Anti-aircraft missile system ZRK C200. Anti-aircraft missile system ZRK C200 Testing and operation

Start SAM S-200 / Photo: topwar.ru

The Soviet S-200 anti-aircraft missile system changed the tactics of aviation operations and forced it to abandon high flight altitudes. She became " long arm"and" fence ", which stopped the free flights of strategic reconnaissance aircraft SR-71 over the territories of the USSR and the Warsaw Pact countries.

The appearance of the American high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft Lockheed SR -71 ("Blackbird" - Blackbird, Black Bird) marked new stage confrontation between air attack means (AOS) and air defense(air defense). high speed(up to 3.2 M) and the altitude (about 30 km) of the flight allowed him to evade existing anti-aircraft missiles and conduct reconnaissance over the territories covered by them. In the period 1964-1998. SR -71 was used for reconnaissance of the territory of Vietnam and North Korea, the Middle East region (Egypt, Jordan, Syria), the USSR and Cuba.

But with the advent of the Soviet anti-aircraft missile system (ZRS) S-200 ( SA-5, Gammon according to NATO classification) long-range (more than 100 km) action was the beginning of the decline of the era SR -71 for its intended purpose. During his service in the Far East, the author witnessed repeated (8-12 times a day) violations of the USSR air border by this aircraft. But as soon as the S-200 was put on alert, SR -71 s maximum speed and by climbing immediately left the missile launch zone of this anti-aircraft system.

Strategic reconnaissance aircraft SR-71 / Photo: www.nasa.gov

The S-200 air defense system became the reason for the emergence of new forms and methods of action for the aviation of the NATO countries, which, in solving combat missions, began to actively use medium (1000-4000 m), low (200-1000 m) and extremely low (up to 200 m) flight altitudes. And this automatically expanded the capabilities of low-altitude air defense systems to combat air targets. Subsequent events with the use of the S-200 showed that attempts to deceive Gammon (deception, ham translated from English) are doomed to failure.

Another reason for the creation of the S-200 was the adoption oflong-range airborne weapon type cruise missiles Blue Steel and Hound Dog. This reduced the effectiveness of the existing air defense system of the USSR, especially in the Northern and Far Eastern strategic aerospace directions.

Creation of the S-200 air defense system

These prerequisites became the basis for setting the task (Decree No. 608-293 of 06/04/1958) to create a long-range air defense system S-200. According to the tactical and technical specifications, this should be a multi-channel air defense system capable of hitting targets such as Il-28 and MiG-19, operating at speeds up to 1000 m / s in the altitude range of 5-35 km, at a distance of up to 200 km with a probability of 0.7- 0.8. The lead developers of the S-200 system and anti-aircraft guided missile (SAM) were KB-1 GKRE (NPO Almaz) and OKB-2 GKAT (MKB Fakel).

After a deep study, KB-1 presented the draft air defense system in two versions. The first involved the creation of a single-channel S-200 with combined missile guidance and a range of 150 km, and the second - a five-channel S-200A air defense system with a continuous-wave radar, a semi-active missile guidance system and pre-launch target acquisition. This option, based on the principle of "shot - forgot" and was approved (Decree No. 735-338 of 07/04/1959).

The air defense system was supposed to ensure the defeat of targets such as Il-28 and MiG-17 with a homing missile V-650 at a distance of 90-100 km and 60-65 km, respectively.

Il-28 front-line bomber / Photo: s00.yaplakal.com

In 1960, the task was set to increase the range of destruction of supersonic (subsonic) targets to 110-120 (160-180) km. In 1967, the S-200A Angara air defense system with a launch range of 160 km against a Tu-16 target was put into service. As a result, mixed brigades began to form as part of the S-200 air defense system and the S-125 air defense system. According to the United States, in 1970 the number of S-200 air defense launchers reached 1100, in 1975 - 1600, in 1980 - 1900, and in the middle of 1980 - about 2030 units. Practically, all the most important objects of the country were covered by S-200 air defense systems.

Composition and capabilities

ZRS S-200A("Angara") - an all-weather multi-channel transportable long-range air defense system that ensured the defeat of various manned and unmanned air targets at speeds up to 1200 m / s at altitudes of 300-40000 m and ranges up to 300 km in conditions of intense electronic countermeasures. It was a combination of system-wide means and a group of anti-aircraft divisions (firing channels). The latter included radio engineering (target illumination radar - antenna post, hardware cabin and power conversion cabin) and launch (launch control cabin, 6 launchers, 12 charging machines and power supplies) batteries.

ZRS S-200 "Angara" / Photo: www.armyrecognition.com

The main elements of the S-200 air defense system were command post(KP), target illumination radar (RPC), starting position (SP), and a two-stage anti-aircraft missile.

KP in cooperation with a higher command post, he solved the tasks of receiving and distributing targets between firing channels. To expand the capabilities for detecting KP targets, surveillance radars of the P-14A "Defence" or P-14F "Van" type were attached. In difficult weather climatic conditions radar facilities S-200s were placed under special shelters. ROC was a station of continuous radiation, which provided irradiation of the target and guidance of missiles on it by the reflected signal, as well as obtaining information about the target and the missile in flight. The two-mode ROC made it possible to capture the target and switch to its auto-tracking by the homing head (GOS) of the missile at a distance of up to 410 km.

ROC SAM S-200 / Photo: topwar.ru

joint venture (2-5 in the division) serves to prepare and launch missiles at the target. It consists of six launchers (PU), 12 charging machines, a launch control cabin and a power supply system. A typical SP is a circular platform system for six launchers with a platform for the launch control cabin in the center, power supplies and a rail system for charging vehicles (two for each launcher). Launch control cabin provides automated control of the readiness and launch of six missiles in no more than 60 s. transported PU with a constant launch angle is designed for missile placement, automatic loading, pre-launch preparation, missile guidance and launch. Loading machine provided automatic reloading of the launcher with a rocket.

Scheme of the starting position of the S-200 air defense system / Photo: topwar.ru

Two-stage missiles (5V21, 5V28, 5V28M) is made according to the normal aerodynamic scheme with four delta wings of high elongation and a semi-active seeker. The first stage consists of 4 solid propellant boosters, which are installed between the wings of the second stage. The second (propulsion) stage of the rocket is made in the form of a number of hardware compartments with a liquid-propellant two-component rocket engine. A semi-active seeker is located in the head compartment, which begins to work 17 seconds after the command is issued to prepare the missile for launch. To hit the target, the missile defense system is equipped with a high-explosive fragmentation warhead - 91 kg of explosive, 37,000 spherical submunitions of two types (weighing 3.5 g and 2 g) and a radio fuse. When a warhead is detonated, the fragments scatter in a sector of 120 degrees. at speeds up to 1700 m/s.

SAM 5V21 on PU / Photo topwar.ru

ZRS S-200V("Vega") and S-200D("Dubna") - modernized versions of this system with an increased range and height of hitting targets, as well as a modified 5V28M missile.

The main characteristics of the S-200 air defense system

Combat use and deliveries abroad

The combat "baptism" of the S-200VE air defense system received in Syria (1982), where it shot down an Israeli E-2C Hawkeye early warning aircraft at a distance of 180 km. After that, the American carrier fleet immediately withdrew from the coast of Lebanon. In March 1986, the S-200 division on duty near the city of Sirte (Libya) shot down three carrier-based attack aircraft of the A-6 and A-7 types of the American aircraft carrier Saratoga with successive launches of three missiles. In 1983 (September 1), a South Korean Boeing-747 that violated the border of the USSR was shot down by an S-200 missile. In 2001 (October 4), the Ukrainian S-200 air defense system during the exercises mistakenly shot down a Russian Tu-154, which was flying along the Tel Aviv-Novosibirsk route.

Aircraft E-2C Hawkeye / Photo: www.navy.mil

With the entry into service of the S-300P air defense system by the beginning of 2000. The Angara and Vega air defense systems were completely withdrawn from service. On the basis of the 5V28 anti-aircraft missile of the S-200V complex, the Kholod hypersonic flying laboratory was created to test hypersonic ramjet engines (scramjet engines). On November 27, 1991, at the test site in Kazakhstan, for the first time in the world, a hypersonic ramjet was tested in flight, which exceeded the speed of sound by 6 times at an altitude of 35 km.

Flying layuoratoriya "Cold" / Photo: topwar.ru

Since the early 1980s S-200V air defense systems under the symbol S-200VE "Vega-E" were supplied to the GDR, Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Hungary, North Korea, Libya, Syria and Iran. In total, the S-200 air defense system, in addition to the USSR, was put into service with the armies of 11 foreign countries.

