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A few hours ago, Russia launched several intercontinental ballistic missiles.
This is reported in the report of the Russian Ministry of Defense, published on the morning of October 27. Details are at a minimum.
The Strategic Nuclear Forces launched the Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missile (its mobile version) from the Plesetsk cosmodrome (800 km north of Moscow), reaching the target located at the Kura test site on the Kamchatka Peninsula. Two strategic nuclear submarines were used in the launch. The first one, which is in operation in the Pacific Fleet, launched a salvo of two ballistic missiles from the Sea of Okhotsk at targets located at the Chizh training ground in the Arkhangelsk region. The second strategic submarine belonging to the Northern Fleet launched a missile in the Barents Sea, hitting a target at the Kura range. Moscow does not provide details on the type of units involved and the weapon systems launched from submarines. During the maneuvers, strategic bombers Tupolev-160, Tupolev-85MS and Tupolev-22MZ were also involved, taking off from the bases Ukrainka (30 km north of Belogorsk), Engels ( command post Tu-160 14 km from Saratov) and Shaikovka (17 km north of Kirov). The bombers launched cruise missiles (probably Kh-101/Kh-102) that hit targets located at the Kura, Pemboi (Northeast Komi) and Terekta ranges in Kazakhstan. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, all missiles hit their targets.
The rearmament of the Russian nuclear triad will be completed by 2020, as Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered, with the start of operation of the Sarmat heavy intercontinental ballistic missile.
Rocket "Topol RS-12M" (SS-27 Sickle-B)
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Daily Star 03.10.2017 The Topol-M three-stage intercontinental ballistic missile has been successfully tested at the Plesetsk cosmodrome in northwestern Russia. A solid fuel inertial autonomous system missile is capable of withstanding any existing missile defense system, such as the US ABM, due to its ability to make sharp turns, release decoys and complete protection against any type of EMP or laser attacks. The only opportunity to shoot down this missile is at the launch stage, and this is the task of the interceptors located in Poland. With a range of 10 thousand kilometers, the Topol-M missile is capable of hitting any part of the United States without hindrance. The probable circular deviation is estimated at 200 meters: the missile carries one warhead with a maximum yield of 550 kilotons, but can easily be re-equipped to carry up to six Mirv/Marv warheads maximum. Unlike its American counterpart, the Topol-M missile can be launched both from mobile installations and from silo launchers.Strategic submarines participating in the launch
Strange, but Moscow does not expand on the submarines involved in the launch, while it is known that we are talking about nuclear strategic submarines, and we can narrow the range of assumptions to the Delta and Borey classes. It is possible that the TK-208 Dmitry Donskoy boat, the last of the Typhoon class, was also used.
Submarines "Delta IV"
At the moment, there are seven operating submarines "Delta IV", project 667BDRM "Dolphin". They represent at this stage the basis of the Russian deterrence system. An entire class has been refitted to be completed latest version R-29RMU2 "Liner" missiles, which entered service at the end of 2014. Unlike the Bulava missiles, the tests of liquid-fueled nuclear missiles carried out by the K-84 Ekaterinburg and K-114 Tula were successful. The new weapon system originates from the R-29RMU Sineva missile, which is capable of transporting eight to ten Mirv/Marv warheads with varying combat effectiveness, and their service life has been extended until 2030.
K-46, the third Delta IV class strategic submarine, has been transferred from its base on the Kola Peninsula to the Zvyozdochka Ship Repair Center in Severodvinsk. It is the only Delta IV class boat that has been refitted to accommodate experimental Russian minisubs diving deep into the icy Arctic waters. The central compartment, designed to hold 16 ballistic missiles, has been modified to accommodate new technology. BS-64 "Podmoskovye" was the first Russian submarine for underwater drones and project 10830 "Losharik". The frame was lengthened by 162.5 meters, the defensive resources were dismantled. Next year, Project 10830 Losharik will be transferred to K-139 Belgorod Project 09852. Officially designed as an evolution of the Oscar II class Project 949A, K-139 Belgorod will carry out scientific research as a platform for submarines without special equipment . K-139 was redesigned: the length of the new central compartment is 30 meters, which is why the size of the submarine was 184 meters. This is 30 meters more than the first Oscar-class boats, and 11 meters more than the Typhoon class.
