Plasma in military science. Projects and prospects
Not so long ago it became known that one of the unique samples of special equipment of domestic development in the near future will be used as a training tool. According to the domestic press, next year the military-industrial corporation “Scientific and Production Association of Mechanical Engineering” (the city of Reutov) will transfer to several universities the electronic warfare system based on a plasma generator. This equipment was developed in due time for the Meteorit cruise missiles that did not go into series. In the original project, the equipment of the original type did not yield the expected results, but in the foreseeable future it will be able to contribute to the further development of technologies, equipment and weapons.
Recall, the project "Meteorit" was launched in the mid-seventies of the last century and was developed by several organizations led by OKB-52 (now the NPO Mashinostroeniya). Also the scientific research institute of thermal processes (now the Research Center named after MV Keldysh) was involved in the work, which was to develop electronic equipment for electronic countermeasures. The EW complex for a promising rocket included a plasma generator, with which an ionized gas cloud was created in the front hemisphere. Such a “shell” of the nose of the rocket made it possible to reduce the probability of its detection by radar stations.
It is expected that the transfer of unique samples of radio-electronic equipment, which will become teaching materials, will to some extent contribute to the training of young professionals. It is quite possible that in the future, scientists and designers, who once studied plasma generators of the “Meteorit” rocket, use similar technologies in their new projects. It should be noted that the use of plasma and equipment forming it has some prospects and may find application in new models of military equipment or weapons.
Rocket "Meteorite". Photo Testpilot.ru
In the context of the practical application of “plasma” technologies, one should first recall the project of the Meteorit cruise missile, during which the first domestic plasma generator suitable for practical use was created. Together with other means of electronic warfare, the rocket should have used so-called. plasma gun. If necessary, counter the radar of the enemy, the rocket automatically had to turn on the appropriate generator, creating a cloud of plasma in the forward hemisphere.
Due to its characteristic properties, ionized gas interfered with the normal operation of radar facilities. Depending on various factors, the “plasma gun” could hide the rocket or prevent the enemy station from seizing or escorting the rocket. In addition to reducing the level of the reflected signal, the plasma allowed to “mask” the compressor of the turbojet engine. This element of the aircraft has a characteristic shape and reflects the radio signal, but it can not be fundamentally reworked to reduce visibility. In the project "Meteorit" the problem of hiding the compressor was solved in the most interesting way.
"Plasma gun" for the new cruise missile reached the testing stage. This equipment was installed on experienced “Meteorit” missiles, with which they were tested at test sites. The complex of electronic warfare, including plasma equipment, showed very high performance. When observing the flight of a rocket using existing radar systems, at least a violation of tracking and tracking of the target was observed. Also there was a disappearance of the mark from the screen.
Over the past years, persistent rumors have been circulating in our country and abroad about the possible creation of promising designs aviation technicians equipped with plasma generators. It is expected that the use of such equipment will dramatically reduce the visibility of the aircraft for enemy air defense. Such technologies are of interest in the context of strike aircraft and rocket technology. So, in the field of cruise missiles, masking with a plasma cloud was already verified during tests conducted by Soviet experts in the eighties of the last century.
There is information about another method of using plasma generators as part of aviation or rocket technology. An interesting feature of ionized gas is the change in its physical properties. In particular, it has a reduced density that can be used to improve the performance of rockets or airplanes. According to rumors, at present, Russian and Chinese aircraft manufacturers are conducting experiments in which aircraft are equipped with special plasma generators. The task of this equipment is to create a plasma "shell" around the outer surface of the aircraft. The result should be a reduction in visibility and a certain improvement in flight performance.
In another area of "application" plasma formation is a side effect that can be used for certain purposes. It is known that when an aircraft moves at hypersonic speeds, a shell of ionized gas is formed around it. At the same time, the heating of atmospheric air is due to friction and the conversion of kinetic energy into heat energy. A curious consequence of this feature of hypersonic technology is the possibility of abandonment of specialized generators: in their role a body with the required resistance to thermal and mechanical loads can act.
The use of plasma generators in order to reduce visibility or improve flight performance has already been studied to some extent, but still remains a matter of the distant future. To make full use of these technologies, new research is required, the results of which will create promising projects. Nevertheless, some methods of plasma application are already used in the existing technology, however, the effect from them may not be so noticeable and attracting attention.
Turbojet engine AL-41F1С, equipped with a plasma ignition system. Photo by Vitalykuzmin.net
In the newest domestic projects of turbojet engines designed for advanced aircraft, so-called plasma ignition. The use of such an ignition system of the air-fuel mixture makes it possible to increase the operating characteristics of the equipment, as well as simplify its design and make maintenance less complicated. All these advantages are achieved with the help of several ideas, primarily the use of a plasma arc that initiates the burning of fuel.