Mikhail BORODULIN

The bibliography on the S-200 family of systems already includes several works. G. Kisunko's book "Secret Zone" tells the background of the creation of the S-200 system. The progress of work on this system (mainly in terms of radio equipment and their developers) is covered in the book by K. Alperovich "This is how a new weapon was born." Creation of the S-200 family of systems and some related R&D projects, as well as a brief description of means of systems, are presented in the journal "Technology and Armament" by a group of authors (S. Ganin, V. Korovin, A. Karpenko, R. Angelsky). In less detail, the development of systems is described in the book by M. Pervov "Aircraft missile systems of the Air Defense Forces of the country." In two recent works used fragments of drafts of the proposed article. The characteristics of the S-200 family of systems are given in the Anti-Aircraft Missile Systems handbook.

In the proposed article, I would like to briefly outline the progress of the creation of the S-200 family of systems and related R&D, as well as the ups and downs that arose in the process of these works, from the point of view of an officer of the ordering department.

I would also like to recall the officers of the Ministry of Defense who actively participated in these works.

I would be grateful for critical comments and additions.

CUSTOMER

After the liquidation of the Third Main Directorate under the Council of Ministers of the USSR (TSU), and then Glavspetsmash and Glavspetsmontazh, the 4th Main Directorate of the Ministry of Defense (4 GU MO) formed in 1955 became the customer for anti-aircraft missile weapons for the country's Air Defense Forces.

The head of the 4th Main Directorate of the Moscow Region at the time under review was the illustrious pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union, Lieutenant General of Aviation (later Colonel General of Aviation) G. Baidukov. He was a smart, demanding and attentive to his subordinates boss, a principled leader who skillfully used his apparatus and trusted him. He enjoyed great authority not only among his subordinates, but also among the developers of military equipment.

Colonel (later Colonel-General) K. Trusov was the deputy head of the 4th Main Directorate of the Moscow Region for research and development work at that time. Possessing deep technical knowledge, engineering intuition and great organizational skills, he skillfully led the scientific and technical policy of the 4th State Department of the Moscow Region. Later he was replaced by Major General (later Lieutenant General) M. Mymrin.

Research and development work on this topic was carried out by the 1st Department of the 4th Main Directorate of the Moscow Region. The department included several departments: an integrated department dealing with system-wide issues; ground radio technical means of systems; rocket; ground equipment for starting and technical positions; automation systems for control of ZRV systems.

I arrived in this department in 1958 and was assigned to the complex department.

The head of the 1st department at that time was Major General (later Lieutenant General) G. Legasov. In 1963 he was replaced by major general (later lieutenant general) M. Vorobiev. Major General B. Puga (in 1961 he was replaced by Colonel I. Ovseenko) and Colonel (later Major General) K. Lendzian were deputy heads of the department.

The head of the 1st department of the 1st department, where I was appointed, was Colonel N. Malkov, and his deputy Yu. Vermishev.

Unlike TSU, Department 1, which was considered the customer of R&D and R&D, did not then have not only administrative, but also economic levers to influence their developers. The fact is that all research and development work on the subject of management at that time was carried out at the expense of the state budget, allocated by the relevant State Committees for the defense industries of technology and not controlled by the customer.

Under these conditions, the only way to influence the customer on the developers was their "persistent" persuasion with a benevolent attitude towards them. And the inevitable disagreements between the customer (who expressed the interests of the troops) and the developers that arose when setting the R&D and when resolving drinking in the process of their implementation were resolved through a compromise. The task of the 4 GU MO was to achieve such a compromise, in which the requirements of the troops would be met as much as possible and the real capabilities of the developers would be taken into account. Naturally, this, unfortunately, did not always work out.

As a rule, a compromise was reached at the level of the customer-developer. If this failed, the decision was made at the level of the customer-ministry, and sometimes in the Commission of the Council of Ministers of the USSR on military-industrial issues (VPK). Here it is necessary to note the great assistance in the work of the 1st Directorate of the 4th Main Directorate of the Ministry of Defense for the S-200 and S-200V systems, which was provided by the head of the military-industrial complex sector N. Detinov and the sector employee S. Nyushenkov. However, in individual cases disagreements came to the fore high level and here, unfortunately (as will be seen below), decisions were sometimes not in favor of the customer.

The department was assisted in its work by military representations subordinate to it at the Research Institute and Design Bureau. They laid the bulk of the work on control over the development of documentation, the manufacture of prototypes of equipment and tools, and their testing at enterprises. The military representations at the parent development organizations (for the system, rocket and ground equipment of launch and technical positions) were also the head ones and coordinated the work of military representations at their allied organizations.

Military representations were widely involved in field tests of equipment. In the operational subordination of the department were groups in military representations at serial plants, design bureaus, which participated in the development of prototypes of apparatus and equipment, as well as specially created groups for the period of mastering the production of new equipment. (Basically, all the military representations of the 4th Main Directorate of the Ministry of Defense were transferred from TSU, where the military representations were led by Colonel (later Colonel-General) N. Chervyakov, who later became the first deputy head of the 4th Main Directorate of the Moscow Region).

The management also relied on the relevant divisions of the landfills, exercising technical management of their work and taking direct part in it, as well as on the profile management of NII-2 MO.

It also helped in the work that the backbone of the administration was made up of officers who came from the test site and TSU and already had experience working with industry.

This is how the 1st Directorate worked, making great efforts to ensure the creation of weapons samples that would meet the specified requirements as much as possible. And it should be noted that the authority of management in the industry was quite high and it managed to achieve a lot in its work.

SYSTEM S-200 ("ANGARA")

By the time I was connected in the 1st department of the 1st directorate of the 4th Main Directorate of the Moscow Region to work on the S-200 system (autumn 1958), since 1955, the development of a stationary anti-aircraft missile system had been going on long range"Dal" (in some way an analogue of the American system "Bomark"), the S-200 system was set and the TTZ was agreed on it.

The long-range mobile anti-aircraft missile system S-200 was set by the Decree of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR in June 1958. The system was supposed to intercept strategic bombers before they dropped tactical and anti-radar air-to-ground missiles, as well as strategic air-to-ground cruise missiles they dropped (of the Hound Dog and Blue Steel types).

The interception of targets with an EPR corresponding to the Il-28 aircraft flying at speeds up to 3500 km / h at altitudes from 5 to 35 km was to be provided at a distance of up to 150 km, and high-speed targets with an EPR corresponding to the MiG-19 aircraft (similar to the Hound Doga" and "Blue Steel") at a distance of up to 80–100 km.

The head organizations were identified: for the system as a whole and for ground-based radio equipment - KB-1 GKRE, for the rocket - OKB-2 GKAT, for ground equipment of the launch and technical positions - TsKB 34 GKOT; as well as developers of system tools and their main elements. A. Raspletin was appointed the general designer of the system, and P. Grushin was appointed the general designer of the rocket. A prototype system must be submitted for joint testing in the III quarter. 1961.

The S-200 system was supposed to be an alternative to Dali. KB-1 took on this prestigious job, already having experience in developing anti-aircraft missile systems (S-25 and S-75) and, together with the State Committee for Electrical Engineering, believing that the S. Lavochkin missile design bureau, which does not have such experience, with the creation of Dali won't do it. The customer did not mind, proceeding from the principle - "let all the flowers bloom" (especially since not for his money) - and it will be seen there. As a result, after the first successful launches of the S-200 system:

"In one sovereign document

Such a detail emerged -

In connection with the success of the S-200,

It's time to shut down the Dal system.

So, the S-200 was given, and the TTZ for it was agreed. The customer was expecting a preliminary design of the system.

However, a deeper study of the KB-1 of the given system showed that the technical solutions of its construction are rather difficult to implement within the prescribed period.

And at the end of 1958, the 4th Main Directorate of the Moscow Region received (not previously envisaged) an advance project consisting of two parts.

The first considered the system set by the June 1958 decree. This is a single-channel single-purpose mobile system with separate target and missile tracking by various locators (as in the C-175 system that did not advance further), but not with a command, but with a combined method of aiming a missile at a target. First, command guidance is carried out, and on final stage- semi-active homing. In this case, the acquisition of the target by the homing head is carried out by the operator on the ground. To do this, the signal from the target from the homing head is transmitted to the ground.

