Mystic low pass. How to contact a submarine?
What a ridiculous question? "How to contact the submarine"
Get a satellite phone and call. Commercial satellite communications systems, such as INMARSAT or Iridium, allow you to reach Antarctica without leaving your Moscow office. The only minus is the high cost of the call, however, the Ministry of Defense and Roskosmos, for sure, have internal “corporate programs” with substantial discounts ...
Indeed, in the age of the Internet, “Glonass” and wireless data transmission systems, the problem of communication with submarines may seem like a senseless and not very ingenious joke - what problems could there be after 120 years after the invention of the radio?
And the problem is the same - the boat, unlike airplanes and surface ships, moves in the depths of the ocean and does not respond at all to the call signs of conventional HF, VHF, DV radio stations - salty sea water, being an excellent electrolyte, reliably muffles any signals.
Well ... if necessary, the boat can ascend to the periscope depth, push the radio antenna and conduct a communication session with the coast. Problem solved?
Alas, not everything is so simple - modern nuclear-powered ships are capable of being submerged for months, only occasionally rising to the surface for a planned communication session. The main importance of the issue is to reliably transfer information from the coast to the submarine: do you really have to wait a day or more to broadcast an important order - until the next communication session?
In other words, at the time of the outbreak of nuclear war, submarine missile carriers risk being useless - at a time when battles will rattle on the surface, the boats will continue to quietly write out the "eight" in the depths of the World Ocean, unaware of the tragic events occurring "above." But what about our nuclear retaliatory strike? Why are naval nuclear forces needed if they cannot be used on time?
How do you get in touch with a submarine lurking on the seabed?
The first method is quite logical and simple, at the same time it is very difficult to put into practice, and the range of such a system leaves much to be desired. This is a sound underwater connection - acoustic waves, unlike electromagnetic, propagate in the marine environment much better than through the air - the speed of sound at a depth of 100 meters is 1468 m / s!
It remains only to install powerful hydrophones or explosive charges at the bottom - a series of explosions with a certain interval will definitely show the submarines the need to surface and receive an important cipher over radio. The method is suitable for operations in the coastal zone, but the Pacific Ocean will not work out, otherwise the required power of explosions will exceed all reasonable limits, and the resulting tsunami wave will wash everything from Moscow to New York.
Of course, you can lay hundreds and thousands of kilometers of cables along the bottom - to hydrophones installed in the areas most likely to find strategic missile carriers and multi-purpose nuclear submarines ... But is there any other, more reliable and effective solution?
Der Goliath. Fear of heights
It is impossible to circumvent the laws of nature, but each of the rules has its exceptions. The sea surface is not transparent for long, medium, short and ultrashort waves. At the same time, superlong waves, reflected from the ionosphere, easily spread beyond the horizon for thousands of kilometers and are able to penetrate into the depths of the oceans.
An exit is found - a communication system on superlong waves. And the nontrivial problem of communication with submarines is solved!
But why are all radio amateurs and experts in the field of radio engineering sitting with such dull facial expressions?
The dependence of the penetration depth of radio waves on their frequency
VLF (very low frequency) - very low frequencies
ELF (extremely low frequency) - extremely low frequencies
VLF (very low frequency) - very low frequencies
ELF (extremely low frequency) - extremely low frequencies
Ultra Long Waves - Radio waves with a wavelength in excess of 10 kilometers. In this case, we are interested in the range of very low frequencies (VLF) ranging from 3 to 30 kHz, the so-called. "Miriametrovye waves." Do not even try to search for this range on your radios - to work with superlong waves you need antennas of amazing size, many kilometers long - none of the civilian radio stations work in the range of “miriametrovyh waves”.
The monstrous dimensions of the antennas - this is the main snag in the way of creating VLF radio stations.
And yet, research in this area was conducted in the first half of the 20th century - the result was the incredible Der Goliath (“Goliath”). Another representative of the German "vundervaffe" - the world's first super-long-wave radio station, created in the interests of the Kriegsmarine. The Goliath signals were confidently received by submarines in the area of the Cape of Good Hope, while the radio waves emitted by the super-transmitter could penetrate the water to a depth of 30 meters.
The size of the car in comparison with the support "Goliath"
The view of the Goliath shakes the imagination: the transmitting VLF antenna consists of three umbrella parts mounted around three central pillars with a height of 210 meters, the angles of the antenna are fixed at fifteen lattice masts with a height of 170 meters. Each antenna canvas, in turn, consists of six regular triangles with a side of 400 m and is a system of steel cables in a movable aluminum sheath. The antenna web tension is produced by 7-tonnes of counterweights.