Previously, to increase the altitude or to run at high altitudes, the turbojet engines were equipped with an oxygen feed system that supplies the necessary gas to the combustion chamber. The use of the oxygen system to a certain extent complicates the design of the aircraft, and also requires an appropriate aerodrome infrastructure. The requirements for the project "Advanced Aviation Complex of Frontal Aviation" (PAK FA) set the task of eliminating the need for oxygen recharge. The nozzles of the combustion chamber and afterburner chambers of the new engines have their own plasma systems. When fuel is supplied, an arc is formed, by means of which it is ignited. As a result, there is no need for an additional supply of oxygen.
In theory, plasma can be used not only in auxiliary roles. Several decades ago, research and experiments were conducted in our country, the theme of which was the use of an ionized gas cloud as a striking element. Such principles could be used in missile defense with the aim of destroying the warheads of enemy missiles. However, the original method of missile defense was never brought to practical use, and its prospects at the moment raise great doubts.
The original concept of missile defense implied the use of standard radar detection tools in combination with unusual striking complexes. The composition of the military equipment complex was proposed to include several so-called. Plasmoid guns, consisting of plasma generators and busbars. The task of the latter was the acceleration of a bunch of ionized gas. Depending on the combat mission and the operating parameters of the equipment, the complex could send a jet, divergent flow or toroidal plasma clots to the target. The latter are called "plasmoids".
According to the calculations of the authors of the idea, the combat equipment complex could send toroids at the highest possible speed to an altitude of up to 50 km. The task of the control systems and the combat complex was to send plasma clots to the preemption point of the enemy’s missile warhead. It was assumed that the contact of the plasmoid and the combat unit, the latter will be faced with serious violations of the flow. Getting into the cloud with other physical parameters should have led to the convergence of the combat unit from a given trajectory. In addition, the unit had to undergo overloads, including the beyond, destroying it.
In the past, it was proposed to build a prototype of a missile defense complex and test it with the use of combat unit simulators. However, due to the complexity, high cost and availability of various problems, the original proposal was never tested in practice.
All proposals for the use of plasma and its installations in the field of armaments and military equipment are of great interest in the context of their further development. However, the use of all ideas and suggestions in practice can be associated with a number of characteristic problems. All these shortcomings are associated both with technological features and with problems in the field of practical application. Thus, for the development of promising equipment, it is necessary to solve a number of complex design problems, as well as to form methods of using equipment that allow to obtain the highest possible efficiency.
Scheme of the missile defense system using plasmoids. Figure E-reading.club
Perhaps the most visible problem of plasma generators with the required characteristics is high power consumption. To create a cloud of ionized gas, the executive bodies of special equipment require an appropriate energy supply. Equipping an aircraft with an electrical generator of the required power is in itself a difficult engineering task. Without its solution, an airplane or a rocket will not be able to use a plasma generator and, as a result, will not receive the required capabilities.
It should be noted that in the framework of the old project "Meteorite" the designers of the OKB-52 and related organizations successfully managed to solve the problem of power supply of the "plasma gun". The results of this are well known: the rocket has become an extremely difficult target for the enemy's air defense systems.
The use of a plasma cloud to mask an aircraft is of great interest in the context of a hidden breakthrough to the intended goals, but this technology also has some operational problems. Becoming a screen for the radiation of enemy radar facilities, the plasma “shell” will necessarily interfere with the operation of the aircraft’s own electronic devices of an aircraft or other aircraft. As a result, communication problems can be observed or the full use of on-board radar can be excluded. Thus, the original equipment to reduce visibility will require the creation of new methods of combat use of aircraft or weapons.
Another challenge for designers and scientists is to protect the design of the aircraft from ionized high-temperature gas. In the case of hypersonic aircraft, this problem is solved already at the stage of the creation of their gliders, initially adapted to such loads. "Ordinary" combat aircraft and missiles while flying at a slower speed and, as a result, do not need special protection from high ambient temperatures.
Thus, for the full use of plasma generators surrounding an aircraft with an ionized gas cloud, an appropriate airframe design is needed to eliminate the negative effect of the “shell” on the skin and other elements of the aircraft.
To date, plasma physics has been sufficiently studied so that ionized gas can be used in practice for various purposes. Some scopes of plasma generator applications have already been studied and identified, as well as the advantages that such equipment can provide. Nevertheless, while the unusual technology did not have time to reach the full practical application. Individual samples of this class have already been tested both independently and as part of larger products. Some devices that use the principles of plasma formation, are already close to the beginning of operation.
One of the samples of special equipment that has come down to tests and tests in practice has become the so-called. plasma gun for cruise missiles. According to the latest reports of the national press, unclaimed samples of such equipment next year should be teaching aids. Surviving products will be transferred to several leading technical universities of the country. Perhaps the use of plasma generators in the training of young professionals in one way or another will contribute to the further development of technology. With successful developments in the future, new technologies will not only be studied and tested, but also used in projects with real prospects.