The last Typhoon
Borey class
Under the contracts, the Russian Navy will receive eight Borey-class ballistic missiles: three 955s and five 955-A, or Borey II. 955 will be armed with 16 Bulava missiles, 955-A of the Borei II class with 20. Designed in a hydrodynamic frame designed to reduce broadband noise, Borey-class submarines are the first in Russian fleet using a water jet. Borey submarines are 170 meters long and 13 meters in diameter. maximum speed- 46 km / h, provided by the OK-650 nuclear reactor. The working depth is estimated at 380 meters (tests were carried out at a maximum depth of 450 meters). The three-stage Bulava missile, NATO codified SS-N-30 Mace, is a naval version of Russia's most advanced ballistic missile, the SS-27 Topol-M. Starting can be done even when the boat is in motion. Its length is 12.1 meters, diameter - 2.1 meters, weight - 36.8 tons: it is capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 8 thousand kilometers and was designed specifically to equip Borey-class nuclear submarines. Modifications to the Typhoon-class boats were deemed too costly. After numerous problems with development in January 2013 Russian ministry defense announced the start of operation of the Bulava missiles. Today, Delta IV class submarines should be in the first line of fire. Borey-class boats are capable of carrying 148 R-30 Bulava missiles with 1,480 warheads of 100-150 kilotons each.
Boreas-class timeline
The last Borey-class nuclear-powered submarine, the Prince Pozharsky, entered production on December 23 last year at the Sevmash plant in Severodvinsk. The first three "Boreas" Project 955 are K-535 "Yuri Dolgoruky", K-550 "Alexander Nevsky" and K-551 "Vladimir Monomakh". K-535 joined the North Sea Fleet in January 2013, following her in December of the same year, the Nevsky began to operate in the Pacific Fleet. The vessel K-551 "Vladimir Monomakh" entered service in 2014 as part of Pacific Fleet. K-535 "Yuri Dolgoruky" was enlisted in the forces patrolling the Arctic. The fourth "Borey" "Prince Vladimir", the first in project 955 / A, has been under construction since July 2012 at the Sevmash workshop in northern Russia. The construction of the fifth nuclear submarine "Prince Oleg" began in July 2014. Work on the creation of the sixth "Boreas" "Generalissimo Suvorov" began in December 2015. A few weeks later, the production of the seventh "Borey", christened "Emperor Alexander III", began in the workshop of Severodvinsk. The workshop for the creation of the last submarine of the Borey class and the fifth in series A, the Prince Pozharsky, was launched on December 23 last year.
Currently, nine Russian strategic submarines are in active service. The 2020 strategic fleet will consist of 13 submarines: seven Boreys equipped with Bulava missiles and six Delta IV submarines with a strategic patrol to cover vulnerable targets in the Barents and Okhotsk Seas. If the Russians launch from these areas, they could hit anywhere in the continental United States. One Borey-class submarine will be converted for covert operations.
The materials of InoSMI contain only assessments of foreign media and do not reflect the position of the editors of InoSMI.
On October 24, 1974, a C-5A Galaxy took off from Vandenberg Air Force Base. At an altitude of 2.5 km, the tail hatch opened. Two pilot chutes retrieved a platform with a Minuteman-1 rocket from the cargo hold. The pyro-locks worked, and the rocket that separated from the platform stood upright, held by three stabilizing parachutes ...
Launch of a ballistic missile from a carrier aircraft The missile with a pilot chute has already been removed from the cargo hold and is ready to launch. Target? While she is teaching...
Mikhail Kardashev
In accordance with the test program, the engine worked for ten seconds, after which the rocket fell into the ocean. Thus, the first ever launch of an ICBM from an aircraft was carried out. All 13 crew members were awarded medals. The test demonstrated the possibility of safe air launch of ICBMs from a serial Lockheed C-5A Galaxy military transport aircraft. The experiment was filmed from an escort plane, and the very next day all the materials received were on the table of US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, becoming a weighty argument in negotiations with the USSR.
One of the goals of the American side was to limit the Soviet mobile ICBM RS-14 ("Temp-2S"). As a result, in 1979, the SALT-2 treaty was signed, the protocol to which provided for a temporary ban on flight tests and the deployment of both mobile ICBMs and air-to-ground ballistic missiles. The START-1 treaty, which entered into force in 1994, banned the production, testing and deployment of air-launched ICBMs for the next 15 years. What is this terrible weapon from which the two superpowers saved mankind for a long time?
Launch of a ballistic missile from a carrier aircraft The missile with a pilot chute has already been removed from the cargo hold and is ready to launch. Target? While she is teaching...
Club of increased survivability
Interest in airborne ballistic missiles arose in the United States towards the end of the 1950s. By that time, the development of air defense systems had turned strategic bombers - carriers atomic bombs— in rather vulnerable targets. Rascal aviation cruise missiles with a range of 160 km, which appeared in service, reduced the losses of bombers, but they were also quite effectively intercepted by air defense. Ballistic missiles, unlike cruise missiles, were not intercepted by air defense systems, but by anti-missile
There was no defense back then. However, the first American Atlas ICBM, which was tested in 1958, was intended to be placed on open launch positions and required a long preparation for launch. This deprived her of the chances of survival in the event of an enemy attack. First american rocket submarine-based - SLBM "Polaris-A1" - by 1958 was still being developed.
