The maximum flight altitude of a ballistic missile. ICBM - what is it, the best intercontinental ballistic missiles in the world Long-range missiles

The intercontinental ballistic missile is an impressive human creation. Huge size, thermonuclear power, a column of flame, the roar of engines and the menacing rumble of launch ... However, all this exists only on earth and in the first minutes of launch. After their expiration, the rocket ceases to exist. Further into the flight and the performance of the combat mission, only what remains of the rocket after acceleration - its payload - goes.

With long launch ranges, the payload of an intercontinental ballistic missile goes into space for many hundreds of kilometers. It rises into the layer of low-orbit satellites, 1000-1200 km above the Earth, and briefly settles among them, only slightly behind their general run. And then, along an elliptical trajectory, it begins to slide down ...

What exactly is this load?

A ballistic missile consists of two main parts - an accelerating part and another, for the sake of which acceleration is started. The accelerating part is a pair or three large multi-ton stages, stuffed to the eyeballs with fuel and with engines from below. They give the necessary speed and direction to the movement of the other main part of the rocket - the head. The accelerating stages, replacing each other in the launch relay, accelerate this warhead in the direction of the area of ​​​​its future fall.

The head part of the rocket is a complex cargo of many elements. It contains a warhead (one or more), a platform on which these warheads are placed along with the rest of the economy (such as means of deceiving enemy radars and anti-missiles), and a fairing. Even in the head part there is fuel and compressed gases. All head part will not fly to the target. It, like the ballistic missile itself before, will be divided into many elements and simply cease to exist as a whole. The fairing will separate from it not far from the launch area, during the operation of the second stage, and somewhere along the road it will fall. The platform will fall apart upon entering the air of the impact area. Elements of only one type will reach the target through the atmosphere. Warheads.

Close up, the warhead looks like an elongated cone a meter or a half long, at the base as thick as a human torso. The nose of the cone is pointed or slightly blunt. This cone is a special aircraft whose task is to deliver weapons to the target. We will return to warheads later and get to know them better.

Head of the "Peacemaker"
The pictures show breeding stages of the American heavy ICBM LGM0118A Peacekeeper, also known as MX. The missile was equipped with ten 300 kt multiple warheads. The missile was decommissioned in 2005.

Pull or push?

In a missile, all of the warheads are located in what is known as the disengagement stage, or "bus". Why a bus? Because, having freed itself first from the fairing, and then from the last booster stage, the disengagement stage carries the warheads, like passengers, to the given stops, along their trajectories, along which the deadly cones will disperse to their targets.

Another "bus" is called the combat stage, because its work determines the accuracy of pointing the warhead at the target point, and hence the combat effectiveness. The breeding stage and how it works is one of the biggest secrets in a rocket. But we will still take a little, schematically, look at this mysterious step and its difficult dance in space.

The dilution step has different forms. Most often, it looks like a round stump or a wide loaf of bread, on which warheads are mounted on top with their points forward, each on its own spring pusher. The warheads are pre-positioned at precise separation angles (on a missile base, manually, with the help of theodolites) and look in different directions, like a bunch of carrots, like a hedgehog's needles. The platform, bristling with warheads, occupies a predetermined, gyro-stabilized position in space in flight. And at the right moments, warheads are pushed out of it one by one. They are ejected immediately after the completion of the acceleration and separation from the last accelerating stage. Until (you never know?) they shot down this entire unbred hive with anti-missile weapons or something failed on board the breeding stage.

But that was before, at the dawn of multiple warheads. Now breeding is a completely different picture. If earlier the warheads “sticked out” forward, now the stage itself is ahead along the way, and the warheads hang from below, with their tops back, turned upside down like bats. The “bus” itself in some rockets also lies upside down, in a special recess in the upper stage of the rocket. Now, after separation, the disengagement stage does not push, but drags the warheads along with it. Moreover, it drags, resting on four cross-shaped "paws" deployed in front. At the ends of these metal paws are rear-facing traction nozzles of the dilution stage. After separation from the booster stage, the "bus" very accurately, precisely sets its movement in the beginning space with the help of its own powerful guidance system. He himself occupies the exact path of the next warhead - its individual path.

Then, special inertia-free locks are opened, holding the next detachable warhead. And not even separated, but simply now not connected with the stage, the warhead remains motionless hanging here, in complete weightlessness. The moments of her own flight began and flowed. Like one single berry next to a bunch of grapes with other warhead grapes that have not yet been plucked from the stage by the breeding process.

fiery ten
K-551 "Vladimir Monomakh" is a Russian strategic nuclear submarine (Project 955 Borey), armed with 16 Bulava solid-propellant ICBMs with ten multiple warheads.

Delicate movements

Now the task of the stage is to crawl away from the warhead as delicately as possible, without violating its precisely set (targeted) movement of its nozzles by gas jets. If a supersonic nozzle jet hits a detached warhead, it will inevitably add its own additive to the parameters of its movement. During the subsequent flight time (and this is half an hour - fifty minutes, depending on the launch range), the warhead will drift from this exhaust “slap” of the jet half a kilometer-kilometer sideways from the target, or even further. It will drift without barriers: there is space in the same place, they slapped it - it swam, not holding on to anything. But is a kilometer to the side the accuracy today?

To avoid such effects, four upper “paws” with engines spaced apart are needed. The stage, as it were, is pulled forward on them so that the exhaust jets go to the sides and cannot catch the warhead detached by the belly of the stage. All thrust is divided between four nozzles, which reduces the power of each individual jet. There are other features as well. For example, if on a donut-shaped breeding stage (with a void in the middle - with this hole it is put on the booster stage of the rocket, as wedding ring on the finger) of the Trident-II D5 missile, the control system determines that the separated warhead still falls under the exhaust of one of the nozzles, then the control system turns off this nozzle. Makes "silence" over the warhead.

The step gently, like a mother from the cradle of a sleeping child, fearing to disturb his peace, tiptoes away in space on the three remaining nozzles in low thrust mode, and the warhead remains on the aiming trajectory. Then the “donut” of the stage with the cross of the traction nozzles rotates around the axis so that the warhead comes out from under the zone of the torch of the switched off nozzle. Now the stage moves away from the abandoned warhead already at all four nozzles, but so far also at low gas. When a sufficient distance is reached, the main thrust is turned on, and the stage moves vigorously into the area of ​​​​the aiming trajectory of the next warhead. There it is calculated to slow down and again very accurately sets the parameters of its movement, after which it separates the next warhead from itself. And so on - until each warhead is landed on its trajectory. This process is fast, much faster than you read about it. In one and a half to two minutes, the combat stage breeds a dozen warheads.

Abyss of mathematics

The foregoing is quite enough to understand how the warhead's own path begins. But if you open the door a little wider and look a little deeper, you can see that today the turn in space of the disengagement stage carrying the warhead is the area of ​​​​application of the quaternion calculus, where the onboard attitude control system processes the measured parameters of its movement with continuous construction of the attitude quaternion on board. A quaternion is such a complex number (above the field of complex numbers lies the flat body of quaternions, as mathematicians would say in their exact language of definitions). But not with the usual two parts, real and imaginary, but with one real and three imaginary. In total, the quaternion has four parts, which, in fact, is what the Latin root quatro says.

