Theory without practical recommendations

1
It is necessary to improve the methodology for creating and using high-precision artillery ammunition.

Self-propelled gun "Msta-C" - one of the main artillery systems of the Russian army

Recently, the military-theoretical journal Military Thought (No. 2, 2010) published an article by the Doctor of Technical Sciences Yuri Fesenko and Nikolai Zolotov, “On shooting tasks and degrees of destruction of objects when using high-precision weapons", In the annotation of which it is reported that" the theoretical problems of the use of high-precision weapons in battle were considered and some variants of their solution were proposed.

PRE-SAFE

For some reason, the authors of the article did not pay attention to the combat capabilities of domestic high-precision ammunition in service with field artillery, as well as their lag behind foreign models, and immediately began to consider "theoretical problems" without tying their research to the specific characteristics of ammunition and objects of destruction. At the same time, the authors did not use modern methods for assessing the effectiveness of shooting and showed no interest in improving the system of baseline data on the characteristics of the vulnerability of typical self-propelled armored targets in relation to the striking effect of high-precision ammunition.

At the same time, the authors limited the scope of the problems under consideration to high-precision field artillery ammunition when firing from closed fire positions. The term "closed firing position" describes the position of their guns, which during firing are sheltered from ground observation of the enemy. But no less important are the conditions for firing at visually observable and unobservable targets. To defeat only observable targets (tanks, BMP, self-propelled guns, etc.) there are artillery systems "Centimeter", "Daredevil", "Krasnopol", "Kitolov-2M", created according to the tactical and technical requirements (TTT) 30 years ago. A serious drawback of these ammunition is the need to illuminate the target with a laser beam, which allows the enemy to counteract the guidance process using active defense and staging systems
aerosol masking curtains.

The capabilities of our artillery to defeat high-precision munitions of unobserved armored targets look very modest. This role is performed by the MLRS Smerch with the 9М55К1 cluster missile equipped with the Motive-3М self-targeting combat elements (firing range - 70 km). All of the above high-precision munitions created in the Soviet Union and their advantages and disadvantages were repeatedly discussed in the media (HBO No. 43, 1999; No. 10, 2000; No. 1, 2003).

In their article, the authors assess the possibility of using high-precision ammunition for solving the tasks of suppression and destruction. Such a formulation of the task does not fit with the statement of Colonel-General Vladimir Zaritsky, the former head of the MFA department, “The massive use of high-precision weapons will make it possible to switch to a one-time and guaranteed defeat of the most important objects before the combined arms engagement.” There is a problem here - instead of a one-time and guaranteed defeat, our artillery scientists pull back, considering even the suppression of the enemy with high-precision ammunition, in which the target temporarily loses its combat capability. True, the authors of the article recognize that “from the point of view of saving manpower and means in the presence of high-precision ammunition, it is more expedient to destroy an important object than to act on it repeatedly for the purpose of suppression”.

WRONG TARGETS

The basis of the article is the analysis of the results of simulation of field artillery firing for the destruction of a battery of self-propelled armored guns. A similar problem was solved 39 years ago in the book "Shooting to Hit the Batteries" (M .: Voenizdat, 1971) by the authors of Artillery General Alexander Matveyev and Colonel Yevgeny Malakhovsky. In relation to that time, the presented studies were performed at a fairly decent level. Particular attention is paid to the American self-propelled armored guns M108 and M109 as objects of destruction. Experimentally established characteristics of the damaging effects of projectiles (min) with the defeat of batteries SBO. The norms of the consumption of shells in the destruction of fire safety systems in relation to firing with the help of guns, howitzers, howitzers cannons (caliber - 85, 100, 130, 122, 152 mm), using mortars (caliber - 120, 160, 240 mm) and reagents, and mortars, and mortars (caliber - XNUMX, XNUMX, XNUMX mm) and reagents were used. .

Compared with the work of Matveyev and Malakhovsky, the article by Fisenko and Zolotov is abstract. Thus, the authors of the article did not indicate the specific type of SBOs that make up the battery when it was destroyed. For example, about the American howitzer М109А5 it is known that its early versions are in service with 15 countries. The welded aluminum alloy casing and turret provide protection from bullets and small fragments. This machine is equipped with an automatic loader and an automated fire control system. М109А5 has sufficient maneuverability not to fall under the fire of enemy artillery. The M109A5 of the NATO armies are firing according to the rule of “shot - leave.” After several shots, it is necessary to change the position in order not to fall under enemy artillery fire.

