"Steel rain" in the Baltics: on the location of the British MLRS in Estonia. Treacherous North European theater
The crisis and operational situation in Syria for the West in Syria, as well as the sharp change in the foreign policy vector of Bulgaria and Moldova, where the position on key strategic issues for NATO changed with the change of leaders of the countries, became a powerful shock for the “anti-Russian axis”, which would not be easy to eliminate a few more years. In the case of Syria, we are witnessing the defeat of the coalition concept of supporting the opposition forces of the Syrian Arab Republic. Partial unofficial IS support by Western, Arabian and Qatari capital and armaments does not give significant results: the Syrian Armed Forces, with the support of the Russian Aerospace Forces, continue to confidently “replay” all the moves of the West in the Middle East theater of operations. NATO finally lost control of the situation after the launch of 15 on November 2016 in the 279 air operation of the separate naval fighter aviation regiment (279 of the OKIAP) based on the heavy aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov.
The situation in Bulgaria and Moldova appears before the eyes of the “Western hegemon” in a no less dramatic way. So in Bulgaria, after winning the presidential election of the pro-Russian Rumen Radev, an ace pilot who was familiar with the MiG-29A and F-15C, at the forums there were very few meaningful arguments about the likely exit from the North Atlantic alliance, but at the level of the Ministry of Defense was A contract was signed for the purchase of 10 TRDDF RD-33 to restore a full fleet of 16 available MiG-29. Obviously, the plan to take the Southern Military District of Russia into NATO’s strategic “clutches” is a fiasco. A similar situation is expected with Moldova, where Igor Dodon, who came to power, has already announced that he will make every effort to restore normal relations with the Russian Federation. The West finds itself in a very difficult situation, which is already pushing it towards military-political expansion in the remaining, more or less controlled operational areas.
We are talking about the Baltic states, where the US Armed Forces and some West European NATO member countries have been creating a powerful shock-defensive "fist" for more than 2 years, represented by armored brigades, infantry units in the amount of several thousand military personnel, as well as tactical squadrons aviation with deliberately shock configuration of missile weapons. Ukraine does not lag behind, which has turned into an enclave of private military companies from the USA, France and the UK, as well as a full-fledged training ground where experimental Ukrainian military units experience modern American and European weapons: from 12,7 mm Barrett M82A3 sniper rifles to counter-battery artillery radars Intelligence AN / TPQ-36.
After realizing that the very ambiguous and partly unpredictable Donald Trump, who directly declared the North Atlantic Alliance in the XXI century, came to power in the USA, such conservatively anti-Russian participants as the United Kingdom and Denmark sharply stirred. And they didn’t just “move”, but started a specific militarization of the Baltic countries directly at our borders. As we said in the last article, the arrival of Trump’s cardinal American military policy will not change (the Masonic lobby is too strong for the Republicans), but such statements by the new president really confuse all the maps of the Old World according to the well-established anti-Russian position.
In the spring of 2017, a powerful military group of the British Armed Forces is expected to arrive in Estonia, which will include: several dozen main combat tanks "Challenger-2", the same number of BMW MCW-80 "Warrior", several reconnaissance and strike UAVs MQ-9 "Reaper", as well as a reinforced infantry battalion of 800 British troops, and this is not counting the Danish and French units, which will also deploy to this Baltic country. Despite the significant concentration of NATO forces near the borders of the Leningrad and Pskov regions, they will simply not be able to achieve the desired result in the event of a conflict, since they will be quickly wiped off the face of the earth by BF naval artillery fire, "Smerch" multiple launch rocket systems, and also " Iskander ”and Belarusian“ Polonaise ”, focused on key operational areas in the Baltic and northeastern Europe. Heavy Challengers and non-floating Vorriors will be defeated even before they approach the southern bypass routes of Narva and Lake Pskov-Peipsi. "Ripers" will also be quickly shot down by the S-300/400 air defense system, and therefore London may not even dream of any deterrence, and even on our lands. But this is not the whole list of weapons that the British “grab” with them to Estonia.
According to the Military Parity, citing Western sources, the British Armed Forces command plans to send to Estonia multiple-launch multiple rocket launcher systems MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket System), which in itself is a serious challenge for the actions of the armored units of the Russian army in the Baltic states and for operating the Baltic fleet on the main stretch of the sea, as well as directly in the Gulf of Finland. Why is this MLRS so dangerous?