In the second part, a completely different long-range mobile system was proposed, called the S-200A system, and reminiscent of English system"Bloodhound-2". In this system, it was proposed to use up to 5 single-purpose firing channels, combined by a command post with a sector radar for clarification of the situation (SRS) and a single digital computer for the complex. In the firing channel, to guide the missile to the target, it was proposed to use semi-active homing with target acquisition by the homing head on the launcher before the launch of the missile.

The homing of the rocket was carried out along energetically favorable trajectories. Target tracking and its illumination in the firing channel were proposed to be carried out by a special radar (RPC) using continuous monochromatic or phase-code-domain-shifted radiation. To aim a missile equipped with a special charge at a target, it was proposed to use the command method, for which a special missile tracking station was introduced into each five-channel complex.

At the conclusion of the preliminary project, it was proposed to switch to the development of the S-200A system.

The proposed S-200A system had some advantages over the given S-200 system: it included up to 5 firing channels; its firing channel was simpler, since it worked on the principle of “fire and forget” (it did not require the missile to be accompanied and the reference signal for the homing head to be transmitted to it), it could fire up to 6 missiles at a target and ensured the interception of targets with an EPR equivalent to 1/3 EPR of the MiG-17 aircraft.

However, the system also had significant shortcomings.

Firstly, the need to provide small angles of cover for the homing heads located on the launchers (i.e., for the launching positions of the system), in order to ensure the realization of the system's capabilities in terms of firing range. And according to the regime requirements of that time, the S-200 system should be placed secretly: in a wooded area, in the folds of the relief, etc. It was practically impossible to provide small cover angles for the launch positions of the proposed system in all directions under such conditions.

Secondly, due to the separation of the ROC and the launch, the area alienated to the position of the system increased, which was very painful for the Ministry of Defense.

Thirdly, the range of the system was reduced.

And, finally, the rejection of combined guidance is a step backwards.

After considering the preliminary project 4, the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Defense spoke out against the proposed version of the system. The meeting in the military-industrial complex did not produce results. The issue was discussed at the Defense Council.

In the certificate prepared by the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Defense Forces of the country for the Defense Council, nothing was said about the proposal of KB-1 to change the S-200 system. Therefore, when this question arose at the Council, the Commander-in-Chief, having no counterarguments, agreed with the transition to the S-200A system.

In July 1959, the Decree of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR was issued, clarifying the above-mentioned Decree of June 1958 only in terms of building the system and changing its characteristics.

So, high-speed targets with the EPR of the Il-28 aircraft should be intercepted already at ranges up to 90-100 km, with the EPR of the MiG-17 aircraft - at ranges up to 60-65 km, and with an EPR equal to the EPR of 1/3 of the MiG-17 - at ranges up to 40–50 km.

In this Decree, the S-200A system lost the letter “A” and acquired its former name, and it was also ordered to make an appropriate clarification of the previously approved TTZ for the S-200 system. The TTZ was refined, the altitude-speed characteristics of the targets it specified in it did not lose their relevance during the entire time the system was in service with the troops.

SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT

In January 1960, a draft design of the new S-200 was released.

The draft design provided for the following composition of the system:

- a firing complex, including: a command post, with a radar for clarification of the situation (SRS), a digital computer, up to 5 firing channels and a power supply system closing on it. Each channel included a target illumination radar (RPC) and a starting position with 6 launchers, 12 loading machines and a launch preparation cabin;

- a two-stage rocket with a liquid-propellant rocket engine on the second stage and with 4 side solid propellant engines of the first stage;

- a technical position that serves to assemble rockets, prepare them for launch and store them.

The radio-electronic equipment of the system was built on lamp and semiconductor circuits. The widespread use of digital technology was envisaged.

The fire complex did not have its own (autonomous) target designation means and had to receive target designation from automated control systems (ACS). To interface the command post of the firing complex with the command post of the higher ACS, a special digital line was provided. According to it, target designation for 5 targets and command information should be sent to the command post of the complex, and information about the state and combat operations of the firing complex from the command post of the complex to the command post of the automated control system.

At the stage of preliminary design, the customer, KB-1 and OKB-2 decided to abandon the command guidance of a rocket with a special charge in favor of homing.

The preliminary design was considered by the 4th Main Directorate of the Ministry of Defense with the involvement of interested military organizations. A positive conclusion on the preliminary design was approved by the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Defense Forces, Marshal of the Soviet Union S. Biryuzov. The conclusion contained a number of comments and proposals, including proposals for the use of a phased antenna array instead of a reflector antenna in SRS and for reducing the area alienated by the system. Some of the suggestions and comments were accepted by the developers. Even an addition to the preliminary design for a phased array radar was released.

Together with the developers, the management provided the initial data for the development of a standard project for the engineering equipment of the system position. The Leningrad branch of the TsPI-20 MO was determined as the developer of the standard project, V.Filippov was the chief engineer of the project.

The system was built on new technical principles, previously unfamiliar to developers. It took time to master them. The development of the homing head of the missile was especially difficult. Therefore, the work lagged behind the deadlines. In addition, the deadline for submitting the system for joint testing, established by the June 1958 decree, was not specified by the lead developers in the 1959 decree, which made it obviously unrealistic. The management of KB-1 understood this, but preferred the so-called "mobilizing" period in order to "appease" the customer and not "discourage" subcontractors.

To reduce the system development time, the parent organization KB-1 took the path of its simplification.

Firstly, KB-1 proposed to stop the development of SART. As mentioned above, the S-200 fire system did not have its own (autonomous) target designation means and had to receive it from the outside. In the TTZ, two automated control systems were recorded for the system, which were supposed to control the firing systems and give them target designation. The TTZ also indicated the accuracy (quite high) of this target designation. With a rougher target designation, it was refined to the required values ​​using the SART. When targeting with the accuracy specified in the TTZ, the target with a high probability hit directly into the ROC beam. Therefore, in order to simplify the design and reduce the target acquisition time, the ROC was developed (unlike the Bloodhound-2) without an angular target search.

At the time under review, the development of one of the automated control systems recorded in the TTZ for the S-200 system was discontinued. The second automated control system was designed as a piece of bulky stationary system, which could not become the main control system for the S-200 firing systems. And as later life showed, the target designation accuracy recorded in the TTZ on the S-200 was provided by this system only in a relatively simple air situation.

The accuracy of target designation of mass advanced automated control systems that could control S-200 fire systems was expected to be lower than that required for direct reliable target designation of the ROC, and needed to be clarified with the help of radar. Consequently, the radar was fundamentally necessary for the fire complex of the S-200 system, and the customer believed that it was impossible to stop its development.

Since KB-1 insisted on its proposal, to consider this issue, at the direction of the Commander-in-Chief, a commission was created under the chairmanship of the commander of the air defense anti-aircraft missile forces, General K. Kazakov. The commission supported the proposal of the 4th GU MO.

At that time, a stationary sector radar "Shpaga" was assigned to the air defense radio engineering troops, and KB-1 achieved that by the Decree of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR, the "Shpaga" radar was included instead of the RLO in the S-200 system. However, upon approval of the TTZ for this radar by the First Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Air Defense Forces of the country, according to the ultimatum demand of the developers of the country's radar field, its use in the S-200 system was excluded. The question of target designation for the S-200 system remained open.

Secondly, KB-1 decided to exclude from the system a single digital machine developed on its own. Instead, it was proposed to include in the composition of each ROC the on-board digital computer (BTsVM) "Plamya-VT" already developed by MNIIP SCRE for aviation. This deprived the command post of the system of the ability to perform automatic target distribution between the firing channels and solve a number of other tasks in preparing the firing. However, realizing that the development of a single digital computer on its own at KB-1 would significantly delay the development of the system, the 4th Main Directorate of the Moscow Region agreed with the use of the Plamya-VT on-board computer and began to contribute to the solution of this problem. The onboard computer was modified with the participation of KB-1 and subsequently all three of its successive modifications: "Flame-K", "Flame-KM" and "Flame-KV" (in the S-200V system) showed themselves well in operation.

TEST PREPARATION

Based on the characteristics of the system, it was decided to test it at the 10th state research test site (GNIIP-10 - Saryshagan). This test site was built to carry out anti-missile defense work. His first chief was Major General (later Lieutenant General) S. Dorokhov. The first chief engineer was Colonel (later Major General) M. Trofimchuk.

Later, the test site began to be used for testing anti-aircraft missile systems of anti-aircraft defense, which could not be tested in the "Special Directorate No. 3". For this purpose, an anti-aircraft defense test center was created at GNIIP-10 - site No. 35.

