On July 29, 2014, the American information channel CNN informed the whole world that the Tochka-U ballistic missile, launched during the hostilities conducted by Ukraine, was not supposed to cross the state border. At least that was the meaning of the cryptic message. Why could there be an assumption that the launch target could be an object on the territory of another country? Which one? And if the target was located in Ukraine, why use ballistic missiles to destroy it? Many questions…
Be that as it may, it was precisely because of these events that the public became interested in the Tochka-U tactical complex.
Diplomatic incident
One of the main questions was, how likely is a mistake made when aiming a missile at a target? To answer it, you need to understand the structure of this type of weapons.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine immediately declared their innocence, naming three reasons at once, why it was impossible to do so. In-First, there are no ballistic missiles in service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Secondly, they didn't get anywhere. And thirdly, the Ukrainian army did not use them. Then, at the initiative of the US State Department, a meeting of its representatives with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov took place, at which the latter was once again assured that the blow was not delivered on the territory of the Russian Federation. This incident was formally settled, although the Tochka-U missile, which, by the way, is in service with the Ukrainian army, quite fits the definition of the mysterious “ultra-precise weapon” that Prime Minister Yatsenyuk tried to scare the leadership of the DPR and LPR. At least, the APU obviously does not have anything more accurate.
Really failed to hit anything. But that doesn't mean there wasn't an attempt. Military experts are making various bold assumptions, finding certain parallels between the successful repulsion of an Israeli missile attack by Syrian missile defense systems and this incident. The most plausible version seems to many, according to which four Ukrainian Tochka-U missiles were shot down by Russian defense systems. There is no documentary evidence for this, but some well-known facts suggest such an idea.
So what kind of missile is this and where did Ukraine get it from? When and where were they made? How old are the newest designs? What are the characteristics of this type of weapon? How should they be used and why were they created? What ammunition can it carry? Who can manage this facility?
These and other questions will be answered clearly and without unnecessary details in this article.
Tactical missiles and changing military concept
All nuclear forces fall into two main categories. Strategic missiles, submarine nuclear fleet and long-range aircraft carry charges that serve to inflict maximum, destructive damage to the economy of the enemy country in the event of a global conflict. But there are also less powerful means that solve the problems of front-line confrontation - they are called tactical. For these purposes, in 1965, Soviet engineers from the Fakel Design Bureau created the Tochka rocket. She had good performance, but by the end of the sixties they no longer met the requirements of the military. When using nuclear charges, accuracy did not matter much, but at that time changes took place in foreign policy life that affected the nature of the defense doctrine. The strategic forces were given the role of global deterrence and guarantor of the territorial integrity of the countries of the socialist camp, but the number of local conflicts has increased. The idea of using special charges during the Vietnam or Middle East wars may have visited someone's hotheads, but, fortunately, to no avail. The role of conventional ammunition has increased, therefore, it was necessary to seriously improve the accuracy of hitting the target. And at the same time increase the range. The case was entrusted to the Design Bureau of Mechanical Engineering. A secret institution with a modest name was led by S. P. Invincible. Surname speaking.
New rocket
Design documentation for the previous rocket model was handed over to KBMfrom MKB Fakel. These materials turned out to be a very important component of the work, they saved a lot of time and effort. Many components, assemblies and systems have been preserved, for which the Tochka rocket served as a kind of test bench. The new model has other rudders, including gas-jet ones, the destabilizer has been eliminated, control and guidance technologies have been changed. As a result of the hard work of engineers during 1968-1971, serious improvements in performance were achieved, apogee and perigee increased. And - most importantly - hitting the target has become more accurate. The tests were carried out at the Kapustin Yar cosmodrome, and in 1973 the State Commission adopted the project. Production has begun. Prototypes were made at the Volgograd plant "Barricades" (start-up and control systems) and the Votkinsk Machine-Building Plant (missiles themselves). The system went into series at the heavy engineering plant in Petropavlovsk. In addition, orders for components were placed at various enterprises of the defense complex throughout the country. The official adoption took place in 1975, they were equipped with ground forces at the divisional level.
Further modernization of the complex took place in the mid-eighties. Various climatic operating conditions were also taken into account, for which additional tests were carried out in Transbaikalia and Central Asia.