The breeding stage performs its work quite low, immediately after turning off the booster stages. That is, at an altitude of 100-150 km. And there the influence of gravitational anomalies of the Earth's surface, heterogeneities in the even gravitational field surrounding the Earth still affects. Where are they from? From uneven terrain, mountain systems, occurrence of rocks of different densities, oceanic depressions. Gravitational anomalies either attract the step to themselves with an additional attraction, or, on the contrary, slightly release it from the Earth.

In such heterogeneities, the complex ripples of the local gravity field, the disengagement stage must place the warheads with precision. To do this, it was necessary to create a more detailed map of the Earth's gravitational field. It is better to “state” the features of a real field in systems of differential equations that describe the exact ballistic movement. These are large, capacious (to include details) systems of several thousand differential equations, with several tens of thousands of constant numbers. And the gravitational field itself at low altitudes, in the immediate near-Earth region, is considered as a joint attraction of several hundred point masses of different "weights" located near the center of the Earth in a certain order. In this way, a more accurate simulation of the real gravitational field of the Earth on the flight path of the rocket is achieved. And more accurate operation of the flight control system with it. And yet ... but full! - let's not look further and close the door; we have had enough of what has been said.

Flight without warheads

The disengagement stage, dispersed by the missile in the direction of the same geographical area where the warheads should fall, continues its flight with them. After all, she can not lag behind, and why? After breeding the warheads, the stage is urgently engaged in other matters. She moves away from the warheads, knowing in advance that she will fly a little differently from the warheads, and not wanting to disturb them. The breeding stage also devotes all its further actions to warheads. This maternal desire to protect the flight of her “children” in every possible way continues for the rest of her short life.

Short, but intense.

Space for a little while
The payload of an intercontinental ballistic missile spends most of the flight in the mode of a space object, rising to a height three times the height of the ISS. A trajectory of enormous length must be calculated with extreme precision.

After the separated warheads, it is the turn of other wards. To the sides of the step, the most amusing gizmos begin to scatter. Like a magician, she releases into space a lot of inflating balloons, some metal things resembling open scissors, and objects of all sorts of other shapes. Durable balloons sparkle brightly in the cosmic sun with a mercury sheen of a metallized surface. They are quite large, some shaped like warheads flying nearby. Their surface, covered with aluminum sputtering, reflects the radar signal from a distance in much the same way as the warhead body. Enemy ground radars will perceive these inflatable warheads on a par with real ones. Of course, in the very first moments of entry into the atmosphere, these balls will fall behind and immediately burst. But before that, they will distract and load the computing power of ground-based radars - both early warning and guidance of anti-missile systems. In the language of ballistic missile interceptors, this is called "complicating the current ballistic situation." And the entire celestial host, inexorably moving towards the area of ​​impact, including real and false warheads, inflatable balls, chaff and corner reflectors, this whole motley flock is called "multiple ballistic targets in a complicated ballistic environment."

Metal scissors open and become electric chaff - there are many of them, and they reflect well the radio signal of the early warning radar beam that probes them. Instead of ten required fat ducks, the radar sees a huge fuzzy flock of small sparrows, in which it is difficult to make out anything. Devices of all shapes and sizes reflect different wavelengths.

In addition to all this tinsel, the stage itself can theoretically emit radio signals that interfere with enemy anti-missiles. Or distract them. In the end, you never know what she can be busy with - after all, a whole step is flying, large and complex, why not load her with a good solo program?

House for "Mace"
Submarines of project 955 "Borey" - a series of Russian nuclear submarines of the fourth generation "strategic missile submarine cruiser" class. Initially, the project was created for the Bark missile, which was replaced by the Bulava.

Last cut

However, in terms of aerodynamics, the stage is not a warhead. If that one is a small and heavy narrow carrot, then the stage is an empty vast bucket, with echoing empty fuel tanks, a large non-streamlined body and a lack of orientation in the flow that begins to flow. With its wide body with a decent windage, the step responds much earlier to the first breaths of the oncoming flow. The warheads are also deployed along the stream, penetrating the atmosphere with the least aerodynamic resistance. The step, on the other hand, leans into the air with its vast sides and bottoms as it should. It cannot fight the braking force of the flow. Its ballistic coefficient - an "alloy" of massiveness and compactness - is much worse than a warhead. Immediately and strongly it begins to slow down and lag behind the warheads. But the forces of the flow are growing inexorably, at the same time the temperature warms up the thin unprotected metal, depriving it of strength. The rest of the fuel boils merrily in the hot tanks. Finally, there is a loss of stability of the hull structure under the aerodynamic load that has compressed it. Overload helps to break bulkheads inside. Krak! Fuck! The crumpled body is immediately enveloped by hypersonic shock waves, tearing the stage apart and scattering them. After flying a little in the condensing air, the pieces again break into smaller fragments. The remaining fuel reacts instantly. Scattered fragments of structural elements made of magnesium alloys are ignited by hot air and instantly burn out with a blinding flash, similar to a camera flash - it was not for nothing that magnesium was set on fire in the first flashlights!

America's Underwater Sword
The American Ohio-class submarines are the only type of missile carriers in service with the United States. Carries 24 Trident-II (D5) MIRVed ballistic missiles. The number of warheads (depending on power) - 8 or 16.

Everything now burns with fire, everything is covered with red-hot plasma and shines well around with the orange color of coals from the fire. The denser parts go forward to slow down, the lighter and sail parts are blown into the tail, stretching across the sky. All burning components give dense smoke plumes, although at such speeds these densest plumes cannot be due to the monstrous dilution by the flow. But from a distance, they can be seen perfectly. Ejected smoke particles stretch across the flight trail of this caravan of bits and pieces, filling the atmosphere with a wide trail of white. Impact ionization generates a nighttime greenish glow of this plume. Due to the irregular shape of the fragments, their deceleration is rapid: everything that has not burned down quickly loses speed, and with it the intoxicating effect of air. Supersonic is the strongest brake! Standing in the sky, like a train falling apart on the tracks, and immediately cooled by high-altitude frosty subsound, the band of fragments becomes visually indistinguishable, loses its shape and order and turns into a long, twenty minutes, quiet chaotic dispersion in the air. If you are in the right place, you can hear how a small, burnt piece of duralumin clanks softly against a birch trunk. Here you have arrived. Farewell, breeding stage!

sea ​​trident
In the photo - launch intercontinental missile Trident II (USA) from a submarine. At the moment, Trident ("Trident") is the only family of ICBMs whose missiles are installed on American submarines. The maximum casting weight is 2800 kg.

The era of ballistic missiles began in the middle of the last century. At the end of World War II, the engineers of the Third Reich managed to create carriers that successfully completed the tasks of hitting targets in the UK, starting from the ranges of continental Europe.

Subsequently, the USSR and the USA became leaders in military rocket building. When the leading world powers received ballistic and cruise missiles, this radically changed military doctrines.

The best ballistic missiles in the world - Topol-M

Paradoxically, the best rockets in the world, capable of delivering nuclear charges within minutes to anywhere the globe, became the main factor that prevented the Cold War from developing into a real clash of superpowers.

Today, ICBMs are equipped with the armies of the USA, Russia, France, Great Britain, China, and, more recently, the DPRK.

According to some reports, cruise and ballistic missiles will soon appear in India, Pakistan and Israel. Various modifications of medium-range ballistic missiles, including Soviet-made ones, are in service with many countries of the world. The article tells about the best rockets in the world that have ever been produced on an industrial scale.

