According to military experts, during the hostilities, the warring parties seek to limit the confrontation at the forefront as much as possible. The fight is in the second echelons. Such a strategy allows you to save manpower and at the right time to deliver a decisive blow to the enemy. This is possible thanks to the use of aviation. However, the use of combat aircraft is limited by weather factors. Therefore, a missile system is considered one of the most effective means of destruction.
For several decades, such weapons have been in service with developed countries. In the Soviet Union, for a long time, the Oka missile provided protection against a potential enemy. Description, purpose and technical characteristics of this complex are presented in the article.
Introduction
Rocket "Oka", or OTR-23 (GRAU 9K714), is a Soviet operational-tactical complex of the army level. In NATO, it is listed as SS-23 Spider. Developed by the Kolomna Design Bureau underthe leadership of S. P. Invincible.
About OTP requirements
Due to the socio-political situation that developed in the 70s, the first developments of tactical and operational-tactical missile systems used exclusively nuclear combat equipment. Missiles, such as TRK and OTRK, were distinguished by low hit accuracy. In addition, they, according to experts, theoretically could not always successfully overcome the enemy's anti-missile defense systems. The soon-to-be-changed military-political situation became the impetus for the use of conventional (non-nuclear) equipment in the TRC and OTRK. The specialists formulated the basic requirements that should be taken into account in the production of complexes. In accordance with these requirements, combat vehicles must be:
- Autonomous, mobile, maneuverable and highly cross-country.
- Capable of providing covert training with further missile strikes.
- Adapted for use at engineering and topographically unexplored starting positions.
- Reliable and easy to use.
- Independent of the temperature regime.
In addition, OTRK should have a high probability of overcoming the means, anti-missile defense of the enemy. In them, it is desirable to automate the processes of preparing and launching a rocket as much as possible, as well as to reduce the time for deploying self-propelled launchers and preparing for a rocket launch.
History of Creation
The Soviet rocket "Oka" has been developed since 1973. OTR-23 was planned to be replacedmissile system 9K72. Since 1972, design work has been carried out at the Moscow Institute of Thermal Engineering on the operational-tactical missile "Uranus". Upon completion, the preliminary design was transferred to the Design Bureau of Mechanical Engineering in the city of Kolomna. Minister of Defense Industry S. A. Zverev in March 1973 signed Decree No. 169-57 on the start of work on a new operational-tactical missile system of the USSR. The Oka missile was created on the basis of the Uran OTR.
Arrangement of landfill
Since 1975, preparatory work has been carried out for flight tests of the Oka missile, the site for which was the Kapustin Yar training ground, namely site No. 231. Before testing, they prepared the starting position, repaired the assembly and test building, equipping it with meter canopy. A Vors camouflage coating was laid on top of it, the task of which is to provide protection against enemy space reconnaissance equipment. The landfill was fully completed in 1977.
About the test
1977 was the year of the first flight tests of the Soviet rocket Oka. The procedure for testing, the tasks and responsibilities of the members of the commission were agreed upon at a meeting that took place in September at the Design Bureau of Mechanical Engineering. A total of 31 Oka missiles were planned to be launched. State-level testing was carried out between 1978 and 1979. Such characteristics of the Oka missile as the impact on the complex of electromagnetic radiation and the features of the operation of the OTP in hot and cold climates were tested. The first launch was made in October 1977. Rocket "Oka" made a short flight. According tospecialists, the launch of the complex was performed normally, and the flight to 8 thousand meters occurred due to a failure of the onboard processor.
About purpose
The Soviet missile "Oka" is capable of effectively destroying small and area targets of the enemy: missile systems, multiple launch rocket systems, long-range artillery, enemy aircraft located at airfields, command posts, important communications centers, bases and arsenals. In addition, according to experts, with the help of the OTR-23 complex, it is possible to destroy the most important objects of the enemy's industrial infrastructure.
About the composition of the complex
OTR-23 was a system of the following components:
- Solid rocket 9K714.
- Systems responsible for pointing the missile at the target and control during its flight.
- Self-propelled launcher.
- Chassis.
- Transport-loading vehicle.
- Teaching aids.
- Maintenance vehicles.
About the guidance and control system
The 9B81 system was responsible for correcting the trajectory of the Oka combat missile in the active phase of the flight. The control was made by special rotary motor nozzles and lattice aerodynamic rudders. The control equipment was represented by the following components:
- Command-gyroscopic device (KGP) 9B86. For OTR-23, a gyro-stabilized platform is provided, on which speed and acceleration sensors are placed.
- Digital computing device 9B84.
- Analoguecalculator 9B83.
- Automatic unit.
- Block 9B813, which regulates the power supply.
- Optico-electronic system 9Sh133 responsible for aiming. OTP "Point" is also equipped with a similar system.
How did the 9B81 system work?
The missile was guided when it was in a vertical position in the launcher. To do this, in the direction of the target, it was necessary to turn the gyro-stabilized platform. Having started, the rocket began to move towards a given object at an angle provided for it. Even after she overcame the active site, the management system did not stop its work. Increasing the accuracy of the rocket was provided by aerodynamic rudders, which began to function in dense atmospheric layers.
