High-precision JASSM in service with the Polish F-16C: an assessment of the degree of threat in the Western Highway to the beginning of 2017

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In the 20s of November 2014, Western, and then our electronic publications flew around quite unexpected news on the preparation of the December contract for the purchase of an 40 tactical long-range tactical cruise missile AGM-158A JASSM between the Polish government and the US State Department to increase the combat potential of the Polish air force. Acquired precision weapon, purchased directly from the manufacturer Lockheed Martin, is intended to equip the Polish multi-purpose F-16C / D fighter jets and is currently undergoing the final stage of integration tests at one of the Polish Falcons, which was distilled to the Edwards California air base. According to Joe Breen, head of logistics and support services for Lockheed Martin Missile and Fire Control purchasing countries, AGM-158A shipments will be launched later this year, and at the beginning of 2017-JASSM will receive initial operational readiness. It was significant that the contract was being prepared during the most bloody stage of the punitive operation in Kiev in relation to the Lugansk and Donetsk People's Republics. Having accused our country of aggression against the “Square”, the conflict in the Donbas was immediately used to militarize the countries of Eastern Europe directly at the borders of the CSTO.



For a couple of years, in addition to selling JASSM, an additional squadron of the US Air Force F-16C multi-role fighters was deployed at the Polish Redzikowa airbase, and a second East European positional region of regional missile defense based on the Aegis Ashore complex, which is designed specifically to counter the capabilities of the Russian The Strategic Missile Forces, after all, to repel the attack of Iranian Sajil-2 ballistic missiles, the THAAD complex with the altitude intercept of 150 km would be quite enough (the height of the interception of ballistic targets by Ashor "With interceptor missiles RIM-161A / B reaches 500 km). Similarly, 40 JASSM are designed to "throw in our garden." Now it is worth assessing the level of threat posed by these missiles for our strategic facilities in the European part of Russia.

To begin with, it is worth noting that the AGM-158A is the first serial modification of the JASSM family of missiles with a standard range of 370 km. When launched from the Polish airspace, the range will reach only Minsk, and to attempt to launch a missile attack on military targets in the Leningrad and Pskov regions will require the use of airspace of Lithuania and Latvia, but it will not be easy to enter it in combat conditions, since the only fastest way is a section of airspace above the Suvalki Corridor. And it will be “closed” up to a 15-meter height with the radius of action of several divisions of the S-300PS and S-400 Triumph air defense missile systems, some of which will be deployed in the Kaliningrad region, and part in the Grodno region of Belarus. The second option is to fly over the Kaliningrad region with its powerful ABM boundary from the Baltic Sea and Gotland, but this takes 2 times more time. Yes and about aviation Air defense of the Western military district should not be forgotten: the new Su-27SM3 and Su-35S will quickly solve the issue of Polish F-16C Block 52+ unlimited in the airspace of the Baltic States.

But there is one more way for the Polish F-16C to reach the launch line of JASSM for Russian military facilities - using the airspace of Ukraine. The reckless leadership of this country, supported by military-technical, political and financial support from the United States, Poland, Turkey, Bulgaria and the Baltic states, continues to brood plans for intervention in the territory of the Republic of Crimea, and any escalation situation that has arisen within Eastern Europe will result »The provision of its EaP and the territory for the operational deployment of the NATO Joint Forces. Rising from Polish air bases, F-16C, carrying 2 AGM-158A hangers, can follow the terrain and radio silence to reach the central regions of Ukraine, from which many options of target areas in the Crimea, Donbass and border areas of Russia are opened.

Expect a similar strike from the Polish Air Force stands exclusively before the start of the active phase of hostilities in the East European theater of operations, since even a few hours later the attack of these missiles will be excluded due to the closure of the airspace over Ukraine by the air defense forces of the Russian Aerospace Forces. Earlier it was reported that Warsaw is interested in purchasing long-range modification of these AGM-158B JASSM-ER missiles.

This version has a range of 980 — 1200 km, and poses a threat to our country even when launched over the eastern borders of Poland: in only 35 minutes of a JASSM-ER rocket, passing a short segment of the Ukrainian-Belarusian border, get into our airspace, where only A few hundred kilometers away are such strategically important objects as JSC NPK Machine-Building Design Bureau in Kolomna or Tulamashzavod. To intercept these small-scale, deadly targets with 0,1 M2 EPR and 430-kilogram warheads, you will need a very coordinated fast operation of A-50U aircraft, fighter aircraft and ground-based air defense systems.