Tochka-U tactical missile (that was the new name of this weapon) was built in the city of Votkinsk.
Point-P and new guidance systems
The first test launches began in 1971, they were carried out by factory specialists. During two yearsfine-tuning and final determination of the compliance of the received data with the state order was carried out. Characteristics quite arranged a high commission. The deviation from the set target did not exceed 250 meters with a minimum range of 15 kilometers and a maximum range of up to 70.
The target designation systems were also improved. "Point-R" could use a passive head to aim at the radiation of radio stations and locators, which expanded the range of its application and made it possible to use this weapon to suppress enemy air defenses or disorientate command and control systems and communications of a potential enemy. With an area of destruction of two hectares, the accuracy increased - now it was 45 meters.
These were very good performances.
Destination
Tactical use of weapons implies the possibility of strikes against small targets, by which the military understands small and large airfields, headquarters, communication centers, warehouses, storage facilities, railway stations, ports and other infrastructure that acquire military significance in a special period.
At the same time, the size of such a target cannot be called miniature. There is no question of a ballistic missile (even a small one) hitting a separate building, ship, plane, helicopter or railway car. The strike is applied in an area, for which a whole arsenal of various combat charging warheads has been developed.
At the time when the Tochka-U missile entered service with the Soviet Army, citizens spoke about international terrorismThe USSR was learned mainly from the Vremya program, and even then only when they broadcast about the situation in Ulster. The events of recent decades have shown that this tactical tool can also be useful for fighting gangs, in particular, for destroying militant bases and their training camps. But in no case was it supposed to use Tochka-U missiles for firing at residential areas of cities or villages. No matter how high the accuracy, it is impossible to achieve selective destruction of armed groups of people surrounded by civilians.
By land and water
A missile cannot be launched by itself from a launcher. The system is mobile, it is a convoy of several vehicles, the number of which varies depending on the task. Firstly, we need a launcher that directly launches the Tochka-U missile. But the complex was not created for the sake of a single shot! The PU is followed by a convoy consisting of charging and transporting vehicles, a mobile control and testing station and a maintenance workshop. Missiles are transported in special containers designed for the safe transportation of ammunition. The charging machine is equipped with loading and unloading equipment. Equipment and instruments are designed to monitor the he alth of systems and units. Almost everything is provided in case of emergency situations.
A fuel tanker is needed only if you have to march over long distances (more than 650 km - this is the cruising range). The rocket is refueled at the factoryher solid fuel engine.
The complex can move almost on any terrain, even on water. The speed of movement on a good road is up to 60 km / h, on a dirt road - up to 40 km / h, on rough terrain - 15 km / h. When using jet engines, cars will overcome a water barrier at a speed of 8 km / h. The motor resource of vehicles is 15 thousand kilometers.
Special charges
Tochka-U is a ballistic missile. Although its characteristics are more modest than those of strategic monsters, they are quite sufficient to consider it a possible carrier of special charges. Under this term, the military understand the means of mass destruction, nuclear and chemical. To strike at the enemy with them, you need an appropriate warhead, which is also called a combat charging compartment. The Tochka-U tactical missile can be equipped with nuclear charges, depending on the required explosion power. So, the head part of 9H39 has a TNT equivalent of up to one hundred kilotons, and 9H64 - up to two hundred.
When using nuclear special charges that the Tochka-U missile can be equipped with, the radius of destruction (solid), measured from the epicenter, will be over one and a half kilometers.
For conducting tactical chemical warfare, 9N123G and 9N123G2-1 warheads are provided, each containing 65 sub-elements of OM in the amount of 60.5 and 50.5 kg, respectively ("Soman").
Conventional ammunition
The range of blasting ammunition is presented more widely. High-explosive fragmentation warhead 9N123Fprovides undermining of 162 kg of TNT, scattering almost fifteen thousand fragments. For the greatest effect, the final maneuver performed by the Tochka-U rocket is important. The affected area of up to three hectares is ensured by the detonation of the charge at a height of 20 meters after turning from the ballistic trajectory into the mode of an almost sheer fall. The axis of the fragmentation cone has been shifted to expand the area of fire.
