Cruise missiles of Russia and the USA

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:54

The development of military space technology in the fifties took place mainly in the direction of creating intercontinental weapons capable of causing damage of a strategic nature. At the same time, mankind has already accumulated experience gained in the development of a special type of ammunition that combined the properties of aircraft and missiles. They were driven by a jet liquid or solid propellant engine, but at the same time they used the lifting force of the plane, which was an element of the overall design. They were cruise missiles. For Russia (then the USSR), they were not as important as intercontinental ones, but work on them was already underway. Decades later, she succeeded. Several samples of this type of weapons are already in the arsenal or will soon take their place in the ranks of means that deter a potential aggressor. They cause fear and completely discourage the desire to attack our country.

"Tomahawks" with a neutron bomb - the nightmare of the eighties

At the very end of the eighties, Soviet propaganda paid great attention to two new types of American weapons. The neutron bombthe Pentagon threatened "all progressive mankind", in its deadly properties it could compete only with the "Tomahawks". These shark-like projectiles with thin short planes were able to sneak up on targets on Soviet territory unnoticed, hiding from detection systems in ravines, riverbeds and other natural depressions in the earth's crust. It is very unpleasant to feel one's own insecurity, and the citizens of the USSR were indignant that the insidious imperialists were again dragging the country of developed socialism into a new round of the arms race, and these cruise missiles were to blame. Russia needed something to respond to the threat. And only a few highly informed people knew that in fact something similar was already being developed in the Soviet Union, and things were not going so badly.

American ax

The prototype of all modern cruise missiles can be called the German V-1 projectile (V-1). Outwardly, it resembles the American Tomahawk, created four decades later: the same straight planes and a narrow fuselage, a simple to primitive silhouette. But there is a difference, and a very big one. The ammunition, which received the English name Cruise Missile, is not just a missile equipped with a wing, it is something more. Behind the external simplicity lies a very complex technical scheme, the main element of which is an ultra-fast computer that instantly makes decisions about changing course and altitude in order to avoid collision with obstacles. This is necessary for flying at an extremely low altitude at a speedsufficient to meet another condition of surprise - the speed of delivery of the charge to the target. And it was also important that the “eyes” of this “shark” work well. The radar, installed in the bow of the projectile, saw all the obstacles and transmitted information about them to the electronic brain, which analyzed the terrain and gave control signals to the rudders (slats, flaps, ailerons, etc.). At that time, the Americans did not succeed in a full-fledged supersonic cruise missile: the Tomahawk reaches the limit modes only in the final section of the trajectory, but this does not prevent it from posing a real threat today, especially in relation to countries that do not have perfect air defense and missile defense systems.

Soviet X-90

It is not known for certain what prompted the Soviet leadership to instruct the development of the CD. Perhaps intelligence reported the beginning of American research in this area, but it is possible that the very idea that arose in the depths of secret research institutes interested someone from the Ministry of Defense. One way or another, in 1976, work began, and the deadline for their completion was set short - six years. From the very beginning, our designers took a different path than their US counterparts. Subsonic speeds did not appeal to them. The missile was supposed to overcome all the defense lines of a potential enemy at ultra-low altitudes. And supersonic. By the end of the decade, the first prototypes were presented, which showed excellent results in field tests (up to 3 M). The secret object was continuously improved, and in the next decade it could already fly faster than four speeds of sound. Only inIn 1997, the world community was able to see this miracle of technology at the MAKS exhibition in the pavilion of the Raduga research and production association. Russia's modern cruise missiles are the direct heirs of the Soviet Kh-90. Even the name is preserved, although the said weapon has undergone many changes. The elemental base has changed.

The launch of this missile was supposed to be carried out from the Tu-160, a huge strategic bomber capable of carrying 12-meter ammunition with folding planes in its bomb bay. The carrier remained the same.

Koala

The modern Russian Kh-90 Koala cruise missile has become lighter and shorter than its progenitor: its length is less than 9 meters. Little is known about it, mainly that its very existence (without disclosing details) causes concern and irritation of our American partners. The reason for the fears was the increased radius of the projectile (3500 km), which formally violates the terms of the INF Treaty (medium and short-range missiles). But this is not what scares the United States, but the fact that these strategic cruise missiles (as they are called, although they cannot cross the ocean) are capable of "hacking" all the borders of the missile defense system, which the United States is gently but stubbornly moving towards Russian borders.

This sample has already received its "NATO" designation: Koala AS-X-21. We call it differently, namely a hypersonic experimental aircraft (GELA).

The general principle of its operation is that, having left the Tu-160 bomb bays at an altitude of 7 to 20 kilometers, itstraightens the deltoid wing and plumage, then the accelerator is launched, accelerating the projectile to supersonic speed, and after that the main engine is started. The speed on the descent reaches 5 M, and on it GELA rushes to the target, which can already be considered doomed. It is almost impossible to intercept this CR.

"Uranus", naval and aviation

Anti-ship missiles are also most often cruise missiles. Their trajectory, as a rule, is similar to the combat courses of their ground counterparts. The design bureau "Zvezda" was engaged in the development of this type of weapon in the USSR. In 1984, the chief designer G. I. Khokhlov was entrusted with the creation of a set of means to combat surface sea targets with a displacement of up to five thousand tons (that is, relatively small) in conditions of active electronic countermeasures and difficult meteorological conditions. The result of the efforts of the team was the X-35 "Uranus", according to its characteristics, it approximately corresponds to the parameters of the American KR "Harpoon" and can be used in salvo mode. The range of defeat is 120 km. The complex, equipped with a detection, identification and guidance system, is installed not only on combat units of the Navy, but also on aircraft carriers (Ka-27, Ka-28 helicopters, MiG-29, Su-24, Su-30, Su-35, Tu-142, Yak-141 and others), which greatly expands the capabilities of these weapons. The launch is carried out at ultra-low altitudes (from 200 m), anti-ship missiles of this type rush at a speed of more than 1000 km / h practically over the waves (from 5 to 10 m, and at the finalsegment of the trajectory and completely drops to three meters). Given the small size of the projectile (4 m 40 cm in length), it can be assumed that its interception is very problematic.