The destruction of even a couple of dozens of AGM-158A / B on the trajectory can be a real test for the same “Three Hundreds”, because the flight of these missiles takes place at an altitude of 20 — 50 m, and the flight trajectory can be corrected via satellite coded communication channel. The correction itself usually takes into account the flight trajectories of enemy ground anti-aircraft missile systems, the coordinates of which with a slight anticipation are determined by reconnaissance aircraft of the RC-135V / W type “Rivet Joint” or E-8C “J-STARS. A good solution to the problem is also a sharp increase in the number of modern air defense systems with radar and infrared targeting methods directly at the strategic objects to be defended. In the 70-ies of the 20th century, such a decision would have faced significant problems in the distribution of shelling air attacks between different types of air defense missile systems, since then there were no advanced system linking tools for different class air defense systems: there would be repeated shelling of the same target with different types of air defense systems. SAM, which would reduce the overall effectiveness of the entire air defense system. Modern VKS have such automated control systems of anti-aircraft missile brigades, like “Baikal-1МЭ” and “Polyana-D4М1”, where about a dozen of anti-aircraft missile battalions of mixed composition are connected to a single bus for exchange of tactical information about the air situation in real time, in accordance with the TTX complexes, each one in a matter of seconds generates its own list of air objects for interception. The destruction of precision weapons in this case becomes a simpler task, even with the help of ground-based air defense weapons alone. But these questions may appear later, but now we are dealing with a regular version of AGM-158A JASSM.

As mentioned at the beginning of the article, JASSM with a range of 370 km can “reach out” to the central regions of the Republic of Belarus, including the city of Minsk. Being the first state of the CSTO for NATO in the eastern operational direction, the Republic of Belarus, with its air bases, communications centers and reconnoitered areas of the air defense missile system, may become the first goal for Polish JASSM to weaken the defense capabilities of the Western Military District. It is about Belarus that there are particular concerns in terms of the likely breakthrough of the airspace of the Union State with the enemy’s precision weapons. The saturation of the Air Force and Air Defense of the Republic of Belarus with the C-300PS anti-aircraft missile systems (more than 10 divisions), C-400 Triumph (at least 2's divisions), and also the troop, Osam and Stiletta are quite high, but this does not solve the question of the complete protection of the airspace against the penetration of unobtrusive enemy cruise missiles. The standard radio horizon for the 30H6Е or 92Н6E radar and homing radar on the 40B6М universal tower does not exceed 35 — 38 km, which means that in order to create an effective “barrier” of the high-altitude HF section these radars (together with) can get; from each other. As a result, there will be no undetected “gaps” between the complexes, as well as each C-30 / 300 division deployed along the defense front will be supported by the neighboring division when the enemy attempts to “break” the defensive chain by suppressing one of them. The scheme of building such an area of ​​air defense and missile defense is very simple and does not require military-technological delights, but it is enough to take a map and a ruler, and then measure the length of the "wedge" along the border of Belarus with Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine: we get 400 km. For full protection from rocket-dangerous states on the lines of this “wedge”, you must have up to 850 air defense systems of the C-35PS type, and each of them must be covered with a couple of “Tori”.

A similar situation is not observed today in the air defense system of Belarus, and therefore it is still very early to talk about complete security of the Republic of Belarus. In addition, for successful operations to protect the air borders of the Union State of the Belarusian Air Force, you must have at least a couple of aircraft of the A-50U radar patrol, remember how quickly the United States Air Force can transfer any number of Raptors to Poland if necessary. laughter becomes. There are other unpleasant moments that need to be reminded, and which should be tried to eliminate.

The use of anti-radar missiles AGM-88 HARM - the main one. The Air Force of Poland is armed with 36 single F-16C and 12 double F-16D. The strike wing can be the “backbone” of the 20 F-16C - JASSM carriers for MRAU (40 missiles, 2 for each fighter), 10 F-16C - AGM-88 HARM carriers for suppressing air defense (40 missiles, according to 4 F-18C - for suppressing AGM-16 HARM for suppressing air defense (158 missiles., For 38 F-40C - for AGM-54 HARM suppressors for suppressing anti-aircraft defense (6 missiles., For XMNUMX) per vehicle), and the 30 remaining F-6C / D as cover and escort fighters. In the event of a massive missile and air strike against the Belarusian air defense and strategic facilities on its territory, the main backbone of the Falcons with the AGM-40A on board will operate in conjunction with an air defense suppression squadron. A bit earlier, subsonic JASSM-ER will be launched, and before they enter the 1-kilometer low-altitude line of interception by “Three Hundreds”, all 2 “HARMs” will be launched. This will be done in order to overload the shooting control 300K15E and multifunctional 88Н5Е radar as far as possible. The target for 55 “HARM” will be 2 or maximum 30 of the C-6PS Division. Around 150 AGM-XNUMX will be intercepted by XNUMXВXNUMXР anti-aircraft missiles, another dozen of the covering Tor-MXNUMXE will be divided, the rest will fall on the Gazetchik-E protection complex, but the rest can get to Lopat main radar illumination XNUMXHXNUMXЕ), especially considering that a couple of JASSM can also be aimed at SAMs. We get a depressed air defense line, through which one can promptly skip some other XNUMX Tomahawks launched from the Ohio SSGN that entered the North Sea.

