The number of military scientists most in demand in the so-called ATO zone does not include air defense station operators. We need drivers, paratroopers, scouts, but not those who have completed military or contract service and are trained in handling Buk or S-300 Favorit anti-aircraft missile systems. Photos and videos of the vehicle crawling eastward on roads have flooded news outlets and the internet in recent months.
Why "Favorites" near Donetsk?
It turns out that there are quite enough specialists in air defense systems in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as the air defense systems themselves. What are they there for? After all, everyone knows that the militias do not have their own aviation, and its appearance is not expected. How, then, have several thousand soldiers and officers been fighting against superior enemy forces for more than a year, and at the same time do without aviation and modern means of electronic warfare? Whose planes are going to shoot down the crews servicing the S-300 Favorit missile systems of the Armed Forces of Ukraine? There are more questions than answers. In order to somehow clarify the situation, it would be necessary to understand what these defense systems are, how Ukraine got them and how many of them canbe.
General requirements for a modern mobile air defense missile system
Soviet anti-aircraft missiles have always, since their appearance, been recognized as the most effective means of combating enemy aircraft. Suffice it to recall the events of the late fifties - early sixties, when U-2 reconnaissance aircraft, which were considered invulnerable, were shot down. They could fly at high altitudes (over 18 thousand meters), where interceptors could not climb, but anti-aircraft missiles got them there too. Then there was Vietnam, which showed the whole world that it would not be possible to bomb Hanoi and other cities of the DRV with impunity even by the American air fleet, which possessed super-powerful technical means. At the same time, the basic requirements for modern mobile anti-aircraft missile systems were formulated, and at the same time the main problems that their calculations faced were clarified. US-developed Shrike anti-radar missiles were guided by an active search beam emitted by their antennas. Immediately after the volley, the “wheel maneuver” became vital, that is, leaving combat positions as soon as possible in order to avoid a retaliatory strike. It took several minutes to bring the complex into transport position (usually a little more than 20), while, as a rule, the connecting cables were abandoned, because there was no time to wind them up.
All this experience is reflected in the design of the S-300 Favorit air defense system. Its first version began to be developed back in 1969, and entered the troops in 1978.
Additional terms
So, a modern mobile air defense system should turn around within a short time and come into a combat state, and then just as quickly (and even, possibly faster), be transferred to a transport position and leave the operational area, without waiting for responses enemy to neutralize him. But there are other requirements, according to which the appearance of the promising S-300 Favorit anti-aircraft missile systems of various modifications was formed. One of them is that initially the combat position was secretive. If you place the SAM on an open plain, the enemy will be able to detect it in many ways, including visually. The launch of a rocket in the thicket of the forest or because of the natural folds of the terrain is difficult, since these obstacles can prevent it. And yet, in order to save budgetary funds, it is highly desirable to unify the three main varieties intended for the fleet, ground forces and air defense. These conditions are mainly met by the S-300 Favorit missile systems.
Basic requirements and specifications
At the time of the start of work on the project, the main problems for air defense had already been formulated. Since conventional aircraft and helicopters became elements of the tactical level, the main emphasis was placed on intercepting low-flying high-speed targets and missiles attacking from the stratosphere at high speeds (in particular, combat units of ICBMs). In such a wide range, the S-300 Favorit complex can operate. Characteristics take into accountalmost any type of target:
- Range - 5-90 (later 150) km.
- Detection and destruction height - from 25 m to 27 km.
- Target speed - up to 4140 km/h, later increased to 10 thousand km/h.
- Number of simultaneously fired flying objects - 6.
- Number of missiles per target - 2.
- The probability of destroying the target (ballistic missile) is from 80 to 93%.
- Time between starts - 3 to 5 sec.
Interception of low-flying and ultra-high targets
In the 1970s, the most urgent task of air defense was the ability to destroy aircraft with a flat trajectory and ballistic missile warheads located in the final section of the trajectory. For these purposes, the S-300 Favorit air defense system was created, but during its development, the prospects for the development of ammunition delivery vehicles were taken into account. The progress of offensive weapons is inevitable, which means that such an expensive project - in order to avoid early obsolescence - should be able to shoot down objects flying faster than modern ones and higher than them. Below 25 meters? Perhaps, but then, in the 70s, it was simply impossible to imagine the possibility of creating an apparatus capable of this, and even today it is difficult. The S-300 Favorit complexes had a high modification potential, they are not outdated even today - the Russian air defense system is mainly based on them, although S-400 Triumphs with extended characteristics have already appeared. S-500 is on the way.
Structuredivision
The divisional principle of building an air defense system implies an appropriate management structure of divisions.
