Types of missiles: medium-range, tactical, etc. The design and principle of operation of the rocket

What is the structure of a multistage rocket Let's look at the classic example of a rocket for space flight, described in the works of Tsiolkovsky, the founder of rocket science. It was he who was the first to publish the fundamental idea of ​​​​manufacturing a multi-stage rocket.

The principle of operation of the rocket.

In order to overcome gravity, a rocket needs a large supply of fuel, and the more fuel we take, the greater the mass of the rocket. Therefore, to reduce the mass of the rocket, they are built on the multi-stage principle. Each stage can be considered as a separate rocket with its own rocket engine and fuel supply for flight.

Construction of space rocket stages.

First stage of a space rocket the largest, in a rocket for flight, the space of the 1st stage engines can be up to 6 and the heavier the load that needs to be launched into space, the more engines there are in the first stage of the rocket.

In the classic version there are three of them, located symmetrically along the edges of an isosceles triangle, as if encircling the perimeter of the rocket. This stage is the largest and most powerful; it is the one that lifts off the rocket. When the fuel in the first stage of a rocket is used up, the entire stage is discarded.

After this, the rocket's movement is controlled by the second stage engines. They are sometimes called boosters, since it is with the help of the second stage engines that the rocket reaches its first escape velocity, sufficient to enter low-Earth orbit.

This can be repeated several times, with each rocket stage weighing less than the previous one, since the Earth’s gravitational force decreases with altitude.

The number of times this process is repeated is the number of stages a space rocket contains. The last stage of the rocket is designed for maneuvering (propulsion engines for flight correction are present in each stage of the rocket) and delivering the payload and astronauts to their destination.

We reviewed the device and rocket operating principle, ballistic multistage rockets, a terrible weapon carrying nuclear weapons, are constructed in exactly the same way and are not fundamentally different from space rockets. They are capable of completely destroying both life on the entire planet and life itself.

Multistage ballistic missiles They enter low-Earth orbit and from there they hit ground targets with split warheads with nuclear warheads. Moreover, it takes them 20-25 minutes to fly to the most remote point.

The content of the article

ROCKET WEAPONS, guided missiles and missiles are unmanned weapons whose movement trajectories from the starting point to the target are realized using rocket or jet engines and guidance means. Rockets usually have the latest electronic equipment, and the most advanced technologies are used in their manufacture.

Historical reference.

Already in the 14th century. missiles were used in China for military purposes. However, it was only in the 1920s and 1930s that technologies emerged that made it possible to equip a rocket with instruments and controls capable of guiding it from the launch point to the target. This was made possible primarily by gyroscopes and electronic equipment.

The Treaty of Versailles, which ended World War I, deprived Germany of its most important weapons and prohibited it from rearming. However, missiles were not mentioned in this agreement, since their development was considered unpromising. As a result, the German military establishment showed interest in missiles and guided missiles, which ushered in a new era in the field of weapons. Ultimately, it turned out that Nazi Germany was developing 138 projects for guided missiles of various types. The most famous of them are two types of “retaliation weapons”: the V-1 cruise missile and the V-2 inertial guidance ballistic missile. They inflicted heavy losses on Britain and the Allied forces during the Second World War.

TECHNICAL FEATURES

There are many different types of military missiles, but each of them is characterized by the use of the latest technologies in the field of control and guidance, engines, warheads, electronic jamming, etc.

Guidance.

If the rocket is launched and does not lose stability in flight, it is still necessary to bring it to the target. Various types of guidance systems have been developed.

Inertial guidance.

For the first ballistic missiles, it was considered acceptable if the inertial system launched the missile to a point located several kilometers from the target: with a payload in the form of a nuclear charge, destruction of the target in this case is quite possible. However, this forced both sides to further protect the most important objects by placing them in shelters or concrete shafts. In turn, rocket designers have improved inertial guidance systems, ensuring that the rocket's trajectory is corrected by means of celestial navigation and tracking the earth's horizon. Advances in gyroscopy also played a significant role. By the 1980s, the guidance error of intercontinental ballistic missiles was less than 1 km.

Homing.

Most missiles carrying conventional explosives require some form of homing system. With active homing, the missile is equipped with its own radar and electronic equipment, which guides it until it meets the target.

In semi-active homing, the target is irradiated by a radar located at or near the launch pad. The missile is guided by a signal reflected from the target. Semi-active homing saves a lot of expensive equipment on the launch pad, but gives the operator control over target selection.

Laser designators, which came into use in the early 1970s, proved highly effective in the Vietnam War, reducing the amount of time aircrew remained exposed to enemy fire and the number of missiles needed to hit a target. The guidance system of such a missile does not actually perceive any radiation other than that emitted by the laser. Since the scattering of the laser beam is small, it can irradiate an area not exceeding the dimensions of the target.