The task becomes even more complicated if we take into account American support in the form of dozens of ADM-52C “MALD-J” bait-missiles dropped from B-160H suspensions, against the background of which it will be even more difficult to quickly identify real tactical cruise missiles. In the article, we described a specific version of a regional non-nuclear conflict between the CSTO and NATO with the participation of Poland, supported by the United States. This was done not to force the atmosphere in every possible way in the actual pre-escalation world situation, but to point out the existing weaknesses and shortcomings in the defense capability of the CSTO, and in particular, the Republic of Belarus. Thus, the existing air defense system of Belarus, based mostly on C-300PS complexes, as well as not having modern fighter aircraft and XRDN planes, is not capable of reflecting NATO surprise and powerful air strikes and requires updating with more multi-channel C-type air defense systems. 400, С-350Е Vityaz and Buk-М3. At the present stage, before the modernization of the Air Force of Belarus, the issue can be resolved by temporarily redeploying the Su-35С aviation regiment and the Triumph C-400 additional brigade to the republic.

Information sources:
http://forum.militaryparitet.com/viewtopic.php?pid=162566#p162566
http://rbase.new-factoria.ru/missile/wobb/agm158/agm158.shtml
http://rbase.new-factoria.ru/missile/wobb/c300pmu1/c300pmu1.shtml
http://rbase.new-factoria.ru/missile/wobb/s400/s400.shtml
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  1. +1
    16 September 2016 16: 03
    Thus, the existing air defense system of Belarus, which is mainly based on the S-300PS systems, as well as lacking modern fighter aircraft and RLDN aircraft, is not able to repulse NATO’s sudden and powerful air strikes and requires updating with more multichannel and advanced C-type anti-aircraft missile systems 400, С-350Е "Vityaz" and "Buk-M3". At this stage, before the modernization of the Belarusian Air Force, the issue can be resolved by the temporary transfer to the republic of the Su-35С air regiment and the additional S-400 Triumph brigade.

    Who would argue. But how did Father Father respond to the proposal to create a base?
    1. 0
      16 September 2016 17: 38
      I don’t understand, I’m Poland and such countries ... So they are arming themselves, so what? If the batch starts world they will first of all bang! Even the last Russian nuclear submarine from the "package of missiles" will allocate one or two for such countries to be remembered forever ... Why do they need weapons?
      1. +1
        16 September 2016 17: 54
        Quote: STARPER
        If the kneading begins world they will first of all bang!

        They hope this does not happen. But they will be appreciated.
        1. +2
          18 September 2016 00: 50
          Quote: Article
          In the event of a massive missile and air strike against the Belarusian air defense and strategic targets on its territory, the main “backbone” of the Falcons with the AGM-158A on board will act in conjunction with the air defense suppression squadron. Subsonic JASSM-ERs will be launched a little earlier, and before they enter the 38-km low-altitude line of interception by Three Hundreds, all 40 HARMs will be launched.
          ... hey, the author ... but what about the BBO 96L6E on a 40-meter tower? ... no, have not heard ? ... very sad ... or rather, it was not convenient for the author to write about this ... but, if you also take into account that 30N6E2 is tighter, you can keep it on the tower 40 m. ... then my friend Sitnyi Author ... there’s a range detection will be from 150 km ... smoke bamboo and learn materiel, Author ... laughing
      2. 0
        16 September 2016 21: 54
        Quote: STARPER
        I don’t understand, I am Poland and such countries ...

        It's simple. They are politically dependent on the United States. They do what they say.
      3. 0
        18 September 2016 19: 44
        Quote: STARPER
        I don’t understand, I am Poland and such countries ... So they are arming themselves and what? If the kneading begins world they will first of all bang!