The site was located approximately 100 kilometers from the central, administrative part of the test site (site No. 40) and had barracks, hotels, canteens and other outbuildings necessary for testing. The head of the center then was Colonel Toptygin, and then Colonel Gul.

In the center of the anti-aircraft defense of the range at that time, tests of the S-75M and Dal anti-aircraft missile systems were already being carried out. The firing system of the S-200 system was also to be tested on this site.

Tests directly on the means of fire complexes of the systems were carried out by teams that were part of the test center. The analysis of the test results and the preparation of reports were carried out by the second department of the test site, located at site No. 40.

The department included a number of thematic departments (for systems and their fixed assets). The head of the department at that time was Colonel I. Dikiy (later Colonel B. Bolshakov).

A new division, the fourth team, was created as part of the test center to test the firing system of the S-200 system. Lieutenant Colonel V. Kuznetsov was appointed its first head. Basically, it was staffed by young officers - graduates of military educational institutions. In the process of factory tests under the guidance of developers, they had to master the new technology to perfection, so that they could continue to work independently during joint tests. To test the S-200 system, officers were assigned in the second department, who, first, together with the developers, and then along with them and independently, had to analyze the test results, their methodological support, as well as the necessary mathematical modeling.

By order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Defense Forces of the country, a commission was appointed to select the position at which tests of the firing system of the system should be carried out. The commission chose a position with minimal cover angles, located at some distance from the positions of the S-75M and Dal systems.

Being at the range, A. Raspletin and B. Puga decided to refuse the choice of the commission, and proposed to place the S-200 firing system near the position of the S-75M firing system. This brought the S-200 position closer to the residential area of ​​site No. 35 and thus allowed to reduce road construction. Although this position had greater angles of cover than that chosen by the commission, and was located on a gentle slope of a hill, the proposal was accepted and the corresponding initial data were given to the designers of the engineering equipment of the polygon position.

To assemble the S-200 missiles, test them and prepare them for launch, a special production line staffed by officers was organized at the technical position of the test site (site No. 7).

Most of the officers assigned to test the S-200 system were sent to industrial enterprises for training.

Since an ordinary corner target is not suitable for the ROC, KB-1 developed a special target simulator - CIC, which provided a shift of the ROC signal reflected from it to the "Doppler" frequency necessary for its operation.

First, the CIC was parachuted from the aircraft, and then it was thrown to the required height with the help of a special rocket and then descended by parachute.

FACTORY TESTS

In May 1961, a mock-up sample of the Russian Orthodox Church and mock-up samples of homing heads installed in special cabins arrived at the test site. Their successful testing marked the beginning of factory testing of the S-200 system. In the same year, construction work was completed at the position of the firing complex and a prototype of a single-channel firing complex was delivered to the test site.

For target designation, KB-1 was paired with the command post of the P-14 (“Lena”) radar. This is a stationary two-coordinate station of a circular survey with low accuracy characteristics. To ensure the use of the P-14 as a means of target designation, the complex needed to introduce a cumbersome mechanical angular target search into the ROC. Along with the conical scanning of the antenna system (due to the low accuracy of the P-14), it was necessary to organize a sector search - line-by-line viewing of a large spatial angle (azimuth - elevation) due to the lack of information on the elevation angle of the target in the P-14.

Both modes of angular search were carried out by swinging the entire antenna post in azimuth and swinging the entire antenna system in elevation, although the azimuth and elevation drives of the ROC were designed without taking into account these additional loads.

The increased time spent on capturing the ROC target due to the angular search (especially the sector search) could significantly limit the implementation of the combat capabilities of the S-200 complex - especially for small-sized high-altitude and high-speed targets. Therefore, the P-14 radar was adopted only for the test period of the S-200, since there were no more suitable radars then.

Autonomous tests of ground-based radio equipment of the S-200 firing system began in the fall of 1961 and were successfully completed in the spring of 1962. This allowed them to start mass production. The first weapons of the firing channel made at serial factories were delivered directly to the firing range. Their docking was attended by officers of a special military unit created for docking serial complexes - a docking base, from which the equipment will have to go to the troops. Thus, a two-channel firing system S-200 was formed at the training ground.

Autonomous tests of the V-860 missile began even before the arrival of the first prototype of the firing channel at the test site. These were missile launch tests, which were carried out from a mock launcher located at the position of the S-75M complex.

Then the tests continued with a prototype launcher. The illumination of the target was carried out both from the prototype and the prototype of the ROC. Autonomous tests of the rocket ended only in the summer of 1962. (After the first successful launch, when the homing head, flying as a "passenger", kept the target).

To test the radio fuse, a wooden tower was built at the site of the complex, on which a homing head with a radio fuse and control equipment were placed. It should be noted that in the V-860 rocket, the radio fuse was just an additional unit to the homing head, and only the affiliation of their developers to different departments gave reason to the head developers not to consider them as a single device. Checking the operation of the radio fuse was carried out by its overflights (with flights of the aircraft at extremely small distances from the head) by an experienced test pilot of KB-1 Pavlov.

During the autonomous tests of the means, the deadline for presenting the system for joint tests, established by the Decree of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR, has passed. At a meeting on this issue in military-industrial complex the party proposed a real time for presenting the system, but Raspletin insisted on an earlier, “mobilizing” date, which ended up in the Decree.

Life has shown that, as we expected, it was thwarted. The "payment" of the developers for the postponement was an increase in the maximum firing range due to the use of the initial section of the passive flight of the rocket. The missile became known as V-860P.

After the completion of the autonomous tests of the means, complex factory tests of the system began. The ROC was docked with the launch and ground, flight and firing tests of the system began. Shooting was carried out at target aircraft, cruise missiles-targets (KRM) and CITs.

Due to the complexity of the problems that arose during the development of the rocket (especially its homing head), the tests were difficult. The main shortcomings of the system, identified by that time in the process of factory testing, were discussed at a meeting with the chairman of the SCRE V. Kalmykov. It was attended by: Commander-in-Chief of the Air Defense Forces of the country, Marshal of Aviation V. Sudets, Head of the 4th Main Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, Colonel-General G. Baidukov, Commander of the Air Defense Forces of the country, Lieutenant General M. Uvarov, A. Raspletin, P. Grushin and others. The comments prepared by the 1st Directorate of the 4th Main Directorate of the Ministry of Defense were instructed to report to me.

All remarks, except for the last one, were accepted (to one degree or another) by Kalmykov and Raspletin. The latter (associated with the use of a traveling wave lamp in the target illumination radar) was met with hostility. I was bewildered by the flurry of objections that fell upon me and could not competently object to my opponents.

A few days later I met with A. Basistov on business. He was present at this meeting (and was "eloquently" silent). Basistov said that the day before he had been to Raspletin, who, among other things, touched upon the unfortunate issue mentioned above, raised at the meeting. The general designer said: “But he (i.e. I) was right!”. However, a practical solution to this issue (as well as some others raised at the meeting with Kalmykov), unfortunately, was not found.

To get acquainted with the course of factory tests of the system, the chairman of the military-industrial complex L. Smirnov flew to the test site. He was accompanied by V. Kalmykov, V. Sudets, K. Trusov, M. Uvarov, A. Raspletin, P. Grushin and a number of other persons. After this trip, the military-industrial complex decided to speed up work on the S-200 system.

However main reason the slow progress of factory tests remained the difficulty of working out the homing head of the rocket. And then KB-1 made the right - "strategic" decision: along with fine-tuning the test sample of the head, necessary to continue testing the system, proceed to develop a new, more advanced sample.

Despite the fact that comprehensive factory tests had not yet been properly completed, the head state committee of the SCRE insisted on the transition to joint tests - a new deadline for submitting the system for joint tests was expiring.

By decision of the military-industrial complex, a very representative commission was appointed to conduct joint tests:

Chairman of the Commission - First Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Air Defense Forces of the country, Hero of the Soviet Union, Colonel General of Aviation G. Zimin;

vice chairmen:

commander of the air defense air defense forces of the country - lieutenant general of artillery M. Uvarov,

SCRE Deputy Chairman - V. Sharshavin,

Deputy Chairman of the SCAT - F. Gerasimov;

technical test leaders:

general designer of the system - A. Raspletin,

general designer of the rocket - P. Grushin;

members of the commission from the Ministry of Defense:

Lieutenant General G. Legasov; major generals - M. Voronov, A. Mikhailov, M. Trofimchuk; colonels - M. Borodulin, I. Dikiy, I. Ilyukhin, V. Suslov, H. Fedotenkov;

members of the commission from industry:

A. Tselibeev, B. Bunkin, A. Basistov, B. Bochkov, H. Rastorguev, I. Devyatkin, F. Khovratovich, G. Bondzik.

It should be noted that Zimin, after his appointment as First Deputy Commander-in-Chief, devoted a lot of time to studying the S-200 system: he listened to the reports of the relevant officers of the 1st department of the 4th Main Directorate of the Ministry of Defense and asked them a large number of questions.