ICBM carrier project based on An-124. In just years cold war in the USSR and the USA, projects were developed for at least 27 systems (12 and 15, respectively), providing for air-based ballistic missiles. Three American projects have reached the stage of flight tests, two more have reached the launch stage. Of the Soviet developments, not a single one rose into the air. Before being put into service, the matter never came to the United States either.
Placement of ballistic missiles on aircraft has not yet been tried, but this idea was already in the air. A strategic bomber loitering in its own air defense zone is practically invulnerable to any conceivable enemy. The survivability of aircraft on the ground can be ensured by dispersing them widely - at air bases around the world. In combination with invulnerable ballistic missiles, strategic bombers could become a qualitatively new, flexible and effective component of nuclear forces.
Weight problem
Accommodation intercontinental missile looked extremely attractive on the bomber - the launch could then be carried out from its own airspace. Alas, the then materiel did not give such an opportunity: the missiles were too large and heavy for potential carriers. The starting weight of the Atlas-D ICBM was 118.6 tons, the length was 22.1 m, and the hull diameter was 3.05 m. There were no aircraft capable of lifting such a thing into the air. The designers had to start with medium-range and short-range missiles, postponing intercontinental ones for later.
To create a complex with air-based ICBMs, the Il-76 (MF, MD) military transport aircraft in service and the Sineva intercontinental-range SLBM with high reliability and efficiency can be used. Studies on the "Aerocosmos" complex, carried out by the GRC named after. Academician V.P. Makeev and ASTC im. S.V. Ilyushin confirm the possibility of intra-fuselage placement and air launch of a ballistic missile from starting weight about 40 tons from the Il-76MF aircraft.
In 1958, the American company Lockheed Georgia began the development of an aircraft with a nuclear power plant. This aircraft was considered as a flying platform for launching long-range ballistic missiles. However, this program was not successful and was closed.
In the same year, the US Air Force was awarded contracts for the development of experimental air-to-ground ballistic missiles Bold Orion and High Virgo. The range of the Bold Orion rocket was 1770, and the High Virgo was 300 km. Tests were carried out in 1958-1959: Bold Orion was launched from a B-47 Stratojet, and High Virgo was launched from a B-58 Hustler supersonic bomber. Bold Orion was not only the first long-range ballistic missile launched from an aircraft, but also the first missile to demonstrate the fundamental ability to intercept a satellite. On October 13, 1959, it was launched from a B-47 bomber at the American Explorer VI satellite and flew 6 km away from it.
Both missiles were essentially experimental and did not change the course of history, but helped shape the requirements for the new Skybolt air-launched ballistic missile.
In 1959, the Bold Orion rocket for the first time demonstrated the fundamental possibility of intercepting an artificial Earth satellite. On October 13, 1959, a rocket launched at a ten-kilometer altitude from a B-47 bomber passed six and a half kilometers from the American Explorer VI satellite flying at an altitude of more than 200 km. At that time, it was not possible to hit exactly the satellite that had exhausted its resource, but this was hardly considered a big failure in 1959. It was planned to equip the then anti-satellite systems with nuclear warheads, so the accuracy achieved was, in principle, sufficient.
Approaching the target
Skybolt development began in 1960. The Douglas two-stage solid-propellant rocket had a launch weight of about 5 tons, a length of 11.66 m and a body diameter of 0.89 m. Power nuclear charge was 1.2 Mt. The shooting accuracy was supposed to be provided by Nortronics' astroinertial control system. Information about the range is contradictory, according to the most popular version, it exceeded 1800 km. The B-52N could carry four missiles placed on two underwing pylons in pairs. To reduce aerodynamic drag, the rocket was equipped with a drop tail fairing. After uncoupling from the pylon, she freely fell about 120 m, got rid of the fairing, started the first stage engine and rushed up. Control during operation of the first stage was provided by aerodynamic rudders, and in the area of the second stage - by a rotary engine nozzle. The US Air Force plans called for the purchase of 1,000 missiles by 1967 and equipping 22 squadrons of B-52 strategic bombers with them. The possibility of using a single-stage version of the Skybolt missile for arming the supersonic strategic bomber B-70 "Valkyrie" under development was also considered. The UK also intended to adopt the novelty. It was planned to use strategic bombers "Volcano V.2" as a carrier.