        What is not clear then? The managers in these countries were appointed by the Washington Regional Committee and they do not care about the countries where they work, which will be there after all do not care ... This applies to the extinctions, and the Euro Gabon and eternal losers from mozh to mozh .. They are just an instrument, and all the movements In recent decades, this has led to the creation of this tool ...
    2. +2
      16 September 2016 20: 46
      Quote: ImPerts
      unable to repel NATO’s sudden and powerful airstrikes

      "Powerful airstrike" is such a vague concept that I am afraid that Russia is currently unable to repel truly "powerful airstrikes" using the existing forces and means of NATO. And the point is not even whether there is an S-400 in any direction or not, but stupidly in the number of enemy forces and assets. Roughly speaking, for the first attack of the CD, all the missiles in the available launchers can be used up. Then there may be a second wave of the CD or aviation at once.
      1. +5
        17 September 2016 00: 03
        It seems to me that the first massive strike by thousands of missiles will be the last. Since it will be completely impossible to reflect it. And therefore, a logical answer will follow - a nuclear one. And then it will be all the same to all. The hope is only that the peoples of the West will come to their senses and understand where the ruled rulers lead them ..
  2. +2
    16 September 2016 18: 15
    I can’t understand what, the most modest JASSM flight range is 360 km. Are we the only country complying with an agreement on the non-sale of exported missiles with a range of more than 300 km? request
    1. 0
      17 September 2016 10: 06
      Poland is now in NATO; global laws do not apply to deliveries within the alliance.
      1. 0
        17 September 2016 10: 07
        Quote: Forest
        Poland is now in NATO; global laws do not apply to deliveries within the alliance.

        What laws are we talking about?
        1. +1
          17 September 2016 19: 18
          Quote: atalef

          What laws are we talking about?

          On the non-proliferation of missile systems with a range of 300 km and above.
  3. +3
    16 September 2016 21: 53
    An attack on Belarus or, especially, on Russia with the help of the Kyrgyz Republic is tantamount to declaring war.
    And this, in turn, will lead to a retaliatory attack on Poland, and according to military doctrine, nuclear weapons can be used in this attack. The Americans, of course, will easily sacrifice the Poles, but they certainly will not start a nuclear war because of them.
    On the other hand, 40 KR is too small to cause significant damage even to the military infrastructure of Belarus. So, the purchase of such missiles by Poland contributes more to the growth of incomes of American military-industrial corporations than poses a military threat to us.
    Although, over, Western defense must be strengthened.
    1. 0
      16 September 2016 22: 07
      Yes, it's all just show-offs of Polish politicians, they say we are not afraid of Russians, if that’s what - we have missiles laughing
  4. +2
    16 September 2016 22: 06
    It’s a pity the author doesn’t introduce himself in the place of a Polish pilot, he doesn’t even need to write a will since he has nowhere to return. I would have thought in his place before pressing the buttons
    1. +2
      17 September 2016 11: 58
      Quote: Victor Petrov
      It’s a pity the author will not introduce himself in the place of a Polish pilot,

      What can we say about the Polish pilot, even if the F-16, having learned that they have to go to the Russian air defense - and that ... does not stand ...