4, the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Defense did not agree to the transition to joint tests, believing that the missile should be tested at factory tests, where the developers are the owners. The purpose of joint testing is to assess the compliance of the TTZ system, and not to refine its means. However, under pressure from industry at a meeting in the military-industrial complex, contrary to the opinion of the 4th Main Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, the Commander-in-Chief agreed to the transition to joint tests after several firings. In total, 91 launches were carried out before the start of joint tests.

"REFORM" 1 DEPARTMENT

At the beginning of factory testing of the S-200, a "reform" of management was ripe. At that time, it was working simultaneously on five systems of anti-aircraft guided missile weapons: the S-25, S-75, C-125 systems were modernized; new ones were created - Dal and S-200. The head of the 1st (systems) department could not cover the solution of complex issues for all five systems, and the leading systems engineers (with the rank of senior engineer of the department) could not effectively influence the heads of industry departments in the interests of resolving systemic issues.

It was decided to organize three system departments (first, second, fifth), each of which was entrusted with solving systemic issues for only two systems and their ground radio facilities. Two departments remained industry-specific: one (third) - for missiles of all systems, and the other (fourth) - for launch and technical positions of all systems.

The second department became the head department for all modifications of the S-75 system and for the S-200 system. G. Zagustin was appointed head of the department, and I was his deputy. Zagustin worked on the S-75 systems, and I, as in the first department, on the S-200 system. The solution of systemic issues on the S-200 (and later on the S-200V) was up to me. When I was appointed head of the second department, N. Kositsyn became my deputy.

A lot of work on supervising the development of S-200 systems and its modifications was done (in different time) officers of the second department - V. Andreev, A. Ippolitov, A. Kadykov, P. Kapustin, I. Lisovsky, M. Palatov, A. Popleteev, A. Ryabov, D. Ryakhovsky; chiefs and officers of the third and fourth departments - V. Kocherov, I. Krasnov, Yu. Kirko, I. Koshevoy, N. Malyukov, F.F. Fedorov, L. Miroshkin, F.I. Fedorov, V. Suslov, N. Barmin, I. Solntsev, P. Butylkin, R. Vasiliev, V. Loskutnikov, K. Okhrimenko and others.

JOINT TESTS

Joint trials began in February 1964. Their program included: assessment of the operational documentation of the system, ground tests of means, overflights of the firing complex with a missile, firing tests - at various points in the affected area for various types of targets - and assessment of the compliance of the TTZ system.

Since the rank of the commission was quite high, thematic subcommissions were created for practical work, among which the preparation of protocols was distributed according to the points of the program. The agreed protocols were submitted for approval by the commission. The subcommittees included officers of the 4th Main Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, military missions, NII-2, ZRV and the test site, as well as representatives of development organizations. The chairmen of the subcommittees were, as a rule, members of the commission for joint tests.

Test participants flew from Moscow to the test site, first on special flights ordered by the industry. Later, regular special Aeroflot flights were organized, to which custom-made flights were added during the period of mass arrival (or departure). At first, Tu-104 aircraft flew with a landing for refueling in Sverdlovsk, and then - Il-18 aircraft without an intermediate landing.

The generals and officers who flew in for testing settled mainly in the Lux Hotel, two buildings of which were located on the shores of Lake Balkhash. The generals are in Lux-1, and the officers are in Lux-2.

In Lux-1, when the authorities arrived, a dining room was open, which was also used by the inhabitants of Lux-2. The hotel had an open long-distance telephone, and for official conversations with management it was necessary to use "Aesopian" language. So, for example, the question: “Is it possible to send a fed, drunk and inflated Malyukov by train?” meant: “Is it possible to transport a fully fueled and equipped rocket along railway? (Malyukov is the officer leading the rocket).

The developers lived in the houses and hotels of the enterprises and in the hotels of the city.

The firing tests of the system were difficult due to the continued development of the missile and, above all, the 5G22 homing head. Other defects were also found. For example, several starts have been lost due to failures of the onboard current converter, despite various measures being taken after each unsuccessful start for this reason. Eventually, the cause was established and the transducer failures stopped.

When the tests were close to completion, a new misfortune occurred - in the winter of 1965-1966. there were explosions of accelerators on two rockets at the time of their launch. It was necessary to find out the cause of the explosions, take the necessary measures and verify their results. More than six months passed before the completion of joint tests.

The commission rarely met - to review the progress of the tests and approve the protocols for the completed items of the program. The sub-commissions actively worked on the protocols. Some of them were negotiated with lengthy disputes between "military" and "civilian". This was due both to the vagueness of individual TTZ formulations and the complexity of individual checks and different interpretations their results.

Not without curiosities. For example, the meaning of the protocol of one of the subcommittees on the possibility of transporting the ROC by rail was that since it was brought to the landfill, it means that transportation is possible. And it was necessary to evaluate the possibility of transporting the ROC according to certain instructions, with experimental loading onto railway platforms, providing a given cargo size.

Sometimes, despite the efforts of the chairman, the meetings of the commissions were stormy - with loud disputes between individual "military" and "civilian" members of the commission. Disputes arose due to differences in the assessment of the results of some unsuccessful tests, the causes that caused them, and proposals for further work.

Once, a dispute between M. Voronov and A. Raspletin (with a demonstration of party cards) subsided only in the evening at Lux-1 thanks to an impromptu banquet in honor of the newly minted Lenin Prize winners who were at the training ground at that time.

At the insistence of the military part of the commission, the tests were interrupted several times after serious failures, and the system was returned to the developers to eliminate the shortcomings.

The issue of target designation for the S-200 system fire system remained unresolved. There were no automated control systems for anti-aircraft missile systems capable of controlling this complex in the troops. As mentioned above, the P-14 radar, coupled with the command post of the firing complex, could not be used as a regular target designation tool for the complex.

The chairman of the commission for joint tests, on behalf of the military part of the commission and as the first deputy commander-in-chief of the country's air defense forces, said that until acceptable target designation tools for the S-200 firing system are created, military unit the commission will not sign the act, although the system basically corresponds to the TTZ.

The industry prepared the so-called "temporary means of target designation" (VTsU) for the S-200 firing system. They consisted of a new radar complex P-80 ("Altai") consisting of two rangefinders and two altimeters PRV-11, and the combat control center PBU-200 associated with it, created on the basis of the PBU of the existing automated control system by the grouping of S-75-"ASURK" complexes -1".

The AUCU interfaced with the command post of the S-200 firing system and exchanged information with it in the same way as the ACS controlling it would have to do. Of course, the AUCU could not ensure the full use of the combat capabilities of the S-200, but it was the best that could be done at that time. The AUCC provided target designation for the S-200 until it entered the ACS troops, capable of controlling the fire systems of this air defense system.

After testing the AUCC in October 1966 with launches of missiles with a new 5G23 homing head, joint tests were completed. In the course of joint tests (except for ground tests of "system tools and work with documentation"), a large number of overflights of the firing complex with a missile were carried out and 122 launches of V-860P missiles were made.

Of this number, 86 launches were carried out under the program of joint tests (68 missiles allocated for joint tests were not enough, and 18 missiles allocated to expand the combat capabilities of the system had to be used) and 36 launches - under the programs of general designers (when the system was returned to them) .

Combat missiles shot down 38 targets: Tu-16M, MiG-19M, KRM - each with one missile. 5 target aircraft were shot down by a direct hit by "telemetric" (which did not have combat units) missiles, including the MiG-19M target aircraft, the director of active continuous noise interference created by the Liner equipment.

All the protocols were agreed on the points of the program and an act of the commission for joint testing of the S-200 system was prepared.

On November 6, 1966, in KB-1, in the office of the general designer, the commission signed an act in which it recommended that the S-200 system with the AUCC be adopted by the Air Defense Forces of the country.