On the materials of the sites:
http://izvestia.ru/
https://utro.ru/
http://rbase.new-factoria.ru/
http://sdelanounas.ru/
http://airwar.ru/
http://e-reading.club/
Recall, the project "Meteorit" was launched in the mid-seventies of the last century and was developed by several organizations led by OKB-52 (now the NPO Mashinostroeniya). Also the scientific research institute of thermal processes (now the Research Center named after MV Keldysh) was involved in the work, which was to develop electronic equipment for electronic countermeasures. The EW complex for a promising rocket included a plasma generator, with which an ionized gas cloud was created in the front hemisphere. Such a “shell” of the nose of the rocket made it possible to reduce the probability of its detection by radar stations.
It is expected that the transfer of unique samples of radio-electronic equipment, which will become teaching materials, will to some extent contribute to the training of young professionals. It is quite possible that in the future, scientists and designers, who once studied plasma generators of the “Meteorit” rocket, use similar technologies in their new projects. It should be noted that the use of plasma and equipment forming it has some prospects and may find application in new models of military equipment or weapons.
Rocket "Meteorite". Photo Testpilot.ru
In the context of the practical application of “plasma” technologies, one should first recall the project of the Meteorit cruise missile, during which the first domestic plasma generator suitable for practical use was created. Together with other means of electronic warfare, the rocket should have used so-called. plasma gun. If necessary, counter the radar of the enemy, the rocket automatically had to turn on the appropriate generator, creating a cloud of plasma in the forward hemisphere.
Due to its characteristic properties, ionized gas interfered with the normal operation of radar facilities. Depending on various factors, the “plasma gun” could hide the rocket or prevent the enemy station from seizing or escorting the rocket. In addition to reducing the level of the reflected signal, the plasma allowed to “mask” the compressor of the turbojet engine. This element of the aircraft has a characteristic shape and reflects the radio signal, but it can not be fundamentally reworked to reduce visibility. In the project "Meteorit" the problem of hiding the compressor was solved in the most interesting way.
"Plasma gun" for the new cruise missile reached the testing stage. This equipment was installed on experienced “Meteorit” missiles, with which they were tested at test sites. The complex of electronic warfare, including plasma equipment, showed very high performance. When observing the flight of a rocket using existing radar systems, at least a violation of tracking and tracking of the target was observed. Also there was a disappearance of the mark from the screen.
Over the past years, persistent rumors have been circulating in our country and abroad about the possible creation of promising designs aviation technicians equipped with plasma generators. It is expected that the use of such equipment will dramatically reduce the visibility of the aircraft for enemy air defense. Such technologies are of interest in the context of strike aircraft and rocket technology. So, in the field of cruise missiles, masking with a plasma cloud was already verified during tests conducted by Soviet experts in the eighties of the last century.
There is information about another method of using plasma generators as part of aviation or rocket technology. An interesting feature of ionized gas is the change in its physical properties. In particular, it has a reduced density that can be used to improve the performance of rockets or airplanes. According to rumors, at present, Russian and Chinese aircraft manufacturers are conducting experiments in which aircraft are equipped with special plasma generators. The task of this equipment is to create a plasma "shell" around the outer surface of the aircraft. The result should be a reduction in visibility and a certain improvement in flight performance.
In another area of "application" plasma formation is a side effect that can be used for certain purposes. It is known that when an aircraft moves at hypersonic speeds, a shell of ionized gas is formed around it. At the same time, the heating of atmospheric air is due to friction and the conversion of kinetic energy into heat energy. A curious consequence of this feature of hypersonic technology is the possibility of abandonment of specialized generators: in their role a body with the required resistance to thermal and mechanical loads can act.
The use of plasma generators in order to reduce visibility or improve flight performance has already been studied to some extent, but still remains a matter of the distant future. To make full use of these technologies, new research is required, the results of which will create promising projects. Nevertheless, some methods of plasma application are already used in the existing technology, however, the effect from them may not be so noticeable and attracting attention.
Turbojet engine AL-41F1С, equipped with a plasma ignition system. Photo by Vitalykuzmin.net
In the newest domestic projects of turbojet engines designed for advanced aircraft, so-called plasma ignition. The use of such an ignition system of the air-fuel mixture makes it possible to increase the operating characteristics of the equipment, as well as simplify its design and make maintenance less complicated. All these advantages are achieved with the help of several ideas, primarily the use of a plasma arc that initiates the burning of fuel.
Previously, to increase the altitude or to run at high altitudes, the turbojet engines were equipped with an oxygen feed system that supplies the necessary gas to the combustion chamber. The use of the oxygen system to a certain extent complicates the design of the aircraft, and also requires an appropriate aerodrome infrastructure. The requirements for the project "Advanced Aviation Complex of Frontal Aviation" (PAK FA) set the task of eliminating the need for oxygen recharge. The nozzles of the combustion chamber and afterburner chambers of the new engines have their own plasma systems. When fuel is supplied, an arc is formed, by means of which it is ignited. As a result, there is no need for an additional supply of oxygen.