V-2 (V-2)

The first truly long-range ballistic missile was the German V-2, developed by a design bureau headed by Wernher von Braun. It was tested back in 1942, and from the beginning of September 1944, London and its environs were attacked daily by dozens of V-2s.

TTX products FAU-2:

During one of the launches, the V-2 managed to rise 188 km above the ground and make the world's first suborbital flight. On an industrial scale, the product was produced in 1944–1945. In total, about 3.5 thousand V-2s were produced during this time.

Scud B (R-17)

The R-17 missile, developed by SKB-385 and adopted by the USSR Armed Forces in 1962, is still considered the standard for evaluating the effectiveness anti-missile systems developed in the West. She is integral part complex 9K72 "Elbrus" or Scud B in the terminology adopted by NATO.

It proved to be excellent in real combat conditions during the Doomsday War, the Iran-Iraq conflict, was used in the II Chechen campaign and against the Mujahideen in Afghanistan.

TTX products R-17:

Various modifications of cruise missiles of Russia and the USSR - R-17 were produced in Votkinsk and Petropavlovsk from 1961 to 1987. As the design life of 22 years expired, the SKAD complexes were removed from service with the RF Armed Forces.

At the same time, almost 200 launchers are still used by the armies of the United Arab Emirates, Syria, Belarus, North Korea, Egypt and 6 other countries of the world.

Trident II

The UGM-133A missile was developed for about 13 years by Lockheed Martin Corporation and was adopted by the US Armed Forces in 1990, and a little later by the UK. Its advantages include high speed and accuracy, which makes it possible to destroy even silo-based ICBM launchers, as well as bunkers located deep underground. Tridents are equipped with American Ohio-class submarines and British Wangard SSBNs.

TTX ICBM Trident II:

The Tridents hold the record for the number of successful launches in a row. Therefore, a reliable missile is expected to be used until 2042. Currently, the US Navy has at least 14 Ohio SSBNs capable of carrying 24 UGM-133A each.

Pershing II ("Pershing-2")

The last US medium-range ballistic missile MGM-31, which entered the Armed Forces in 1983, became a worthy opponent of the Russian RSD-10, the deployment of which in Europe was begun by the Warsaw Pact countries. For its time, the American ballistic missile had excellent performance, including the high accuracy provided by the RADAG guidance system.

TTX BR Pershing II:

A total of 384 MGM-31 missiles were fired, which were in service with the US Army until July 1989, when the Russian-American treaty on the reduction of the INF came into force. After that, most of the carriers were disposed of, and nuclear warheads were used to equip aerial bombs.

"Point-U"

Developed by the Kolomna Design Bureau and put into service in 1975, a tactical complex with a launcher 9P129 for a long time formed the basis of the firepower of divisions and brigades of the Russian armed forces.

Its advantages are high mobility, which makes it possible to prepare a rocket for launch in 2 minutes, versatility in the use of various types of ammunition, reliability, and unpretentiousness in operation.

TTX TRK "Tochka-U":

Russian ballistic missiles "Tochka" proved to be excellent in several local conflicts. In particular, cruise missiles Russia and the USSR are still Soviet-made, are still used by the Yemeni Houthis, who regularly successfully attack the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces.

At the same time, the missiles easily overcome the air defense systems of the Saudis. Tochka-U is still in service with the armies of Russia, Yemen, Syria and some former Soviet republics.

R-30 Bulava

The need to create a new Russian ballistic missile for the Navy, superior in performance to the American Trident II, arose with the commissioning of the Borei and Akula class strategic submarine missile carriers. It was decided to place Russian 3M30 ballistic missiles on them, which have been developed since 1998. Since the project is under development, about the most powerful missiles Russia can only be judged by the information that gets into the press. Without a doubt, this is the best ballistic missile in the world.

At present, Russian long-range missiles have been accepted into service conditionally, since some performance characteristics do not fully suit the customer. However, about 50 units of 3M30 have already been produced. Unfortunately, the best rocket in the world is waiting in the wings.

"Topol M"

Tests of the missile system, which became the second in the Topol family, were completed in 1994, and three years later, it was put into service with the Strategic Missile Forces. However, he failed to become one of the main components of the Russian nuclear triad. In 2017, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation stopped purchasing the product, opting for the RS-24 Yars.

TTX RK strategic purpose "Topol-M":

TOP is a Russian-made rocket. It stands out for its high ability to withstand Western air defense systems, excellent maneuverability, low sensitivity to electromagnetic pulses, radiation, and the effects of laser installations. On the this moment 18 mobile and 60 Topol-M mine complexes are on combat duty.

Minuteman III (LGM-30G)

For many years, the product of the Boeing Company is the only silo-based ICBM in the United States. However, even today American ballistic missiles Minuteman III, which took up combat duty as early as 1970, remain a formidable weapon. Thanks to the upgrade, the LGM-30G received more maneuverable Mk21 warheads and an improved sustainer engine.

TTX ICBM Minuteman III:

Today, the list of American ballistic missiles is limited to Minutements-3. The US Armed Forces have up to 450 units deployed in mine complexes in the states of North Dakota, Wyoming and Montana. Replacing reliable, but obsolete missiles is planned to be carried out no earlier than the beginning of the next decade.

"Iskander"

The Iskander operational-tactical systems, which replaced the Topols, Tochkas and Elbrus (the well-known names of Russian missiles), are the best missiles of the new generation in the world. Super-maneuverable cruise missiles of tactical systems are practically invulnerable to air defense systems of any potential enemy.

At the same time, the OTRK is extremely mobile, deploying in a matter of minutes. His firepower even when fired with conventional charges, it is comparable in effectiveness to an attack with nuclear weapons.

TTX OTRK "Iskander":

Due to its technical excellence, the OTRK, put into service in 2006, will have no analogues for at least another decade. Currently, the RF Armed Forces have at least 120 Iskander mobile launchers.

"Tomahawk"

Tomahawk cruise missiles, developed by General Dynamics in the 1980s, have been among the best in the world for almost two decades due to their versatility, ability to move at ultra-low altitudes, significant combat power and impressive accuracy.

They have been used by the US Army since their adoption in 1983 in many military conflicts. But the most advanced missiles in the world failed the United States during the controversial strike on Syria in 2017.

Various modifications of the Tomahawks are equipped with American submarines of the Ohio and Virginia classes, destroyers, missile cruisers, as well as the British nuclear submarines Trafalgar, Astyut, Swiftshur.

American ballistic missiles, the list of which is not limited to the Tomahawk and Minuteman, are obsolete. BGM-109s are still in production today. The production of only the aviation series has been discontinued.

R-36M "Satan"

Modern Russian SS-18 silo-based ICBMs in various modifications have been and are the basis of Russia's nuclear triad. These best missiles in the world have no analogues: neither in terms of flight range, nor in terms of technological equipment, nor in terms of maximum charge power.

They cannot be effectively countered by modern air defense systems. "Satan" has become the embodiment of the most modern ballistic technology. It destroys all types of targets and entire positional areas, ensures the inevitability of a retaliatory nuclear strike in the event of an attack on the Russian Federation.