Passive homing involves detecting radiation emitted or reflected by a target and then calculating a course that will guide the missile toward the target. These can be radar signals emitted by enemy air defense systems, light and thermal radiation from the engines of an aircraft or other object.

Wire and fiber optic communications.

The control technique typically used is based on a wired or fiber-optic connection between the rocket and the launch platform. This connection reduces the cost of the rocket, since the most expensive components remain in the launch complex and can be reused. Only a small control unit is retained in the rocket, which is necessary to ensure the stability of the initial movement of the rocket launched from the launch device.

Engines.

The movement of combat missiles is ensured, as a rule, by solid fuel rocket engines (solid propellant rocket motors); Some missiles use liquid fuel, while cruise missiles prefer jet engines. The rocket engine is autonomous, and its operation is not related to the supply of air from the outside (like the operation of piston or jet engines). The fuel and solid fuel oxidizer are crushed to a powder state and mixed with a liquid binder. The mixture is poured into the engine housing and cured. After this, no preparations are needed to operate the engine in combat conditions. Although most tactical guided missiles operate in the atmosphere, they are powered by rocket engines rather than jet engines, since solid rocket motors are quicker to launch, have few moving parts, and are more energy efficient. Jet engines are used in guided missiles with a long active flight time, when the use of atmospheric air provides a significant gain. Liquid rocket engines (LPRE) were widely used in the 1950s and 1960s.

Improvements in solid fuel manufacturing technology have made it possible to begin production of solid propellant rocket engines with controlled combustion characteristics, eliminating the formation of cracks in the charge, which could lead to an accident. Rocket engines, especially solid propellant engines, age as the substances they contain gradually enter into chemical bonds and change composition, so control fire tests should be periodically carried out. If the accepted shelf life of any of the tested samples is not confirmed, the entire batch is replaced.

Warhead.

When using fragmentation warheads, metal fragments (usually thousands of steel or tungsten cubes) are directed at the target at the moment of explosion. Such shrapnel is most effective in hitting aircraft, communications equipment, air defense radars and people outside shelter. The warhead is driven by a fuse, which detonates when the target is hit or some distance from it. In the latter case, with the so-called non-contact initiation, the fuse is triggered when the signal from the target (reflected radar beam, thermal radiation, or signal from small on-board lasers or light sensors) reaches a certain threshold.

To destroy tanks and armored vehicles covering soldiers, shaped charges are used, ensuring the self-organizing formation of directed movement of warhead fragments.

Advances in the field of guidance systems have allowed designers to create kinetic weapons - missiles, the destructive effect of which is determined by an extremely high speed of movement, which upon impact leads to the release of enormous kinetic energy. Such missiles are usually used for missile defense.

Electronic interference.

The use of combat missiles is closely related to the creation of electronic interference and means of combating it. The purpose of such jamming is to create signals or noise that will "trick" the missile into following a false target. Early methods of creating electronic interference involved throwing out strips of aluminum foil. On locator screens, the presence of ribbons turns into a visual representation of noise. Modern electronic jamming systems analyze received radar signals and transmit false ones to mislead the enemy, or simply generate enough radio frequency interference to jam the enemy system. Computers have become an important part of military electronics. Non-electronic interference includes the creation of flashes, e.g. decoys for enemy heat-seeking missiles, as well as specially designed jet turbines that mix atmospheric air with exhaust gases to reduce the infrared "visibility" of the aircraft.

Anti-electronic interference systems use techniques such as changing operating frequencies and using polarized electromagnetic waves.

Advance assembly and testing.

The requirement for minimal maintenance and high combat readiness of missile weapons led to the development of the so-called. "certified" missiles. Assembled and tested missiles are sealed at the factory in a container and then sent to a warehouse where they are stored until they are requested by military units. In this case, field assembly (as practiced for the first missiles) becomes unnecessary, and electronic equipment does not require testing and troubleshooting.

TYPES OF COMBAT MISSILES

Ballistic missiles.

Ballistic missiles are designed to transport thermonuclear charges to a target. They can be classified as follows: 1) intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) with a flight range of 5600–24,000 km, 2) intermediate-range missiles (above average) – 2400–5600 km, 3) “naval” ballistic missiles (with a range of 1400– 9200 km), launched from submarines, 4) medium-range missiles (800–2400 km). Intercontinental and naval missiles, together with strategic bombers, form the so-called. "nuclear triad".