  5. 0
    16 September 2016 22: 21
    For air defense, the goal is not to cover the whole country, but so that after a massive attack 30% of the nuclear potential for a retaliatory strike remains.
  6. 0
    16 September 2016 22: 29
    This is, as I understand it, if they start first, but there must be a preemptive strike. If the machine starts to operate, this is not possible to notice. It’s, however, that the war did not teach. It’s a pity that everything will die.
  7. +4
    16 September 2016 22: 33
    Any weapon is primarily an element of the system and can be an argument for politics.
    Buying this weapon, Warsaw buys "security" for everyone. For the scenario proposed by the author, where Poland alone decided in a suicidal attack to decide on a single kamikaze attack, it was not necessary to buy. Warsaw itself enters the system, and the scenario is designed for the entire system or its key elements. And since Poland and Turkey are very good elements of NATO in terms of readiness and military budgets, their stake is high.
    I don’t understand what the author puts on the board of Poland alone. But let's not forget about the Kaliningrad region.
    As for the attack options on the Republic of Belarus, it is generally incomprehensible. Yes, no one will attack Belarus. Everything may turn out there. With such a policy of the Russian Federation in relation to allies and neutrals.
    As for Ukraine ... Yes, she herself, as an element of the system, has become a convenient bridgehead. In general, Crimea did not go in vain.
    And in general what kind of "junta" :? do not understand the meaning of using her word in the news? It's official! Legally recognized government of Ukraine, including the Russian Federation and even Uv. Petr Alekseevich and partners! I have not seen any junta with partners.
    The position of the Russian Federation has now become much weaker than 2 years ago. For a long time, diplomacy and politics of the Russian Federation itself does not favor the formation of allies and the retention of neutrals.
    1. +2
      17 September 2016 00: 00
      "With such a policy of the Russian Federation in relation to allies and neutrals.
      As for Ukraine ... Yes, it itself, as an element of the system, has become a convenient bridgehead. In general, the Crimea did not get for nothing. "
      Yeah, yeah, really Crimea of ​​Russia got Absolutely Free!
      I’m better inside out :)
      If it were not for the "Chalogo-Aksyonov" referendum and Putin's bold step towards us, there would have been a hybrid war on the territory of Crimea, moreover, with the squeezing of the RF Armed Forces from the region and the deployment of a naval base and NATO positional areas on its territory.
      As a result, the loss of the Black and Azov Seas and a real threat to the entire South of Russia. And that’s all ... a year or two and a big war on three fronts with the division of Russia into two parts. So sir, read the story - all this has already been there, and more than once ...
  8. 0
    17 September 2016 03: 57
    At the beginning of the attack on the Republic of Belarus, iskander and calibers are launched .. at Polish military facilities and not only ... there will be nowhere for planes to land. You can’t indulge in defense alone
  9. +1
    17 September 2016 08: 30
    If Poland launches at least one such missile at us from its territory, then when we make a chop out of it nobody in NATO will lift a finger to help it.
    And if someone has forgotten about the Munich Agreement and the "strange war" of September 1939, let them remember the operation "Musketeer" in 1956.
    When England and France (together with Israel) occupied the Suez Canal in Egypt, the Americans clearly and clearly declared to them:
    When the Soviet Union will bury you in the sand, we will not lift a finger to help you. NATO is a defensive bloc, and this is pure aggression.
    By the way, does anyone here think that if Georgia joined NATO in 2008, would we have declared war after Tskhinval?
    1. +7
      17 September 2016 13: 12
      Quote: Nikkola Mac
      NATO is a defensive bloc,

      Completeness, my friend!
      Better remember Yugoslavia
      1. 0
        19 September 2016 09: 23
        The fact that NATO is a defensive bloc, the Yusovtsy will explain to Poland when we press it.
        As France and England in 1939 promised a blow to Germany from the west.
        With the same results.
  10. +1
    18 September 2016 09: 48
    In response, two dozen Iskander-M missiles equipped with nuclear warheads will arrive at the pshkahs and labuses. After this, in these countries you can put a VERY bold cross. In response to even a limited attack, the Russian Federation must use nuclear weapons, with a large-scale attack - to defuse the entire ammunition of the Strategic Missile Forces and the Navy in Europe and North America.
  11. +2
    18 September 2016 10: 55
    I think that the Russians need to unequivocally declare that, AT ANY (!) Attack on their territory, the NUCLEAR weapons in full volume (including against the United States if their planes will participate in the attack) will be UNMISTABLE against the territory and population of the attacking country. Although this will not prevent possible aggression, it will at least be more convincing for the population potentially falling into the zone of total extermination. They will have a choice to stay and wait when their politicians set them up or run away.
  12. +1
    18 September 2016 13: 22
    Well, firstly, these high-precision missiles still need to be correctly ordered, which I personally doubt, and secondly, what will Poland do if a couple of nuclear missiles fall on its capital, I suspect that the president and his command will flee under the wing of more powerful ones, even before it starts a mess.
  13. +2
    18 September 2016 15: 33
    To expect such a strike from the Polish Air Force stands exclusively before the start of the active phase of hostilities in the East European theater of operations, since even a few hours later an attack by these missiles will be ruled out due to the closure of the airspace over Ukraine by Russian airspace air defense forces

    And what is the sensation actually? In the long run, the adder in this country will only grow. In addition to JASSM, there is much more to come. It’s much more efficient to burn a hornet’s nest right away.
    Take a look at this map. The Belarusian "Polonaise" will reach some objects, and some "Iskander". After the blackout with accompanying "charms" is provided to the mattress ally, the Suvalkov corridor will no longer be needed.
  14. +1
    18 September 2016 16: 14
    This is a response to the deployment of the Iskander in Kaliningrad ... Our tactical aircraft really need an analogue of such a missile defense with a range of up to 500 km ... This will significantly increase the combat effectiveness of the Air Force without increasing its number.
  15. 0
    18 September 2016 16: 16
    In combination with the F-35, this is a very formidable weapon ...
  16. 0
    18 September 2016 16: 51
    But how to rub it into the head of the independent separatist Lukasquez?

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