TTX ICBM SS-18:

Various modifications of the SS-18 have been in service with the Russian army since 1975. In total, 600 missiles of this type have been produced during this time. Currently, all of them are installed on modern Russian launch vehicles for combat duty. Currently, the planned replacement of the R-36M with a modified version, a more modern Russian R-36M2 Voyevoda missile, is being carried out.

Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) - weapons with a warhead and a flight range of 5000 km. Designed to destroy targets at medium and long range using a nuclear (thermonuclear) warhead.

Modern ICBMs are equipped with protection against enemy missile defense (camouflage, decoys, multiple warheads) and are able to overcome it. ICBMs are launched from stationary installations, mobile complexes and nuclear submarines.

History of creation

At the beginning of the 20th century, Tsiolkovsky formulated the basic principles of rocket science and created the first scheme for a liquid jet engine. He predicted that in a couple of decades humanity would begin to explore near space. In 1909, R. Goddard proposed the idea of ​​a multi-stage rocket, where the empty stage was separated from the structure, reducing its mass and increasing the flight range.

In 1937, a missile center appeared in Germany, headed by W. Von Braun and K. Riedel. A wind tunnel for testing was equipped in the center, and an oxygen liquefaction plant was also built. The first product created was the FAU-1 projectile, on the basis of which the FAU-2 ballistic missile was then designed in 1942. With a rocket mass of 13 tons, the flight range was 300 km at a speed of 1.5 km / s.

The steps are separated according to the mortar scheme - the space between the steps is filled with gas from the gas generator and detonating charges are triggered at the place where the steps are attached. This scheme allows you to part the steps without impact, as well as extremely tightly arrange the interstage area.

The command to separate the stages is given by the BEVC when the required speed and trajectory are reached. If fuel remains in the separated stage, then its uncontrolled afterburning does not affect the course. The rocket acceleration time is up to 5 minutes, the achievable warhead speed is 6-8 km/s.

After separation of the head part, the breeding stage begins its work.

With the help of liquid-fuel engines, warheads are placed along trajectories. For the accuracy of this operation, the radio-electronic equipment and the computer complex with an inertial control system are responsible.

To protect against overheating and damaging factors of nuclear weapons, a fairing of a certain shape with a protective coating is installed on the combat stage. It improves aerodynamic performance during flight in dense layers of the atmosphere. Upon reaching the calculated BEVC height, it is reset.

The head part is the front part of the rocket with a warhead, made in the form of a cone. In the warhead, for the most part, thermonuclear charges are used. According to the number of such charges, the warhead is monoblock (only 1 charge) or separable. Depending on the ability to control after separation, the warhead can be divided into maneuvering and uncontrolled.

The split warhead is of the scattering type and with separate guidance for each warhead. The scattering type of MS is currently not used due to its low efficiency. The warhead with separate guidance of each warhead (BB) can hit targets located at a considerable distance.

The accuracy of the AP hit is described by the KVO parameter - the maximum radius of the circle into which the AP will fall in 50% of cases. For American ICBMs, the best indicator is about 100 m, for Russian - 200 m.

To counter the enemy missile defense system, in addition to the warhead, means of overcoming missile defense are placed in the warhead.

These include: various types of reflectors; light and heavy decoys (the latest generation has its own engines and is able to follow warheads to the very surface); transmitters - jammers. The total weight of the overcoming system is up to 0.5 tons.

Quite effective means of overcoming missile defense include the use of a flat trajectory. A low flight altitude significantly reduces the visibility of ICBMs, in addition, the range and flight time are significantly reduced. Since modern ballistic missile warheads are capable of maneuvering when entering the atmosphere, the task of missile defense systems is greatly complicated.

For the accurate output of the warhead from the BB to a certain trajectory, the on-board electronic computer system is responsible, paired with the navigation control system. The high accuracy of the hit is ensured by the use of algorithms in the missile control system based on astro-correction (the angular position of the stabilized gyroplatform relative to the selected star) and radio correction through the GLONASS guidance system.

Flight phases and basing of ICBMs

During the flight, a ballistic missile passes through three phases of the trajectory:

1. Active site. Start, acceleration and bringing the warhead to the trajectory for impact. Solid-propellant ICBMs of the latest generation pass this section in three minutes, reaching an altitude of 200 km. Liquid fuel - five minutes and 300 km, respectively. It is planned that the passage time of this section for new generation missiles will be less than a minute.
2. Passive area. BB, together with the anti-missile defense complex, fly by inertia. The breeding stage is working.
3. Atmospheric area. The entry of blocks and decoys into the dense layers of the atmosphere with their heating during braking. Duration is about 90 seconds.

All modern ICBMs are part of land or sea systems. ICBM ground complexes have, in turn, mine (silo) or mobile basing (ground, railway).

The most protected and combat-ready are missiles placed in mine launchers.

Their preparation time for launch is up to four minutes. In addition, they are able to withstand a direct hit by enemy ICBMs and are guaranteed to be launched for a retaliatory strike against an aggressor with unacceptable losses for him.

In the United States and Russia, they came to the same conclusion - the dispersed location of the mines on their territory makes it possible to reduce the effectiveness of enemy ICBMs, because. the chance of disabling several silos in one hit is reduced. Other options were either too expensive or did not provide the proper level of protection.

The most advanced ground-based ICBM in Russia is the 15A18M missile of the R-36M2 "Voevoda" complex with a multiple warhead and individual guidance of each individual warhead (up to 36 pcs.). The United States has the LGM-30G "Minuteman-III" with the smallest active flight segment (160 seconds), the best accuracy among all ICBMs and MIRVs with three individually targetable warheads.

Sea-based ICBMs are deployed on special nuclear submarines (NPSs) - missile cruisers. The launch is carried out from vertical mines in an underwater (mortar scheme) or surface position.

Patrolling the waters of nuclear submarines off the coast of a potential enemy eliminates the possibility of their destruction nuclear strike, and also allows you to almost instantly launch an ICBM in response, because. the time and distance of approach is much less. But there is a chance that a submarine or ballistic missile will be destroyed by enemy ships during launch.

At the moment, up to 24 UGM-133A Trident 2 SLBMs with a range of up to 10,000 km with a total capacity of 3.75 Mt each are deployed in service with American Ohio-class nuclear submarines.

Russian Project 941 nuclear submarines are equipped with 16 R-39 and R-29RM missiles with 10 APs (2Mt), flight range - 8 thousand km.

Protection methods

The missile attack warning system (SPRN) is designed to detect enemy missile launches and calculate the time and place of their approach. It allows you to put your ICBMs on alert in time and strike back.

The early warning system includes: a constellation of artificial Earth satellites that tracks the launch of ICBMs; early warning radar stations; over-the-horizon radar stations. Russia and America have this system.

Preemptive strike weapons - high-precision missiles short range(Pershing-2), which are highly likely to disable silo launchers. Efficiency is reduced when the enemy uses disguise in the form of false silos, because. most of the ICBMs remain combat-ready.

Strategic missile defense means the interception of enemy ICBMs by a special ballistic missile with a fragmentation or nuclear warhead.

By the end of the 20th century, a territorial missile defense was not created (it has an objective character).

The system was developed after the US withdrew from the ABM Treaty in 2001. The GBI anti-missile and its lightweight version PLV were developed. Locations - California, Alaska, Eastern Europe. Simulation with GBI interception of a single non-maneuvering warhead gave a 98% chance of destruction.