After the mini-banquet, in the same office, the commission members warmly thanked their chairman G. Zimin for his skillful leadership of the commission's work. We wished him health and success in his new position - the head of the Military Command Academy of the Air Defense Forces of the country. During his service at the academy, G. Zimin was awarded the rank of air marshal, he became a doctor of military sciences, a professor and one of the few first holders of the Order of Zhukov.

Consideration in the military-industrial complex of the issue of adopting the S-200 system into service with the country's Air Defense Forces was short-lived. After completing the discussion on the previous issue, we quickly posted posters around the system. First Deputy 4 GU MO N. Seleznev made brief report. After a single question asked by the Minister of the Shipbuilding Industry B. Butoma, the commission made a positive decision. Having rolled up the posters, we departed home, satisfied with the quick resolution of our issue.

In the Central Committee of the CPSU, the issue of adopting the S-200 system for service was decided even faster. By the appointed time, we brought tubes with posters to the doors of the hall where the meeting was held. However, we were told that the issue had already been considered and resolved positively. So, with unopened tubes, we returned to the main command of the Air Defense Forces.

In 1967, by a decree of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR, the S-200 system with "temporary means of target designation" was adopted by the country's Air Defense Forces. In addition to and clarification of the characteristics specified by the 1959 decree, the decree fixed: the maximum range of destruction of large targets is 160 kilometers, the lower limit of the destruction zone is 1 kilometer.

The S-200 system has significantly increased the combat capabilities of the country's Air Defense Forces, especially against large-sized subsonic, small-sized high-altitude and high-speed targets. The resolution ordered the implementation of work to further improve the system and expand its combat capabilities, and determined incentives for the creation of the S-200 system.

Developers (especially KB-1) received large bonuses, the crumbs of which fell to the Ministry of Defense. A large group of participants in the work (including from the Ministry of Defense) was awarded state awards.

(Then I was surprised to learn that the distribution of awards ("signs" - as they said then) and the drafting of the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR were carried out by the apparatus of the Central Committee of the CPSU. The Presidium of the Supreme Council only issued the decree).

THE SYSTEM IN THE TROOPS

Serial production of the system tools (as mentioned above) began even before the joint tests. Therefore, the first systems delivered to the troops needed to be finalized according to their results. As these works were carried out, the systems became on combat duty.

The first S-200 firing systems deployed among the troops were five-channel. Then (in accordance with the recommendation of the commission for joint testing of the system), the S-200 system began to be used in the so-called "mixed" groups.

They included the so-called "group of divisions" C-200 (command post and 2-3 firing channels) and C-75 and / or C-125 complexes. These were anti-aircraft missile regiments or brigades.

In the army, the C-200 system was practically stationary. All the hardware cabins of the firing complex were placed in shelters, and the launchers with the loading machines were collapsed. Antenna posts, as a rule, were installed on embankments, and their containers were protected by a concrete ring. The antennas themselves, of course, remained open.

The issue of protecting the entire antenna post surfaced in the early 70s. The Minister of Defense of the USSR A. Grechko, when visiting one of the positions of the S-200 system, pointed out that all the means of the firing complex were in shelters or bunded, and the antenna post of the Russian Orthodox Church was sticking out, not protected by anything.

An order followed - to protect the posts from a nuclear strike! The commander of the ZRV immediately sent a corresponding letter to the 4th Main Directorate of the Moscow Region. We replied that the protection of the antenna post during a nuclear strike could only be ensured by special engineering equipment for its position.

This should be a shaft with a lift, on the platform of which an antenna post is installed. If necessary, the post is lowered into the mine.

The ZRV command ordered a project for such equipment for the position of the antenna post. Lenfilial TsPI-20 developed the project, but, of course, things did not go beyond the paper.

The fact is that at the beginning of the money allocated by the ZRV for the equipment of the system positions was not enough even for their initial equipment according to a standard project. Some positions of the troops were first equipped, as best they could, with the so-called "economic method". Having somehow seen such a position, the developers of the standard project stated that such “structures” would not protect, but destroy the equipment.

Over time, the positions of the system were retrofitted in relation to the requirements of a typical project. The exception was the firing systems located on the positions of the Dal systems. A special project of engineering equipment was developed for them.

The troops gradually mastered the system. At first, the comments coming from the units were mainly due to a lack of operating experience and natural equipment failures. Then they appeared on the design and operation of equipment and system tools that required the decisions of developers. The least reliable elements of the system's tools were identified and brought to the attention of the industry.

The S-200 system "served" in the country's air defense forces for a long time and was gradually replaced by its modernization - the S-200B system.

MILITARY PARTICIPANTS

A great contribution to the creation of the S-200 system and its upgrades was made by the officers of the range, who first participated in the tests, and then conducted them themselves.

These are officers of the 4th team of the anti-aircraft defense test center, who served in the most difficult conditions, including: V. Kuznetsov, E. Melik-Adamov, D. Streshnev, E. Hotovitsky, V. Muravyov, V. Shupta, D. Shkolnikov, Yu. Pivkin, V. Yakunin, B. Gots, V. Zhevno, V. Prokofiev, E. Chevyrin, A. Ustimenko, V. Prosvetov, M. Stark and others.

These are officers of the 2nd Directorate of the training ground, including: B. Bolshakov, B. Golubev, M. Rakhmatulin, M. Palatov, V. Doroshenko, A. Popleteev, N. Pishikin, I. Kharchev, A. Potapov, A. Ryabov, V. Zhabchuk, R. Tkachenko, R. Koretsky, M. Zaitsev, E. Smirnov, N. Andreev, V. Medvinsky and others.

These are officers of the technical position of the training ground, including: V. Azarov, G. Rozov, N. Tselousov, V. Gorshkov and others.

These are officers of the aviation division (including A. Tsyganenko), measuring points, a computer center, headquarters and other divisions of the training ground that provided testing of the system.

I mentioned the officers of the 1st Directorate of the 4th Main Directorate of the Moscow Region, who were involved in the S-200 (V, M) systems, above. The organization of serial production and improvements in the troops of these systems was carried out by the 2nd Directorate of the 4th Main Directorate of the Moscow Region, headed by M. Voronov. The polygon operation is supported by the polygon department of the head office headed by A. Maslennikov.

A lot of work was done by the officers of the head military missions headed by N. Yarlykov (KB-1), R. Vannikov (OKB-2), N. Kozobrodov (TsKB-34), including: A. Emelyanov, V. Gurov, G. Dmitriev, E. Rybkin, V. Telyuk, L. Zharov, P. Pinaev and others. It should also be noted that the work a large number military missions that controlled the development, manufacture of prototypes of the system and their elements and participated in their testing, including those led by N. Perevezentsev, N. Nekrasov, N. Kiselev, G. Kalashnikov, Yu. Lopatin and others.

Officers of NII-2 MO contributed to the development and testing of the S-200 system, including N. Fedotenkov, I. Erokhin, E. Fridman, E. Vasiliev, I. Zyuzkov, Yu. Sigov, P. Shlaen, S. Ashmetkov and others. Employees of the institute participated in the development of tasks, in the review of project documents and in testing systems at the test site. The Institute evaluated the combat capabilities of the systems and the methods of their combat use, including the preparation of the Firing Rules.

Significant work was done by officers of the air defense air defense forces of the country, including: Yu. Seredinsky, O. Lyutetsky, Yu. Tikhomirov, R. Smirnov, V. Revkov and others. They actively participated in testing the system at the training ground, defending the interests of the troops in the subcommittees.

Aspired to contribute to the improvement of the C-200 system and the Minsk Higher Engineering Anti-Aircraft Missile School (MVIZRU). The department was engaged in this work, the head of which was T. Shelomentsev. In the early 60s, she proposed a method for indicating the results of the identification of her aircraft, different from that implemented in the Russian Orthodox Church. We provided a test site for testing.

KB-1 refused to participate in the work, and the tests were carried out by Minsk residents together with the test site. The result was negative, and the question died out.

In the late 1960s MVIZRU proposed to use low-frequency oscillations superimposed on the Doppler frequency of the reflected signal from it, which have their own spectrum for each type of target, to recognize the type of targets. With the help of the commander-in-chief, KB-1 was involved in the work, which, with the participation of Minsk residents, manufactured this equipment to isolate this low-frequency spectrum from the signal of the target accompanied by the ROC and use it by an operator or machine gun to recognize the type of target. Unfortunately, this work ended with prototypes of the equipment and a report. The reason for not implementing it is not known to me, since at that time I no longer served in the 4th Main Directorate of the Moscow Region.