Weave X

After the air defense systems, both Soviet and American, reached high capabilities in their development, almost all countries abandoned the use of free-falling ammunition. The presence of solid, reliable and powerful strategic bombers prompted the military leadership to look for a use for them, and it was found. In the USA, the B-52, and in the USSR, the Tu-95 began to be used as flying launchers. In the nineties, the Kh-101 became the main ammunition for Russian carriers of tactical and strategic charges delivered to the target by aircraft without crossing air defense lines. In parallel with them, almost completely identical samples were developed that could carry nuclear charges. Both KR are currently classified, only a limited circle of people are supposed to know their tactical and technical characteristics. It is only known that a certain new model has been adopted for service, it is distinguished by an increased combat radius (more than five thousand kilometers) and amazing hitting accuracy (up to 10 meters). The Kh-101 warhead has a high-explosive fragmentation filling, and this parameter is the most important for it. A special charge carrier may not be as accurate: in an explosion with a yield of tens of kilotons, a few meters to the right or left do not play a big role. For X-102 (nuclear launcher), range is more important.

Winged strategy

All items, including types of weapons, can only be considered in terms of comparison. There are various defense doctrines, and while some countries are striving for absolute global dominance, others simply want to protect themselves from possible aggressive encroachments. If we compare the cruise missiles of Russia and the United States, we can conclude that the technical parameters of American weapons do not exceed the capabilities of their rivals. Both sides are betting on increasing the combat radius, which gradually removes the CD from the category of tactical means, making them more and more "strategic". The idea of being able to resolve geopolitical contradictions by inflicting an unexpected and all-destroying strike is not the first time that visits the heads of the Pentagon generals - it is enough to recall the plans for the bombing of Soviet large industrial and defense centers, developed back in the late forties and early fifties, immediately after the appearance of The United States has enough nuclear warheads.

AGM-158B Extended Range, USA

The emergence of a new type of weapons in the United States is a national event. Taxpayers are pleased to know that with the money they paid to the budget, the state has acquired yet another proof of American global dominance. The rating of the ruling party is rising, the voters are jubilant. So it was in 2014, when the US strategic forces received a new air-based AGM-158B KR,created as part of the Joint Air To Surface Standoff Missile Extended Range defense program, abbreviated as JASSM-ER, which means that this tool is designed to strike the earth's surface and has an extended range of use. The widely advertised new weapon, judging by the published data, is in no way superior to the Kh-102. The flight range of the AGM-158B is indicated vaguely, in a wide range - from 350 to 980 km, which means that it depends on the mass of the warhead. Most likely, its real radius with a nuclear charge is the same as that of the X-102, that is, 3500 km. Cruise missiles of Russia and the United States have approximately the same speed, mass and geometric dimensions. It is also not necessary to talk about American technological superiority due to better accuracy, although, as already noted, it does not matter that much in a nuclear strike.

Other CRs in Russia and USA

X-101 and X-102 are not the only cruise missiles in Russian service. In addition to them, other models equipped with pulsed air-jet engines, such as 16 X and 10 XN (they are still experimental), anti-ship KS-1, KSR-2, KSR-5, with high-explosive penetrating or fragmentation high-explosive warheads, are also on combat duty. high-explosive or nuclear action. We can also recall the more modern KR X-20, X-22 and X-55, which became the prototype of the X-101. And then there are "Termites", "Mosquitoes", "Amethysts", "Malachites", "Bas alts", "Granites", "Onyxes", "Yakhonts" and other representatives of the "stone" series. These cruise missiles of Russia have been in service with aviation and navy for many years, and the publicquite a lot is known, although not all.

The Americans also have several types of KR of an earlier generation than the AGM-158B. These are the tactical "Matador" MGM-1, "Shark" SSM-A-3, "Greyhound" AGM-28, the mentioned "Harpoon", "Fast hawk" of universal basing. The United States does not refuse the proven Tomahawk, but they are working on the promising X-51, capable of flying at hypersonic speeds.

Other countries

Even in distant lands, where military analysts can only talk about a Russian or American military threat in a fantastic-hypothetical aspect, engineers and scientists are developing their own cruise missiles. The not very successful experience of hostilities in the Falkland Islands prompted the leadership of Argentina to allocate funds for the design of the Tabano AM-1. The Pakistani "Hatf-VII Babur" can be launched from ground installations, ships and submarines, has a subsonic speed (about 900 km / h) and a range of up to 700 km. For her, in addition to the usual, a nuclear warhead is even provided. In China, three types of KR are produced (YJ-62, YJ-82, YJ-83). Taiwan responds with Xiongfeng 2E. Work is underway, sometimes very successful, in European countries (Germany, Sweden, France), as well as in Britain, the goal of which is not to surpass the cruise missiles of Russia or the United States, but to obtain an effective combat weapon for their own armies. The creation of such complex and high-tech equipment is too expensive, and advanced achievements in this area are only available to superpowers.