Unguided aircraft missiles S-13 "Tulumbas". Flexible Tool for Special Operations
Su-25 attack aircraft involved in the Special Operation
In service with the Russian front and army aviation consists of a wide range of different means of destruction, including several types and modifications of unguided missiles. All this weapon finds application in the current Special Operation and ensures the demilitarization of Ukraine. Together with other weapons, S-13 Tulumbas unguided aircraft missiles are used. Recently, the Ministry of Defense showed episodes of the use of such products.
Rockets in the frame
On May 30, the Ministry of Defense published a video showing the combat work of Su-25SM3 attack aircraft using S-13 missiles. It is reported that the pilots-heroes of the video carried out attacks on enemy positions, equipment and weapons. The flight was carried out at low altitudes in the zone of the possible presence of enemy air defense, as a result of which decoys and anti-missile maneuvering were used.
The video begins with a demonstration of the work of the technical staff. It loads the S-13 NAR into the B-13L launch block under the wing of the attack aircraft. It can be considered that the payload of aircraft includes external fuel tanks, unguided missile units and containers with equipment of an unknown purpose.
Loading S-13 missiles into B-13L blocks
It is shown how aircraft, flying at low altitude, launch unguided missiles at a distant target. Launches are carried out in pairs and in series, from level flight and from pitch-up. Several rocket launches are shown through the "pilot's eyes" - from a helmet-mounted camera or through an indicator on the windshield that displays flight and other information.
Having completed the combat mission, the attack aircraft returned to the airfield and landed. Unfortunately, the results of a missile attack on enemy ground targets were not shown. However, the experience of the Syrian and Ukrainian operations show that the Su-25SM3 with unguided S-13s is a very effective strike system. It can be assumed that after the arrival of the NAR, only debris and destruction remained on the ground.
The rocket leaves the guide
Weapon family
Our military aviation has at its disposal a whole family of S-13 unguided missiles with the code "Tulumbas" (a percussion musical instrument, a type of timpani). The first samples of this family were developed in the early seventies by the Novosibirsk Institute of Applied Physics. Subsequently, serial production was organized, and new modifications and variants of the NAR with certain features were developed.
The process of rocket development is still going on with the help of various enterprises. Together with NIPF, Technodinamika holding, Tekhmash holding, etc. participate in it. So, at last year's forum "Army-2021" for the first time showed the layout of the next NAR of the family called S-13B "Tulumbas-3". According to some reports, this product has already passed all the necessary tests and was put into service.
The Tulumbas missiles of the first version were intended to destroy manpower and equipment in open areas and in buildings, incl. protected. In the future, new modifications were developed with other combat units for various purposes. The flight characteristics of the products also changed.
Pair launch, view from the cockpit
All NARs of the S-13 family are used with B-13L launchers for five items each. The blocks can be installed on almost any modern front-line aircraft and combat helicopters of domestic design. In this regard, the S-13 practically does not differ from other domestic unguided missiles.
The effectiveness of the use of NAR C-13 depends on the characteristics of the carrier. For example, modern PRNCs of front-line aviation aircraft make it possible to increase the accuracy of firing unguided missiles over the entire range of ranges and in different flight modes. In particular, it becomes possible to shoot more accurately not from a dive.
Line features
All missiles of the S-13 family are built according to the same scheme and are unified as much as possible. They are carried out in a cylindrical body with a diameter of 122 mm and a length of 2,5 to 3,1 m. The head compartment of the rocket with a warhead is distinguished by a reduced diameter of 90 mm. In the tail are the stabilizers laid out in flight.
View through HUD
The basic S-13 missile was a 57-kg ammunition with a penetrating warhead weighing 21 kg. It was intended to destroy protected objects and was capable of penetrating 3 m of soil and / or 1 m of concrete. Launch range - up to 3 km. Subsequently, on the basis of the first Tulumbas, an improved NAR C-13T was developed. It became heavier up to 75 kg and received a reinforced warhead with the ability to break through up to 6 m of soil or undermine it on contact with the surface. The range has increased to 4 km.
High-explosive fragmentation S-13OF and S-13OFS1 are proposed with a range of up to 3 or up to 6 km, respectively. They carry warheads weighing 33 or 38 kg. At the same time, OFS1 is distinguished by an increased explosive charge - more than 15 kg. S-13D and S-13DF unguided missiles are equipped with a volume explosion warhead. With a mass of 68 kg, they carry 14,6 kg of flammable liquid. The explosion power is equivalent to 35-40 kg of TNT.
The newest of the presented missiles, "Tulumbas-3", is multi-purpose and made on the basis of existing units. With its help, it is possible to defeat both unprotected targets and shelters and fortified buildings. Such functions are provided by a concrete-piercing warhead weighing 41 kg with a hardened hull and a charge weighing 5,6 kg. A bottom fuse is used, controlled by the so-called. initiation block. Detonation can be performed on contact with the target, as well as with a short or long delay. The mode of operation is selected in preparation for a flight, depending on the nature of the reconnoitred target.
S-13T missiles
Flexible Tools
The S-13 unguided rocket family includes several products for various purposes, and new ones appear regularly. There is reason to believe that the modernization potential of Tulumbas has not yet been exhausted. Thanks to this, in the future, new modifications and versions with certain advantages over existing NARs may enter service.
From the point of view of operation and use in the Air Force, the C-13 family is a convenient, inexpensive and effective tool for solving a wide range of combat missions. The ability to select missiles with different flight data or warheads provides a certain flexibility in combat use. Accordingly, the design characteristics of products are used more fully.
It should be noted that in addition to the S-13, the Russian Air Force has several other types and modifications of aviation unguided missiles. These are lighter products S-5 and S-8, as well as heavy S-24 and S-25. Such NARs are also carried out in various modifications and may differ in the characteristics and capabilities of combat units.
Start NAR S-13 fighter-bomber
Thus, thanks to the work of our defense industry, combat aviation has a wide range of unguided missile weapons with different capabilities and different potentials. Many years of experience have repeatedly demonstrated and confirmed the advantages of both individual missiles and the entire complex of weapons as a whole.
Current successes
Right now, unguided rockets of various types, including S-13s of various modifications, are being used in the course of the demilitarization of Ukraine. Frontal and army aviation make dozens and hundreds of sorties a day and constantly use one or another weapon. One of the main tools for hitting ground targets is precisely the NAR, which combines low cost, simplicity and high combat qualities.
Apparently, the use of S-13 "Tulumbas" and other unguided missiles will continue in the future. There are still many targets for such weapons on the battlefields and behind enemy lines, and foreign countries are constantly bringing up new ones. However, the results of these processes are predictable.
Information