Maximum transmitter power is 1,8 Megawatts. The operating range of 15 is 60 kHz, the wavelength of 5000 is 20 000 m. The data transfer rate is up to 300 bits / s.
The installation of a grandiose radio station in the suburb of Kalbe completed in the spring of 1943. For two years, “Goliath” served in the interests of the Kriegsmarine, coordinating the actions of the “wolf packs” in the vast Atlantic, until in April 1945 the “object” was not captured by American troops. After some time, the area was under the control of the Soviet administration - the station was immediately dismantled and taken to the USSR.
For sixty years the Germans wondered where the Russians hid the "Goliath". Did these barbarians put a masterpiece of German design thought on the nails?
The mystery opened at the beginning of the XXI century - German newspapers came out with loud headlines: “Sensation! "Goliath" found! The station is still in working condition! ”
The tall masts of the Goliath shot up high in the Kstovsky district of the Nizhny Novgorod region, near the village of Druzhny - the trophy super-transmitter is broadcasting from here. The decision to restore "Goliath" was made back in the year 1949, the first broadcast took place on December 27 1952 year. And now, for more than 60 years, the legendary “Goliath” stands guard over our Fatherland, providing communication with the naval submarines going underwater, while also being the transmitter of the Beta time service.
Impressed by the possibilities of Goliath, Soviet specialists did not stop there and developed German ideas. In 1964, in 7 kilometers from the city of Vileyka (Republic of Belarus), a new, more ambitious radio station, better known as the 43 navy communications center, was built.
Today, VLF radio stations near Vileyka, along with the Baikonur cosmodrome, the naval base in Sevastopol, the bases in the Caucasus and Central Asia, are among the existing foreign military facilities of the Russian Federation. At the Vileyka communications center, 300 officers and midshipmen of the Russian Navy serve, not counting civilian citizens of Belarus. Legally, the object does not have the status of a military base, and the territory of the radio station was transferred to Russia for free use until 2020.
The main attraction of the 43 communications hub of the Russian Navy, of course, is the Antey VLF radio transmitter (RJH69), created in the image and likeness of the German Goliath. The new station is much larger and more perfect than the captured German equipment: the height of the central supports increased to 305 m, the height of the side lattice masts reached 270 meters. In addition to transmitting antennas, a number of technical buildings are located on an area of 650 ha, including a highly secure underground bunker.
The 43 th communications hub of the Russian Navy provides communication with nuclear submarines carrying combat duty in the waters of the Atlantic, Indian and North Pacific. In addition to its main functions, the giant antenna complex can be used in the interests of the Air Force, the Strategic Missile Forces, the Space Forces of the Russian Federation, Antey is also used for conducting electronic reconnaissance and electronic warfare and is among the transmitters of the Beta service.
Powerful radio transmitters "Goliath" and "Antey" provide reliable communication on superlong waves in the Northern Hemisphere and on a larger area of the Southern Hemisphere of the Earth. But what if the patrol areas of the submarines shift into the South Atlantic or into the equatorial latitudes of the Pacific Ocean?
For special occasions as part of aviation Naval Fleet there is a special technique: Tu-142MR Orel repeater aircraft (NATO-classified Bear-J) - an integral part of the reserve system for naval nuclear forces control.
Created at the end of the 1970-ies on the basis of the anti-submarine aircraft Tu-142 (which, in turn, is a modification of the strategic bomber T-95), the “Eagle” differs from its ancestor in the absence of search equipment - instead of a reel with a towed 8600-meter antenna VLF radio transmitter "Fregat". In addition to the super-long-wave station, on board the Tu-142MR there is a set of communications equipment for working in the usual radio wave bands (while the aircraft is capable of performing the functions of a powerful HF repeater even without lifting into the air).
It is known that as of the beginning of 2000-s, several machines of this type were still listed as part of the 3-X squadron of the 568-gv. mixed aviation regiment aviation Pacific Fleet.
Of course, the use of repeaters is nothing more than a forced (reserve) half-measure — in the event of a real conflict, the Tu-142MR can be easily intercepted by enemy aircraft, in addition, the aircraft circling in a certain square will unmask the submarine bomber and clearly indicate to the enemy the position of the submarine.
Seafarers needed an exceptionally reliable means for the timely delivery of orders by the military-political leadership of the country to the commanders of nuclear submarines on combat patrols in every corner of the world's oceans. Unlike the superlong waves, which penetrate only a couple of tens of meters into the water column, the new communication system must ensure reliable reception of emergency messages at depths of 100 and more than meters.
Yes ... before the signalmen there was a very, very nontrivial technical problem.