The 9H123K cassette warhead contains fifty elements (each weighing about eight kilograms) filled with striking elements with a total number close to 16 thousand. Each of the cassettes is an analogue of a conventional anti-personnel grenade, only larger. The ammunition destroys unprotected objects on an area of up to seven hectares.
It is also possible to use the Tochka-U rocket to scatter propaganda literature.
Tactical and technical details
For a tactical missile, not only the maximum flight range is important, but also the minimum one. Otherwise, the enemy will be able to get so close that he will be invulnerable, and therefore especially dangerous. The parabola of the steepest trajectory with a 15-kilometer base is the extremely short distance that Tochka-U (ballistic missile) can shoot at. The flight characteristics in this case will be as follows: altitude - up to 26 thousand meters, thrust - 9800 kN, engine operation time - up to 28 seconds. Then the flight follows a ballistic trajectory.
If the target is beyond the horizon, then the parameters will be somewhat different. The greatest height (apogee) will decrease significantly. In 2 minutes 16 seconds rocketwill overcome 120 km - this is the maximum range of the Tochka-U missile.
Efficiency of deployment of the combat crew is also important for successful firing. A well-trained launcher crew, consisting of four people, is able to transfer the complex from a transport to a combat state in 16 minutes, this is the standard. If the need to start is known in advance, then just two minutes after the start command is given, it will be carried out. A warhead weighing almost half a ton will fly to the target. The speed of the Tochka-U rocket reaches one kilometer per second, Each type of weapon is designed to solve a certain range of tasks, which, depending on the specific conditions, can be more or less wide. A weapon is a kind of tool, in some cases it must be very powerful and rough, and in other situations it is better to use something more subtle and delicate. Tactical ballistic ammunition, despite the high accuracy of targeting, cannot provide a clear selectivity of destruction, therefore, as a rule, they are not used in densely populated areas.
Practical tactical application
The Tochka-U missile, whose target range does not exceed 120 kilometers, is perfect for destroying terrorist camps and bases located in the mountains or the desert. During the first campaign in Chechnya, it was used for its intended purpose, as General G. N. Troshev wrote about in his memoirs (the book was called "The Chechen Break"). Features of the tactics of using thisammunition suggest that the command has reliable information and the exact coordinates of the target. Such information in our time can be provided by space reconnaissance (in the case of suitable weather over the theater of operations and the absence of clouds obscuring the firing zone). It is also possible to use other sources if they are obtained from qualified agents with experience in working with topographic maps.
March 2000, near the village of Komsomolskoye… It is known that there is a militant camp in this area. The object is well fortified, the level of fortification is such that large losses of personnel are inevitable when trying to storm. Nearby is a settlement, which, of course, cannot be destroyed. The explosion of the Tochka-U missile covered the defensive area, and the powerful bandit formation ceased to exist, without entering the battle, for which it was so carefully prepared. Tactical missilemen solved similar tasks in other sectors of the front, minimizing losses and achieving impressive successes, an important part of which was excellent crew training.
The crews of the Russian divisions showed the same high qualification during the events of 2008 in South Ossetia. The Syrian military personnel are doing a good job with such tasks, suppressing the anti-government rebellion. Their targets are usually terrorist bases in the desert.
Ukraine cannot boast of such accuracy. The Tochka-U missiles, inherited by this country from the USSR, may have already exhausted their shelf life (it is ten years). In 2000, during exercises on Goncharovskytest site, a launch was carried out, as a result of which three residents of Brovary (Kyiv region) were killed and five were injured. The warhead used was training, without a charge, otherwise there could have been a lot of victims.
Maintenance of the complex
The control equipment for the Tochka complex is rather complicated. Obtaining the necessary qualifications takes several months, and at the same time, even in the case of the most favorable circumstances (not exhausted storage period, skillful calculation and the absence of active opposition from the enemy), there is no full guarantee of a hit from the first launch. The Tochka-U missile is not an ultra-precise weapon. Experts say that the best result can be achieved with the release of four projectiles, one of which with a high degree of probability at the end of the ballistic trajectory will be within a radius measured tens of meters from the target. It should also be taken into account that the standards have changed since the development of this complex. The use of "Point" to fight rebel militias operating near settlements is not only pointless, but also criminal, especially given the low qualification of rocket crews.