HIGH POTENTIAL OF MLRS FOR DRYING TWO IS POSSIBLE, BUT ONLY UNDER CONDITION OF LOW ADVERSE ADMINISTRATION AND NO ACCOUNT PROTECTION
Developed by Boeing Aerospace and Vought in 1980, the MLRS MLRS very quickly occupied a solid niche in the ground forces of the US-friendly European, Middle Eastern and Asian countries. The main operators of the advanced system at that time, in addition to the States themselves, were: Germany (150 combat vehicles - M270 launchers), Israel (88 BM), and finally, the object of our present review, the United Kingdom, which purchased the 63 BM. The exact figures regarding the current number of launchers in service with the British army vary greatly, most likely from 35 to 39 units. The remainder appears to be conserved. All BM MLRS consisted and are in service with the 39-th regiment of the royal artillery NE of Great Britain. It is extremely clear that for the defense of the island Western European state of the RSRS MLRS / GMLRS London there is no special service, and therefore 39 and 15 launchers can be identified for arming the aggressive Eastern European regimes from the 25 regiment.
Standard equipment BM М270А1 is represented by a launcher of 2-x gear transport launcher modules (with 12 guides for NURS М26 and М26А1 / А2). The latest version of the unguided missile M26A2 has a range of about 45 km and flight speed to 4М. The caliber of shells is 227 mm, and therefore it is possible to speak about their ESR within 0,05 м2: in practice, they can be intercepted even with the help of the С-300ПМ1 ADMS, for which the minimum scattering surface of the target is limited to 0,02 м2. Until the destruction of the British MLRS launchers near our border, the issue of repelling the M26A1 / A2 strike will be partially resolved by the 500 Guards anti-aircraft missile regiment of the Suvorov and Kutuzov Orders, which is armed with the 4 ZRDN S-300MXNNMX. This regiment is the most combat-capable anti-missile unit of the Russian Aerospace Force of the Russian Federation at the front line of the western air route (not counting Kaliningrad’s “Four-Hundreds”). In the strategy of the British command, there is undoubtedly a firing point with the help of MLRS on our armored vehicles and strategic facilities in the border Leningrad and Pskov regions. Part of the unguided missiles, naturally, will break through the “Three Hundreds” anti-aircraft “umbrella”, and in this case most of the CB armored vehicles must be equipped with a KAZ that can effectively repel the impact of M1 / 77 cumulative fragmentation combat elements, which are in the head of the M85A26 rocket as much as 2 units. Considering the small armor penetration of M518 / 77 fragmentation-cumulative combat elements (from 85 to 40mm), the survivability of our T-70B, T-72BB and T-80CM can be dramatically increased by installing modern DZ systems like Relikt, which are much more solidly, which have a lot more space. all MBT projections, including the top, from damage by cumulative projectiles.
Meanwhile, it is worth noting that the composition of the 6 of the Czestochowa Tank Brigade, which controls the western IT, cannot be called advanced at all. The armament consists of MBT T-80BV, equipped with a DZ "Kontakt-1", which only partially covers the upper projection of VLD tanks, as well as the upper armor plate of the tower (especially in the center and the stern part): this is clearly seen in the photographs published in the review, dedicated to the 70 anniversary of the brigade with great history. It is logical that there are no active protection complexes. Against 6216 cumulative "blanks" (with each BM MLRS) on such vulnerable machines you will not trample. It remains only to wait for the update of the 6 Tank Brigade with the upgraded MBT T-80ЕЕ1 (“Object 219АС 1”), as well as promising T-14 “Armata”. As 14 of November 2016 became known, already in 2017, the tanks of T-80BB, upgraded to the T-1-80 level, will begin to actively arrive at the armament of the Russian Army, which will be improved by the specialists of Omsktransmash JSC and St. Petersburg SKBM JSC. Virtually all cars must receive KAZ kits. "Reserved" and can be upgraded to 3 thousand "jet" tanks.
Uncontrollable rockets of the M26 family are not the main strike force of the MLRS in the new century. At the end of 1990's The first developments appeared on adjustable projectiles with an increased range of action, control on the trajectory of which was realized using compact aerodynamic control surfaces. Already in the 2006 year, the belt block of gas-dynamic impulse rudders was shown, which gave the experimental URS higher maneuvering qualities on the approach to a target that changes its location.
Lockheed Martin, with the assistance of British, French, German and Italian specialists, achieved tremendous success in developing the M30 GMLRS (Guided MLRS) long-range guided missile. The product was developed over 15 years, and in the summer of 2005, the UK MoD was ordered as part of the 55-million contract. The shells of the new generation entered service 39-th regiment of royal artillery and became the most powerful and accurate ground component of the British army. These missiles have a range of 70 km and are equipped with a similar cumulative fragmentation warhead intended to destroy manpower, lightly armored vehicles (BTR, BMP, BMD), as well as MBT in the upper projection. The presence of a control unit with drives for aerodynamic control surfaces, as well as a radio-command correction module, led to the need to reduce the dimensions of the cassette warhead: the number of KOBEs was reduced from 518 to 404 units. But this reduction was offset by a minimum QUO, as well as a range that exceeded 70 km.