A ballistic missile spends only a matter of minutes moving its warhead along a parabolic trajectory ending at the target. Most of the warhead's travel time is spent flying and descending through space. Heavy ballistic missiles usually carry multiple individually targetable warheads, directed at the same target or having their own targets (usually within a radius of several hundred kilometers from the main target). To ensure the required aerodynamic characteristics during atmospheric reentry, the warhead is given a lens-shaped or conical shape. The device is equipped with a heat-protective coating, which sublimates, passing from a solid state directly into a gaseous state, and thereby ensures the removal of heat from aerodynamic heating. The warhead is equipped with a small proprietary navigation system to compensate for inevitable trajectory deviations that can change the rendezvous point.

V-2.

The first successful flight of the V-2 took place in October 1942. In total, more than 5,700 of these missiles were manufactured. 85% of them launched successfully, but only 20% hit the target, while the rest exploded upon approach. 1,259 missiles hit London and its environs. However, the Belgian port of Antwerp was hit the hardest.

Ballistic missiles with above average range.

As part of a large-scale research program using German rocket specialists and V-2 rockets captured during the defeat of Germany, US Army specialists designed and tested the short-range Corporal and medium-range Redstone missiles. The Corporal missile was soon replaced by the solid-fuel Sargent, and the Redstone was replaced by the Jupiter, a larger liquid-fuel missile with an above-average range.

ICBM.

ICBM development in the United States began in 1947. Atlas, the first US ICBM, entered service in 1960.

The Soviet Union began developing larger missiles around this time. His Sapwood (SS-6), the world's first intercontinental rocket, became a reality with the launch of the first satellite (1957).

The US Atlas and Titan 1 rockets (the latter entered service in 1962), like the Soviet SS-6, used cryogenic liquid fuel, and therefore their preparation time for launch was measured in hours. “Atlas” and “Titan-1” were initially housed in heavy-duty hangars and were brought into combat condition only before launch. However, after some time, the Titan-2 rocket appeared, located in a concrete shaft and having an underground control center. Titan-2 ran on long-lasting self-igniting liquid fuel. In 1962, the Minuteman, a three-stage solid-fuel ICBM, entered service, delivering a single 1 Mt charge to a target 13,000 km away.

This article will introduce the reader to such an interesting topic as the space rocket, launch vehicle and all the useful experience that this invention has brought to humanity. It will also talk about payloads delivered into outer space. Space exploration began not so long ago. In the USSR it was the middle of the third five-year plan, when the Second World War ended. The space rocket was developed in many countries, but even the United States failed to overtake us at that stage.

First

The first successful launch to leave the USSR was a space launch vehicle with an artificial satellite on board on October 4, 1957. The PS-1 satellite was successfully launched into low-Earth orbit. It should be noted that this required the creation of six generations, and only the seventh generation of Russian space rockets were able to develop the speed required to enter near-Earth space - eight kilometers per second. Otherwise, it is impossible to overcome the gravity of the Earth.

This became possible in the process of developing long-range ballistic weapons, where engine boost was used. It should not be confused: a space rocket and a spaceship are two different things. The rocket is a delivery vehicle, and the ship is attached to it. Instead, there can be anything there - a space rocket can carry a satellite, equipment, and a nuclear warhead, which has always served and still serves as a deterrent for nuclear powers and an incentive to preserve peace.

Story

The first to theoretically substantiate the launch of a space rocket were Russian scientists Meshchersky and Tsiolkovsky, who already in 1897 described the theory of its flight. Much later, this idea was picked up by Oberth and von Braun from Germany and Goddard from the USA. It was in these three countries that work began on the problems of jet propulsion, the creation of solid fuel and liquid jet engines. These issues were best resolved in Russia; at least solid fuel engines were already widely used in World War II (Katyusha engines). Liquid jet engines were better developed in Germany, which created the first ballistic missile, the V-2.

After the war, Wernher von Braun's team, taking the drawings and developments, found shelter in the USA, and the USSR was forced to be content with a small number of individual rocket components without any accompanying documentation. The rest we came up with ourselves. Rocket technology developed rapidly, increasingly increasing the range and weight of the load carried. In 1954, work began on the project, thanks to which the USSR was able to be the first to fly a space rocket. It was an R-7 intercontinental two-stage ballistic missile, which was soon upgraded for space. It turned out to be a success - extremely reliable, securing many records in space exploration. It is still used in its modernized form.

