming serial production of an improved version of the AGM-86 missile system has been repeatedly raised, but a decision on this has not been made.

For the foreseeable future, the US Air Force is considering the subsonic (M = 0.7) Lockheed Martin AGM-158 JASSM missile, flight tests of which began in 1999. The missile has dimensions and weight (1100 kg) approximately corresponding to the AGM-158 JASSM. 86, is capable of hitting targets with high accuracy (CEP - several meters) at a range of up to 350 km. Unlike the AGM-86, it is equipped with a more powerful warhead and has less radar signature.

Another important advantage of the AGM-158 is its carrier versatility: it can be equipped with almost all types of combat aircraft of the US Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps (B-52H, B-1B, B-2A, F-15E, F-16C, F/ A-18, F-35).

The JASSM missile launcher is equipped with a combined autonomous guidance system - inertial-satellite during the cruising phase of the flight and thermal imaging (with target self-recognition mode) at the final stage. It can be assumed that a number of improvements being introduced (or planned for implementation) on the AGM-86C and AGM-109C missile systems will also be used on the missile, in particular, the transmission of a “receipt” of target destruction to the ground control command and the in-flight retargeting mode.

The first small-scale batch of the JASSM missile launcher includes 95 missiles (its production began in mid-2000), the next two batches will amount to 100 products each (deliveries begin in 2002). The maximum production rate will reach 360 missiles per year. Serial production of the cruise missile is expected to continue at least until 2010. Within seven years, it is planned to produce at least 2,400 cruise missiles with a unit cost of each product of at least 0.3 million dollars.

Lockheed Martin, together with the Air Force, is considering the possibility of creating a version of the JASSM missile with an extended body and a more fuel-efficient engine, which will increase the range to 2,800 km.

At the same time, the US Navy, in parallel with its rather “formal” participation in the JASSM program, in the 1990s continued work on further improving the AGM-84E SLAM tactical aviation missile, which, in turn, is a modification of the Boeing Harpoon AGM anti-ship missile -84, created in the 1970s. In 1999, the US Navy's carrier-based aircraft received the Boeing AGM-84H SLAM-ER tactical cruise missile with a range of about 280 km - the first American weapon system with the ability to automatically recognize targets (ATR - Automatic Target Recognition mode). Giving the SLAM-ER guidance system the ability to autonomously identify targets is a major step in the field of improving high-precision technology. Compared to the Automatic Target Acquisition (ATA) mode, already implemented in a number of aircraft weapons, in the ATR mode, the “picture” of a potential target received by on-board sensors is compared with its digital image stored in the on-board computer’s memory, which allows autonomous search for an attack target, its identification and missile targeting in the presence of only approximate data on the location of the target.

The SLAM-ER missile is equipped with carrier-based multirole fighters F/A-18B/C, F/A-18E/F, and in the future - F-35A. SLAM-ER is a “domestic” competitor of the JASSM cruise missile (purchases of the latter by the US fleet to date seem problematic).

Thus, until the beginning of the 2010s, in the arsenal of the US Air Force and Navy, in the class of non-nuclear cruise missiles with a range of 300-3000 km, there will be only low-altitude subsonic (M = 0.7-0.8) missile launchers with sustainer turbofan engines, having low and ultra-low radar signature (RCS = 0.1-0.01 sq.m) and high accuracy (CEP - less than 10 m).

In the longer term (2010-2030s), the United States plans to create a new generation of long-range missile systems, designed to fly at high supersonic and hypersonic (M = 4 or more) speeds, which should significantly reduce the reaction time of weapons, as well as , combined with low radar signature, the degree of its vulnerability from existing and future enemy missile defense systems.

The US Navy is considering the possibility of developing a high-speed universal cruise missile JSCM (Joint Supersonic Cruise Missile), designed to combat advanced air defense systems. The missile launcher should have a range of about 900 km and a maximum speed corresponding to M = 4.5-5.0. It is assumed that it will carry a unitary armor-piercing unit or a cluster warhead equipped with several submunitions. The deployment of the KPJSMC, according to the most optimistic forecasts, can begin in 2012. The cost of the missile development program is estimated at $1 billion.

It is assumed that the JSMC missile will be able to be launched from surface ships equipped with universal vertical launchers Mk 41. In addition, its carriers can be multi-role carrier-based fighters such as F/A-18E/F and F-35A/B (in the aviation version, the missile is considered as replacement of the subsonic missile launcher SLAM-ER). It is planned that the first decisions on the JSCM program will be made in 2003, and in 2006-2007 financial year Full-scale financing of the work may begin.

According to the director of naval programs at Lockheed, Martin E. Carney (AI Carney), although government funding for the JSCM program has not yet been provided, in 2002 it is planned to finance work on the ACTD (Advanced Concept Technology Demonstrator) research program. If the groundwork for the ACTD program is used as the basis for the JSMC missile concept, Lockheed Martin will likely become the main contractor for the creation of a new missile launcher.

The development of the experimental ACTD rocket is carried out jointly by Orbital Science and the center naval weapons US Navy (Chine Lake Air Force Base, California). The rocket is supposed to be powered by a liquid-propellant ramjet engine, research on which has been underway at China Lake for the past 10 years.

The main “sponsor” of the JSMC program is the US Pacific Fleet, which is interested, first of all, in effective means of combating the rapidly improving Chinese air defense systems.

In the 1990s, the US Navy began implementing a program to create a promising missile weapons ALAM, intended for use by surface ships against coastal targets. A further development of this program in 2002 was the project of the FLAM (Future Land Attack Missile) complex, which should fill the “range gap” between the adjustable active-reactive artillery 155-mm guided artillery projectile ERGM ( capable of hitting targets at a range of more than 100 km with high accuracy) and the Tomahawk missile launcher. The missile should have increased accuracy. Funding for its creation will begin in 2004. It is planned that the FLAM missile will be equipped with new generation destroyers of the DD(X) type, which will begin to be commissioned in 2010.

The final design of the FLAM rocket has not yet been determined. According to one of the options, it is possible to create a hypersonic aircraft with a liquid ramjet based on the JSCM rocket.