Unfortunately, the article does not indicate what initial data on the combat characteristics of cluster self-targeting (SPBE) and self-guided (SNBE) combat elements were used in the simulation. Recall that in service with the Russian field artillery there is a projectile with SPBE "Motive-3M", designed to destroy unobservable armored targets. SNBE in the ammunition of the domestic field artillery is still missing. The composition of the battery and the vulnerability characteristics of enemy self-propelled armored guns remain a mystery. At the same time, ineffective high-precision weapons, which are used by the authors and, judging by the damage, are unlikely to have a right to exist.

The article by Fisenko and Zolotov presents the structure of the damage sustained by self-propelled armored guns that make up the battery when it is destroyed. Attention should be paid to the list of injuries sustained by tools as a result of the impact of high-explosive fragmentation projectiles (OFS), SPBE, and SNBE: very strong (ensuring the output of tools for seven days); heavy (one day); average (3 hours); no less than average (at least 3 hours); lungs (30 minutes). It is difficult to agree with such a nomenclature of damage. The concept used is “very strong” damage and others are not backed up by a specific condition of SLE.

Self-propelled armored gun has two important properties - to fire and maneuver, which is provided by a complex of units and the presence of ammunition. From the combat experience, the consequences of the explosion of shells and the ignition of gunpowder in sleeves in light-armored vehicles are known, which leads to irretrievable losses. Therefore, the irretrievable losses somehow do not correspond to the proposed “very strong” and “heavy” damages as a result of the action of SPBE and SNBE.

In the article, without exception, are presented in the article the shares of the guns (as part of the battery) that received “very strong” damages, which are for the CFC 5 – 10%; for SPBE - 10 – 20% and for SNBE - 35 – 45%. These data indicate a supposedly greater effectiveness of SNBE. But is it really going to be?

It is known that self-targeting combat elements form a powerful fragmentation stream with a mass of several kilograms at penetration of the armored corps, effectively striking the internal components of the SBO. This situation requires the involvement of specific data on the transboundary action of SPBE and SNBE. In turn, the degree of damage in relation to SNBE, providing 35 – 45% "very strong" damage received by the SBO when the battery is destroyed, requires explanation.

The authors of the article, comparing the structure of the lesions inflicted by high-precision AMF ammunition, ignored the 152-mm shot with the 3-O-23 cluster shells with cumulative fragmentation combat elements. This projectile contains 40 pcs. combat elements and is designed to defeat armored vehicles and manpower. It would be necessary to determine its place in the system of ammunition for the destruction of enemy targets, including self-propelled armored guns.

It is difficult to attribute the following points to the significant achievements of the theoretical plan of the article under consideration.

The structure of damage to guns when a battery is damaged with high-precision ammunition shifts to the area of ​​heavier damage, reducing the number of guns that suffer light damage, and increasing the number of intact guns and guns with damage not related to failure.

Taking into account the peculiarities of the striking effect of high-precision ammunition - the severity of the damage they inflicted, the time it takes for the object to fail can significantly exceed the values ​​adopted for high-explosive fragmentation ammunition.

Theory without practical recommendationsProjectile "Kitolov-2M" - replacements for him, alas, not yet

UNUSED POSSIBILITIES

The authors of the article note that the currently available characteristics of the striking effect of ammunition, including high-precision ones, do not make it possible to estimate the proportion of the failure of crews due to the defeat of equipment. Further, they state that in conducting scientific research, the task of determining the characteristics of the striking effect of ammunition was assigned only to the species institutes of the RF Armed Forces, which led to monopolism in evaluating the mechanisms of the striking effect of ammunition. These statements indicate that the authors are thirty years behind in their views. It should be noted that the methodology used in the military unit 42261, TsNIITochMash, VNIITransMash, Instrument Design Bureau, Central Research Institute of Chemistry and Mechanics, Research and Development Machine Building Institute, etc. In relation to this methodology, a system of initial data was created on the characteristics of the vulnerability of typical elementary ground armored targets and the counter-tank attack effect. s ammunition. This technique can be used to assess the effectiveness of the damaging effects of SNBE and SPBE in the presence of basic data on the characteristics of the vulnerability of self-propelled armored guns.

The basis of the methodology is a computer simulation program, “losing” the interaction of an ammunition with an armored target, which allows to solve questions both on the choice of optimal parameters of armored vehicles and on the substantiation of the characteristics of promising anti-tank weapons. Simulation provides quasi-experimental conditions for studying the process. The values ​​of the variables characterizing the state of the “ammunition-target” system can vary widely. A simulation model of the impact of anti-tank ammunition on an armored target takes into account its main factors and fully reflects the stages of the target destruction process.