The danger of deploying M30 GMLRS in Estonia is as follows. Taking into account that the test launches conducted by 5 XKHUMX members in November showed 2009 km result, the GMLRS battery deployed in the depths of Estonian territory will be able to conduct targeted fire on surface warships of the Baltic Fleet across the entire width of the Gulf of Finland. A total of 92 M8A270 launchers can launch a 1 minute in the direction of a group surface target, up to 1 M96 projectiles in flight, and these are 30 cumulative fragmentation combat elements! It is necessary to intercept МХNUMX several more kilometers before our KUG, until the deadly cassettes with four tens of thousands of BEs flying at a speed of about 38784 km / h did not open up. And given the number of ready-to-reflect ship-based air defense systems "Redoubt" in the armament of the BF, it will not be possible to destroy the third part of the attacking М30. After all, corvettes of the X.UMX Ave. “Savvy” are carried aboard the Redoubts, which are controlled by the Furcé-3600 radar, which is much more limited in terms of firing, in contrast to the 30 multi-channel MRLLS Polymer installed on frigates of the Admiral Gorshkov class .
It should also be noted that the reloading of the M269 start-charging module (PZM), rocket programming and guidance of the launcher using azimuth and elevation coordinates only takes 5 minutes, after which the GMLRS battery can again drop tons of Steel Rain onto the ships or other objects of the enemy. That is how Iraqi soldiers called the “stuffing” of M26 rockets. The M30 GMLRS guided missiles are not capable of sending frigates and corvettes of the Baltic Fleet to the bottom, but Steel Rain can completely destroy their entire radar architecture, damaging canvases of survey and multifunctional radar stations, which will lead to the loss of combat service. The CBG may simply be "paralyzed." And this is absolutely not a fantasy, but an objective reality predicted on the basis of the well-known combat qualities of the MLRS GMLRS. How to prevent such a development?
The first information about the appearance of the British GMLRS on Estonian territory should be the starting point from which it is necessary to begin a total observation of the neighboring state. Such machines as Altius-M and Tu-214Р should be involved in optical and radio intelligence. The location of the GMLRS launcher must be regularly recorded in order to promptly issue target designation for Caliber cruise missiles and tactical aircraft in case of conflict escalation. Such goals are related to priority rocket-dangerous objects, which are to be destroyed first of all.
MLRS / GMLRS PROGRAM TAKES ALL THE MORE DANGEROUS SCALE: FROM CONTROLLABLE SHELLS TO HIGH-PRECISION COMBAT ELEMENTS. CROSSING THE BOMB WITH THE REACTIVE SYSTEM OF THE RULE FIRE
At about the same time as designing the M30 GMLRS URS, the development program for another type of long-range guided projectile, XM30 GUMLRS (Guided Unitary MLRS), was in full swing. This product is designed on the basis of a similar M30 engine, but with a unitary (monoblock) high-explosive penetrating warhead with a mass of 89 kg. At a distance of over 75 km, this projectile is capable of striking underground support points, runways, large bridges, underground infrastructure of strategic objects and other structures. This projectile has sufficient accuracy to destroy surface ships of the corvette class, and therefore can be attributed to high-speed anti-ship missiles, its method of control is similar to that established on the earlier M30 GMLRS. An important feature of the MLRS MLRS family is the unification of the combined TPK not only with the heavy tracked M270A1 PU, but also with the wheel M142 HIMARS. The latter provide additional flexibility for the transfer of airborne military transport aircraft as well as 2 times higher PU speed on highways and off-road.
And finally, about one of the most radical methods of modernization of the MLRS family MLRS / GMLRS. In the spring of 2015 of the year, in the news section of the website of the corporation “Boeing”, a brief description of a completely innovative program was published, which broke all existing stereotypes regarding the use of high-precision aircraft weapons and medium-range and long-range rocket launchers. The publication presented the concept of an advanced rocket launcher system, the design of which is a hybrid of the launch and missile parts of the MLRS MLRS and the small-sized “narrow” bomb GBU-39B SDB as a detachable head part. Joint work on the program is carried out by Boeing and Swedish Saab AB. The first full-scale tests of GLSDB were conducted in February of the 2015 year. The first modification of the unguided missile of the MLRS MLRS - M26 was used as a starting stage.
