China and the US say they said goodbye to the MiG-25 too early
The Sino-American incident with an aerial object such as a probe, which for almost a week cut with impunity over the territory of the United States, made many people think.
Indeed, the precedent is simply magnificent. It is worth referring to international law regarding air boundaries, which states that outer space begins at an altitude of 100 km above sea level. It is at this mark that the so-called Karman line passes, which is the upper border of states.
This line got its name by the name of the American physicist Theodor von Karman, who was the first to determine in 1956 that at this mark the atmosphere is so rarefied that any aerodynamic aircraft, having reached it, in order not to fall, must continue to move at the first cosmic velocity equal to 7,9 km/s. That is, it is on this line that the Earth's atmosphere begins to move into space. True, the air shell of the planet does not end at an altitude of 100 km, but extends further, up to a level of 10 thousand kilometers, but these are mainly hydrogen atoms that could leave the atmosphere.
The average combat aircraft operates at altitudes of 10 to 20 meters. This applies to almost all modern combat aircraft: F-22, F-35, Rafal, J-20, Su-35, Su-57 - all have an average operating altitude of 15 meters.
The fact that American pilots were able to shoot down a balloon based on the means at their disposal is well done, of course.
A balloon at an altitude of 30-40 km is generally not a very pleasant thing for the country over whose territory it flies. Modern balloons like the Chinese probe are equipped with solar panels, which provide both the operation of observation and recording equipment, and carry out the movement of the probe and correct its flight. At low speeds, but still. And the option of “hovering and examining everything as it should be” or taking air samples there - this should generally break through the military in a cold sweat.
The way the Chinese aircraft flew over the territories of the two countries, whose air defenses could not do anything with the probe, speaks of several things.
First: there is a new type of reconnaissance apparatus, with which it is very difficult to do anything. A probe at an altitude of 30 km is a very difficult target. It is very different from the satellite for the better, since the satellite flies in orbit and is simply unable to hover, which the probe will easily do. The probe can slowly, but bypass the accumulation of clouds, which will close the surface of the earth from the satellite.
But the probe will simultaneously be a violator of the airspace of the country over whose territory it will fly.
And then the question arises: what to shoot down?
1. SAM. Theoretically - yes, in practice it is difficult to say. Typically, anti-aircraft missiles have radar or thermal homing heads, which are practically useless against a balloon that does not have a thermal wake and has a minimum of metal in its design.
Television GNSS, which are used in surface-to-air missiles, could be useful, but they require near-ideal weather conditions to track a high-contrast target and have a short range. Plus, these missiles require constant operator work. The same applies to the seeker with laser illumination, but you cannot illuminate such a target with a laser from the ground, this can only be done from an airplane.
2. Anti-aircraft guns. Alas, no. The maximum that they were capable of during their heyday was 15-16 km. Physics did not allow above.
3. Planes. Here the problem is in the already specified altitude. If an aircraft (like the Rafale) cannot overcome the bar of 15 km in height, then it simply cannot oppose anything to the balloon. Alas.
Why has the US been tinkering with this bubble in the sky for so long? What, such a serious combat aircraft as the F-22 could not overtake and attack the balloon before?
Some experts say that the Americans were really waiting for the balloon to warm up in the sun so that it was the IR-GOS of the AIM-9X "Sidewinder" missile that could capture it. The most, I emphasize, a modern rocket of this type.
Got it. Already not bad, it would be possible to give a credit, but so much time to wait ...
What other options are there?
If such a bubble entered the Russian space, it would have an unpleasant surprise in the form of a MiG-31 capable of flying up to a height of 30 km for a short time.
And this is a very serious height, although at the peak of the so-called dynamic ceiling the plane is not able to stay for a long time and perform maneuvers there, but in order to reach the ceiling and launch a rocket or shoot from a cannon, this is more than enough.
By the way, about guns. A balloon is primarily a large shell filled with gas. Hydrogen or helium. And for this shell, the hit of at least one projectile is very fatal. In any case, this will cause a loss of gas, a decrease in lift, and the apparatus will fall to the ground.
The higher in the atmosphere, the less air resistance, and the cannon projectile flies farther. In general, a cannon can also fire in space, as the composition of gunpowder contains enough substances that instantly release oxygen, which is necessary for the combustion of a propellant charge and ensuring that the projectile leaves the barrel, this is well known, although some of our "experts" sometimes say quite the opposite.