"Sputnik" and "Moon"

In 1957, the first space rocket - the same R-7 - launched the artificial Sputnik 1 into orbit. The United States decided to repeat such a launch a little later. However, in the first attempt, their space rocket did not go into space; it exploded at the start - even on live television. "Vanguard" was designed by a purely American team, and it did not live up to expectations. Then Wernher von Braun took up the project, and in February 1958 the launch of the space rocket was a success. Meanwhile, in the USSR the R-7 was modernized - a third stage was added to it. As a result, the speed of the space rocket became completely different - a second cosmic speed was achieved, thanks to which it became possible to leave the Earth's orbit. For several more years, the R-7 series was modernized and improved. The engines of space rockets were changed, and a lot of experiments were done with the third stage. The next attempts were successful. The speed of the space rocket made it possible not only to leave the Earth’s orbit, but also to think about studying other planets in the solar system.

But at first, mankind's attention was almost completely focused on the Earth's natural satellite - the Moon. In 1959, the Soviet space station Luna 1 flew to it, which was supposed to make a hard landing on the lunar surface. However, due to insufficiently accurate calculations, the device passed a little past (six thousand kilometers) and rushed towards the Sun, where it settled into orbit. This is how our star got its first artificial satellite - an accidental gift. But our natural satellite was not alone for long, and in the same 1959, Luna-2 flew to it, completing its task absolutely correctly. A month later, Luna 3 delivered us photographs of the far side of our night star. And in 1966, Luna 9 softly landed right in the Ocean of Storms, and we received panoramic views of the lunar surface. The lunar program continued for a long time, until the time when American astronauts landed on it.

Yuri Gagarin

April 12 has become one of the most significant days in our country. It is impossible to convey the power of the people's jubilation, pride, and truly happiness when the world's first human flight into space was announced. Yuri Gagarin became not only a national hero, he was applauded by the whole world. And therefore, April 12, 1961, a day that triumphantly went down in history, became Cosmonautics Day. The Americans urgently tried to respond to this unprecedented step in order to share space glory with us. A month later, Alan Shepard took off, but the ship did not go into orbit; it was a suborbital flight in an arc, and the United States succeeded in orbital flight only in 1962.

Gagarin flew into space on the Vostok spacecraft. This is a special machine in which Korolev created an extremely successful space platform that solves many different practical problems. At the same time, at the very beginning of the sixties, not only a manned version of space flight was being developed, but a photo reconnaissance project was also completed. "Vostok" generally had many modifications - more than forty. And today satellites from the Bion series are in operation - these are direct descendants of the ship on which the first manned flight into space was made. In the same 1961, German Titov had a much more complex expedition, who spent the whole day in space. The United States was able to repeat this achievement only in 1963.

"East"

An ejection seat was provided for cosmonauts on all Vostok spacecraft. This was a wise decision, since a single device performed tasks both at the launch (emergency rescue of the crew) and the soft landing of the descent module. Designers focused their efforts on developing one device rather than two. This reduced the technical risk; in aviation, the catapult system at that time was already well developed. On the other hand, there is a huge gain in time than if you design a completely new device. After all, the space race continued, and the USSR won it by a fairly large margin.

Titov landed in the same way. He was lucky to parachute near the railway along which the train was traveling, and was immediately photographed by journalists. The landing system, which has become the most reliable and softest, was developed in 1965 and uses a gamma altimeter. She still serves today. The USA did not have this technology, which is why all of their descent vehicles, even the new SpaceX Dragons, do not land, but splash down. Only shuttles are an exception. And in 1962, the USSR already began group flights on the Vostok-3 and Vostok-4 spacecraft. In 1963, the first woman joined the corps of Soviet cosmonauts - Valentina Tereshkova went into space, becoming the first in the world. At the same time, Valery Bykovsky set a record for the duration of a single flight that has not yet been broken - he stayed in space for five days. In 1964, the multi-seat Voskhod ship appeared, and the United States was a whole year behind. And in 1965, Alexei Leonov went into outer space!

"Venus"

In 1966, the USSR began interplanetary flights. The Venera 3 spacecraft made a hard landing on a neighboring planet and delivered there the Earth's globe and the USSR pennant. In 1975, Venera 9 managed to make a soft landing and transmit an image of the planet's surface. And "Venera-13" took color panoramic photographs and sound recordings. The AMS series (automatic interplanetary stations) for studying Venus, as well as the surrounding outer space, continues to be improved even now. The conditions on Venus are harsh, and there was practically no reliable information about them; the developers knew nothing about the pressure or temperature on the surface of the planet, all this, naturally, complicated the research.

The first series of descent vehicles even knew how to swim - just in case. Nevertheless, at first the flights were not successful, but later the USSR was so successful in Venusian wanderings that this planet began to be called Russian. "Venera-1" is the first spacecraft in human history designed to fly to other planets and explore them. It was launched in 1961, but a week later the connection was lost due to sensor overheating. The station became uncontrollable and was only able to make the world's first flyby near Venus (at a distance of about one hundred thousand kilometers).