Lockheed Martin, together with the French center ONR, is working on the creation of a solid-fuelled air-breathing engine SERJ (Solid-Fuelled RamJet), which can also be used on the ALAM/FLAM rocket (although it seems more likely that such an engine will be installed on later-developed rockets, which may appear after 2012, or on the ALAM/FLAM missile system in the process of its modernization), Since the ramjet engine is less economical than the turbofan engine, a supersonic (hypersonic) missile with a SERJ engine is estimated to have a shorter range (about 500 km), than subsonic missile launchers of similar mass and dimensions.

Boeing, together with the US Air Force, is considering the concept of a hypersonic missile launcher with a lattice wing, designed to deliver two to four subminiature autonomous subsonic missile launchers of the LOCAADS type to the target area. The main task of the system should be to defeat modern mobile ballistic missiles, which have a pre-launch preparation time (the beginning of which can be detected by reconnaissance means after the missile is raised to a vertical position) of about 10 minutes. Based on this, a hypersonic cruise missile should reach the target area within 6-7 minutes. after receiving target designation. No more than 3 minutes can be allocated to search for and engage a target with submunitions (LOCAADS mini-KR or BAT-type gliding ammunition).

As part of this program, the possibility of creating a hypersonic demonstration missile ARRMD (Advanced Rapid Response Missile Demonstrator) is being explored. The missile launcher must perform cruising flight at a speed corresponding to M=6. At M=4, submunitions should be released. The ARRMD hypersonic missile with a launch mass of 1045 kg and a maximum range of 1200 km will carry a payload weighing 114 kg.

In the 1990s. work on the creation of operational-tactical class missiles (with a range of about 250-350 km) began in Western Europe. France and Great Britain, based on the French Apache tactical missile with a range of 140 km, designed to destroy railway rolling stock (the introduction of this missile into service with the French Air Force began in 2001), created a family of cruise missiles with a range of about 250-300 km SCALP-EG /""CTopM Shadow", designed to equip the Mirage 20000, Mirage 2000-5, Harrier GR.7 and Tornado GR.4 attack aircraft (and in the future - Rafale and EF2000 Lancer) . The features of missiles equipped with turbofan engines and retractable aerodynamic surfaces include subsonic (M = 0.8) speed, low-altitude flight profile and low radar signature (achieved, in particular, by finning the airframe surfaces).

The rocket flies along a pre-selected “corridor” in terrain following mode. It has high maneuverability, which allows it to implement a number of programmed maneuvers to evade air defense fire. There is a GPS system receiver (American NAVSTAR system). At the final section, a combined (thermal imaging/microwave) homing system with a target self-recognition mode should be used. Before approaching the target, the missile performs a slide followed by a dive towards the target. In this case, the dive angle can be set depending on the characteristics of the target. The BROACH tandem warhead on approach “shoots” the head submunition at the target, which punches a hole in the protective structure into which the main ammunition flies, exploding inside the object with some deceleration (the degree of deceleration is set depending on the specific characteristics of the target assigned to hit).

It is assumed that the Storm Shadow and SCALP-EG missiles will enter service with the aviation of Great Britain, France, Italy and the UAE. According to estimates, the cost of one serial missile launcher (with a total order volume of 2000 missiles) will be approximately $1.4 million. (however, the order volume of 2000 KR seems very optimistic, so we can expect that the real cost of one missile will be much higher).

In the future, on the basis of the Storm Shadow missile, it is planned to create a smaller export version of the Black Shaheen, which can be equipped with Mirage 2000-5/9 type aircraft.

The international French-English concern MBD (Matra/BAe Dynamics) is studying new modifications of the Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG rocket. One of the promising options is an all-weather and all-day ship-based missile system designed to destroy coastal targets. According to the developers, the new European missile with a range of more than 400 km can be considered as an alternative to the American Tomahawk naval missile, equipped with a non-nuclear warhead, compared to which it will have higher accuracy.

The missile launcher must be equipped with an inertial-satellite guidance system with an extreme correlation correction system for the earth's surface (TERPROM). At the final stage of the flight, it is planned to use a thermal imaging system for autonomous homing to a contrasting target. To guide the missile system, the European GNSS space navigation system will be used, which is under development and is similar in its characteristics to American system NAVSTAR and Russian GLONASS.

The EADS concern is working on the creation of another subsonic aviation missile KEPD 350 "Taurus" with a launch weight of 1400 kg, very close to the SCALP-EG / "Storm Shadow" missile. The missile with a maximum combat range of about 300-350 km is designed for low-altitude flight at a speed corresponding to M=0.8. It should enter service with German Tornado fighter-bombers after 2002. In the future, it is also planned to equip EF2000 Typhoon aircraft with it. In addition, it is planned to supply the new missile for export, where it will seriously compete with the French-British tactical cruise missile Matra/BAe Dynamics Storm Shadow and, probably, the American AGM-158.

Based on the KEPD 350 missile, a project is being developed for the KEPD 150SL anti-ship missile with a range of 270 km, intended to replace the Harpoon missile. Anti-ship missiles of this type are expected to equip future German frigates and destroyers. The missile should be placed in deck containers of rectangular cross-section, grouped into four-container blocks.

The air-launched KEPD 150 variant (having a launch weight of 1060 kg and a range of 150 km) has been selected by the Swedish Air Force to equip the JAS39 Gripen multi-role fighter. In addition, this missile is offered to the Air Forces of Australia, Spain and Italy.

Thus, European cruise missiles in terms of speed characteristics (M = 0.8) approximately correspond to their American counterparts, they also fly along a low-altitude profile and have a range that is significantly shorter than the range of the tactical variants of the AGM-86 and AGM-109 cruise missiles and approximately equal to the AGM range -158 (JASSM). Just like American missile launchers, they have low (RCS of the order of 0.1 sq.m) radar signature and high accuracy.

The scale of production of European CDs is significantly smaller than that of American ones (the volume of their purchases is estimated at several hundred units). At the same time, the cost characteristics of American and European subsonic missiles are approximately comparable.

