"Aircraft projectile" of the XXI century
This element of transport infrastructure was important. Exceptionally important for this strange war, when the opponents simultaneously killed each other's soldiers and did not negotiate for peace, but did not completely stop trade relations. It was along it that the help of the countries of the West went to the east, allowing the killing of Russian soldiers and civilians yesterday of “their own”, but suddenly becoming “foreign” cities.
The railway bridge across one of the largest rivers was built back in Soviet times, its design was partially resistant even to the use of nuclear weapons. weapons, and it was extremely difficult to inflict serious damage on him with Caliber or Iskander. Therefore, when the drone of flying cruise missiles and the characteristic rattling of Geraniums were heard in the middle of the night, the attendants were not particularly alarmed - not for the first time.
Man-portable air defense system operators deployed their bulky weapons in the hope of detecting and destroying the Russian cruise missile – it is possible that their target was not the bridge, but a slightly distant city with military training bases, repair plants and ammunition depots. Several rockets actually flew past, and smoky tails of ammunition fired from MANPADS rushed in their direction.
The operators of the only nearby anti-aircraft missile system with a radar station for detecting targets recklessly fired at targets that were unexpectedly well visible on the radar screen. After the ammunition was exhausted, new missiles began to be installed on the launchers of the air defense system.
At that moment, a low rumble was heard, similar to that emitted by large transport aircraft. It did not last long - quite low above the ground, at a height of no more than a few hundred meters, a huge silhouette, almost invisible against the background of the night sky, swept by. In the head of the calculation of the air defense system, for a second, the thought flashed: “have we shot down a Russian transport aircraft or a bomber”?
At the same second, an unknown object rapidly crashed into the railway bridge - a powerful explosion was heard, significantly exceeding in strength any of those that had ever seen or heard the calculation of the air defense system and the maintenance personnel of the bridge. The huge railway bridge practically disappeared in the flash of the explosion, the remaining metal structures and reinforced concrete supports of the bridge crumbled into the water before our eyes. However, only those who were a few hundred meters from the bridge managed to see this, most of those who were closer either died from the shock wave and shrapnel, or received serious injuries and contusions.
The railway bridge itself actually ceased to exist and was not subject to restoration.
At the very beginning of the 90s, while still a schoolboy, the author was visiting friends of his parents at the dacha. The dacha in question was located right on the edge of a field belonging to a nearby military airfield. At the edge of the field was a transport plane, or rather what was left of it.
Now it is difficult to say exactly what kind of model it was, but, according to memoirs, it was very reminiscent of the An-12, maybe the dimensions were smaller? Image by wikipedia.org
According to the owners of the dacha, almost before the collapse of the USSR, this plane landed at the airfield, rolled out on its own to the edge of the field, after which the crew drained the fuel from it, removed some instruments and retired “into the sunset”.
In the shortest possible time, the plane lost its windows broken by the children, as well as all those parts and accessories that could be useful to a zealous Soviet summer resident. After a certain period of time, points for receiving non-ferrous metals began to open throughout the country, after which the remains of the aircraft were sawn up and disappeared within a few days - there was nothing left at all. The remnants of other planes and helicopters, which earlier in the Soviet period were lying in abundance near the airfield, also disappeared almost instantly.
Even then, despite his young age, the author was struck by blatant mismanagement - the winged machine was not sent for conservation, although it was clearly in good condition at the time of decommissioning, it was not withdrawn from the armed forces and sold on the civilian market or to foreign countries (rather In total, there were no mechanisms for such implementation), was not dismantled and disposed of with a reasonable cost recovery in favor of the armed forces.
Unfortunately, the situation is typical for our country.
Unclaimed resources
And what are the prospects for winged vehicles after the end of their service life?
Putting into conservation? Yes, this is an extremely important element in maintaining the combat capability of the armed forces, especially in wartime conditions - the conduct of a special military operation in Ukraine, where they run around the fields Tanks T-62 from storage depots showed this to the fullest. However, storage aviation technology is an order of magnitude more complicated than ground technology - in the USA this process is organized very competently, but they have a hot and dry desert climate on their side. Everything is more complicated here - the Russian climate, with its humidity and temperature changes, is much less convenient for storing such complex and capricious military equipment as airplanes and helicopters.
Nevertheless, despite all the difficulties, putting aviation equipment into conservation is the most important state task. By the way, judging by the reports of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Ukrainian aviation should have already “ended” several months ago, however, information is periodically received about more and more downed aircraft and helicopters of the armed forces of Ukraine. And the point here is not only in the supply of aircraft from the former Soviet bloc countries, but also in the restoration of damaged equipment and equipment from storage bases, most likely also restored with the help of spare parts supplied by Western accomplices of the Ukrainian regime.