So, the officers of the Ministry of Defense made a great contribution to the creation of the S-200 system. First of all, this applies to the test officers of the range, who worked hard and selflessly in difficult climatic and living conditions in the presence of numerous interfering factors, both objective and subjective. In the process of developing, manufacturing and testing the means of the system and the system as a whole, officers of the Ministry of Defense contributed to an objective assessment of the characteristics of the system and issued a number of proposals for its combat use and further improvement.

It should be noted that the choice of surnames in this subsection is somewhat subjective, and I would be grateful for suggestions for clarification.

SYSTEM S-200V "VEGA"

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH WORK "VEGA"

Even during the factory tests of the S-200 system at the NII-108GKRE, the research work “Score” was carried out to create new types of active radio interference (allegedly based on equipment taken from the downed U-2 aircraft).

The aircraft, equipped with a mock-up of the new jamming equipment, was relocated to the training ground in accordance with our agreement with NII-108 to test their effect on the ROC and GOS of the S-200 system. It was interesting both to us and to the jamming developers.

Overflights of the S-200 system by the aircraft mentioned above showed that the tested RPTs and GOS cannot cope with some types of special active interference created by its equipment. This was to be expected, since, in accordance with the TTZ, the system should ensure the fight only with the directors of continuous noise active interference.

Considering that potential adversary there was already equipment that created other types of active interference for the S-200 system, even in the process of testing it, it was decided to conduct research work "Vega" in KB-1. In the process of this work, it was necessary to find ways to enable the S-200 system to fight against the directors of a wide class of active jamming.

The work was carried out on the bench equipment of KB-1 and on the range facilities of the system, where for this purpose, with the help of NII-108, officer B. Gotz created a ground-based jamming complex. The research work was successfully completed and approved by the customer even before the S-200 system was put into service.

EXPERIMENTAL AND DESIGN WORK ON THE RESULTS OF R&D "VEGA"

After the S-200 system was adopted by the Air Defense Forces of the country, the military-industrial complex decided to implement the Vega research project by modernizing the firing channel and the system's missile. The terms of reference for this R&D, along with the implementation of the result of the Vega research project, to eliminate some of the shortcomings of the S-200 system, additionally provided for the provision of:

- target acquisition for auto-tracking by the homing head at the 6th second of the missile's flight (to ensure firing from launching positions with large cover angles);

- posting the ROC targets through the course parameter (when the radial velocity of the target relative to the ROC is close to zero);

- collective protection of combat crews in the hardware cabins of the firing channel from military chemical and radioactive toxic substances.

The modernization of the firing channel was carried out by developing a number of new and refining some of the old blocks of its equipment. For the collective protection of the combat crews of the channel's hardware cabins: in KB-1, special air coolers were developed, rolled under the cabins, to which the ventilation of the equipment was closed; filter-ventilation units (FVU) were installed on pressurized cabins to create excess pressure of purified air inside.

The modernization of the V-860P missile consisted in installing a new homing head and a new radio fuse on it. Along with the new V-860PV missile, the upgraded firing channel ensured the use of the V-860P missile of the S-200 system.

To ensure the verification of the V-860PV missile, the necessary changes were made to the equipment of the technical position.

To speed up the production of prototypes of the modernized means, the 4th Main Directorate of the Ministry of Defense provided the developers with a serial firing channel and the required number of serial S-200 missiles. At the beginning of 1968, a prototype of the modernized firing channel and the first prototypes of the modernized missiles were delivered to the test site.

MODERNIZATION OF THE COMMAND POST OF THE S-200 FIRE COMPLEX

Almost simultaneously with the start of the R&D for the implementation of the Vega research project, by a joint decision of the ministries of defense and the radio industry, the modernization of the command post of the S-200 firing system was given in order to increase its combat capabilities. The modernized command post was to additionally provide:

- use in the survivability mode (in the absence of control from the ACS) of autonomous target designation tools - the P-14 ("Van") radar and the PRV-13 radio altimeter, providing joint work target designation accuracy for single aircraft that does not require a sector search;

- the use of the radio relay line RL-30 to receive radar information from remote radars;

- a more comfortable workplace for the commander;

- collective protection of the combat crew from military chemical and radioactive poisonous substances.

The P-14F radar (later also the 5N84A Oborona-14 radar) was interfaced with the upgraded command post directly using a cable. For interfacing with the RL-30 and PRV-13 (subsequently PRV-17) in the modernized command post, places were provided for installing and connecting (if necessary) a radio relay line cabinet and a remote radio altimeter cabinet.

Ensuring the collective protection of the combat crew of the modernized command post from chemical warfare agents was carried out in the same way as the hardware cabins of the modernized firing channel. The modernization of the command post was carried out by the Design Bureau of the Moscow Radio Engineering Plant with the participation of KB-1 on the basis of the serial command post of the S-200 firing system.

A prototype of the modernized command post at the beginning of 1968 was also delivered to the 35th site of the training ground.

TESTING THE S-200V SYSTEM

Upgraded: firing channel, command post, rocket and technical position - made up the S-200B system. Strictly speaking, such a system (as can be seen from what was said above) was not formally specified and, therefore, there was no TTZ for it. However, it was advisable to adopt not separate modernized means, but the resulting new system, as it were. And it promised great "goods" to the developers.

During the tests of the S-200V system, it was necessary to check only those characteristics of the firing system and the missile, which, as a result of the modernization of the means, began to differ from the corresponding characteristics of the C-200 system. There were few such features. Most of the characteristics of the S-200B system remained the same as those of the S-200 system. Therefore, we agreed with the developers to accelerate the adoption of the S-200V system into service by testing it (in violation of all canons) in one stage.

To ensure testing, 4 target aircraft (two TU-16M and two MiG-19M) were manufactured and delivered to the test site, equipped with active jamming equipment standard for the Air Force. In addition, without the consent of KB-1, we involved employees of NII-108 with a laboratory aircraft equipped with mock-up equipment, which makes it possible to create more complex types of active interference than the standard equipment of target aircraft, to participate in the tests.

Developers of active jammers were interested in testing the effectiveness of their new solutions, and we got the opportunity to test the system tools in more difficult jamming conditions.

We agreed to create a commission for testing the S-200V system at a "working" level - without "high" authorities, so that it could work almost constantly at the test site. It was difficult to find a responsible and technically competent chairman for such a body.

It was possible to obtain consent for this work from the chief engineer of the Air Defense Forces of the country, Major General (later Colonel General) L. Leonov, and agree on this candidacy with KB-1. By decision of the military-industrial complex, the commission for testing the S-200V system was appointed as follows:

- Chairman - Major General L. Leonov;

- Vice-Chairmen - Colonel B. Bolshakov and V. Cherkasov;

- members of the commission from the Ministry of Defense: Colonel M. Borodulin, Lieutenant Colonels A. Ippolitov, I. Koshevoy, I. Solntsev, R. Smirnov, L. Timofeev, E. Khotovitsky, A. Kutyenkov, V. Gurov;

from industry: V. Mukhin, B. Marfin, A. Safronov, E. Kabanovsky, V. Yakhno, B. Perelman, L. Ulanovsky.

A subcommittee on the command post was appointed, headed by Major A. Ryabov.

Tests of the system at the site took place from May to October 1968. These included: ground tests of the firing system, overflights of the firing system with a missile, and firing tests of the system. Ground tests included: docking of the firing system, docking of the command post with attached assets, checking the operation of air coolers and their docking with cabin ventilation (checking the tightness of the cabins and the operation of the FVU was previously tested at a chemical test site).

For overflights of the ROC and GOS in order to test their noise immunity, target aircraft, active jammers and the above-mentioned NII-108 laboratory aircraft were used. Formally, these target aircraft cannot be used for overflights, since they have exhausted their resource and had to take off with the crew only once before firing - to test the interference equipment (they took off without a crew for firing).

But there was no other way out, and the crew had to take risks. The "industrial" part of the commission categorically objected to the use of the NII-108 aircraft, stating that they would not participate in this overflight. Nevertheless, the "military" part of the commission decided to carry out this work, and gave appropriate instructions to the test site. To our surprise, it turned out that by the beginning of the flight, all the "industrialists" were at their jobs, and the work went well. As it turned out later, after processing its results, with great benefit for all three parties (polygon, KB-1 and NII-108). Overflights of the ROC were carried out to check the tracking of the target when it passed through the course parameter.