All these plans were not destined to become a reality. The first five launches with the B-52 were unsuccessful, success came only at the last test in April 1962, when the decision had already been made to close the program. The decision was influenced by both test failures and the successful development of the “underwater” Polaris.
The Soviet response was basically symmetrical to the American plans. In the Ural SKB-385, design studies of the R-13A aviation ballistic missile based on the R-13 sea-launched missile were carried out, and in the Design Bureau V.M. Myasishchev - design studies for the placement of aviation ballistic missiles on supersonic strategic bombers M-50 and M-56. As in the United States, these works were not further developed at that time. Ground-based ICBMs and submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) became dominants in the strategic nuclear forces of the USSR.
Flight over the ocean
New stage The development of air-based BR began in the late 1960s, when both the USSR and the USA created the first large-capacity wide-body military transport aircraft. The dimensions of the An-22 and Lockheed C-5A cargo compartments, coupled with the carrying capacity (60 and 79 tons, respectively), made it possible to use these aircraft as carriers of ballistic missiles. medium range with high starting weight.
Placement of Skybolt missiles on B-52H. The B-52H strategic bomber was supposed to carry four Skybolt missiles on underwing pylons. The system was developed jointly by the United States and Great Britain, and if for the Americans it was one of several projects, then the British concentrated all their forces on Skybolt. The closure of the program caused fierce protests from the British side.
American project Meduza provided for the vertical placement of several Polaris solid-propellant ICBMs on a Lockheed C-5A aircraft. The Polaris-A3T missile, put into service in 1968, had a launch weight of 16.4 tons and a flight range of up to 4,600 km. separating head part included three warheads. In the USSR, a project was developed for a similar complex based on R-27 liquid-propellant ballistic missiles, which were part of the D-5 naval missile system. The An-22 was supposed to be the carrier. On the "Antey" it was supposed to place three vertical launchers with missiles protruding above the fuselage. The R-27 missile was adopted by the Navy in 1968, had a launch weight of 14.3 tons, a flight range of 2500 km and was equipped with a monoblock warhead.
By the early 1970s, the accuracy of ICBM firing in the USSR and the USA had become such that the survival of stationary launchers in the event of an enemy strike was no longer obvious. The Americans began developing a promising ICBM under the MX (Missile-X) program, designed to survive a nuclear strike. In addition to mine launchers of increased resistance, mobile-based options, including air ones, were studied. There were prerequisites - by that time the planes had become larger, more powerful, and the mass of missiles needed for intercontinental firing, on the contrary, had decreased. A wide range of aircraft carrier options were considered, including the Boeing 747, Lockheed C-5A, Douglas DC-10 civil aircraft, short takeoff and landing aircraft capable of dispersing over a wide network of airfields, vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, aircraft- amphibians, advanced carrier aircraft of special design and helicopters.
MC-747 Carrier Project. In the course of work on the MX program, Boeing proposed the option of placing ICBMs on a modification of the serial B-747. It could accommodate four missiles weighing 45.4 tons each, or eight small-sized ICBMs of 22.7 tons each. Heavy rockets were supposed to be launched through the tail hatch, small-sized ones - through special hatches in the lower part of the cargo compartment.
At least three concepts of carriers of special construction were proposed. A four-engine aircraft with a takeoff weight of 545 tons was supposed to be in the air at an eight-kilometer altitude for 15 hours with a payload of 272 tons and 24 hours from 182 tons. could have been different. After refueling in flight, the mass of the carrier could be 681 tons. For comparison, let's say that the maximum take-off weight of the B-52 is 229 tons, and the Tu-95 - 188.
Weapons of the future
Air-based ICBMs were banned for a long time, but now there are no obstacles to their development. The START-1 Treaty ceased to be in force in 2009, and there are no restrictions in the new START Treaty. This gives scope for creative imagination.
The use of “point” (vertical or inclined) launch with a horizontal landing as a carrier of aircraft looks promising. This option eliminates the loss of time for the takeoff run along the runway and allows you not to wait for it to be released by the previous aircraft. Aviation complex, like a ground-based ICBM, will be able to get out of the enemy’s strike on an early warning signal, with the only difference being that it can be withdrawn back in case of an error. In the foreseeable future, the air-based ICBM is the only option that ensures 100% survivability of nuclear deterrence forces.
Guaranteed preservation of the possibility of a retaliatory strike makes it possible to make decisions without undue haste. There is a margin of time necessary for analyzing the situation, and the risk of using nuclear weapons on a false signal. Therefore, air-based ICBMs can help maintain strategic stability in the face of threats XXI century.
