Into battle from the sky: strategic mobility of the 21st century airborne forces
This image, although it looks epic, has nothing to do with the Russian Air Force's military transport aircraft - it is a concept of a promising Chinese super-heavy transport aircraft, although, given the howitzers and operational-tactical missiles from North Korea…
In the previous article Into battle from the sky: airborne weapons of the 21st century We examined what weapons can be most effectively used by the Airborne Forces (VDV) in the first half of the 21st century to solve problems of operational reinforcement of Ground Forces units in a selected section of the combat contact line (LCL) to participate in an offensive on enemy positions or to eliminate enemy breakthroughs.
The main difference between the Airborne Forces (VDV) and the Ground Forces is their mobility – high speed of deployment.
The stages of deployment of the Airborne Forces can be divided into three levels - strategic, operational and tactical. Accordingly, strategic is when movements are carried out over thousands of kilometers, operational - over hundreds, and tactical - tens of kilometers.
Today we will talk about the means that should ensure the strategic mobility of the landing force - do not forget that we are not invading territory controlled by the enemy, but are deploying airborne forces on our side of the LBS.
Problems and Risks
The main problem with the transfer of airborne units is that movement using military transport aircraft aviation (VTA) in its current form in modern conditions is becoming a rather risky undertaking. In the previous material we already talked about the fact that parachute landing over enemy territory in modern conditions is practically impossible without monstrous losses of both transport aviation and the landing force itself.
During the landing process, the carrier aircraft, as well as its passengers and cargo, are extremely vulnerable. Image vistanews.ru
However, there is and will only increase over time the risk of the destruction of the landing force during its delivery by transport aircraft in an airmobile manner, in the event that the receiving airfields are located in the zone of destruction of the enemy’s reconnaissance and strike complexes (RSC).
The author has repeatedly raised the issue of the enemy deploying orbital infrastructure, including thousands, if not tens of thousands, of low-orbit reconnaissance, control and communications satellites, which will result in the ability to control our territory in real time, 24/365.
That is, almost immediately after the landing of a transport aircraft with troops, it can be detected by space reconnaissance means and destroyed by long-range high-precision high-speed weapons with a cluster warhead - this, by the way, concerns not only the Airborne Forces, and not only transport aircraft. We recently talked about this in the article Up to 500 kilometers from the LBS: death zone under the influence of promising reconnaissance and strike contours.
Launch of the ATACMS operational-tactical missile
Now let's talk about promising means of ensuring strategic mobility of the Airborne Forces in more detail.
Military Transport Aviation (VTA) transport aircraft
The main means of ensuring the strategic mobility of the Airborne Forces will remain transport aircraft, which will have two main tasks.
The first is the transfer of the paratroopers themselves in the "airfield-airfield" mode, that is, to a certain point located at a relative distance from the LBS. The main criterion here will be the speed of unloading the landing force, which should be measured in minutes, since otherwise both the transport aircraft and the landing force can be destroyed by the enemy's long-range reconnaissance and strike systems, which we discussed above.
Deployment of a cluster warhead
That is, no unloading with hoists - landing, opening of the cargo hatch, self-exit of the landing force or combat equipment along the ramp and immediate takeoff - literally in a matter of minutes, after which the landing force must immediately disperse and leave the affected area, moving in small groups.
The second task of transport aircraft is to supply forward units by parachute, using controlled gliding platforms dropped beyond the range of enemy air defense systems. Currently, there are gliding parachute controlled platforms capable of delivering several hundred kilograms of cargo over a distance of about 50 kilometers, dropped from a height of over 10 kilometers.
In some cases, such a range will not allow the cargo to be dropped directly to the landing site or deployment area. In this case, the drop will be carried out at a safe distance from the LBS, and further delivery of the cargo will be ensured by means of ensuring operational and tactical mobility.
Controlled gliding cargo parachute systems (CGCPS) of the DragonFly (left) and RazorFly (right) types
Should transport aircraft be used directly for airdropping personnel?
Yes, for example, in cases where landing at an airfield is impossible due to its absence or a high risk of the enemy launching strikes using high-precision weapons. weapons long range, but this should clearly not be the primary method of deployment.
There is little doubt that the main transport aircraft of the Russian Air Force until 2050 will remain the Il-76 family of transport aircraft in various modifications, which will be supplemented by lighter military transport aircraft, such as the Il-112V with TV7-117ST02 engines or the Il-212 with PD-8 engines.