It can be expected that until the beginning of the 2010s, the Western European aviation and missile industry in the class of tactical (non-nuclear) missile launchers will produce only products such as SCALP/Storm Shadow and KEPD 350, as well as their modifications. With a view to a more distant future (2010s and later), Western Europe (primarily France), as well as the United States, is conducting research in the field of long-range hypersonic strike missiles. During 2002-2003, flight tests of a new hypersonic experimental cruise missile with a ramjet "Vestra", created by EADS and the French arms agency DGA, should begin.

The Vestra program was launched by the DGA in September 1996. The goal was “to help define the design of a multi-purpose long-range high-altitude (combat) missile.” The program allowed us to work out aerodynamics, power plant and elements of the management system of the promising Kyrgyz Republic. Research conducted by DGA specialists led to the conclusion that a promising high-speed rocket should perform the final stage of its flight at low altitude (it was originally assumed that the entire flight would take place only at high altitude).

On the basis of the Vestra missile launcher, a combat missile system should be created hypersonic missile Air-launched FASMP-A, designed to replace KPASMP. Its entry into service is expected at the end of 2006. The carriers of the FASMP-A missile, equipped with a thermonuclear warhead, should be Dassault Mirage N fighter-bombers and Rafale multirole fighters. In addition to the strategic version of the CD, it is also possible to create an anti-ship version with a conventional warhead and a final homing system.

France is currently the only foreign country armed with a long-range cruise missile with a nuclear warhead. Back in the 1970s, work began on creating an aviation nuclear weapons new generation - supersonic cruise missile Aerospatiale ASMP. On July 17, 1974, the TN-80 nuclear warhead with a power of 300 Kt, intended to equip this missile, was tested. Testing was completed in 1980 and the first ASMP missiles with the TN-80 entered service with the French Air Force in September 1985.

The ASMP missile (part of the armament of the Mirage 2000M fighter-bombers and the Super Etandar carrier-based attack aircraft) is equipped with a ramjet engine (kerosene is used as fuel) and a starting solid propellant accelerator. The maximum speed at high altitude corresponds to M=3, at the ground - M=2. The launch range is 90-350 km. The launch weight of the launch vehicle is 840 kg. A total of 90 ASMP missiles and 80 nuclear warheads for them were manufactured.

In China since 1977 they have been implementing national programs creating our own long-range cruise missiles. The first Chinese missile, known as the X-600 or Hong Nyao-1 (XN-1), was adopted by the ground forces in 1992. It has a maximum range of 600 km and carries a nuclear warhead with a yield of 90 kT. A small-sized turbofan engine was developed for the cruise missile, flight tests of which began in 1985. The X-600 is equipped with an inertial-correlation guidance system, probably supplemented by a satellite correction unit. The final homing system is believed to use a television camera. According to one source, the QUO of the X-600 missile is 5 m. However, this information is apparently too optimistic. The radio altimeter installed on board the Kyrgyz Republic ensures flight at an altitude of about 20 m (obviously above the sea surface).

In 1992, a new, more economical engine was tested for the Chinese Republic. This made it possible to increase the maximum launch range to 1500-2000 km. A modernized version of the cruise missile under the designation KhN-2 was put into service in 1996. The KhN-Z modification being developed should have a range of about 2500 m.

KhN-1, KhN-2 and KhN-Z missiles are weapons ground-based. They are placed on "ground mobile" wheeled launchers. However, variants of the missile launcher are also being developed for placement on board surface ships, submarines or on aircraft.

In particular, the new Chinese multi-purpose nuclear submarines of Project 093 are being considered as potential missile carriers. The missiles should be launched from a submerged position through 533-mm torpedo tubes. The carriers of the aviation version of the Kyrgyz Republic can be the new tactical bombers JH-7A, as well as multi-role fighters J-8-IIM and J-11 (Su-27SK).

In 1995, it was reported that the PRC had begun flight tests of a supersonic unmanned aircraft, which could be considered as a prototype of a promising cruise missile.

Initially, work on the creation of cruise missiles was carried out in China by the Hain Electromechanical Academy and led to the creation of tactical anti-ship missiles "Hain-1" (a version of the Soviet anti-ship missile P-15) and "Hain-2". Later, the supersonic anti-ship missile "Hain-Z" with a ramjet engine and "Hain-4" with a turbojet engine were developed.

In the mid-1980s, Research Institute 8359, as well as the “Chinese Institute of Cruise Missiles” (however, the latter may be the renamed Hain Electromechanical Academy) were established to work in the field of creating cruise missiles in the PRC.

We should also focus on work to improve the warheads of cruise missiles. In addition to traditional combat units, American missile launchers began to be equipped with fundamentally new types of warheads. During Operation Desert Storm in 1991, missile launchers were used for the first time, carrying fibers of thin copper wire scattered over the target. Such weapons, which later received unofficial name The “I-bomb” was used to disable power lines, power plants, substations and other energy facilities: hanging on the wires, the wire caused a short circuit, depriving the enemy’s military, industrial and communications centers of electricity.

During the fighting against Yugoslavia, a new generation of these weapons was used, where thinner carbon fibers were used instead of copper wire. At the same time, not only missile launchers, but also free-falling aerial bombs are used to deliver new “anti-energy” warheads to targets.

Another promising type of combat units of American missile systems is an explosive magnetic warhead, which, when triggered, generates a powerful electromagnetic pulse (EMP) that “burns out” the enemy’s radio-electronic equipment. At the same time, the radius of the damaging effect of the EMR generated by an explosive magnetic warhead is several times greater than the radius of destruction of a conventional high-explosive fragmentation warhead of the same mass. According to a number of media reports mass media, explosive magnetic warheads have already been used by the United States in real combat conditions.

Of course, the role and importance of long-range cruise missiles in non-nuclear warheads will increase in the foreseeable future. However, the effective use of these weapons is possible only if there is a global space navigation system (the United States and Russia currently have similar systems, and United Europe will soon join them), a high-precision geographic information system of combat areas, as well as a multi-level aviation and space system reconnaissance, providing data on the position of targets with their precise (on the order of several meters) geographic location. Therefore, the creation of modern long-range high-precision weapons is the destiny of only relatively technically developed countries capable of developing and maintaining in working order the entire information and intelligence infrastructure that ensures the use of such weapons.