This project was not yet the largest. Six engine aircraft long duration flight with containers for missiles mounted on the wing, had to weigh 817 tons and carry a 454-ton load. Small-sized ICBMs with a launch weight of 21.3 tons could be placed in wing containers. The missile engines were supposed to be turned on after being dropped through opening doors at the bottom of the containers. Finally, an amphibious aircraft with a high wing, four engines and a takeoff weight of 397 tons during takeoff from the water and 545 from the airfield was supposed to carry 91 tons of payload, moving away from the airfield at a distance of up to 7400 km. The helicopter version of the deployment of ICBMs made it possible to implement the concept of a missile system “roaming” between unprepared, but suitable for take-off and landing sites, in order to make it difficult to detect and deliver an aimed strike by the enemy. The same opportunities were promised by the placement of ICBMs on vertical take-off and landing aircraft (Grasshopper project - Grasshopper).
The mobile-based MX ICBM variants were not implemented in practice - only the silo version was in service, providing the greater accuracy necessary for a “disarming” strike against nuclear forces Soviet Union.
Our answer MX
Soviet designers did not stay away from the trends of the times. In the 1970s and 1980s, the USSR developed an intercontinental aviation missile system("MARK") based on sea-based ICBMs and An-22 and An-124 military transport aircraft. Studies of the design bureau of mechanical engineering and design bureau O.K. Antonov showed the possibility of placing one R-29R missile on the An-22, and two or three on the An-124 aircraft. The R-29R missile was adopted by the Navy in 1977, had a launch weight of 35.3 tons and was equipped with a multiple warhead with three individual guidance units. In the future, it was possible to switch to a more powerful R-29RM with a launch weight of 40.3 tons and four warheads.
The missile was supposed to launch after landing on a platform with a parachute through the tail hatch of the aircraft. Unlike the Minuteman, the first-stage engine with control chambers was launched immediately after the rocket separated from the platform. This reduced the loss of the initial height and speed of the rocket in the pre-launch area.
Another option for air-based ICBMs was the Krechet missile system based on the Tu-160 bomber and specially designed solid-propellant missiles. The lead developers of this complex were A.N. Tupolev and KB Yuzhnoye. The bomber could carry two ICBMs with a launch weight of 24.4 tons. The missiles could carry six individually targetable warheads. The MARK and Krechet complexes were not in demand by the customer, and then work in this direction was “frozen” due to the prohibitions imposed by the SALT-2 and START-1 treaties.
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. 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.
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 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 missile base, manually, using theodolites) and look into different sides 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 the 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 density, 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 - the launch of an 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.
On August 21, 1957, exactly 60 years ago, the world's first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) R-7 was successfully launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. This Soviet missile became the first intercontinental ballistic missile to be successfully tested and deliver a warhead to intercontinental range. The R-7, which was also called the "seven" (GRAU index - 8K71), was a two-stage ICBM with a detachable warhead weighing 3 tons and a flight range of 8 thousand kilometers.
Later, from January 20, 1960 to the end of 1968, a modification of this missile under the designation R-7A (GRAU index - 8K74) with an increased flight range of up to 9.5 thousand kilometers was in service with the USSR Strategic Missile Forces. In NATO countries, this missile became known as the SS-6 Sapwood. This Soviet rocket became not only a formidable, but also a serious milestone in Russian cosmonautics, becoming the basis for the creation of launch vehicles designed to launch spacecraft and ships into space, including manned ones. The contribution of this rocket to space exploration is enormous: on rockets of the R-7 family, many artificial satellites of the Earth were launched into space, starting from the very first ones, and the first man flew into space.
creation of the R-7 rocket
The history of the creation of the R-7 ICBM began long before its first launch took place - in the late 1940s and early 1950s. During this period, according to the results of the development of single-stage ballistic missiles R-1, R-2, R-3 and R-5, which were led by the outstanding Soviet designer Sergey Pavlovich Korolev, it became clear that in the future, to reach the territory of a potential enemy, a significantly more powerful composite multi-stage rocket would be required, the idea of \u200b\u200bcreating which had previously been voiced by the famous Russian cosmonautics theorist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky.
Back in 1947, Mikhail Tikhonravov organized a separate group at the Research Institute of Artillery Sciences, which began to carry out systematic studies of the possibility of developing composite (multi-stage) ballistic missiles. After studying the results that were obtained by this group, Korolev decided to carry out a preliminary design of a powerful multi-stage rocket. Preliminary research on the development of ICBMs began in 1950: on December 4, 1950, by the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, a comprehensive search research was set up on the topic “Study of the prospects for the creation of RDD different types with a flight range of 5-10 thousand kilometers and a warhead mass of 1 to 10 tons. And on May 20, 1954, another government decree was issued, which officially set the task for OKB-1 to develop a ballistic missile that could carry a thermonuclear charge to an intercontinental range.