What other options are there? Selling to third world countries?
It is quite a possible scenario, but this market should be very compact due to the limited financial resources of third world countries, and also very competitive due to the many people who want to get rid of old aircraft. Richer countries will not buy junk, and they will not be able to operate it because of the strict regulatory restrictions governing aviation.
For completely inoperable samples, there is only one way - disassembly and disposal. Obviously, this cannot be avoided, one way or another, but a significant part of the aircraft and helicopters at some point in their service will go under the knife anyway.
However, there is and always will be a certain number of aircraft models that theoretically can still fly, but in fact any flight can become a one-way flight for them. And it is for this layer of aviation technology that it is quite possible to find an effective scope.
We are talking about turning them into weapons - "aircraft-projectile".
History and examples of the implementation of weapons such as "aircraft projectile"
Weapons of the “aircraft-projectile” type owe their appearance to the Second World War, which maximally contributed to the emergence of the latest means of destroying their own kind.
The most famous "aircraft projectile" is the V-1 cruise missile, developed by Nazi Germany in 1944 and produced almost until the very end of World War II. With a flight range of up to 250–400 km, a flight speed of up to 800 km/h, and a warhead weighing 700–1 kg (depending on modification), the V-000 was one of the few weapons that allowed Germany to strike at Great Britain.
"Aircraft projectile" - V-1 cruise missile. Image by wikipedia.org
Separately, a modification can be distinguished, the control of which for most of the route was carried out by a pilot ejected with a parachute closer to the final segment of the rocket's flight.
Another example of a "missile plane" is Japanese planes loaded with aerial bombs or explosives, with kamikaze pilots carrying out suicide attacks on American ships. Kamikaze strikes caused significant damage to the American the fleet. The effectiveness of kamikaze attacks exceeded the effectiveness of all other types of weapons used by Japan against ships of the US Navy.
However, here it is necessary to make a reservation - the basis for the success of the kamikaze was the use of an absolutely noise-proof guidance system - a person. On the other hand, the effectiveness of the carrier aircraft itself, as a means of causing damage, cannot be denied, even if the air bombs suspended under its fuselage did not detonate, the aircraft itself could inflict serious damage to the attacked ship, making it incapable of combat and requiring repair in the military sea bases.
A fire on the American aircraft carrier Bunker Hill after being hit by a Japanese kamikaze aircraft. Image by wikipedia.org
Over time, the concept of "aircraft projectile" was replaced by a new designation for this type of weapon - a cruise missile. In the future, within the framework of this article, it is proposed to use the term "projectile" to designate a class of strike weapons created on the basis of manned aircraft.
Based on this definition, no matter how cynical it may sound, the Boeing 757-200 and Boeing 767-200 civilian aircraft used by terrorists to destroy the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City can be attributed to weapons of the “aircraft-projectile” type, no matter how cynical it may sound. Leaving out of consideration the ethical side of the terrorist attack, it can be argued that the Boeing 757-200 and Boeing 767-200 civilian aircraft used as weapons showed the highest efficiency, and this despite the fact that they did not undergo any design alterations and were not equipped with a warhead.
Thus, even in the days of unmanned aerial vehicles, including kamikaze UAVs, and stealthy cruise missiles, weapons such as "aircraft-projectile" may well occupy their niche.
Complex "aircraft-projectile"
And yet, why is it necessary to reincarnate the "projectile"? What are its advantages over modern cruise missiles and kamikaze UAVs?
Firstly, we are talking about the rational use of a certain layer of aviation equipment, which is already risky to operate regularly, but it is possible to ensure another accident-free flight with a fairly high probability.
Secondly, and most importantly, the “projectile aircraft” can have a warhead that is much larger in mass than any that can be placed in existing cruise missiles or kamikaze UAVs, this applies in particular to products of the “projectile aircraft” type, made on the basis of transport or passenger aircraft - potentially the mass of their warhead can be several tens of tons.
Let us consider the decommissioned Il-96 (Il-86?) passenger aircraft and Il-76 transport aircraft as the basis for the “aircraft-projectile” complex.
IL-96 (left) and IL-76 (right). Image by wikipedia.org
In the aggregate of these aircraft, dozens, if not hundreds, were produced. Of this number, half a dozen to a dozen machines may well be found that meet the requirement "you cannot operate, but they will definitely withstand one flight."