CRUISED MISSILE (CR), an atmospheric unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with wings, an engine (jet or rocket), and a target guidance system; designed for high-precision destruction of ground and sea targets. CDs can be placed on both stationary and mobile launchers (land-based, air-based and sea-based). The main distinctive features of the cruise control are: high aerodynamic characteristics; maneuverability; the ability to set an arbitrary course and move at low altitude along the bends of the terrain, which makes them difficult to detect by enemy air defense systems; high-precision target destruction [circular probable deviation (CPD) of modern missile defense systems does not exceed 10 m]; the ability, if necessary, to adjust the programmed flight path using the on-board computer and automatic control system (ASCS). Depending on the relative position of the load-bearing and control surfaces, the missile launcher can have an aircraft or rocket aerodynamic configuration. Therefore, in a broad sense, missiles include almost all types of guided missiles (aircraft, anti-aircraft, anti-ship and anti-tank). In a narrow sense, missile launchers mean missiles made according to an aircraft design (Fig. 1). CDs are divided: according to firing range and the nature of the tasks being solved - into tactical (up to 150 km), operational-tactical (150-1500 km) and strategic (over 1500 km); according to flight speed - sonic and supersonic; by type of basing - ground, air, sea (surface and underwater); by type of warhead (warhead) - nuclear and conventional (high-explosive, cluster, etc.); for combat purposes - “air-to-surface” (Fig. 2) and “surface-to-surface” classes.

The missile launcher consists of a body (fuselage) with load-bearing and control surfaces (wing, rudders, stabilizers, etc.), an engine, an installation, on-board control equipment and a warhead. The CD has a welded metal or composite body, most of the internal volume of which is a fuel tank. Before the rocket is launched, the wings are folded and open after the ejection launcher is activated. The propulsion system of land- and sea-based missile launchers consists of a launch accelerator and a propulsion engine. The latter can be used as a rocket (liquid or solid propellant) or air-breathing engine. The starting accelerator is, as a rule, a solid propellant jet engine (air-launched missiles do not have one). The engine has an automatic electronic-hydraulic control system, which ensures changing its modes and adjusting thrust during the flight of the rocket. The basic equipment of a modern missile launcher includes: an inertial navigation system; altimeters; route correction systems (including using a global satellite navigation system); homing head; automatic self-destruction system; a system for exchanging information between salvo missiles; on-board computer; In addition to the autopilot function, the BSAU also includes the ability to perform maneuvers by the missile to counter interception. Typical scheme The CD is presented in Figure 3.

The prospects of this weapon were drawn to the attention of S.P. Korolev, who developed a series of experimental missile launchers in 1932-38 (217/I, 217/II, etc.); Ground and flight tests were carried out, confirming the design characteristics, but the autopilot turned out to be unable to provide proper flight stabilization. The first CD (they were called unmanned projectile aircraft) V-1 were developed and used by Germany at the end of World War II (the prototype was tested in December 1942, the first combat use was in June 1944). In the USSR, since 1943, the KR 10X was tested on Pe-8 and then Tu-2 bombers, but it did not receive combat use in the war. In the 1950-60s, a number of CDs were created in the USSR (the term “KR” in the USSR was introduced in 1959) and the USA. Among them: in the USSR - KS-1 “Comet” (the first missile-guided aircraft in the USSR; launched in 1952), P-15, X-20, KSR-11, X-66, etc.; in the USA - “Matador”, “Regulus-1”, “Hound Dog” and others. The missile launchers of this generation were not widely used, as they were heavy and bulky (launch weight 5.5-27 tons, length 10-20 m , case diameter 1.3-1.5 m), in addition, there was no efficient system guidance The first missile launcher with an underwater launch was the Soviet homing missile launcher "Amethyst" (1968). The revival of interest in missile launchers in the 1970s and the creation of a new generation missile launcher were due to technical advances that made it possible to significantly improve guidance accuracy, reduce overall dimensions and place them on mobile launch platforms. One of the most popular foreign missile launchers is the Tomahawk (USA). This missile began to enter service in 1981 in several versions: strategic ground-based (BGM-109 G) and sea-based (BGM-109 A) with a nuclear warhead (there is a similar aviation missile AGM-86 B); operational-tactical sea-based BGM-109 C and BGM-109 D, respectively, with semi-armor-piercing and cluster warheads; sea-based tactical BGM-109 B with high-explosive warhead. Modern domestic strategic missile systems include the X-55 (air-based) and Granit (sea-based).

The main flight performance characteristics of some aircraft of the Russian Federation and the USA are presented in the table.

When developing a new generation missile launcher, much attention is paid to the creation of long-range missile launcher control systems that provide a CEP of 3-10 m with an equipment weight of up to 100 kg. Reducing the visibility of the radar is ensured by the choice of low-reflective geometric shapes, the use of radio-absorbing materials and coatings, special devices for reducing the effective scattering surface, antenna devices and air intakes. Of the conventional warheads that are used on high-precision missiles to hit various targets, wide application they obtain multi-factor warheads (high-explosive-cumulative with a penetrating effect) weighing 250-350 kg. The latest achievements in the field of microelectronics, propulsion systems, highly efficient fuels and structural materials ensure the development of supersonic, high-precision, stealth missiles with a range of up to 3,500 km, weighing no more than 1,500 kg.

Lit.: Creative heritage Academician S.P. Korolev. Selected works and documents / Edited by M. V. Keldysh. M., 1980; Prospects and ways to improve weapons systems with sea-based cruise missiles. St. Petersburg, 1999; Salunin V., Burenok V. High-precision long-range fire weapons: military and technical aspects of creation // Military Parade. 2003. No. 1.

“Harpoon”, “Tomahawk”, “Caliber”, “Onyx” or “Brahmos”: who can compete with them for the title of the best cruise missile in the world?