New powerful engines for the R-7 rocket were created in parallel at OKB-456, the work was supervised by Valentin Glushko. The control system for the rocket was designed by Nikolai Pilyugin and Boris Petrov, the launch complex was designed by Vladimir Barmin. A number of other organizations were also involved in the work. At the same time, the country raised the question of building a new test site for testing intercontinental ballistic missiles. In February 1955, another decree of the USSR Government was issued on the start of the construction of the test site, which was named the 5th Research and Test Site of the Ministry of Defense (NIIP-5). It was decided to build the landfill in the area of the village of Baikonur and the Tyura-Tam junction (Kazakhstan), later it went down in history and is known to this day precisely as Baikonur. The cosmodrome was built as a highly secret facility; the launch complex for the new R-7 rockets was ready in April 1957.
The design of the R-7 rocket was completed in July 1954, and already on November 20 of the same year, the construction of the rocket was officially approved by the Council of Ministers of the USSR. By the beginning of 1957, the first Soviet intercontinental ballistic missile was ready for testing. Starting from mid-May 1957, the first series of tests of the new missile was carried out, it demonstrated the presence of serious flaws in its design. May 15, 1957 was the first launch of the ICBM R-7. According to visual observations, the flight of the rocket proceeded normally, but then changes in the flame of exhaust gases from the engines became noticeable in the tail compartment. Later, after processing the telemetry, it was found that a fire broke out in one of the side blocks. After 98 seconds of controlled flight, due to the loss of thrust, this unit separated, after which the command to turn off the rocket engines followed. The cause of the accident was called a leak in the fuel line of the fuel.
The next launch, which was scheduled for June 11, 1957, did not take place due to a malfunction of the central block engines. Several attempts to start the rocket engines did not lead to anything, after which the automation issued a command for an emergency shutdown. The test management decided to drain the fuel and remove the R-7 ICBM from the starting position. On July 12, 1957, the R-7 rocket was able to take off, but stability was lost at 33 seconds of flight, the rocket began to deviate from the given flight path. This time, the cause of the accident was called a short circuit on the body of the control signal circuits of the integrating device along the rotation and pitch channels.
Only the fourth launch of the new rocket, which took place on August 21, 1957, was recognized as successful, the rocket was able to reach the target area for the first time. The rocket was launched from Baikonur, worked out the active part of the trajectory, after which the head of the rocket hit the given square of the Kamchatka Peninsula (the Kura missile range). But even in this fourth launch, not everything was smooth. The main disadvantage of the launch was the destruction of the head of the rocket in the dense layers of the atmosphere on the descending part of its trajectory. Telemetric communication with the rocket was lost 15-20 seconds before the estimated time to reach the earth's surface. The analysis of the fallen structural elements of the head of the R-7 rocket made it possible to establish that the destruction began from the tip of the head, and at the same time to clarify the amount of entrainment of its heat-shielding coating. The information obtained made it possible to finalize the documentation for the rocket head, clarify the strength and design calculations, layout, and also manufacture new rocket as soon as possible for the next launch. At the same time, already on August 27, 1957, the Soviet press reported on the successful testing of an ultra-long-range multi-stage rocket in the Soviet Union.
The positive results of the flight of the first Soviet R-7 ICBM on the active part of the trajectory made it possible to use this rocket to launch the first artificial Earth satellites in the history of mankind on October 4 and November 3 of the same year. Initially created as a combat missile, the R-7 possessed the necessary energy capabilities, which made it possible to launch a significant mass of payload into space (into near-Earth orbit), which was clearly demonstrated by the launch of the first Soviet satellites.
According to the results of 6 test launches of the R-7 ICBM, its warhead was significantly improved (in fact, replaced by a new one), the warhead separation system was improved, and slot antennas of the telemetry system were also used. On March 29, 1958, the launch took place for the first time, which was successful in full (the head of the rocket reached the target without destruction). At the same time, during 1958 and 1959, flight tests of the rocket continued, according to the results of which more and more new improvements were made to its design. As a result, by resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR and the Central Committee of the CPSU No. 192-20 dated January 20, 1960, the R-7 rocket was officially put into service.
R-7 rocket design
The intercontinental ballistic missile R-7, created in OKB-1 under the leadership of the chief designer Sergei Pavlovich Korolev (chief designer Sergei Sergeevich Kryukov), was built according to the so-called "package" scheme. The first stage of the rocket consisted of 4 side blocks, each of which had a length of 19 meters and a maximum diameter of 3 meters. The side blocks were located symmetrically around the central block (the second stage of the rocket) and connected to it by the lower and upper belts of force connections. The design of the rocket blocks was the same. Each of them consisted of a support cone, a power ring, fuel tanks, a tail section, and a propulsion system. All units were equipped with RD-107 liquid-propellant rocket engines with a system for pumping fuel components. This engine was built according to an open scheme and included 6 combustion chambers. In this case, two cameras were used as steering. The RD-107 rocket engine developed a thrust of 82 tons near the earth's surface.