According to foreign and Russian experts, the use of warheads with individually targeted warheads and a modern decoy system makes the American missile defense useless. So from the calculations it follows that the probability of overcoming is 99%.

Missile systems and installations

The table shows the characteristics of missile systems in service in various countries

Name	P-36M (SS-18 Satan)	R-29RMU2 Sineva	UGM-133A Trident II (D5)	DongFeng 31 (DF-31A)	RT-2PM2 "Topol-M"	RSM-56 Mace
Country	Russia/USSR	Russia	USA	China	Russia	Russia
Adopted, year	1978	2007	1987	2006	2000	2013
Basing	mine	maritime	maritime	maritime	mine/mobile	maritime
Flight range, km	16000	11547	11300	11200	11000	10000
Accuracy, m	300	500	120	300	200	350

As can be seen from the table, the accuracy of the latest generation of ICBMs has increased, in addition, France and China have their own ballistic missiles. This fact indicates that new players have appeared on the world political and military arena that can influence the strategic nuclear balance.

Summing up, it can be noted that intercontinental ballistic missiles are the main means of nuclear deterrence.

Their presence in the arsenal of the leading countries of the world makes it possible to maintain parity in a possible global conflict (there will be neither winners nor losers in the third world war) and cool the hot heads of politicians.

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Today, developed countries have developed a range of remotely controlled projectiles - anti-aircraft, shipborne, land-based and even submarine-launched. They are designed to perform various tasks. Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) are used by many countries as the main means of nuclear deterrence.

Similar weapons are available in Russia, the United States of America, Great Britain, France and China. Whether Israel possesses ultra-long-range ballistic projectiles is unknown. However, according to experts, the state has every opportunity to create this type of missiles.

Information about which ballistic missiles are in service with the countries of the world, their description and performance characteristics are contained in the article.

Acquaintance

ICBMs are ground-to-ground guided intercontinental ballistic missiles. For such weapons, nuclear warheads are provided, with the help of which strategically important enemy targets located on other continents are destroyed. The minimum range is not less than 5500 thousand meters.

For ICBMs, a vertical take-off is provided. After the launch and overcoming the dense atmospheric layers, the ballistic missile turns smoothly and lays down on a given course. Such a projectile can hit a target located at a distance of at least 6 thousand km.

"Ballistic" missiles got their name because the ability to control them is available only at the initial stage of flight. This distance is 400 thousand meters. Having passed this small area, ICBMs fly like standard artillery shells. It moves towards the target at a speed of 16 thousand km / h.

The beginning of the design of ICBMs

In the USSR, work on the creation of the first ballistic missiles has been carried out since the 1930s. Soviet scientists planned to develop a rocket using liquid fuel to study space. However, in those years it was technically impossible to fulfill this task. The situation was further aggravated by the fact that the leading rocket specialists were subjected to repression.

Similar work was carried out in Germany. Before Hitler came to power, German scientists developed liquid-fuel rockets. Since 1929, research has acquired a purely military character. In 1933, German scientists assembled the first ICBM, which is listed in the technical documentation as "Unit-1" or A-1. The Nazis created several secret army missile ranges to improve and test ICBMs.

By 1938, the Germans managed to complete the design of the A-3 liquid-fuel rocket and launch it. Later, her scheme was used to work on improving the rocket, which is listed as A-4. She entered flight tests in 1942. The first launch was unsuccessful. During the second test, the A-4 exploded. The rocket passed flight tests only on the third attempt, after which it was renamed V-2 and adopted by the Wehrmacht.

About V-2

This ICBM was characterized by a single-stage design, namely, it contained a single missile. A jet engine was provided for the system, which used ethyl alcohol and liquid oxygen. The rocket body was a frame sheathed on the outside, inside of which there were tanks with fuel and oxidizer.

ICBMs were equipped with a special pipeline, through which, using a turbopump unit, fuel was supplied to the combustion chamber. Ignition was carried out with a special starting fuel. At the combustion chamber there were special tubes through which alcohol was passed in order to cool the engine.

The FAU-2 used an autonomous software gyroscopic guidance system, consisting of a gyrohorizon, a gyroverticant, amplifying-converting units and steering machines associated with rocket rudders. The control system consisted of four graphite gas rudders and four air ones. They were responsible for stabilizing the rocket body during its re-entry into the atmosphere. The ICBM contained an inseparable warhead. Weight explosive was 910 kg.

About the combat use of A-4

Soon the German industry was established mass production V-2 missiles. Due to the imperfect gyroscopic control system, the ICBM could not respond to parallel drift. In addition, the integrator - a device that determines at what point the engine is turned off, worked with errors. As a result, the German ICBM had a low hit accuracy. Therefore, London was chosen by German designers as a large area target for combat testing of missiles.

4320 ballistic units were fired at the city. Only 1,050 units reached their targets. The rest exploded in flight or fell outside the city limits. Nevertheless, it became clear that ICBMs are new and very powerful weapon. According to experts, if German missiles had sufficient technical reliability, then London would have been completely destroyed.

About R-36M

SS-18 "Satan" (aka "Voevoda") is one of the most powerful intercontinental ballistic missiles in Russia. Its range is 16 thousand km. Work on this ICBM began in 1986. The first launch almost ended in tragedy. Then the rocket, leaving the mine, fell into the barrel.

A few years after the design improvements, the rocket was put into service. Further tests were carried out with various combat equipment. The missile uses split and monobloc warheads. In order to protect ICBMs from enemy missile defense systems, the designers provided for the possibility of ejecting decoys.

This ballistic model is considered multistage. High-boiling fuel components are used for its operation. The rocket is multi-purpose. The device has an automatic control complex. Unlike other ballistic missiles, Voyevoda can be launched from a mine using a mortar launch. A total of 43 launches of "Satan" were made. Of these, only 36 were successful.

Nevertheless, according to experts, Voevoda is one of the most reliable ICBMs in the world. Experts suggest that this ICBM will be in service with Russia until 2022, after which a more modern Sarmat missile will take its place.

About performance characteristics

• Ballistic missile "Voevoda" belongs to the class of heavy ICBMs.
• Weight - 183 tons.
• The power of the total salvo fired by a missile division corresponds to 13,000 atomic bombs.
• The hit accuracy indicator is 1300 m.
• Ballistic missile speed 7.9 km / s.
• With a warhead weighing 4 tons, an ICBM is capable of covering a distance of 16,000 meters. If the mass is 6 tons, then the flight altitude of a ballistic missile will be limited and will be 10,200 meters.

About R-29RMU2 "Sineva"

This third-generation Russian ballistic missile according to NATO classification is known as SS-N-23 Skiff. The submarine became the base for this ICBM.

"Sineva" is a three-stage rocket with liquid jet engines. When hitting a target, high accuracy was noted. The missile is equipped with ten warheads. Management is carried out using the Russian GLONASS system. Index maximum range missiles do not exceed 11550 m. It has been in service since 2007. Presumably, Sineva will be replaced in 2030.

"Topol M"

It is considered the first Russian ballistic missile developed by the staff of the Moscow Institute of Thermal Engineering after the collapse of the Soviet Union. 1994 was the year when the first tests were made. Since 2000, it has been in Russian service. Designed for a flight range of up to 11,000 km. Represents an improved version of the Russian Topol ballistic missile. ICBMs are silo-based. It can also be contained on special mobile launchers. It weighs 47.2 tons. The rocket is made by workers. According to experts, powerful radiation, high-energy lasers, electromagnetic impulses and even nuclear explosion unable to influence the functioning of this rocket.