The newspaper DefenseNews, citing representatives of development companies, reported that GLSDB based on M26 will have a range of up to 150 km. This will be achieved thanks to the SDB entering the stratospheric mid-flight section at a speed of about 3,5М (at an altitude of up to 30 km), switching to a horizontal inertial flight with a folded wing and a slow descent, and then opening the wing and supersonic diving to the target. To increase the range from 150 to 220 km, you will need to use an accelerating first stage from NURS М30 or ХМ30, which will tell the combat stage with GBU-39B greater speed and height of separation. The demonstration sketches of the GLSDB launch show that the warhead with a bomb hides under a thick thermal shield-fairing, since the shell of the bomb and the “sleeve” of the wing module mounting are absolutely not designed to fly in dense layers of the atmosphere at speed 4000 km / h, which occurs at the accelerating stage. part of the trajectory (aerodynamic and temperature loads are too high).
It is noteworthy that not only the folding wing, but also the mass of all in 129 - 132 kg together with the fairing helps to reach a greater range by several times, the former warheads weighed to 154 kg. The GBU-39B SDB-I winged guided bomb is a much more flexible percussion instrument than the M30 / XM30 projectiles; planning from 20-25 km altitudes at speeds around 1,3-1,4M, the bomb can be re-directed to a completely different target, which could become a much higher priority during the marching stage of the flight. It can even be re-focused on a ground object that is left behind: a large wing, as well as advanced aerodynamic control surfaces, will deploy it to any possible trajectory. With conventional guided missiles such a result is impossible to achieve, because the compact nasal corrective aerodynamic control wheels are not designed to vigorously control a heavy product, but can only correct it.
The danger from the MLRS GLSDB is equivalent to that of the British anti-radar ALARM missiles. And the most vulnerable to these means of air attack are numerous means of military air defense. The GBU-39B SDB-I bomb, like the ALARM rocket, can reach a large angle relative to the target at an altitude of 12-15 km, while it continues to be outside the high-altitude interception boundary of such FSACs like the Tor-M1 / 2. Appearing directly above the target, the GBU-39B starts a steep dive at angles greater than 70 degrees, and the ALARM rocket opens a container with a parachute and descends to the target in the locking mode, during which the passive RSGN searches for a radio-emitting source (ARMS radar ). After lazirovanija and capture of the target, the parachute is disconnected and ALARM, turning on the accelerating engine of the second stage, rushes to the target.
The approach to the target from large angles makes it very difficult to intercept a planning UAB or ALARM, since many MRLSs have a restriction for scanning air space in an elevation plane. So, for example, if SDB-I hits the target defended by the Tor-M2 complex, at an angle of more than 64 degrees, sure interception will be impossible: the upper range of elevation scanning for the Torah begins with 32 and ends with 64 degrees. The target simply turns out to be outside the corner sector of the radar action of the air defense missile system. A similar threat persists for long-range radar C-300PS / PM1 (RPN 30H6E also has an elevation limitation in 64 degrees), but their situation is better, since it is possible to intercept SDB-I even in the stratospheric flight segment at XNX distance - 35 km. But the most protected, from attacking from above EHV, the means of military air defense is considered to be the anti-aircraft missile-artillery complex "Pantsir-S45". According to well-known information, the sector of radar tracking of the target is from -1 to + 5 degrees, and the opto-electronic sighting system 85EC10-Е - to 1 degrees: even the most "cool" attacking elements of precision weapons can be destroyed.
At present, the promising MLRS GLSDB has not yet been commissioned by the US Army and its European allies, but the main stages of testing flight modes and the behavior of the GBU-39B bomb at high supersonic speeds have already been passed, and therefore in the near future may be followed by allegations of acquiring an initial combat system readiness. Taking into account the altitude of the operation and the flight speed of the GLSDB (GBU-39B) combat stage on the cruise flight, the US-Swedish hybrid can be attributed to high-speed supersonic means of aerospace attack; 1500, of course, does not reach the hypersound, but it is definitely on the list of tactical tools of the BSU concept. This is what causes the increased interest in the evolution of the advanced system with 33-year history from the side of military departments and specialists of countries directly involved in the global military-strategic twists and turns.
Information sources:
http://forum.militaryparitet.com/viewtopic.php?id=10926
http://rbase.new-factoria.ru/missile/wobb/mlrs/mlrs.shtml
http://saab.com/land/weapon-systems/surface-tosurface-missile-systems/ground-launched-small-diameter-bomb/
Information