Recently, the cruise missile has become one of the most deadly and sought-after types of weapons. Reach the enemy with a scalpel-point strike, eliminate him command bunker, sink a flagship, or carry out a massive attack on enemy positions - only cruise missiles are capable of performing all these tasks at once. Cheap, cheerful, effective, and, most importantly, without any participation from the pilot. It is for these reasons that all the leading world powers and countries of lower rank are trying to effectively develop their technologies aimed at building new models of these formidable weapons. But who among them has gone the furthest? Whose gunsmiths created the world's most advanced cruise missile?

Answers to these questions in a special review of the ten best cruise missiles in the world.

10th place: RGM-84 Harpoon Block II (USA).

Our top “American old man” opens, developed in the middle of the last century, one of the most common cruise missiles in the world, a kind of anti-ship “harpoon” - RGM-84 of the latest modification Block II. The reliable, proven system is truly universal and can be based both on land and in the air, on water and under water. But it is only capable of hitting naval targets, and even then at a very short distance, only 130 kilometers and with a not very high maximum speed of 860 km/h, and it carries only a little more than 200 kilograms of combat load. Agree, very, very modest.

With such parameters, breaking through a modern enemy missile defense system and sinking a serious ship like an aircraft carrier will not help, and all sorts of target approach modes and the small dimensions of the missile will not help. And the rocket carrier will have to approach a dangerous distance. Therefore, Harpoon takes an honorable tenth place, for the sake of respect for the former glory of the “old man”.

9th place: RBS-15 Mk. III (Sweden).

The Swedish arms concern Saab began developing another “old man” from our review at the same time as the RGM-84, but development, alas, was delayed and the first modification of the missile was put into service only in 1985. But it also turned out better than its American competitor. Versatility of launch from all possible carriers, twice the flight range, practically the same warhead mass and higher flight speed: the RBS-15, the third modification, is more lethal than the Harpoon, but also cannot be used against ground targets. Therefore, the Swedish development is confidently pushing aside the American “harpoon” in our rating.

8th place: SOM (Türkiye).

Until now, the Turkish armed forces did not have a cruise missile of their own production, but in 2012 they nevertheless adopted it for service. the latest development- SOM rocket. Created in Turkish design bureaus, SOM is a fairly compact universal cruise missile capable of hitting not only sea targets, but also ground targets. The latest electronics, various target engagement modes, firing range and maximum speed flight above the level of the legendary RGM-84 - the Turks managed to realize all this in metal. But still, Turkey still lacks experience in the development of such weapons systems. Therefore, it was possible to outdo the Swedish and American analogues of SOM, but nothing more. Diagnosis: study and study again, experience in development comes with time.

7th place: Naval Strike Missile (Norway).

The Norwegians, first of all, care about protecting the maritime borders of their own state and, with their development in 2007, do not lag behind the world's leading manufacturers of cruise missiles. Naval Strike Missile outshines Harpoon, RBS-15, and SOM. The missile flies further, almost reaches the speed of sound, is assembled from composite materials, destroys all targets and can itself actively interfere with the enemy. Therefore, it is extremely difficult for such a “gift” to be intercepted by the missile defense system.

But for now, Naval Strike Missile can only be based on ships, and it carries only 125 kilograms of combat load. Not enough - the lowest indicator from our rating, therefore only 7th place.

6th place: BGM-109 Tomahawk Block IV (USA).

So, meet the legendary Tomahawk. Where would we be without him... An ageless veteran and one of the most famous cruise missiles in the world opens the list of heavyweights in our ranking.

The longest range of destruction, the most intense history of combat use, a very serious warhead mass of 450 kilograms - the American “tomahawk” is the most serious threat to the enemy. For an enemy that does not have the same modern air defense system, for example, third world countries. Subsonic speed, coupled with the inability to maneuver with high overloads, makes the American “miracle weapon” an easy target for the latest anti-aircraft missiles enemy.

But still, the flight range of 1600 kilometers plays a significant role, so place number 6.

5th place: Storm Shadow/SCALP EG (France-Italy-Great Britain).

The joint development of the leading arms concerns of the European Union should have led to something, at least, grandiose. This is how the unique Storm Shadow cruise missile, packed with electronics and made using stealth technology, was born. Its tandem-type warhead, weighing almost half a ton, allows it to penetrate the most serious armor, and the combined guidance system with target recognition mode can hit the most difficult targets.

It would seem that Storm Shadow should be the leader of this rating, if not for one “but”... maximum speed. The missile cannot overcome the supersonic barrier, which means that it remains a fairly easy victim for the latest missile defense systems.

4th place: R-800 “Onyx/Yakhont” (Russia).

"Old Man" of Soviet design in the late 70s earned its place on the list thanks to one advantage - a supersonic flight speed of 3000 km/h. None of the cruise missiles presented above developed in the West has such a characteristic, which means that Onyx has practically no equal in breaking through modern missile defense systems. And the complete unification of the main types of carriers (surface, underwater, ground) and the possibility of use against targets of any location confidently place the Russian missile in 4th place.

3rd place: 3M-54 “Caliber” (Russia).

The newest Russian weapons system, developed at the turn of the century, recently shocked the whole world with its combat capabilities, during the autumn missile launches against the positions of Daesh militants*. Amazing ability to deploy on all types of carriers, including in specially camouflaged containers. Amazing maximum flight speed, almost three times the speed of sound. Amazing targeting and hitting accuracy. One of the highest firing ranges and the largest warhead mass. “Caliber” certainly deserved it highest place in our rating!

But, alas, most of the data on the Russian cruise missile is classified and we can only be guided by approximate parameters. Therefore - bronze.

2nd place: YJ-18 (China).

Any rating will always have its own “dark horse”; ours is made in China. Very little is known about the YJ-18 cruise missile: the Celestial Empire has always been able to keep its secrets, but, apparently, it is a serious modification Russian analogue 3M-54 “Caliber”, the technology of which was acquired by the Chinese along with Project 636 submarines.

Well, what could be better and more lethal than the improved “Caliber”? That's right, practically nothing, that means silver.

1st place: BRAHMOS (Russia-India).