In the footsteps

"Venera-4" helped us find out that on this planet there are two hundred and seventy-one degrees in the shadow (the night side of Venus), a pressure of up to twenty atmospheres, and the atmosphere itself is ninety percent carbon dioxide. This spacecraft also discovered a hydrogen corona. "Venera-5" and "Venera-6" told us a lot about the solar wind (plasma flows) and its structure near the planet. "Venera-7" clarified data on temperature and pressure in the atmosphere. Everything turned out to be even more complicated: the temperature closer to the surface was 475 ± 20°C, and the pressure was an order of magnitude higher. On the next spacecraft, literally everything was redone, and after one hundred and seventeen days, Venera-8 gently landed on the day side of the planet. This station had a photometer and many additional instruments. The main thing was the connection.

It turned out that the lighting on the nearest neighbor is almost no different from that on Earth - just like ours on a cloudy day. It’s not just cloudy there, the weather has really cleared up. The pictures of what the equipment saw simply stunned the earthlings. In addition, the soil and the amount of ammonia in the atmosphere were examined, and wind speed was measured. And “Venera-9” and “Venera-10” were able to show us the “neighbor” on TV. These are the world's first recordings transmitted from another planet. And these stations themselves are now artificial satellites of Venus. The last to fly to this planet were “Venera-15” and “Venera-16”, which also became satellites, having previously provided humanity with absolutely new and necessary knowledge. In 1985, the program was continued by Vega-1 and Vega-2, which studied not only Venus, but also Halley’s comet. The next flight is planned for 2024.

Something about a space rocket

Since the parameters and technical characteristics of all rockets differ from each other, let us consider a new generation launch vehicle, for example Soyuz-2.1A. It is a three-stage medium-class rocket, a modified version of the Soyuz-U, which has been in operation very successfully since 1973.

This launch vehicle is designed to launch spacecraft. The latter may have military, economic and social purposes. This rocket can launch them into different types of orbits - geostationary, geostationary, sun-synchronous, highly elliptical, medium, low.

Modernization

The rocket is extremely modernized; a fundamentally different digital control system has been created here, developed on a new domestic element base, with a high-speed on-board digital computer with a much larger amount of RAM. The digital control system provides the rocket with high-precision launch of payloads.

In addition, engines have been installed on which the injector heads of the first and second stages have been improved. A different telemetry system is in effect. Thus, the accuracy of the missile launch, its stability and, of course, controllability have increased. The mass of the space rocket did not increase, but the useful payload increased by three hundred kilograms.

Specifications

The first and second stages of the launch vehicle are equipped with liquid rocket engines RD-107A and RD-108A from NPO Energomash named after Academician Glushko, and the third stage is equipped with a four-chamber RD-0110 from the Khimavtomatika Design Bureau. Rocket fuel is liquid oxygen, which is an environmentally friendly oxidizing agent, as well as slightly toxic fuel - kerosene. The length of the rocket is 46.3 meters, the weight at launch is 311.7 tons, and without the warhead - 303.2 tons. The mass of the launch vehicle structure is 24.4 tons. The fuel components weigh 278.8 tons. Flight tests of Soyuz-2.1A began in 2004 at the Plesetsk cosmodrome, and they were successful. In 2006, the launch vehicle made its first commercial flight - it launched the European meteorological spacecraft Metop into orbit.

It must be said that rockets have different payload launch capabilities. There are light, medium and heavy carriers. The Rokot launch vehicle, for example, launches spacecraft into low-Earth orbits - up to two hundred kilometers, and therefore can carry a load of 1.95 tons. But the Proton is a heavy class, it can launch 22.4 tons into a low orbit, 6.15 tons into a geostationary orbit, and 3.3 tons into a geostationary orbit. The launch vehicle we are considering is intended for all sites used by Roscosmos: Kourou, Baikonur, Plesetsk, Vostochny, and operates within the framework of joint Russian-European projects.

Ballistic missiles have been and remain a reliable shield of Russia's national security. A shield, ready, if necessary, to turn into a sword.

R-36M "Satan"

Developer: Yuzhnoye Design Bureau
Length: 33.65 m
Diameter: 3 m
Starting weight: 208,300 kg
Flight range: 16000 km
Soviet strategic missile system of the third generation, with a heavy two-stage liquid-propelled, ampulized intercontinental ballistic missile 15A14 for placement in a silo launcher 15P714 of increased security type OS.

The Americans called the Soviet strategic missile system “Satan”. When first tested in 1973, the missile was the most powerful ballistic system ever developed. Not a single missile defense system was capable of resisting the SS-18, whose destruction radius was as much as 16 thousand meters. After the creation of the R-36M, the Soviet Union did not have to worry about the “arms race”. However, in the 1980s, the Satan was modified, and in 1988, a new version of the SS-18, the R-36M2 Voevoda, entered service with the Soviet Army, against which even modern American missile defense systems cannot do anything.