Due to the presence of additional engines in the design, Topol-M is able to successfully maneuver. The ICBM is equipped with three-stage solid propellant rocket engines. The indicator of the maximum speed "Topol-M" is 73200 m / s.

About the fourth-generation Russian rocket

Since 1975, the UR-100N intercontinental ballistic missile has been in service with the Strategic Missile Forces. In the NATO classification, this model is listed as SS-19 Stiletto. The range of this ICBM is 10 thousand km. Equipped with six warheads. Targeting is carried out using a special inertial system. UR-100N is a two-stage silo-based.

The power unit runs on liquid rocket fuel. Presumably, this ICBM will be used by the Russian Strategic Missile Forces until 2030.

About RSM-56

This model of the Russian ballistic missile is also called the Bulava. In NATO countries, the ICBM is known under the code designation SS-NX-32. It is a new intercontinental missile, which is intended to be based on a Borey-class submarine. The maximum range indicator is 10 thousand km. One missile is equipped with ten detachable nuclear warheads.

Weighs 1150 kg. The ICBM is a three-stage. Works on liquid (1st and 2nd stage) and solid (3rd) fuel. He has served in the Russian Navy since 2013.

About Chinese patterns

Since 1983, the DF-5A (Dong Feng) intercontinental ballistic missile has been in service with China. In the NATO classification, this ICBM is listed as CSS-4. The flight range indicator is 13 thousand km. Designed to "work" exclusively on the US continent.

The missile is equipped with six warheads weighing 600 kg each. Targeting is carried out using a special inertial system and on-board computers. The ICBM is equipped with two-stage engines that run on liquid fuel.

In 2006, Chinese nuclear engineers established new model three-stage intercontinental ballistic missile DF-31A. Its range does not exceed 11200 km. According to NATO classification, it is listed as CSS-9 Mod-2. It can be based both on submarines and on special launchers. The rocket has a launch weight of 42 tons. It uses solid propellant engines.

About American-made ICBMs

Since 1990 naval forces US uses UGM-133A Trident II. This model is an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of covering distances of 11,300 km. It uses three solid rocket motors. Submarines were based. The first test took place in 1987. Over the entire period, the rocket was launched 156 times. Four starts ended unsuccessfully. One ballistic unit can carry eight warheads. The rocket is expected to last until 2042.

Since 1970, the LGM-30G Minuteman III ICBM has been serving in the United States, the estimated range of which varies from 6 to 10 thousand km. This is the oldest intercontinental ballistic missile. It first started in 1961. Later, American designers created a modification of the rocket, which was launched in 1964. In 1968, the third modification of the LGM-30G was launched. Basing and launching is carried out from the mine. ICBM weight 34 473 kg. The rocket has three solid propellant engines. The ballistic unit moves towards the target at a speed of 24140 km/h.

About the French M51

This model of intercontinental ballistic missile has been operated by the French Navy since 2010. ICBMs can also be based and launched from a submarine. M51 was created to replace the outdated M45 model. The range of the new missile varies from 8 to 10 thousand km. The mass of the M51 is 50 tons.

Equipped with a solid propellant rocket engine. One intercontinental ballistic unit is equipped with six warheads.

The intercontinental ballistic missile is a very impressive human creation. Huge size, thermonuclear power, a column of flame, the roar of engines and a formidable roar of launch. However, all this exists only on the ground and in the first minutes of launch. After their expiration, the rocket ceases to exist. Further into the flight and the performance of the combat mission, only what remains of the rocket after acceleration - its payload - goes.

With long launch ranges, the payload of an intercontinental ballistic missile goes into space for many hundreds of kilometers. It rises into the layer of low-orbit satellites, 1000-1200 km above the Earth, and briefly settles among them, only slightly behind their general run. And then, along an elliptical trajectory, it begins to slide down ...

A ballistic missile consists of two main parts - an accelerating part and another, for the sake of which acceleration is started. The accelerating part is a pair or three large multi-ton stages, stuffed to capacity with fuel and with engines from below. They give the necessary speed and direction to the movement of the other main part of the rocket - the head. The accelerating stages, replacing each other in the launch relay, accelerate this warhead in the direction of the area of ​​​​its future fall.

The head of a rocket is a complex cargo of many elements. It contains a warhead (one or more), a platform on which these warheads are placed along with the rest of the economy (such as means of deceiving enemy radars and anti-missiles), and a fairing. Even in the head part there is fuel and compressed gases. The entire warhead will not fly to the target. It, like the ballistic missile itself before, will be divided into many elements and simply cease to exist as a whole. The fairing will separate from it not far from the launch area, during the operation of the second stage, and somewhere along the road it will fall. The platform will fall apart upon entering the air of the impact area. Elements of only one type will reach the target through the atmosphere. Warheads.

Close up, the warhead looks like an elongated cone a meter or a half long, at the base as thick as a human torso. The nose of the cone is pointed or slightly blunt. This cone is a special aircraft whose task is to deliver weapons to the target. We will return to warheads later and get to know them better.

The head of the "Peacekeeper", The pictures show the breeding stages of the American heavy ICBM LGM0118A Peacekeeper, also known as MX. The missile was equipped with ten 300 kt multiple warheads. The missile was decommissioned in 2005.

Pull or push?

In a missile, all of the warheads are located in what is known as the disengagement stage, or "bus". Why a bus? Because, having freed itself first from the fairing, and then from the last booster stage, the disengagement stage carries the warheads, like passengers, to the given stops, along their trajectories, along which the deadly cones will disperse to their targets.

Another "bus" is called the combat stage, because its work determines the accuracy of pointing the warhead at the target point, and hence the combat effectiveness. The breeding stage and its operation is one of the biggest secrets in a rocket. But we will still take a little, schematically, look at this mysterious step and its difficult dance in space.

The breeding stage has different forms. Most often, it looks like a round stump or a wide loaf of bread, on which warheads are mounted on top with their points forward, each on its own spring pusher. The warheads are pre-positioned at precise separation angles (on a missile base, manually, with the help of theodolites) and look in different directions, like a bunch of carrots, like a hedgehog's needles. The platform, bristling with warheads, occupies a predetermined, gyro-stabilized position in space in flight. And at the right moments, warheads are pushed out of it one by one. They are ejected immediately after the completion of the acceleration and separation from the last accelerating stage. Until (you never know?) they shot down this entire unbred hive with anti-missile weapons or something failed on board the breeding stage.

But that was before, at the dawn of multiple warheads. Now breeding is a completely different picture. If earlier the warheads “sticked out” forward, now the stage itself is ahead along the way, and the warheads hang from below, with their tops back, turned upside down like bats. The “bus” itself in some rockets also lies upside down, in a special recess in the upper stage of the rocket. Now, after separation, the disengagement stage does not push, but drags the warheads along with it. Moreover, it drags, resting on four cross-shaped "paws" deployed in front. At the ends of these metal paws are rear-facing traction nozzles of the dilution stage. After separation from the booster stage, the "bus" very accurately, precisely sets its movement in the beginning space with the help of its own powerful guidance system. He himself occupies the exact path of the next warhead - its individual path.