Overcoming the opposition of enemy missile defense systems was possible by using the following techniques:
- Maneuvering immediately after rocket launch.
- Setting a high flight path.
- Give the rocket high speed.
- Equipping the head with a special thermal protective coating.
- Launching several active and passive interference after detaching the warhead (warhead). Their task is to imitate the combat parts of the gun.
According to experts, theoretically targeting enemy anti-missile defenses would be difficult if the rocket was fueled with special additives. However, it was not possible to implement this version in practice.
About STC and Chassis
The complex is equipped withself-propelled launcher (SPU) 9P71. The manufacturer of prototypes was the plant "Barricades". Serial production was carried out in Kazakhstan by workers of the Petropavlovsk heavy engineering plant named after. Lenin. A self-propelled launcher with two missiles was installed on a transport-loading vehicle (TZM 9T230) with a BAZ-6944 chassis. The seat of the control cabin was the front of the chassis. BAZ consisted of an engine compartment and a cargo compartment. The eight-wheeled chassis features independent torsion bar suspension and variable-pressure wide-profile tires. Turns were performed by the first two pairs of wheels. In addition, the car had two water jets, with the help of which BAZ overcame water obstacles. The missiles were located on the SPU openly, without the use of transport and launch containers. The interior of the SPU became the place for the location of the launch and test-launch equipment, communications equipment and systems that provide aiming.
About the transport vehicle
The missiles were transported in special containers 9Ya249. For this purpose, 9T240 transport vehicles were used. Separate containers 9Y251 were intended for the transportation of missile warheads.
About 9K714
The complex was equipped with a 9K714 solid-fuel rocket, which was characterized by a single-stage execution scheme. In addition, the Oka rocket (photo presented in the article) had a detachable warhead. Reinforced carbon fiber was used in the production of rocket blocks.
A special heat-shielding layer was applied on top of the surface. The layout of the rocket is represented by the following compartments:
- Motive. It contained a nozzle block and aerodynamic rudders.
- Dashboard.
- Transitional. It was a cone-shaped product connecting the missile unit and the warhead. The mass of the adapter was 80 kg.
In addition, the complex had a detachable warhead. The procedure for separating the warhead took place by shooting pyrobolts, after which the brake engine was turned on in the rocket unit.
The place of the brake propulsion system was the tail section of the block. This installation was tested during 1978-1983. The 9K714 used an inertial control system. Before launch, it took no more than 15 minutes to replace the warhead. On the active leg of the flight, 9K714 was able to develop a speed of 4M. Serial production of solid rockets was carried out by the Votkinsk Machine-Building Plant.
About combat equipment
9K714 was represented by the following options:
- 9K714B. Contained nuclear warhead AA-75. Its maximum range was 500,000 meters.
- 9M714F. For the rocket, a high-explosive fragmentation type of warhead was provided. The mass of the warhead did not exceed 450 kg. The maximum range of the missile is no more than 450 thousand meters.
- 9M714K. For missiles, cluster warheads were provided. The warhead weighed within 715 kg. They contained submunitions of 95units weighing 4 kg. Upon reaching a height of 3 km with a solid rocket, its warhead was opened. Areas up to 100 thousand square meters were affected
In addition to the above options, the warheads of 9K714 missiles could also contain chemical poisons.
On the main performance characteristics of the Oka missile
- OTR-23 is an operational-tactical missile system, which was in service with the Russian army in the 80s of the last century.
- It was designed for a minimum firing range of 15 thousand meters.
- The indicator of the maximum range of the missile was 120 thousand meters.
- Distinguished by high-precision shooting.
- The starting weight of the complex was 2010 kg.
- Preparation for the launch of the rocket took no more than 2 minutes.
- Weight of PU with 9K714 - 181 145 kg.
- The launcher moved on a flat surface at a speed of 60 km/h, swimming - 8 km/h.
- A fully loaded combat vehicle had a fuel range of 650 km.
- Technically, BM was designed to overcome at least 15 thousand meters.
- The crew consisted of three people.
- The solid-propellant rocket functioned properly in the temperature range from -40 to +50 degrees.
- The service life of 9K714 was no more than 10 years.
- The mass of the missile warhead is 482 kg.
- The weight of the rocket without warheads is 3990 kg.
Years of service
OTR-23 was put into service in 1980. Serial production of operational-tactical missilecomplexes were carried out during 1979-1987. In 1987, after the Soviet-American meeting in Washington in December, the Soviet leadership decided to eliminate medium and short-range missiles.
Since the Oka complex had a range of up to 400 thousand meters, it, according to experts, should not have been included in this list. Nevertheless, despite meeting generally accepted criteria, OTP-23 has become one of the downsized complexes.
Our days
According to Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov, enterprises that provide for the needs of the Russian military-industrial complex use the design developments of the Oka missile. The Iskander, which replaced the Soviet OTR-2, is now considered the most promising in the opinion of Russian and American experts. Due to the high accuracy and range of missiles, this complex is an effective military-political tool used in the alignment of forces and preventing the outbreak of any conflict.