The initial data are: the characteristics of the ammunition (ability to overcome dynamic and active protection, armor-piercing ability when interacting with multi-layered, spaced obstacles, parameters of armor-like action); features of bronzesel (equipment of dynamic and active protection, level of resistance and structure of passive armor protection); internal layout and vulnerability of internal aggregates of bronzesel; target function (the effect of the failure of each target unit on the reduction of its combat properties); the conditions of the impact of the ammunition on the bronzesel (the range and accuracy of shooting, the distribution of the course angles of the shelling of the target, which characterizes the possibility and conditions for the ammunition to get into the armor).

On the basis of the initial data, the stages of the defeat process are modeled: shooting, interaction of the munition with armor protection, early action. At the stage of interaction with armored protection, the conditions for entering the ammunition into it are determined, and the possibility of the external equipment being damaged by this ammunition is also taken into account. Zabronevo action includes an assessment of the impact of the residual part of the cumulative jet or the body of an armor-piercing projectile (impact core) and fragments of armor on the crew and internal equipment of the bronzeli. Internal units are represented as rectangular parallelepipeds, given by the values ​​of the thickness of the equivalents, characterizing their vulnerability and shielding properties in relation to the action of the residual part of the cumulative jet or armor-piercing projectile penetrating inside.

For a quantitative assessment of the impact of various internal vulnerable units on the combat properties of bronzer, a functional diagram is used reflecting the relationship between the units that provide these properties. Firepower, for example, is represented by a functional circuit, which includes elements of loading, guidance, fire control, as well as the commander, gunner, etc. The functional diagram that determines the mobility of the bronzegli may include: the driver, his observation devices, steering column, brake drive, electrical system, power plant, fuel system, lubrication system, hydraulic system, running gear.

It should be noted that the use of a simulation model of the destruction of armored objects allows to determine the internal aggregates by which this or that type of damage is achieved.

INFORMATION TO THOUGHT

In the abstract of the article, the authors claim to the solution of the theoretical problems of the use of high-precision weapons. Let's try to figure out how they managed it.

Currently, the main focus is on deep fire destruction and electronic suppression before entering into battle their ground groups (Sapozhinsky VA "Modern views on the enemy’s destruction system in operation", Military Thought No. 1, 2008). In other words, one must strive to proactively and proactively inflict defeat, to exert maximum influence with long-range means (attacks by missile forces and artillery, aviation) to important objects in the depths of the enemy’s grouping. Based on this, one of the most important problems is the creation of a nomenclature of high-precision tools, the determination of their quantitative and qualitative composition in the enemy’s destruction system.

It is pertinent to note that Yuri Fisenko and Nikolai Zolotov do not even mention radio-electronic suppression, while abroad they are actively working to create systems to reduce the effectiveness of the functioning of the homing heads of enemy’s high-precision weapons. At the same time, much attention is paid to creating means of protecting ground combat vehicles from high-precision weapons with infrared and radar guidance systems. The development of reconnaissance equipment and homing systems of precision weapons has led to a situation in which the outcome of hostilities will depend on superiority in this area. In this case, it is not easy to ensure the noise immunity of the target sensors and homing heads of SPBE and SNBE. Increasing the noise immunity potential of high-precision weapon guidance systems should provide electronic suppression or destruction, which disables the enemy's optoelectronic countermeasures.

It can be assumed that the developers of Russian precision weapons, together with the institutions of the Ministry of Defense, based on an analysis of the nomenclature of the targets being hit in future military conflicts, determined the composition of the carriers of this type of weapon and ensured the creation of promising reconnaissance complexes. At the same time, it has already been decided how much and what kind of high-precision ammunition for artillery, MLRS, tactical missiles, aircraft, etc. should be created. At the same time, it should be noted that at present, about four Russian organizations are developing cluster munitions. In this situation, it is very important that with regard to the RV and A, aviation, and others, the developed samples correspond to a broad block-modular unification, allowing to achieve universalization of the use of high-precision combat elements on various carriers.

An equally important problem is the accuracy of intelligence to determine the location of enemy targets for striking with high-precision weapons. In this case, the cluster weapon system must ensure the rational dispersion of the SPBE and SNBE to achieve maximum effectiveness of defeating the enemy.

Speaking about the problems of using high-precision weapons and some variants of their solution, it is necessary to recognize that the authors have touched upon only some “theoretical background”, and practical recommendations want to be more convincing.
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  1. dred
    0
    1 December 2011 11: 32
    For more we would have missile tanks.

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