Composition of the complex The S-300 "Favorit" complex includes several mobile launchers that make up a kind of group in which one machine is considered the main one, and two more are additional. In addition to them, radar stations for target designation and means of ensuring combat capability (charging transport vehicles) participate in the division. Management is carried out from a mobile command post equipped with a locator for illumination and guidance. Target detection on low- altitude trajectories is carried out using a low- altitude HBO detector located on a special retractable trailer tower.
Rocket 5V55R
The complex is equipped with various missiles, currently it is most often 5V55R, developed by the Fakel Design Bureau. It was built according to the classical scheme with folding steering wheels. In the transport position until the very start, the 5V55R is in a strong, hermetically sealed cylindrical container. For a decade, she does not need to control her condition, as she is equipped with a solid fuel engine. The rocket compartments contain control devices, direction finders and other hardware systems. The S-300 Favorit launcher can launch from almost any hidden position, including the most difficult ones, thanks to a design feature that provides an ejection launch. The side on which the target is located is not important. The rocket is pushed out of the container to a height of 20 meters, thenher engine starts and she turns herself to the right place.
Explosive Power
The action of the high-explosive fragmentation unit is crushing: the explosion of the vector action creates a directed stream of striking elements in the form of an expanding funnel. The 5V55R S-300 Favorit missile has a head fighting compartment with an explosive mass of 133 kg, 48N6 - 143 kg, and the most powerful 48N6M - 180 kg. The charge is initiated non-contact (that is, touching the body of the target aircraft is optional) with a radar fuse. The striking elements are made in the form of metal cubes.
Electronics
Only the laziest citizens did not talk about the backwardness of Soviet electronic technology in the seventies. Japanese or German tape recorders, televisions and radios were indeed better, but no one could compare the capabilities of military equipment, except for specialists. So, the team led by V. S. Burtsev already then developed a control computer, which became the basis of the 5E26 complex, capable of solving very complex algorithmic problems and generalizing fragmented information received from several sources (on-board and external locators). And besides this, the S-300 Favorit combat systems received the ability to distinguish true data from false ones. They develop the necessary actions in automatic mode with a high degree of noise immunity. In the eighties, the equipment was repeatedly improved, and this process continued into the 21st century using the most modernelement base.
How many "Favorites" in Ukraine?
Until 1991, these and other complexes were on combat duty along the entire perimeter of the state border of the Soviet Union, and after its collapse, part of them was inherited by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The S-300 "Favorit" requires qualified maintenance: a quarter of a century has passed since the production of even the newest "Ukrainian" missiles, which is twice the established guaranteed shelf life. Only one complex was renovated in 2012 with a five-year life extension. They were going to be removed from service in 2013, but events in the East prevented these plans. Air defense of Ukraine is currently represented by sixty divisions of systems of various types (S-200, Buk-M1 and others.) How many of them are "Favorites" - the general public is not informed. They are made in Russia, at the machine-building plant. M. I. Kalinin, and for obvious reasons are not sold to countries pursuing an unfriendly policy.
Prospects
Be that as it may, there are still many "Favorites" in the Ukrainian army. True, their resource is almost exhausted, but given the amazing survivability and reliability of Soviet technology, it can be assumed that even today most of the systems are in a combat-ready state. With all this, the pro-Western course of the current Kyiv administration allows us to think that the modernization of air defense will be carried out by Western models. You will need money, which is not enough, so you should not expect a quick update. However, what can be put on combatduty after the cancellation of the last "Favorite?" The latest systems should not be expected, the foreign policy of Ukraine is not so unambiguously predicted that the leading NATO countries would risk supplying them not only for nothing, but also for a lot of money. The question arises as to how effective American, British or French air defense missile systems will be in the event of a real escalation of the conflict into a "hot" phase? The most common air defense systems in the Western world are the Patriots made in the USA. Maybe they are going to change the missile systems of the Armed Forces of Ukraine S-300 Favorit?
Comparison with Patriot
In almost all respects, the S-300 beats the Patriot. The radius in which it is possible to capture a target is much smaller (90 versus 150 km). The interception height is also inferior (24.4 versus 30 thousand meters). The area protected by "Favorite" is ten times larger (150 sq. km and 15, respectively). If the Russian system of the latest modification is ready to intercept hypersonic targets (up to 10,000 m/s), then its American rival is limited in its capabilities (up to 2200 m/s). True, the number of missiles launched simultaneously is more than twice (24 and 12), but the cost of the Patriot is many times higher. The power of the charge is also higher for the "Favorite" - for the American rocket it is 80 kg. The deployment and collapse time (15-30 minutes) also speaks against the US sample. In addition, it is not self-propelled, it needs to be towed. So Russia was ahead again.