The only things better than mountains are mountains, and the only thing better than “Caliber” and the “Caliber” modified by the Chinese is BRAHMOS. The newest Russian-Indian cruise missile, created on the basis of the R-800 Onyx, leads the ranking.

A maximum speed of 3,700 km/h, a mixed flight profile, providing a completely unpredictable trajectory of approach to a target at ultra-low altitudes at supersonic speed, 300 kilograms of warhead (penetrating, high-explosive fragmentation, cassette) and a launch range of 300 kilometers - save from BRAHMOS is unlikely to be capable of any missile defense. Well, if we add here the possibility of being based on any type of carrier and the ability to destroy absolutely any targets, then it becomes clear why the gold belongs to the Russian-Indian missile.

Well, and finally - a short video with colorful launches of all the presented missiles.

* – The organization’s activities are prohibited on the territory of the Russian Federation by decision of the Supreme Court.

Over the past two decades, all relatively large-scale military conflicts involving the United States and NATO countries included, as a mandatory element, the massive use of sea- and air-launched cruise missiles.

The US leadership is actively promoting and constantly improving the concept of “non-contact” warfare using long-range precision weapons (HPE). This idea assumes, firstly, the absence (or reduction to a minimum) of human losses on the part of the attacker and, secondly, an effective solution to the most important task characteristic of initial stage any armed conflict, gaining unconditional air supremacy and suppressing the enemy’s air defense system.

Delivering “non-contact” strikes suppresses the morale of the defenders, creates a feeling of helplessness and inability to fight the aggressor, and has a depressing effect on the highest command bodies of the defending side and subordinate troops.

In addition to the “operational-tactical” results, the achievability of which the Americans have repeatedly demonstrated during the anti-Iraqi campaigns, strikes on Afghanistan, Yugoslavia, etc., the accumulation of missiles also pursues a “strategic” goal. The press is increasingly discussing a scenario according to which the simultaneous destruction of the most important components of the Strategic nuclear forces(SNF) of the Russian Federation with conventional warheads of the Kyrgyz Republic, mainly sea-based, during the first “disarming strike”. After delivering such a strike, command posts, silo and mobile launchers of the Strategic Missile Forces, air defense facilities, airfields, submarines in bases, control and communications systems, etc. must be disabled.

Achieving the required effect, according to the American military leadership, can be achieved thanks to:
- reduction combat personnel Strategic nuclear forces of the Russian Federation in accordance with bilateral agreements;
— increasing the number of WTO weapons used in the first strike (primarily by the Kyrgyz Republic);
— the creation of an effective missile defense system for Europe and the United States, capable of “finishing off” Russian strategic nuclear forces that were not destroyed during a disarming strike.

It is obvious to any unbiased researcher that the US government (regardless of the name and color of the president’s skin) is persistently and persistently seeking a situation where Russia will be, like Libya and Syria, driven into a corner, and its leadership will have to make the last choice: agree to full and unconditional surrender in terms of making the most important foreign policy decisions, or still try out the next version of “decisive force” or “enduring freedom”.

In the described situation, Russia needs no less energetic and, most importantly, effective measures that can, if not prevent, then at least postpone “D-Day” (maybe the situation will change, the severity of the threat will be reduced, new arguments will appear against the implementation of the “force option” “, the Martians will land, the American “tops” will become more sane - in order of decreasing probability).

Having enormous resources and reserves of constantly improved WTO models, the US military and political leadership rightly believes that repelling a massive strike by the Kyrgyz Republic is an extremely expensive and difficult task, which today is beyond the capabilities of any of the potential adversaries of the United States.

Today, the Russian Federation’s capabilities to repel such a strike are clearly insufficient. The high cost of modern air defense systems, be they anti-aircraft missile systems(ZRS) or manned aviation complexes(PAK) interception, does not allow them to be deployed in required quantity taking into account the enormous length of the borders of the Russian Federation and the uncertainty about the directions from which strikes using missile defense could be launched.

Meanwhile, having undoubted advantages, CDs are not without significant drawbacks:

- Firstly, on modern samples of “lionfish” there are no means of detecting the fact of an attack by a missile launcher from a fighter;

- Secondly, on relatively long sections of the route, cruise missiles fly at a constant course, speed and altitude, which facilitates interception;

- Thirdly As a rule, missiles fly to the target in a compact group, which makes it easier for the attacker to plan a strike and theoretically helps to increase the survivability of missiles; however, the latter is carried out only if the target channels of air defense systems are saturated, and otherwise this tactic plays a negative role, facilitating the organization of interception;

- fourthly, the flight speed of modern cruise missiles is still subsonic, about 800...900 km/h, so there is usually a significant time resource (tens of minutes) to intercept a missile launcher.

The analysis shows that to combat cruise missiles, a system capable of:
— intercept a large number of small-sized subsonic non-maneuvering air targets at extremely low altitude in a limited area in a limited time;
— to cover with one element of this subsystem an area (line) with a width much greater than that of existing air defense systems at low altitudes (approximately 500...1000 km);
— have a high probability of completing a combat mission in any weather conditions, day and night;
— provide a significantly higher value of the complex “efficiency/cost” criterion when intercepting missiles compared to classic air defense systems and interception missile systems.

This system must be interfaced with other air defense/missile defense systems and means in terms of control, reconnaissance of enemy air, communications, etc.

Experience in fighting the Kyrgyz Republic in military conflicts

The scale of the use of the Kyrgyz Republic in armed conflicts is characterized by the following indicators. During Operation Desert Storm in 1991, 297 launches of Tomahawk-class SLCMs were carried out from US Navy surface ships and submarines deployed in the Mediterranean and Red Seas, as well as in the Persian Gulf.

In 1998, during Operation Desert Fox, the US military fired more than 370 sea- and air-launched cruise missiles into Iraq.

In 1999, during the NATO aggression against Yugoslavia as part of Operation Resolute Force, cruise missiles were used in three massive air and missile strikes that took place during the first two days of the conflict. The United States and its allies then moved on to systematic warfare, which also included the use of cruise missiles. In total, during the period of active operations, more than 700 launches of sea- and air-based missiles were carried out.