RT-2PM2. "Topol M"

Length: 22.7 m
Diameter: 1.86 m
Starting weight: 47.1 t
Flight range: 11000 km

The RT-2PM2 rocket is designed as a three-stage rocket with a powerful mixed solid fuel power plant and a fiberglass body. Testing of the rocket began in 1994. The first launch was carried out from a silo launcher at the Plesetsk cosmodrome on December 20, 1994. In 1997, after four successful launches, mass production of these missiles began. The act on the adoption of the Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missile into service by the Strategic Missile Forces of the Russian Federation was approved by the State Commission on April 28, 2000. As of the end of 2012, there were 60 silo-based and 18 mobile-based Topol-M missiles on combat duty. All silo-based missiles are on combat duty in the Taman Missile Division (Svetly, Saratov Region).

PC-24 "Yars"

Developer: MIT
Length: 23 m
Diameter: 2 m
Flight range: 11000 km
The first rocket launch took place in 2007. Unlike Topol-M, it has multiple warheads. In addition to warheads, Yars also carries a set of missile defense penetration capabilities, which makes it difficult for the enemy to detect and intercept it. This innovation makes the RS-24 the most successful combat missile in the context of the deployment of the global American missile defense system.

SRK UR-100N UTTH with 15A35 missile

Developer: Central Design Bureau of Mechanical Engineering
Length: 24.3 m
Diameter: 2.5 m
Starting weight: 105.6 t
Flight range: 10000 km
The third generation intercontinental ballistic liquid missile 15A30 (UR-100N) with a multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) was developed at the Central Design Bureau of Mechanical Engineering under the leadership of V.N. Chelomey. Flight design tests of the 15A30 ICBM were carried out at the Baikonur training ground (chairman of the state commission - Lieutenant General E.B. Volkov). The first launch of the 15A30 ICBM took place on April 9, 1973. According to official data, as of July 2009, the Strategic Missile Forces of the Russian Federation had 70 deployed 15A35 ICBMs: 1. 60th Missile Division (Tatishchevo), 41 UR-100N UTTH 2. 28th Guards Missile Division (Kozelsk), 29 UR-100N UTTH.

15Zh60 "Well done"

Developer: Yuzhnoye Design Bureau
Length: 22.6 m
Diameter: 2.4 m
Starting weight: 104.5 t
Flight range: 10000 km
RT-23 UTTH "Molodets" - strategic missile systems with solid fuel three-stage intercontinental ballistic missiles 15Zh61 and 15Zh60, mobile railway and stationary silo-based, respectively. It was a further development of the RT-23 complex. They were put into service in 1987. Aerodynamic rudders are located on the outer surface of the fairing, allowing the rocket to be controlled in roll during the operation of the first and second stages. After passing through the dense layers of the atmosphere, the fairing is discarded.

R-30 "Bulava"

Developer: MIT
Length: 11.5 m
Diameter: 2 m
Starting weight: 36.8 tons.
Flight range: 9300 km
Russian solid-fuel ballistic missile of the D-30 complex for deployment on Project 955 submarines. The first launch of the Bulava took place in 2005. Domestic authors often criticize the Bulava missile system under development for a fairly large share of unsuccessful tests. According to critics, the Bulava appeared due to Russia’s banal desire to save money: the country’s desire to reduce development costs by unifying the Bulava with land missiles made its production cheaper , than usual.

X-101/X-102

Developer: MKB "Raduga"
Length: 7.45 m
Diameter: 742 mm
Wingspan: 3 m
Starting weight: 2200-2400
Flight range: 5000-5500 km
New generation strategic cruise missile. Its body is a low-wing aircraft, but has a flattened cross-section and side surfaces. The missile's warhead, weighing 400 kg, can hit two targets at once at a distance of 100 km from each other. The first target will be hit by ammunition descending by parachute, and the second directly when hit by a missile. At a flight range of 5,000 km, the circular probable deviation (CPD) is only 5-6 meters, and at a range of 10,000 km it does not exceed 10 m.

Missiles are usually classified by type of flight path, by location and direction of launch, by flight range, by type of engine, by type of warhead, and by type of control and guidance systems.