The first flying prototype of the Il-112V. Image ru.m.wikipedia.org / Marina Lystseva
As for the heavy transport aircraft of the An-124 Ruslan family, their fate is unknown. Information about the resumption of production of these aircraft has appeared periodically, but, apparently, the chances for this are now practically non-existent. It is possible that someday the An-124 will be replaced by a new generation transport aircraft – PAK VTA (prospective aviation complex of military transport aviation), perhaps...
Now it is necessary to give priority attention to the development of the Il-76 family of aircraft, which can go in several directions, of which The first is an increase in the serial production of Il-76 family aircraft.
Possible appearance of PAK VTA
We need a lot of them – in terms of the number of transport aircraft, we are very much inferior to the US Air Force, and the Il-76 family of aircraft are needed not only as transport aircraft, but also as a platform for refueling aircraft, airborne early warning and control aircraft (AEW&C) and much more.
It cannot be ruled out that sooner or later The Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) are aware of the feasibility of using Il-76 family aircraft as weapons carriers and as an inexpensive alternative to missile-carrying bombers, as is already happening in other countries of the world.
The second is the maximum increase in survivability and reduction in operating costs of the Il-76 family of aircraft., for example, by gradually replacing hydraulic drives with electric ones, using more modern structural materials for individual elements of the fuselage and wing, re-motorizing with new turbojet engines (TRD) and implementing other design and technical solutions.
Il-476, also known as Il-76MD-90A, is the latest modification of the Il-76 family of aircraft. Image from the Zen channel "Nothing and Airplanes"
Third, this is an increase in survivability, which can be achieved by reducing visibility and stopping advanced on-board self-defense systems.
We will return to the topic of on-board self-defense systems for combat and auxiliary aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces in a separate article, and as for reducing visibility, here, perhaps, radar blockers can be installed on turbojet engines, hiding turbine blades, “gilding” the glazing of pilot cabins, eliminating “hot spots” on the airframe using certain technical solutions, as well as applying radar-absorbing coatings.
The characteristic yellowish tint of the "gilding" of the windows of the F-117A, made in accordance with the requirements for reducing visibility
It can be assumed that it is quite realistic to reduce the visibility of promising aircraft of the Il-76 family from hundreds, or even hundreds, to a dozen or several dozen square meters, as a result of which enemy AWACS aircraft will detect our transport aircraft, for example, not from a distance of half a thousand kilometers, but at least from a distance of a couple of hundred kilometers - for the tasks solved by transport aircraft in the interests of the Airborne Forces, this is especially important.
Kings of the Sky
It is possible that in the future, airships will be added to the promising means of ensuring the strategic mobility of the Airborne Forces. Information about the creation of airships capable of transporting thousands of tons of cargo over tens of thousands of kilometers periodically appears, mainly abroad, although domestic sources sometimes talk about the possibility of creating promising airships in Russia, including for solving military tasks.
In fact, this topic is quite promising – we talked about this back in 2019 in the article Revival of airships. Airships as an important part of the armed forces of the XXI century, but this is clearly not a matter for the near future, at least in Russia.
One of the potential advantages of moving personnel, military equipment and other airborne cargo using airships is their ability to land almost anywhere on the planet, without using long airfield runways. The disadvantages include lower speed of movement compared to airplanes, as well as potential limitations imposed by weather conditions.
Conclusions
The strategic mobility of the Airborne Forces will continue to be provided by military transport aircraft, primarily the Il-76 family of transport aircraft. In the future, the Il-76 family of aircraft will be supplemented by light Il-112V transport aircraft with TV7-117ST02 engines or Il-212 with PD-8 engines.
In the more distant future, the VTA may include a promising transport aircraft, developed within the framework of the program of the promising aviation complex of military transport aviation, although at the moment it is unclear whether the PAK VTA will replace the heavy transport An-124, the Il-76 family of aircraft, or both aircraft at once.
The emergence of such exotic transport vehicles as high-capacity airships cannot be completely ruled out, however, most likely, for the Russian Armed Forces this is an even more distant prospect than the PAK VTA.
Of course, in peacetime, the strategic mobility of the Airborne Forces can be ensured by both rail transport and surface ships.
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