What kind of equipment has the modern military industrial complex already donated to the Russian army?
Perhaps, the military-industrial complex of Russia has recently been one of the most dynamically developing sectors of the country. In past materials we already told about some promising developments in this area. However, any innovations, even if reaching the final straight, but still not launched into the series, leave the spiteful vents for criticism of the Russian defense industry - they say, all this is nothing more than interesting projects, but in fact the army still uses the technique that was born in Soviet Union. And it’s not the friendliest foreign policy situation that sometimes makes us wonder if our country has any time before the adoption of modern models for service. Do not have to let outdated models go into battle, should a conflict occur in the near future? That is why this time we will talk about equipment that meets the requirements of today, already entering the Russian armed forces.
Military shipping
Fighting is not just about gunfights, air raids and armored vehicles collisions. This is a whole complex of measures, one of which is the prompt transfer of troops to the desired point. For this purpose, use the military transport Aviation. For a long time, this task was performed by IL-76 aircraft, manufactured since the 70s of the last century. They managed to best prove themselves in business not only as part of our army, but also in the armed forces of other countries of the post-Soviet space, as well as Algeria, India, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria, China and other states.
Nevertheless constructively IL-76 can hardly be called a modern aircraft. But the main problem is not even that. As it often happened with military equipment of the times of the USSR, with the collapse of the Union, the production of 76's remained outside of Russia - in this case in Uzbekistan. In the 2005 year, for example, this nuance did not allow us to fulfill the obligation to manufacture and supply 38 aircraft data to China. At the same time, the Russian leadership was concerned with organizing the assembly of an upgraded version of the Il-76 on its own territory, and from 2006, the Aviastar-SP Ulyanovsk plant took up this task.
At the same time, the transfer of production was out of the question, we made a new aircraft based on the drawings used in Tashkent at the early stages of producing the IL-76, and on the existing sample of the aircraft delivered specifically for various measurements. “It was not without curious moments,” recalls the deputy head of the project, Sergey Bondarenko. - Antenna radar, located under the cockpit, and its fairing were made in accordance with the dimensions that we copied from the classic "Elah". But as soon as the test flights began, it turned out that the locator in motion “shakes” about the fairing and gradually wipes it. Why the old aircraft did not have such a problem, it was never possible to find out, but the St. Petersburg company Kotlin-Novator, which created avionics for the new modification, was given the task to slightly raise the heel of the locator. Additional time was required for completion and subsequent certification actions, but we solved the problem. ”
It is not surprising that as a result, the new aircraft, called IL-76MD-90А, resembled its Tashkent ancestor rather only outwardly. The transport worker was thoroughly reworked. Due to the use of one-piece long panels, it was possible to create wings without a joint in the middle, which not only increased their service life, but also, in combination with new engines and a reinforced chassis, increased the capacity of the vehicle. The maximum take-off weight increased by 20 tons - to 210, and the possible payload began to reach 60 tons against 48 in IL-76.
New engines on 12 percent more economical than the previous ones, which provides a significant increase in flight range without refueling (from 4000 to 5000 kilometers with a load of 52 tons). And the length of the takeoff of the Ulyanovsk aircraft with the maximum take-off mass on the contrary was reduced by 150 meters.
Analog flight-navigation system, automatic control system and instruments in the cockpit are completely replaced by digital ones. There is a satellite system.
This year, Aviastar has already launched two aircraft as part of the order of the Ministry of Defense, the third in line. In 2016, production capacity promises to bring aircraft to 6 a year, and in 2018, to 18 units annually. In total, under the terms of the state order, troops will receive 39 of such aircraft. In addition, based on the IL-76MD-90A, a new air tanker is being developed, as well as a spy plane "Premier".
The closest foreign analogue of the Ulyanovsk aircraft is the American C-17. Globemaster III, which started production in 1991, and will officially end in 2015. Over the years, two and a half hundred of these aircraft, which can be found in the armies of the United States, Australia, Canada, India, Great Britain and other countries, rolled off the assembly line.