The GSh-6-23, which the MiG-31 is armed with, is capable of firing the entire cannon ammunition load of 260 rounds within two seconds. This is more than enough to turn any balloon into a sieve. From such a pile of shells fired towards a huge bubble, at least something will fly at the target.
Range ... It's not easy here. At the surface of the earth, at normal atmospheric pressure, a 23 x 152 mm projectile flies 2-2,5 km. The GSh-23 23 x 115 mm projectile has a flight range of less than 2 km, but at an altitude of over 20 km, the flight range will be clearly higher. Still, tabular 760 mm Hg and 40 mm Hg. at an altitude of 20 km - a big difference.
At high altitude, the projectile will travel farther than below. And physics is on the side of those who will destroy balloons in this way. Of course, it will cost time to prepare pilots for shooting in unusual conditions and high-altitude flights, but as they say, the game is worth the candle.
In general, initially, the GSh-6-23 for the MiG-31 was developed precisely as an anti-aerostatic weapon. At the time of the creation of the interceptor, it was the balloon probes and balloons that simply tortured them with their appearance in the airspace of the USSR. And the then full-time MiG-25 interceptor had only missiles. So we had to install a cannon, and even invent shells with a particularly sensitive fuse.
Remote-controlled missiles are also quite a real thing. But here, indeed, an operator is needed who will direct this rocket and blow it up next to the balloon.
The MiG-31 (and the MiG-25) can easily cope with such a task. The 31st has absolutely everything for this: the ability to climb heights that other aircraft have not even dreamed of, a six-barreled cannon and missiles that the operator can direct.
The MiG-25 is not much inferior to the 31st, except that it does not have a gun and a second crew member. But this aircraft is very fast and its ceiling, if less than that of the MiG-31, is not much. And this aircraft is still in service in some countries, and in the light of such events, a more interesting life may be prepared for it than being in storage.
And the MiG-31 has every chance of becoming a panacea for reconnaissance balloons. Especially if you arm it with remote-controlled missiles. In general, a remote-controlled missile is an old and almost dead topic, since infrared and active radar seekers do a good job of destroying everything flying, but the years of 2022 and 2023 have thrown information for thought.
The Iranian "Shahed" and the Chinese balloon are two new types of weapons that are somewhat unclear how to deal with. Not all radars “take” the first one because of its frankly small size (and there is a minimum of metal there), the second one is also a difficult target.
It is possible that missiles with TVGSN, or rather, a return to them, are an opportunity to secure their air borders at altitudes where such balloons as the Chinese one can operate. An operator-controlled missile will be able to approach the aircraft at a distance of effective warhead detonation and ... What's the difference than piercing a balloon? Projectile or rod?
Of course, it is not worth preparing hundreds of such missiles here, a couple of dozen are enough. Just in case, because every case happens, and suddenly such an apparatus will “be blown away” somewhere in the direction of, say, our secret objects? Should we also wait a week for the wind to change? No, you have to react.
The precedent has been set. The Chinese are great, they stirred up the air defense whirlpool so well. And it's good that, unlike many other countries, we have in the future what to answer. There is a MiG-31, and it can be suspended modified for such conditions, say, X-59TE, developed by the glorious JSC GosMKB Vympel named after. I.I. Toropov. I am sure that they will be able to easily make changes to the design of the rocket.
For what? Everything is simple. There is no need for a warhead weighing 300 kg of a high-explosive-penetrating type; the warhead should be from an anti-aircraft missile with rod or ball submunitions. And an operator detonation system, since contact or radar fuses may not work. And that's all, we have an excellent missile for hitting balloons, capable of getting such an aircraft at any height.
By the way, about height. At the heights we are talking about, that is, 20-40 km, everything is fine with cloudiness. That is, it is practically non-existent. All clouds remain in their bulk at the bottom, and what is higher (silver, mother-of-pearl) - they are really higher. So for the missile operator with TVGSN there are almost no problems in terms of guidance.
The Chinese threw information for thought with their balloon, but it turns out that we, unlike the United States and Canada, have something to answer. At least in principle, but there is. Other countries don't even have that.
It's just that after the success of the "Shaheds", for which there is now a queue, many countries have a headache in search of an answer to the question "what to shoot down." After such a splash, which was weighed down by a “lost peaceful probe” (no, we, of course, believed) US air defense, many can adopt the idea of a “lost” balloon at an altitude of more than 20 km, completely accidentally stuffed with the appropriate equipment from observation and registration, not is not it?
In modern life, one must be prepared for anything. Including the need to shoot down such a "lost" balloon over Russian territory.
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