The second stage of the rocket (central block) included an instrument compartment, a fuel and oxidizer tank, a power ring, a tail compartment, a sustainer engine and 4 steering units. The LRE-108 was placed on the second stage, which was similar in design to the RD-107, but featured a large number of steering chambers. This engine developed a thrust of 75 tons near the ground. It was switched on simultaneously with the first stage engines (even at the moment of launch) and worked correspondingly longer than the first stage rocket engine. The launch of all available engines of the first and second stages right at the start was carried out for the reason that at that time the creators of the rocket did not have confidence in the possibility of reliable ignition of the second stage engines at high altitude. A similar problem was then faced by American designers who were working on their Atlas ICBM.
LRE RD-107 at the Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics in Moscow
All engines of the first Soviet R-7 ICBM used two-component fuel: fuel - T-1 kerosene, oxidizer - liquid oxygen. To drive the turbopump units of rocket engines, hot gas was used, which is formed in the gas generator during the catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide, and compressed nitrogen was used to pressurize the tanks. To ensure the specified flight range of the rocket, it was equipped with an automatic system for regulating engine operation modes, as well as a system for synchronous tank emptying (SOB), which made it possible to reduce the guaranteed fuel supply. The design and layout of the R-7 rocket ensured the launch of all its engines at the time of launch using special pyro-ignition devices, they were placed in each of the 32 combustion chambers. The marching rocket engines of this rocket for their time were distinguished by very high energy and mass characteristics, and also favorably differed in their a high degree reliability.
The control system of the intercontinental ballistic missile R-7 was combined. The autonomous subsystem was responsible for providing angular stabilization and stabilization of the center of mass while the rocket was on the active part of the trajectory. And the radio engineering subsystem was responsible for correcting the lateral movement of the center of mass at the final stage of the active section of the trajectory and issuing a command to turn off the engines. The executive bodies of the missile control system were air rudders and rotary chambers of steering engines.
The value of the R-7 rocket in the conquest of space
R-7, which many called simply "seven", became the progenitor of a whole family of Soviet and Russian-made launch vehicles. They were created on the basis of the R-7 ICBM during a deep and multi-stage modernization process. From 1958 to the present, all rockets of the R-7 family are produced by TsSKB-Progress (Samara).
Launch vehicles based on R-7
The success and, as a result, the high reliability of the rocket design, combined with a sufficiently large power for ICBMs, made it possible to use it as a launch vehicle. Already during the operation of the R-7, some shortcomings were identified in this capacity, there was a process of its gradual modernization to increase the mass of the payload put into orbit, reliability, and also expand the range of tasks solved by the rocket. Launch vehicles of this family truly opened the space age to all mankind, with their help, among other things, the following were implemented:
The launch of the first ever artificial satellite into earth orbit;
- the launch of the first satellite with a living creature on board (the astronaut dog Laika) into the earth's orbit;
- Launch of the first spacecraft with a man on board (Yuri Gagarin's flight).
The reliability of the design of the R-7 rocket created by Korolev made it possible to develop on its basis a whole family of launch vehicles: Vostok, Voskhod, Molniya, Soyuz, Soyuz-2 and their various modifications. At the same time, the latest of them are actively used today. Rockets of the R-7 family have become the most massive in history, the number of their launches is already about 2000, they are also recognized as one of the most reliable in the world. To date, all manned launches of the Soviet Union and Russia have been carried out using launch vehicles of this family. At present, Roscosmos and Space Forces Soyuz-FG and Soyuz-2 rockets of this family are actively used.
Duplicate copy of Gagarin's "Vostok-1". Exhibited at the Museum of Cosmonautics in Kaluga
Sources of information:
https://ria.ru/spravka/20120821/727374310.html
http://www.soyuz.by/news/expert/34128.html
http://rbase.new-factoria.ru/missile/wobb/r-7/r-7.shtml
Materials from open sources
The Northern Fleet reported on the completed combat firing of sea-based ballistic missiles. The strategic missile submarine "" from a submerged position made a successful group launch of four R-30 "Bulava" missiles from the water area White Sea at the Kura training ground in Kamchatka. The sailors said combat shooting such a number of missiles on Project 955 submarines was carried out for the first time.