During systematic combat operations in Afghanistan, the US armed forces used more than 600 cruise missiles, and during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, at least 800 cruise missiles.

In the open press, as a rule, the results of the use of cruise missiles are embellished, creating the impression of the “inevitability” of strikes and their highest accuracy. Thus, a video was repeatedly shown on television, which demonstrated the case of a direct hit by a cruise missile on the window of a target building, etc. However, no information was provided either about the conditions under which this experiment was carried out, or about the date and place of its conduct.

However, there are other assessments in which cruise missiles are characterized by noticeably less impressive effectiveness. It's about, in particular, about the report of a US Congressional commission and about materials published by an Iraqi army officer, in which the share of American cruise missiles hit by Iraqi air defense systems in 1991 is estimated at approximately 50%. The losses of cruise missiles from Yugoslav air defense systems in 1999 are considered somewhat smaller, but also significant.

In both cases, cruise missiles were shot down primarily by portable air defense systems of the Strela and Igla types. The most important condition for interception was the concentration of MANPADS crews in missile-hazardous directions and timely warning of the approach of cruise missiles. Attempts to use “more serious” air defense systems to combat cruise missiles were difficult, since the inclusion of target detection radars from the air defense system almost immediately caused attacks on them using anti-radar aircraft weapons.

Under these conditions, the Iraqi army, for example, returned to the practice of organizing aerial observation posts that detected cruise missiles visually and reported their appearance by telephone. During the period of fighting in Yugoslavia, highly mobile Osa-AK air defense systems were used to counter cruise missiles, turning on the radar for a short time and immediately changing position after this.

So, one of the most important tasks is to eliminate the possibility of “total” blinding of the air defense/missile defense system with the loss of the ability to adequately illuminate the air situation.

The second task is the rapid concentration of active agents in the directions of attack. Modern air defense systems are not entirely suitable for solving these problems.

Americans are also afraid of cruise missiles

Long before September 11, 2001, when kamikaze planes with passengers on board struck United States facilities, American analysts identified another hypothetical threat to the country, which, in their opinion, could be created by “rogue states” and even individual terrorist groups.

Imagine the following scenario. Two to three hundred kilometers from the coast of the country where the “Happy Nation” lives, a nondescript cargo ship appears with containers on the upper deck. Early in the morning, in order to take advantage of the haze that makes it difficult to visually detect air targets, cruise missiles, of course, Soviet-made or their copies, “bundled” by craftsmen from an unnamed country, are suddenly launched from several containers on board this vessel. Next, the containers are thrown overboard and flooded, and the missile-carrying ship pretends to be an “innocent merchant” who ended up here by accident.

Cruise missiles fly low and their launch is not easy to detect. And their combat units are filled with not ordinary explosives, not teddy bears with calls for democracy in their paws, and, of course, powerful toxic substances or, at worst, anthrax spores. Ten to fifteen minutes later, rockets appear over an unsuspecting coastal city... Needless to say, the picture was painted by the hand of a master who has seen enough of American horror films.

But in order to convince the American Congress to fork out money, a “direct and clear threat” is needed. the main problem: to intercept such missiles, there is practically no time left to alert active interception means - missile defense systems or manned fighters, because a ground-based radar will be able to “see” a cruise missile rushing at a ten-meter altitude at a distance not exceeding several tens of kilometers.

In 1998, money was first allocated in the United States as part of the Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System (JLENS) program to develop a means of protecting against the nightmare of cruise missiles arriving “out of nowhere.” In October 2005, research and experimental work related to testing the ideas for feasibility were completed, and Raytheon received the go-ahead to manufacture prototypes of the JLENS system. Now we are no longer talking about some unfortunate tens of millions of dollars, but about a substantial amount - 1.4 billion dollars.

In 2009, elements of the system were demonstrated: a 71M helium balloon with a ground station for ascent/lowering and maintenance, and Science Applications International Corp. from St. Petersburg received an order for the design and manufacture of an antenna for a radar, which is the payload of the balloon.

A year later, a seventy-meter balloon took to the sky for the first time with a radar on board, and in 2011 the system was tested almost in full: first they simulated electronic targets, then they launched a low-flying aircraft, after which it was the turn of a drone with a very small ESR.

Actually, there are two antennas under the balloon: one for detecting small targets at a relatively long range, and the other for precise target designation at a shorter range. Power to the antennas is supplied from the ground, the reflected signal is “dropped” through a fiber optic cable. The performance of the system was tested up to a height of 4500 m. The ground station includes a winch that ensures lifting the balloon to the desired height, a power source, as well as a control cabin with workstations for the dispatcher, meteorologist and balloon control operator.

It is reported that the equipment of the JLENS system is interfaced with the shipborne Aegis air defense system, ground-based Patriot air defense systems, as well as with the SLAMRAAM complexes (a new self-defense air defense system in which converted AIM-120 missiles, previously positioned as air-to-air missiles, are used as active means air").

However, in the spring of 2012, the JLENS program began to experience difficulties: the Pentagon, as part of the planned budget cuts, announced the refusal to deploy the first batch of 12 serial stations with 71M balloons, leaving only two already manufactured stations for fine-tuning the radar and eliminating identified deficiencies in hardware and software .

On April 30, 2012, during practical launches of missile defense systems at a training test site in Utah, using target designation from the JLENS system, an unmanned aircraft using electronic warfare equipment was shot down. A Raytheon representative noted: “The point is not only that the UAV was intercepted, but also that it was possible to fulfill all the requirements of the technical specifications to ensure reliable interaction between the JLENS system and the Patriot air defense system.” The company is hoping for renewed military interest in the JLENS system, as it was previously planned that the Pentagon would purchase hundreds of kits between 2012 and 2022.

It can be considered symptomatic that even the richest country in the world, apparently, still considers unacceptable the price that would have to be paid to build the “great American missile defense wall” based on the use of traditional means of intercepting missiles, even in cooperation with the latest systems for detecting low-flying air targets.