Then, special inertia-free locks are opened, holding the next detachable warhead. And not even separated, but simply now not connected with the stage, the warhead remains motionless hanging here, in complete weightlessness. The moments of her own flight began and flowed. Like one single berry next to a bunch of grapes with other warhead grapes that have not yet been plucked from the stage by the breeding process.

Fiery Ten, K-551 "Vladimir Monomakh" - Russian strategic nuclear submarine (project 955 "Borey"), armed with 16 Bulava solid-propellant ICBMs with ten multiple warheads.

Delicate movements

Now the task of the stage is to crawl away from the warhead as delicately as possible, without violating its precisely set (targeted) movement of its nozzles by gas jets. If a supersonic nozzle jet hits a detached warhead, it will inevitably add its own additive to the parameters of its movement. During the subsequent flight time (and this is half an hour - fifty minutes, depending on the launch range), the warhead will drift from this exhaust “slap” of the jet half a kilometer-kilometer sideways from the target, or even further. It will drift without barriers: there is space there, they slapped it - it swam, not holding on to anything. But is a kilometer to the side an accuracy today?

To avoid such effects, four upper “paws” with engines spaced apart are needed. The stage, as it were, is pulled forward on them so that the exhaust jets go to the sides and cannot catch the warhead detached by the belly of the stage. All thrust is divided between four nozzles, which reduces the power of each individual jet. There are other features as well. For example, if on a donut-shaped breeding stage (with a void in the middle - this hole is put on the booster stage of the rocket, like a wedding ring on a finger) of the Trident-II D5 rocket, the control system determines that the separated warhead still falls under the exhaust of one of the nozzles, then the control system disables this nozzle. Makes "silence" over the warhead.

The step gently, like a mother from the cradle of a sleeping child, fearing to disturb his peace, tiptoes away in space on the three remaining nozzles in low thrust mode, and the warhead remains on the aiming trajectory. Then the “donut” of the stage with the cross of the traction nozzles rotates around the axis so that the warhead comes out from under the zone of the torch of the switched off nozzle. Now the stage moves away from the abandoned warhead already at all four nozzles, but so far also at low gas. When a sufficient distance is reached, the main thrust is turned on, and the stage moves vigorously into the area of ​​​​the aiming trajectory of the next warhead. There it is calculated to slow down and again very accurately sets the parameters of its movement, after which it separates the next warhead from itself. And so on - until each warhead is landed on its trajectory. This process is fast, much faster than you read about it. In one and a half to two minutes, the combat stage breeds a dozen warheads.

Abyss of mathematics

The foregoing is quite enough to understand how the warhead's own path begins. But if you open the door a little wider and look a little deeper, you will notice that today the turn in space of the disengagement stage carrying the warheads is the area of ​​​​application of the quaternion calculus, where the onboard attitude control system processes the measured parameters of its movement with continuous construction of the orientation quaternion on board. A quaternion is such a complex number (above the field of complex numbers lies the flat body of quaternions, as mathematicians would say in their exact language of definitions). But not with the usual two parts, real and imaginary, but with one real and three imaginary. In total, the quaternion has four parts, which, in fact, is what the Latin root quatro says.

The breeding stage performs its work quite low, immediately after turning off the booster stages. That is, at an altitude of 100-150 km. And there the influence of gravitational anomalies of the Earth's surface, heterogeneities in the even gravitational field surrounding the Earth still affects. Where are they from? From uneven terrain, mountain systems, occurrence of rocks of different densities, oceanic depressions. Gravitational anomalies either attract the step to themselves with an additional attraction, or, on the contrary, slightly release it from the Earth.

In such heterogeneities, the complex ripples of the local gravity field, the disengagement stage must place the warheads with precision. To do this, it was necessary to create a more detailed map of the Earth's gravitational field. It is better to “explain” the features of a real field in systems of differential equations that describe the exact ballistic motion. These are large, capacious (to include details) systems of several thousand differential equations, with several tens of thousands of constant numbers. And the gravitational field itself at low altitudes, in the immediate near-Earth region, is considered as a joint attraction of several hundred point masses of different "weights" located near the center of the Earth in a certain order. In this way, a more accurate simulation of the real gravitational field of the Earth on the flight path of the rocket is achieved. And more accurate operation of the flight control system with it. And yet ... but full! - let's not look further and close the door; we have had enough of what has been said.

Intercontinental ballistic missile R-36M Voyevoda Voyevoda,

Flight without warheads

The disengagement stage, dispersed by the missile in the direction of the same geographical area where the warheads should fall, continues its flight with them. After all, she can not lag behind, and why? After breeding the warheads, the stage is urgently engaged in other matters. She moves away from the warheads, knowing in advance that she will fly a little differently from the warheads, and not wanting to disturb them. The breeding stage also devotes all its further actions to warheads. This maternal desire to protect the flight of her “children” in every possible way continues for the rest of her short life.

Short, but intense.

The payload of an intercontinental ballistic missile spends most of the flight in the mode of a space object, rising to a height three times the height of the ISS. A trajectory of enormous length must be calculated with extreme precision.

After the separated warheads, it is the turn of other wards. To the sides of the step, the most amusing gizmos begin to scatter. Like a magician, she releases into space a lot of inflating balloons, some metal things resembling open scissors, and objects of all sorts of other shapes. Durable balloons sparkle brightly in the cosmic sun with a mercury sheen of a metallized surface. They are quite large, some shaped like warheads flying nearby. Their surface, covered with aluminum sputtering, reflects the radar signal from a distance in much the same way as the warhead body. Enemy ground radars will perceive these inflatable warheads on a par with real ones. Of course, in the very first moments of entry into the atmosphere, these balls will fall behind and immediately burst. But before that, they will distract and load the computing power of ground-based radars - both early warning and guidance of anti-missile systems. In the language of ballistic missile interceptors, this is called "complicating the current ballistic situation." And the entire celestial host, inexorably moving towards the area of ​​impact, including real and false warheads, inflatable balls, chaff and corner reflectors, this whole motley flock is called "multiple ballistic targets in a complicated ballistic environment."

The metal scissors open and become electric chaff - there are many of them, and they reflect well the radio signal of the early warning radar beam that probes them. Instead of ten required fat ducks, the radar sees a huge fuzzy flock of small sparrows, in which it is difficult to make out anything. Devices of all shapes and sizes reflect different wavelengths.

In addition to all this tinsel, the stage itself can theoretically emit radio signals that interfere with enemy anti-missiles. Or distract them. In the end, you never know what she can be busy with - after all, a whole step is flying, large and complex, why not load her with a good solo program?

In the photo - the launch of the Trident II intercontinental missile (USA) from a submarine. At the moment, Trident ("Trident") is the only family of ICBMs whose missiles are installed on American submarines. The maximum casting weight is 2800 kg.