% Launching four missiles is not so much. For example, on the eve of the collapse of the Soviet Union in August 1991, the strategic missile submarine K-407 Novomoskovsk launched 16 R-29M missiles in sequence.
- two combat and 14 missiles equivalent in ballistics. The interval between ballistic missile launches was only 14 seconds.
At the same time, the ex-Chief of the Main Staff of the Russian Navy, Admiral, believes that there is no longer a great need for such an operation today. “The launch scheme on the Yuri Dolgoruky, as shown by these exercises, has been worked out. Volley shooting is possible. And sixteen missiles do not need to be launched, ”the military leader believes.
According to him, it is very expensive pleasure. At present, the system of checks makes it possible, by launching only four products, to clarify the possibility of launching the remaining twelve. “So there is no such need in the previous scheme, when 16 missiles were launched at once, today,” Viktor Kravchenko believes. “And the Americans in salvo firing from their submarines have never launched more than four missiles at the same time.”
As for the Bulava sea-based ballistic missile, it was put into service Navy very hard.
“The product developer took up this subject for the first time,” Admiral Kravchenko told Gazeta.Ru. “They have never dealt with the maritime component before.”
The first launch of the Bulava prototype took place on September 23, 2004 from a heavy nuclear submarine of project 941 "". The first three launches went well, but the fourth, fifth and sixth were unsuccessful. The seventh launch of the Bulava was only partially successful: one warhead did not reach the Kura training ground in Kamchatka. The eighth and ninth rocket launches in 2008 were successful. The tenth again ended in failure. The eleventh and twelfth launches of this type of rocket also ended unsuccessfully.
“Nevertheless, this rocket was brought to mind. At that time, there was simply no way to do anything else - that's all, - says Admiral Viktor Kravchenko. “A solid propellant rocket is still much better in operation on submarines than products with liquid and very aggressive propellant components.”
Against the backdrop of a successful live firing by the Yuri Dolgoruky strategic missile submarine, domestic experts continue to analyze information disseminated by the American television channel CNBC, which claimed that four tests of a Russian nuclear-powered missile were unsuccessful.
“I believe that the news from CNBC is a PR campaign built on absolutely unreliable data,” the ex-chief of the General Staff, Colonel General, explained to Gazeta.ru. According to the commander, CNBC could not obtain such data on the testing of promising Russian weapons anywhere.
A high-ranking source of Gazeta.Ru in the military-industrial complex, not directly connected with the tests of the strategic cruise missile, said that
there is “a lot of obscurity, there is no texture. I do not think that these were tests immediately with a nuclear engine. Rather, it was some kind of imitator or something else.
Where the data came from that the developers did not want to test the product and at the same time claimed that they were not ready yet is also completely unclear.
Failures very often occur during tests, Academician Alexei noted in a conversation with Gazeta.Ru. “It is enough to recall the epic with the adoption of the Bulava sea-based ballistic missile. There were a lot of rejections back then. But yesterday, a successful group launch of four missiles at once was carried out, ”the expert said.
According to the scientist, there is nothing surprising, tragic, impossible in the unsuccessful launches of the Russian strategic cruise missile with a nuclear engine.
“And the fact that we deny this, and it seems logical. In March, a lot of good things were said about this rocket. It was presented as one of the main breakthrough projects of six new weapons systems that were presented not by anyone, but by the president. Russian Federation, and not just anywhere, but in the message of the head of state to the Federal Assembly in the Manege. It is clear that after that the Russian Ministry of Defense will not report any failures, ”Academician Arbatov believes.
But here's the question, recalls the source of the publication, this system is strategic cruise missile with a nuclear engine has been developed both here and in the United States since the 1950s. During the tests, there were a lot of failures. The Americans eventually abandoned such a project or shelved the idea for a very long time until new technologies made it possible to do something significant in this area.
“It is very difficult to judge what we have now,” Alexei Arbatov believes. As always, there are no details. Which power point on this rocket, which is used as a working fluid, there is no reliable information.”
According to the expert, the Americans always report in great detail about their systems when they receive the necessary funding for their development, but our system is completely different, so any information about this project is closed.
“The only thing I can say that I personally have very big doubts about is the need for such a weapon system in principle,” Academician Arbatov told Gazeta.Ru.
In particular, he asks questions about how to test a product in the presence of a nuclear engine or what will happen to the reactor if the missile falls, because "a strategic cruise missile is not an unmanned aerial vehicle, and you cannot return it to the departure airfield."
“In terms of cost and effectiveness, these promising developments do not arouse great enthusiasm among those who are used to looking at cost and soberly assessing efficiency compared to existing and promising alternative systems that can perform the same tasks as a nuclear-powered strategic cruise missile, ”concludes Academician Arbatov.