First of all, everything superfluous should be removed from them, especially from the passenger IL-96. All lighting devices must be removed from the hull, and the hull itself must be painted black or dark gray - the use of "aircraft-projectile" complexes must be carried out only at night, to reduce the likelihood of visual detection by the enemy.
Most of the cargo / passenger compartment will be occupied by a warhead, including several tens of tons of high-power explosive - there should be no problems with its creation.
The most complex part of the "aircraft-projectile" complex is an automatic control system that ensures its piloting and access to the target.
How realistic is it to create an automatic control system for such large and complex machines as the Il-76 or Il-96?
Chinese specialists have carried out work on the transformation of the ancient An-2 maize aircraft into a UAV. In Russia, to create an unmanned version of the An-2 aircraft, the Navigator company developed a computer for flight and navigation parameters. A small product the size of a book carries the necessary set of sensors - an air signal system, an inertial and satellite receiver, as well as a modern calculator.
Azerbaijani version of the UAV based on the An-2. ITV image
On the one hand, it is not entirely correct to compare the An-2 and the Il-76 or Il-96, since these are machines of different classes, different weight categories, and the control of the An-2 should be much easier. On the other hand, the IL-76 and IL-96 are much more modern machines, their control is more automated. In addition, the most difficult part of the flight is landing, and in our case it is not required, at least in the form by which the landing of the aircraft is usually meant.
In addition, if we really save on the automatic control system, then taxiing at the airport and taking off the “aircraft-projectile” complex can be carried out by a pilot, who, after climbing about two kilometers, will switch control of the machine to the autopilot (automatic control system) and eject with a parachute. However, if possible, it is still better to avoid this - it is not pleasant to take off on several tens of tons of explosives, a psychological factor can play a role here.
Taking into account the cost and potential destructive capabilities of the “aircraft-projectile” complex, its guidance system should be based on the guidance systems of real cruise missiles, that is, in addition to the noise-immune satellite navigation system, it should have an inertial navigation system and a guidance system for terrain heights (an analogue of the TEXOM system ), possibly an optical guidance system in the final section.
The take-off of the "aircraft-projectile" complex should be carried out away from residential areas, crowds of people and equipment, in order to avoid serious consequences in the event of a negative development of events - after all, we are dealing with worn-out equipment loaded with tens of tons of explosives, respectively, a fall and an explosion at the takeoff stage should not lead to tragedy. For the same purpose, the flight route of the "aircraft-projectile" complex should not pass over settlements, at least over their own.
Yes, and it’s better not to lay a flight route over enemy settlements - firstly, the probability of accidental detection is reduced, secondly, settlements can be covered by air defense systems, thirdly, in the event of an “aircraft-projectile” complex being hit over a city, the number civilian casualties can number in the hundreds, if not thousands.
It can be assumed that the strike by the “aircraft-projectile” complexes should be masked by the massive use of other strike means, for example, the Geran-type UAV with installed corner reflectors and Luneberg lenses to increase the effective dispersion surface and distract / overload enemy air defense systems.
Conclusions
Complexes of the "aircraft-projectile" type will logically complement the previously considered weapons concepts, such as ICBM with a conventional warhead, AUV "Dagon" и transport ships - "fireships", whose destructive power significantly exceeds all conventional means currently available to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, and indeed to any other countries of the world. Potentially, they can solve tasks that are now possible only with the use of tactical nuclear charges.
The consequences of the explosion at the Sverdlovsk-Sortirovochny station (now Yekaterinburg-Sortirovochny), which occurred on the morning of October 4, 1988 in the city of Sverdlovsk (USSR). The train, carrying 46,8 tons of TNT and 40 tons of RDX, rolled downhill, crashed into a freight train with coal standing on the tracks and exploded. The funnel at the site of the explosion reached a size of 40 by 60 m and a depth of 8 m, the shock wave spread over 10–15 kilometers. Image by wikipedia.org
If, after hitting several tens of kilograms of explosives of the warhead of a kamikaze UAV, the object can most often be relatively easily restored, if after the arrival of a half-ton warhead of the Kalibr-type missile launcher or Iskander-type ballistic missile, the object, most likely, albeit with difficulties, can be restored, then after the use of the “aircraft-projectile” complex with a warhead weighing several tens of tons of explosives, there will be nothing to restore.
Complexes of the “aircraft-projectile” type are not mass weapons of large-scale production, these are special weapons produced by single products, designed to solve special problems, while its impact on the course of military conflicts can be very, very significant.
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