1. Cruise missiles
2. Ballistic missiles

1. Surface-to-surface missiles
2. Surface-to-air missiles
3. Surface-to-sea missiles
4. Air-to-air missiles
5. Air-to-surface (ground, water) missiles
6. Sea-to-sea missiles
7. Sea-to-ground (coast) missiles
8. Anti-tank missiles

1. Short-range missiles
2. Medium-range missiles
3. Medium-range ballistic missiles
4. Intercontinental ballistic missiles

1. Solid propellant engine
2. Liquid engine
3. Hybrid engine
4. Ramjet engine
5. Supersonic combustion ramjet engine
6. Cryogenic engine

1. Conventional warhead
2. Nuclear warhead

1. Fly-by-wire guidance
2. Command guidance
3. Guidance by landmarks
4. Geophysical guidance
5. Inertial guidance
6. Beam guidance
7. Laser guidance
8. RF and satellite guidance

By type of flight path:

(i) Cruise missiles: Cruise missiles are unmanned, controlled (until the target is hit) aircraft that are supported in the air for most of their flight by aerodynamic lift. The main purpose of cruise missiles is to deliver an artillery shell or warhead to a target. They move through the Earth's atmosphere using jet engines. Intercontinental ballistic cruise missiles can be classified depending on their size, speed (subsonic or supersonic), flight range and launch location: from the ground, air, surface of a ship or submarine.

Depending on the flight speed, rockets are divided into:

1) Subsonic cruise missiles

2) Supersonic cruise missiles

3) Hypersonic cruise missiles

Subsonic cruise missile moves at a speed below the speed of sound. It reaches a speed of about Mach 0.8. A well-known subsonic missile is the American Tomahawk cruise missile. Other examples are the American Harpoon missile and the French Exocet.

Supersonic cruise missile moves at a speed of about 2-3 machs, that is, it covers a distance of one kilometer in approximately a second. The missile's modular design and ability to launch at different angles allows it to be installed on a wide range of launch vehicles: warships, submarines, various types of aircraft, mobile autonomous units and launch silos. The supersonic speed and mass of the warhead provides it with high kinetic energy, creating enormous striking force. As far as we know, BRAHMOS- This is the only multifunctional missile in service.

Hypersonic cruise missile moves at a speed of more than Mach 5. Many countries are working on developing hypersonic cruise missiles. Recently, the hypersonic cruise missile BRAHMOS-2, developing a speed of more than Mach 5, created by the BrahMos Aerospace enterprise, was successfully tested in India.

(ii) Ballistic missile: it is a missile that has a ballistic trajectory for most of its flight path, regardless of whether it carries a warhead or not. Ballistic missiles are classified according to their flight range. The maximum flight range is measured along a curve along the surface of the earth from the launch point to the point of impact of the last element of the warhead. The missile can carry a large amount of warhead over vast distances. Ballistic missiles can be launched from ships and land-based carriers. For example, the Prithvi-1, Prithvi-2, Agni-1, Agni-2 and Dhanush ballistic missiles are currently used by the Indian armed forces.

By class (launch location and launch direction):

(i) Surface-to-surface missile: This is a guided projectile that can be launched from hands, a vehicle, a mobile or stationary installation. It is often powered by a rocket motor or sometimes, if mounted on a permanent installation, fired by a gunpowder charge.

(ii) Surface-to-air missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy air targets such as airplanes, helicopters and even ballistic missiles. These missiles are usually called air defense systems as they repel any type of air attack.

(iii) Surface-to-sea missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy enemy ships.

(iv) Air-to-air missile launched from aircraft carriers and designed to destroy air targets. Such missiles move at a speed of Mach 4.

(v) Air-to-surface missile designed to be launched from military aircraft carriers to strike both ground and surface targets.

(vi) Sea-to-sea missile designed to be launched from ships to destroy enemy ships.

(vii) Sea-to-surface (coastal) missile designed to be launched from ships to attack ground targets.

(viii) Anti-tank missile designed primarily to destroy heavily armored tanks and other armored vehicles. Anti-tank missiles can be launched from airplanes, helicopters, tanks, and shoulder-mounted launchers.

By flight range:

This classification is based on the parameter of the maximum flight range of the rocket:

(i) Short-range missile
(ii) Medium-range missile
(iii) Intermediate-range ballistic missile
(iv) Intercontinental ballistic missile

By engine fuel type:

(i) Solid propellant engine: This type of engine uses solid fuel. Typically this fuel is aluminum powder. Solid fuel engines have the advantage that they are easy to store and can be operated while fueled. Such motors can quickly achieve very high speeds. Their simplicity also makes them a good choice when high traction is required.

(ii) Liquid engine: Liquid engine technology uses liquid fuel - hydrocarbons. Storing liquid fuel rockets is a difficult and complex task. In addition, the production of such missiles takes a long time. A liquid engine is easy to control by limiting the flow of fuel into it using valves. It can be controlled even in critical situations. In general, liquid fuel provides high specific thrust compared to solid fuel.