In theory, plasma can be used not only in auxiliary roles. Several decades ago, research and experiments were conducted in our country, the theme of which was the use of an ionized gas cloud as a striking element. Such principles could be used in missile defense with the aim of destroying the warheads of enemy missiles. However, the original method of missile defense was never brought to practical use, and its prospects at the moment raise great doubts.
The original concept of missile defense implied the use of standard radar detection tools in combination with unusual striking complexes. The composition of the military equipment complex was proposed to include several so-called. Plasmoid guns, consisting of plasma generators and busbars. The task of the latter was the acceleration of a bunch of ionized gas. Depending on the combat mission and the operating parameters of the equipment, the complex could send a jet, divergent flow or toroidal plasma clots to the target. The latter are called "plasmoids".
According to the calculations of the authors of the idea, the combat equipment complex could send toroids at the highest possible speed to an altitude of up to 50 km. The task of the control systems and the combat complex was to send plasma clots to the preemption point of the enemy’s missile warhead. It was assumed that the contact of the plasmoid and the combat unit, the latter will be faced with serious violations of the flow. Getting into the cloud with other physical parameters should have led to the convergence of the combat unit from a given trajectory. In addition, the unit had to undergo overloads, including the beyond, destroying it.
In the past, it was proposed to build a prototype of a missile defense complex and test it with the use of combat unit simulators. However, due to the complexity, high cost and availability of various problems, the original proposal was never tested in practice.
All proposals for the use of plasma and its installations in the field of armaments and military equipment are of great interest in the context of their further development. However, the use of all ideas and suggestions in practice can be associated with a number of characteristic problems. All these shortcomings are associated both with technological features and with problems in the field of practical application. Thus, for the development of promising equipment, it is necessary to solve a number of complex design problems, as well as to form methods of using equipment that allow to obtain the highest possible efficiency.
Scheme of the missile defense system using plasmoids. Figure E-reading.club
Perhaps the most visible problem of plasma generators with the required characteristics is high power consumption. To create a cloud of ionized gas, the executive bodies of special equipment require an appropriate energy supply. Equipping an aircraft with an electrical generator of the required power is in itself a difficult engineering task. Without its solution, an airplane or a rocket will not be able to use a plasma generator and, as a result, will not receive the required capabilities.
It should be noted that in the framework of the old project "Meteorite" the designers of the OKB-52 and related organizations successfully managed to solve the problem of power supply of the "plasma gun". The results of this are well known: the rocket has become an extremely difficult target for the enemy's air defense systems.
The use of a plasma cloud to mask an aircraft is of great interest in the context of a hidden breakthrough to the intended goals, but this technology also has some operational problems. Becoming a screen for the radiation of enemy radar facilities, the plasma “shell” will necessarily interfere with the operation of the aircraft’s own electronic devices of an aircraft or other aircraft. As a result, communication problems can be observed or the full use of on-board radar can be excluded. Thus, the original equipment to reduce visibility will require the creation of new methods of combat use of aircraft or weapons.
Another challenge for designers and scientists is to protect the design of the aircraft from ionized high-temperature gas. In the case of hypersonic aircraft, this problem is solved already at the stage of the creation of their gliders, initially adapted to such loads. "Ordinary" combat aircraft and missiles while flying at a slower speed and, as a result, do not need special protection from high ambient temperatures.
Thus, for the full use of plasma generators surrounding an aircraft with an ionized gas cloud, an appropriate airframe design is needed to eliminate the negative effect of the “shell” on the skin and other elements of the aircraft.
To date, plasma physics has been sufficiently studied so that ionized gas can be used in practice for various purposes. Some scopes of plasma generator applications have already been studied and identified, as well as the advantages that such equipment can provide. Nevertheless, while the unusual technology did not have time to reach the full practical application. Individual samples of this class have already been tested both independently and as part of larger products. Some devices that use the principles of plasma formation, are already close to the beginning of operation.
One of the samples of special equipment that has come down to tests and tests in practice has become the so-called. plasma gun for cruise missiles. According to the latest reports of the national press, unclaimed samples of such equipment next year should be teaching aids. Surviving products will be transferred to several leading technical universities of the country. Perhaps the use of plasma generators in the training of young professionals in one way or another will contribute to the further development of technology. With successful developments in the future, new technologies will not only be studied and tested, but also used in projects with real prospects.
On the materials of the sites:
http://izvestia.ru/
https://utro.ru/
http://rbase.new-factoria.ru/
http://sdelanounas.ru/
http://airwar.ru/
http://e-reading.club/
Information