ZEUS
... At the start of 1990, scientists at Stanford University (California) published a series of intriguing statements about radio engineering research and radio broadcasting. Americans witnessed an unusual phenomenon - scientific radio equipment located on all continents of the Earth regularly, at the same time, captures strange repetitive signals at the 82 Hz frequency (or, in a more familiar format for us 0,000082 MHz). This frequency belongs to the extremely low frequency range (ELF), in this case, the length of the monstrous wave is 3658,5 km (a quarter of the diameter of the Earth).
16-minute transmission of "ZEUSA", fixed by 08.12.2000 in 08: 40 UTC
The transfer rate for one session is three characters every 5-15 minutes. The signals come directly from the earth's crust - the researchers have a mystical feeling that the planet itself is talking to them.
Mysticism is the lot of medieval obscurantism, and the advanced Yankees immediately guessed that they were dealing with an incredible ULF transmitter located somewhere on the other side of the Earth. Where? Clear where - in Russia. It seems that these insane Russian "short-circuited" the entire planet, using it as a giant antenna for transmitting encrypted messages.
The secret object "ZEVS" is located in 18 kilometers south of the military airfield Severomorsk-3 (Kola Peninsula). Two glades (diagonally) stretching for twenty kilometers through the forest tundra are clearly visible on Google Maps (a number of Internet sources indicate the length of lines in 30 and even in 60 km), besides technical buildings, structures, access roads and additional 10 are noticeable -kilometer glade west of the two main lines.
The glades with “feeders” (the fishermen will immediately guess what they are talking about) are sometimes mistaken for antennas. In fact, these are two giant “electrodes” through which they drive an electrical discharge with a power of 30 MW. The antenna is the planet Earth itself.
The choice of this place for the installation of the system is explained by the low specific conductivity of the local soil - with the depth of the contact wells 2-3 km, electrical impulses penetrate deep into the bowels of the Earth, penetrating the planet through. The pulses of a giant ELF generator are clearly recorded even by scientific stations in Antarctica.
The presented scheme is not without its drawbacks - bulky size and extremely low efficiency. Despite the enormous power of the transmitter, the output signal power is a few watts. In addition, the reception of such long waves also entails considerable technical difficulties.
Receiving signals "Zeus" is carried out by submarines on the move at a depth of 200 meters to a towed antenna with a length of about one kilometer. Due to the extremely low data transfer rate (one byte per few minutes), the ZEUS system is obviously used to transmit the simplest encoded messages, for example: "Rise to the surface (release a beacon) and listen to the message via satellite."
For the sake of justice, it is worth noting that for the first time such a scheme was first conceived in the United States during the Cold War - in 1968 a project was proposed for a secret Navy object codenamed Sanguine (Optimistic) - the Yankees intended to turn 40% of Wisconsin's forest area into a giant transmitter consisting of 6000 miles of underground cables and 100 high-security bunkers to accommodate auxiliary equipment and power generators. As conceived by the creators, the system was able to withstand a nuclear explosion and provide a confident broadcast of the signal of a rocket attack on all nuclear submarines of the US Navy in any area of the oceans.
American ELF Transmitter (Clam Lake, WI, 1982 Year)
In 1977-1984, the project was implemented in a less absurd form in the form of the Seafarer system (“Navigator”), whose antennas were located in the town of Clam Lake (Wisconsin) and based on the US Air Force Sawyer (Michigan). The operating frequency of the American ELF setup is 76 Hz (3947,4 km wavelength) Transmitter power Seafarer - 3 MW. The system was removed from combat duty in 2004 year.
Currently, a promising direction for solving the problem of communication with submarines is the use of blue-green spectrum lasers (0,42-0,53 μm), whose radiation with the least loss overcomes the aquatic environment and penetrates to a depth of 300 meters. In addition to the obvious difficulties with accurate positioning of the beam, the "stumbling block" of this scheme is the high required power of the radiator. The first option involves the use of repeater satellites with large reflective reflectors. The version without a repeater provides for a powerful source of energy in orbit — powering a 10 W laser will require a power plant with a power higher than two orders of magnitude.
In conclusion, it is worth noting that the domestic Navy is one of two fleets in the world, possessing a full complement of naval nuclear forces. In addition to a sufficient number of carriers, missiles and warheads, in our country, serious research was conducted in the field of creating communication systems with submarines, without which the naval strategic nuclear forces would lose their sinister significance.
"Goliath" during the Second World War
Boeing E-6 Mercury control and communications aircraft, element of a standby communications system with nuclear-powered submarines with ballistic missiles (SSBN) of the US Navy
http://www.vlf.it/zevs/zevs.htm
http://commi.narod.ru
http://tesla.stumblers.net
http://www.radioscanner.ru
http://aobauer.home.xs4all.nl/Goliath.pdf
Information