(iii) Hybrid engine: The hybrid engine has two stages - solid fuel and liquid. This type of engine compensates for the disadvantages of both types - solid fuel and liquid, and also combines their advantages.

(iv) Ramjet engine: A ramjet engine does not have any of the turbines found in a turbojet engine. Compression of the intake air is achieved due to the forward speed of the aircraft. The fuel is injected and ignited. The expansion of hot gases after fuel injection and combustion accelerates the exhaust air to a speed greater than that at entry, resulting in a positive buoyancy force. However, in this case, the air speed entering the engine must exceed the speed of sound. Thus, the aircraft must move at supersonic speed. A ramjet engine cannot provide supersonic speed to an aircraft from scratch.

(v) Supersonic combustion ramjet engine: Word "scramjet" is an acronym (abbreviation of initial letters) "supersonic combustion ramjet" and means "supersonic combustion ramjet engine." The difference between a ramjet engine and a supersonic combustion ramjet engine is that in the latter, combustion in the engine occurs at supersonic speed. Mechanically this engine is simple, but in terms of its aerodynamic characteristics it is much more complex than a jet engine. It uses hydrogen as fuel

(vi) Cryogenic engine: Cryogenic fuels are liquefied gases stored at very low temperatures, most commonly liquid hydrogen used as a fuel and liquid oxygen used as an oxidizer. Cryogenic fuels require special insulated containers with vents to allow the gases produced when the products evaporate to escape. Liquid fuel and oxidizer from the storage tank are pumped into the diffusion chamber and injected into the combustion chamber, where they are mixed and ignited by a spark. During combustion, the fuel expands and hot exhaust gases are expelled from the nozzle, thereby creating thrust.

By warhead type:

(i) Conventional warhead: A conventional warhead contains high-energy explosives. It is filled with chemical explosives, the explosion of which occurs from detonation. Fragments of the rocket's metal casing serve as destructive force.

(ii) Nuclear warhead: A nuclear warhead contains radioactive substances, which, when the fuse is activated, release a huge amount of radioactive energy that can even wipe out entire cities from the face of the earth. Such warheads are designed for mass destruction.

By type of guidance:

(i) Fly-by-wire guidance: This system is generally similar to radio control, but is less susceptible to electronic countermeasures. Command signals are sent over a wire (or wires). Once the rocket is launched, this type of communication stops.

(ii) Command Guidance: Command guidance involves tracking the missile from the launch site or launch vehicle and transmitting commands via radio, radar or laser, or through tiny wires and optical fibers. Tracking can be accomplished by radar or optical devices from the launch site, or via radar or television images transmitted from the missile.

(iii) Landmark guidance: The correlation guidance system based on landmarks (or a map of the area) is used exclusively for cruise missiles. The system uses sensitive altimeters to monitor the terrain profile directly below the missile and compare it with a "map" stored in the missile's memory.

(iv) Geophysical guidance: The system constantly measures the angle relative to the stars and compares it with the programmed angle of the rocket along its intended trajectory. The guidance system gives orientation to the control system whenever the flight path needs to be changed.

(v) Inertial guidance: The system is pre-programmed and completely contained within the rocket. Three accelerometers mounted on a stand stabilized in space by gyroscopes measure acceleration along three mutually perpendicular axes. These accelerations are then integrated into the system twice: the first integration sets the speed of the rocket, the second - its position. Then the control system receives information to maintain the predetermined trajectory. These systems are used in surface-to-surface (surface, water) missiles and cruise missiles.

(vi) Beam guidance: The idea of ​​beam guidance relies on the use of a ground-based or ship-based radar station from which the radar beam is directed towards the target. An external (ground or ship-based) radar tracks and tracks a target by sending out a beam that adjusts its pointing angle according to the object's movement in space. The rocket generates corrective signals, with the help of which its flight is ensured along the desired trajectory.

(vii) Laser guidance: With laser guidance, a laser beam is focused on a target, reflected from it and scattered. The missile contains a laser homing head, which can detect even a small source of radiation. The homing head sets the direction of the reflected and scattered laser beam to the guidance system. The missile is launched towards the target, the homing head looks for the laser reflection, and the guidance system directs the missile towards the source of the laser reflection, which is the target.

(viii) RF and satellite guidance: Radio frequency guidance system and GPS system - that is, global positioning system (GPS) via satellite transponders - are examples of technologies used in missile guidance system. The missile uses a satellite signal to determine the location of the target. During its flight, the rocket uses this information by sending commands to the “control surfaces” and thus adjusts its trajectory. In the case of radio frequency guidance, the missile uses high frequency waves to locate the target.