Last cut

However, in terms of aerodynamics, the stage is not a warhead. If that one is a small and heavy narrow carrot, then the stage is an empty spacious bucket, with echoing empty fuel tanks, a large non-streamlined body and a lack of orientation in the flow that begins to flow. With its wide body with a decent windage, the step responds much earlier to the first breaths of the oncoming flow. The warheads are also deployed along the stream, penetrating the atmosphere with the least aerodynamic resistance. The step, on the other hand, leans into the air with its vast sides and bottoms as it should. It cannot fight the braking force of the flow. Its ballistic coefficient - an "alloy" of massiveness and compactness - is much worse than a warhead. Immediately and strongly it begins to slow down and lag behind the warheads. But the forces of the flow are growing inexorably, at the same time the temperature warms up the thin unprotected metal, depriving it of strength. The rest of the fuel boils merrily in the hot tanks. Finally, there is a loss of stability of the hull structure under the aerodynamic load that has compressed it. Overload helps to break bulkheads inside. Krak! Fuck! The crumpled body is immediately enveloped by hypersonic shock waves, tearing the stage apart and scattering them. After flying a little in the condensing air, the pieces again break into smaller fragments. The remaining fuel reacts instantly. Scattered fragments of structural elements made of magnesium alloys are ignited by hot air and instantly burn out with a blinding flash, similar to a camera flash - it was not for nothing that magnesium was set on fire in the first flashlights!

America's submarine sword, the US Ohio-class submarine is the only type of missile carrier in service with the US. Carries 24 Trident-II (D5) MIRVed ballistic missiles. The number of warheads (depending on power) is 8 or 16.

Time does not stand still.

Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and Boeing have completed the first and key phase of development of the Defense Exoatmospheric Kinetic Kill Vehicle (EKV), which is part of the Pentagon's mega-project, a global missile defense system based on interceptor missiles, each of which is capable of carry SEVERAL kinetic interception warheads (Multiple Kill Vehicle, MKV) to destroy ICBMs with multiple, as well as "dummy" warheads

"The milestone reached is an important part of the concept development phase," Raytheon said in a statement, adding that it "is in line with the MDA's plans and is the basis for further concept alignment scheduled for December."

It is noted that Raytheon in this project uses the experience of creating EKV, which has been involved in the American global missile defense system, which has been operating since 2005 - Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GBMD), which is designed to intercept intercontinental ballistic missiles and their combat units in outer space outside the Earth's atmosphere. Currently, 30 anti-missiles are deployed in Alaska and California to protect the US continental territory, and another 15 missiles are planned to be deployed by 2017.

The transatmospheric kinetic interceptor, which will become the basis for the currently created MKV, is the main striking element of the GBMD complex. A 64-kilogram projectile is launched by an anti-missile into outer space, where it intercepts and engages an enemy warhead thanks to an electro-optical guidance system protected from extraneous light by a special casing and automatic filters. The interceptor receives target designation from ground-based radars, establishes sensory contact with the warhead and aims at it, maneuvering in outer space with the help of rocket engines. The warhead is hit by a head-on ram on a head-on course with a combined speed of 17 km/s: an interceptor flies at a speed of 10 km/s, an ICBM warhead at a speed of 5-7 km/s. The kinetic energy of the impact, which is about 1 ton of TNT, is enough to completely destroy the warhead of any conceivable design, and in such a way that the warhead is completely destroyed.

In 2009, the United States suspended the development of a program to combat multiple warheads due to the extreme complexity of the production of the disengagement mechanism. However, this year the program was revived. According to Newsader analytics, this is due to increased Russian aggression and related threats to use nuclear weapon, which were repeatedly expressed by top officials of the Russian Federation, including President Vladimir Putin himself, who frankly admitted in a commentary on the situation with the annexation of Crimea that he was allegedly ready to use nuclear weapons in a possible conflict with NATO (the latest events related to the destruction of the Turkish Air Force Russian bomber, cast doubt on Putin's sincerity and suggest a "nuclear bluff" on his part). Meanwhile, as is known, it is Russia that is the only state in the world that allegedly owns ballistic missiles with multiple nuclear warheads, including "dummy" (distracting) ones.

Raytheon said that their brainchild will be able to destroy several objects at once using an advanced sensor and other the latest technologies. According to the company, during the time that has passed between the implementation of the Standard Missile-3 and EKV projects, the developers managed to achieve a record performance in intercepting training targets in space - more than 30, which exceeds the performance of competitors.

Russia also does not stand still.

According to the message open sources, this year will see the first launch of the new intercontinental ballistic missile RS-28 "Sarmat", which should replace the previous generation of RS-20A missiles, known by NATO classification as "Satan", but in our country as "Voevoda".

The RS-20A ballistic missile (ICBM) development program was implemented as part of the "assured retaliatory strike" strategy. President Ronald Reagan's policy of aggravating the confrontation between the USSR and the United States forced him to take adequate retaliatory measures in order to cool the ardor of the "hawks" from the presidential administration and the Pentagon. American strategists believed that they were quite capable of providing such a level of protection of the territory of their country from the attack of Soviet ICBMs that they could simply spit on the international agreements reached and continue to improve their own nuclear potential and missile defense (ABM) systems. "Voevoda" was just another "asymmetric response" to Washington's actions.

The most unpleasant surprise for the Americans was the missile's multiple warhead, which contained 10 elements, each of which carried an atomic charge with a capacity of up to 750 kilotons of TNT. On Hiroshima and Nagasaki, for example, bombs were dropped, the yield of which was "only" 18-20 kilotons. Such warheads were able to overcome the then American missile defense systems, in addition, the infrastructure for launching missiles was also improved.

The development of a new ICBM is designed to solve several problems at once: first, to replace the Voyevoda, whose ability to overcome modern American missile defense (ABM) has decreased; secondly, to solve the problem of the dependence of the domestic industry on Ukrainian enterprises, since the complex was developed in Dnepropetrovsk; finally, to give an adequate response to the continuation of the program for the deployment of missile defense in Europe and the Aegis system.

As expected National Interest, the Sarmat missile will weigh at least 100 tons, and the mass of its warhead can reach 10 tons. This means, the publication continues, that the rocket will be able to carry up to 15 separable thermonuclear warheads.
"The range of the Sarmat will be at least 9,500 kilometers. When it is put into service, it will be the largest missile in world history," the article says.

According to press reports, NPO Energomash will become the head enterprise for the production of the rocket, while Perm-based Proton-PM will supply the engines.

The main difference between "Sarmat" and "Voevoda" is the ability to launch warheads into a circular orbit, which drastically reduces range restrictions; with this launch method, it is possible to attack enemy territory not along the shortest trajectory, but along any and from any direction - not only through North Pole, but also through the South.

In addition, the designers promise that the idea of ​​maneuvering warheads will be implemented, which will make it possible to counter all types of existing anti-missiles and promising complexes using laser weapons. anti-aircraft missiles"Patriot", which form the basis of the American missile defense system, cannot yet effectively deal with actively maneuvering targets flying at speeds close to hypersonic.
Maneuvering warheads promise to become such an effective weapon against which there are no countermeasures equal in reliability so far that the option of creating international agreement prohibiting or significantly restricting this type of weapon.

Thus, together with sea-based missiles and mobile railway systems, Sarmat will become an additional and quite effective deterrent.

If that happens, then efforts to deploy missile defense systems in Europe could be in vain, since the missile's launch trajectory is such that it is not clear exactly where the warheads will be aimed.

It is also reported that the missile silos will be equipped with additional protection against close explosions of nuclear weapons, which will significantly increase the reliability of the entire system.

The first prototypes of the new rocket have already been built. Start of launch tests is scheduled for this year. If the tests are successful, serial production of Sarmat missiles will begin, and in 2018 they will go into service.

sources