By their capabilities, the devices are very similar. The American has a greater payload - the maximum payload of the order of 78 tons. However, the standard load in 56 tons is comparable to ours - 52 tons. At the same time, despite the large payload, the C-17 is slightly inferior to the Ulyanovsk "Ilu" in terms of the infantry capacity: the paratrooper 102 versus the 126 soldier or the 144 soldier vs 145 (and when the second deck is installed, 225!), Respectively. When using airplanes as mobile hospitals, a little more affected people will also fit in our device.
But the main advantage of the Russian aircraft is unpretentiousness. Landing on the ice or the ground without preparation, in the absence of ground navigation, and in difficult climatic conditions - the task feasible for Ulyanovsk, but inaccessible to delicate foreign samples.
Elements in the service
Descending from heaven to earth, it is worth telling about new multiple launch rocket systems - the main fire support of the motorized rifle troops. Our country has always been famous for its MLRS, which cost only Katyusha. However, over time, we began to lose leadership in this segment, and the Grad systems produced from 1960 to 1988 remained the best equipment in service with the Russian army. Eliminate the growing gap and take their baton called MLRS "Tornado".
Tornado was ready in 2012 year, but then Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov closed the project, considering them to be outdated and not too seriously modernized versions of Grad. In the Army, this decision was taken with surprise. The Grads and Hurricanes, which were in service with weapons, hardly met modern requirements, and large-caliber Smerches could not be used at the battalion-brigade level.
To call the “Tornado” systems, nevertheless adopted by 2014, the “slightly modernized versions” of the previous MLRS, the language does not turn. Intended to destroy open and sheltered manpower, armored vehicles, artillery and mortar batteries and command posts of a potential enemy, the installations have a modular structure and are available in three versions: Tornado-G for Grad 122-mm caliber shells, Tornado In "under the caliber of" Hurricane "in 220 millimeters and" Tornado-S "under the largest 300-millimeter shells, which shoots the" Smerch. " The modules required for a specific task are placed on a unified chassis, which greatly facilitates the maintenance of the systems (formerly there were separate chassis for Smerches and Hurricanes, and there were already three of them under Grads).
The analog and mechanical sighting systems of the previous MLRS in the Tornado are replaced by digital ones, which facilitates the exchange of information between the commander and the calculation of the launcher. The on-board computer allows you to fire without prior to the geodetic binding of the machine, hovering directly from the cab. The crew of the MLRS was reduced to two people.
But more interesting are the changes in the striking ability. According to the developers themselves, Tornado-G surpasses the Grad in efficiency by 15. It was possible to achieve such impressive results by working on projectiles: they began to use composite fuel instead of fuel sticks. Due to this, it was possible to increase the firing range in 2,5, from 40 kilometers to 90-100. The shells themselves, the shell of which is a high-strength thin-walled tube, have become cheaper and easier to manufacture.
The time taken for the next volley has been significantly reduced: from seven to three minutes. Ammunition is enough for three volleys. As for each of them, the Tornado-G launches 40 missiles in 38 seconds, and preparation for firing a machine that has taken a position takes one minute. In this case, the released package of ammunition can cover an area of 840 000 square meters against 40 000, which previously could hit "Grad".
And in order not to be hit by himself, the Tornado manages to retire to 4-5 kilometers from the moment of the shot until the last shell hits the target. The car can move at a speed of 60 kilometers per hour and travel 650 kilometers at a single station.
The main competitor of the "Tornado" abroad is 227-millimeter MLRS HIMARS from USA. Supporters of Serdyukov’s decision to close the Tornado project explained their position by its presence. In their opinion, domestic development was inferior to American in two main parameters. First, she used half the caliber. And secondly, it had an insufficient range of fire - HIMARS, using ATACMS series ammunition, is capable of hitting the target at a distance of 270 kilometers, which is more than twice the maximum distance of the Tornado shot.
However, skeptics do not take into account two important points. Firstly, the Tornado-G is inferior to the American counterpart in caliber, while the Tornado-U is comparable with it, and the Tornado-S surpasses it altogether. Secondly, the shorter range only makes the Russian MLRS not so universal that it is easily compensated by working in a parka with the same Iskanders that the American HIMARS do well with this indicator.
If we consider the MLRS in terms of the tasks for which they were thinking, that is, shelling a large area, then the reload time is extremely important. And it is here that the Russian system triumphs - the installation from the United States requires a seven-minute break between volleys, and during this time the Tornado will have time to shoot three times and leave for a considerable distance.
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