Proposals for the design and organization of countering cruise missiles using unmanned fighters

The analysis carried out indicates that it is advisable to build a system for combating cruise missiles based on the use of relatively mobile units armed with guided missiles with thermal seekers, which should be timely concentrated in the threatened direction. Such units should not contain stationary or low-mobility ground-based radars, which immediately become targets of enemy attacks using anti-radar missiles.

Ground-based air defense systems with surface-to-air missiles with thermal seekers are characterized by a small heading parameter of a few kilometers. To reliably cover a 500 km-long border, dozens of complexes will be required.

A significant part of the forces and means of ground-based air defense in the event of enemy cruise missiles flying along one or two routes will be “out of work.” Problems will arise with the placement of positions, the organization of timely warning and target distribution, and the possibility of “saturating” the fire capabilities of air defense systems in a limited area. In addition, it is quite difficult to ensure the mobility of such a system.

An alternative could be the use of relatively small unmanned interceptor fighters armed with guided missiles short range with thermal seekers.

A unit of such aircraft can be based at one airfield (airfield takeoff and landing) or at several points (non-airfield launch, airfield landing).

The main advantage of unmanned aircraft intercepting cruise missiles is the ability to quickly concentrate efforts in a limited flight corridor of enemy missiles. The feasibility of using BIKR against cruise missiles is also due to the fact that the “intelligence” of such a fighter, currently implemented on the basis of existing information sensors and computers, is sufficient to hit targets that do not provide active counteraction (with the exception of the counter-detonation system for nuclear-powered cruise missiles). warhead).

A small-sized unmanned cruise missile fighter (BIKR) must carry an on-board radar with a detection range of an air target of the “cruise missile” class against the background of the ground of about 100 km (Irbis class), several air-to-air missiles (R-60, R-73 class or MANPADS "Igla"), as well as possibly an aircraft cannon.

The relatively small mass and size of the BIKR should help reduce the cost of the devices compared to manned fighter-interceptors, as well as reduce the total fuel consumption, which is important given the need for mass use of the BIKR (the maximum required engine thrust can be estimated at 2.5...3 tf, t i.e. approximately like the serial AI-222-25). To effectively combat cruise missiles, the maximum flight speed of the BIKR should be transonic or low supersonic, and the ceiling should be relatively small, no more than 10 km.

BIKR control at all stages of flight must be provided by an “electronic pilot”, whose functions must be significantly expanded compared to standard automatic control systems for aircraft. In addition to autonomous control, it is advisable to provide for the possibility of remote control of the BIKR and its systems, for example, during the takeoff and landing stages, as well as, possibly, the combat use of weapons or making a decision to use weapons.

The process of combat use of the BIKR unit can be briefly described as follows. After the senior commander’s means (a low-mobile ground-based surveillance radar cannot be introduced into the unit!) have detected the fact that enemy cruise missiles are approaching into the air, several BIKRs are lifted into the air in such a way that, after reaching the target areas, the detection zones of the airborne radars of unmanned interceptors completely cover the width of the entire covered area. plot.

Initially, the maneuvering area of ​​a particular BIKR is specified before departure in a flight mission. If necessary, the area can be clarified in flight by transmitting relevant data over a secure radio link. In the event of a lack of communication with the ground command post (radio link suppression), one of the BIKR acquires the properties of a “command apparatus” with certain powers.

As part of the “electronic pilot” of the BIKR, it is necessary to provide an air situation analysis unit, which should ensure the massing of BIKR forces in the air in the direction of approach of the enemy’s tactical group of cruise missiles, as well as organize the call of additional duty forces of the BIKR in the event that all cruise missiles fail manages to intercept the “active” BIKR. Thus, the BIKRs on duty in the air will, to a certain extent, play the role of a kind of “surveillance radars”, practically invulnerable to enemy anti-radar missiles. They can also fight streams of relatively low-density cruise missiles.

In the event that those on duty in the air BIKR are diverted to one direction, additional devices must be immediately raised from the airfield, which must prevent the formation of uncovered zones in the unit’s area of ​​responsibility.

During a threatened period, it is possible to organize continuous combat duty of several BIKR. If the need arises to transfer units to a new direction, BIKR can fly to a new airfield “on their own.” To ensure landing, a control cabin and a crew must first be delivered to this airfield by transport aircraft to ensure the necessary operations are performed (more than one “transporter” may be required, but still the problem of long-distance transfer is potentially easier to solve than in the case of air defense systems, and in a much shorter time).

During the flight to a new airfield, the BIKR must be controlled by an “electronic pilot”. It is obvious that in addition to the “combat” minimum equipment to ensure flight safety in peacetime, the BIKR automation must include a subsystem for eliminating collisions in the air with other aircraft.

Only flight experiments will be able to confirm or refute the possibility of destroying an enemy missile system or other unmanned aerial vehicle using fire from an onboard BIKR cannon.

If the probability of destroying a cruise missile by cannon fire turns out to be high enough, then according to the “effectiveness - cost” criterion, this method of destroying enemy cruise missiles will be beyond any competition.

The central problem in creating the BIKR is not so much the development of the aircraft itself with the appropriate flight data, equipment and weapons, but rather the creation of effective artificial intelligence (AI) that ensures the effective use of BIKR units.

It appears that AI tasks in this case can be divided into three groups:
— a group of tasks that ensures rational control of a single BIKR at all stages of flight;
— a group of tasks that ensures rational management of a group of airborne missile systems that covers the established airspace boundary;
— a group of tasks that ensures rational control of the BIKR unit on the ground and in the air, taking into account the need for periodic changes of aircraft, build-up of forces taking into account the scale of the enemy’s attack, interaction with the reconnaissance and active assets of the senior commander.

The problem, to a certain extent, is that the development of AI for BIKR is not a profile either for the creators of the aircraft themselves, or for the developers of on-board self-propelled guns or radars. Without perfect AI, a drone fighter turns into an ineffective, expensive toy that can discredit the idea. The creation of a BIKR with a sufficiently developed AI could be a necessary step towards a multifunctional unmanned fighter capable of fighting not only unmanned but also manned enemy aircraft.

/AlexanderMedved, Associate Professor at the Synergy Federal University of Philosophy, Ph.D., engine.aviaport.ru/