Shooting tests of the system were carried out on three target aircraft - active jammers (one Tu-16M aircraft fell into the lake during the flight). In addition, they fired at the target aircraft with the homing head locking on the target at the 6th second of the rocket flight. A total of 8 launches of V-860PV missiles were carried out. All three target aircraft, active jammers, and the target aircraft were shot down, at which the shooting was carried out with a “jump” of the rocket with target capture at the 6th second of the flight.

The tests showed that the technical specifications issued for the ROC that made up the C-200V system were fulfilled, and in early November 1968, the commission signed an act in which it recommended that the C-200B system be adopted by the country's Air Defense Forces.

By a decree of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR in 1969, the S-200V system was adopted by the Air Defense Forces of the country. The characteristics of the system given in the resolution took into account the results of work to expand the combat capabilities of the S-200 system, carried out at the training ground: the maximum firing range against large targets increased to 180 kilometers, and the lower boundary of the affected area dropped to 300 meters. Already in 1969, mass production of the S-200V system began to replace the production of the S-200 system.

In the army, the S-200V system was also used in the form of a “group of divisions”. The engineering equipment of the positions of the C-200B system did not differ from the equipment of the S-200 positions, only when the ROC antenna posts were placed on the towers, the requirements for the shelter angles of the starting positions were significantly simplified (due to the possibility of firing with a “jump” of the rocket).

The S-200V system significantly increased the combat capabilities of the country's air defense air defense systems in combating various types of active radar jammers and targets loitering at long ranges. Part of the design solutions for the firing channel of the S-200V system was subsequently introduced into the firing channels of the S-200 system, which were in the army.

The creation of the S-200V system was awarded the State Prize of the USSR. G. Baidukov, L. Leonov and V. Zhabchuk became laureates from the Ministry of Defense.

FURTHER WORK ON THE S-200 and S-200V SYSTEMS

SYSTEM S-200M ("VEGA-M")

Instead of the special warhead of the V-870 missile, which was envisaged for use in the S-200 system, which never saw the light of day, a unified missile was assigned by a decree of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR, which was supposed to use both a conventional warhead (B-880) and special - B-880H for the C-200V system.

The V-880 missile was supposed to have an improved design, a firing range increased to 240 kilometers and use the same on-board equipment as the V-860PV missile.

The B-880N missile was supposed to have a higher reliability than the B-880. The development of the V-880 rocket was carried out by the Design Bureau of the Leningrad Northern Plant under the direction of OKB-2.

The use of V-880 and V-880N missiles (along with V-860P and V-860PV missiles) in the S-200V system required some modernization. This modernized S-200V system was named by KB-1 the S-200M system (we suggested a more correct name - S-200VM).

The V-880 missile in the S-200 system passed all tests, including joint ones. In the process of testing, a lot of time was spent on finding out the cause of a number of failures of the homing head on some rocket flight paths. Similar single failures of the head were also in the tests of the S-200 system, but then their cause could not be established.

At the insistence of KB-1, special thermal tests of the rocket fairing were carried out in OKB-2. They showed that the work of the homing head is disrupted by the gases emitted by the heated radio-transparent fairing of the rocket. The improved fairing replaced the previous fairings on all previously manufactured rockets, and the defect disappeared.

In 1974, the S-200M system was adopted by the Air Defense Forces of the country, further increasing their combat capabilities, and began to be produced instead of the system. C-200B. Documentation was developed for introducing the V-880 missile into the S-200V and S-200 systems that were in the army.

Subsequently, on the basis of the S-200M system, its export version was created - the S-200VE system, which was exported to a number of foreign countries.

TRAINING EQUIPMENT FOR TRAINING COMBAT CRUITS OF FIRE SYSTEMS S-200, S-200V AND S-200M ("AKKORD-200")

The possibilities of training the operators of the firing system for real targets are very limited, and in conditions of a difficult real air situation, they are practically excluded. Therefore, for the combat training of operators of any anti-aircraft missile system, it is extremely necessary to have full-fledged training equipment. Such equipment had already been created by that time for the S-75 and S-125 air defense systems.

For the S-200, S-200V, S-200M systems, the need for good training equipment was aggravated by the peculiarities of the work of operators in difficult air conditions, as well as the specificity of the indicators and controls of the equipment cabins.

However, all modifications of the S-200 system had the simplest training equipment, which made it possible to train only KP and ROC operators, and then only in the simplest air conditions. 4 Main Directorate of the Ministry of Defense insisted on the creation of a special training complex, which could provide full training for the entire combat crew of the firing complex for operations in difficult air conditions.

The customer achieved that by a decree of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR, the development of such a complex was assigned to the Ministry of the Radio Industry. However, the military-industrial complex, at the suggestion of KB-1 and the Ministry of Radio Industry, was in no hurry to issue a decision on the procedure for the implementation of this R&D, looking for all sorts of excuses.

Here, by the way, in KB-1, and, therefore, in the military-industrial complex, it became known that in one of the parts of the Moscow Air Defense District, “craftsmen” officers made a simulator with more capabilities for their S-200 complex than a standard one. The military-industrial complex organized a trip to this unit. They went there: responsible representatives of the military-industrial complex and KB-1, the head of the 4th Main Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, the deputy commander of the ZRV for combat training, and several officers of the 4th Main Directorate of the Moscow Region and the ZRV.

The officer of the regiment familiarized the arriving group with a home-made simulator. When asked by a representative of the military-industrial complex whether such a home-made product suits the regiment, the answer was that it suits. Inspired by this answer, the representative of KB-1 said that the troops, they say, were able to complete what the industry had not done, including improving the training equipment themselves.

The representative of the military-industrial complex supported this statement and expressed doubts about the need for industrial development of training equipment for systems of the S-200 type. Baydukov gave a resolute rebuke to both responsible representatives of the industry. He said that the Americans do not spare money for good simulators, this money is more than paid off in combat conditions, that the troops do not need handicrafts, but industrial equipment that solves the problem in full.

Baidukov forced the deputy commander of the ZRV to speak, who confirmed the need to develop full-fledged training equipment for systems of the S-200 type. There were no objections. An attempt to disrupt the development of training equipment for systems such as the S-200 failed.

Shortly thereafter, the military-industrial complex issued a decision on this equipment, called the Accord-200. The Ryazan design bureau "Globus" was appointed as the lead organization for this R&D, and the design bureau of the Moscow Radio Engineering Plant was appointed as a co-executor. The R&D was carried out under an agreement with the 4th Main Directorate of the Moscow Region. With the help of NII-2 MO, the TTZ for R&D was developed and agreed upon, and work began.

The development was sluggish, contractual deadlines were broken, despite penalties and repeated requests from the customer to the Ministry of Radio Industry. Moreover, the Ministry of Radio Industry gave us an ultimatum to agree with the development of Akkord-200 hardware cabins (there were two of them) on various element bases. A prototype of the "Accord-200" was made after my transfer to the reserve.

As it became known to me, his further fate turned out to be sad: the joint tests of the Akkord-200 were suspended by the customer for formal reasons, and soon the work was closed (G. Baidukov by that time was no longer the head of the 4th Main Directorate of the Moscow Region).

OTHER R&D FOR S-200 TYPE SYSTEMS

At the initiative of the customer, the decision of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR was given to develop a means of protecting the ROC from homing anti-radar missiles. R&D was entrusted to the Design Bureau of the Moscow Radio Engineering Plant and was carried out under an agreement with the 4th Main Directorate of the Moscow Region. The tool was developed, passed a full cycle of tests, and the engineering equipment of the position was designed for it. However, the tool did not go into the series due to the high cost of it and the engineering equipment of the position.

After the insistent requirements of the customer, the Ryazan Design Bureau "Globus" was given the task of developing an automated control and testing station for testing missiles at the technical position of the S-200 family systems. R & D was carried out under an agreement with the 4th Main Directorate of the Moscow Region. The station successfully passed the entire test cycle and was put into serial production instead of the previous, non-automated one.

In order to implement the experience of local wars of that time, through the decisions of the military-industrial complex, the following work was set and carried out by the industry: to reduce the time for bringing systems of the S-200 family to combat readiness (from a deployed state), to provide the possibility of lengthening the connecting cables between individual means of the system (for the possibility of greater removal of antenna posts from the hardware cabins and changes in the configuration of starting positions) and on finalizing individual tools.

The R&D initiated by the MVIZRU was carried out according to the “sound” indication, which is described above.

At the initiative of the customer, a new transport-loading vehicle (TZM) was developed, which provides a significantly shorter loading time for the launcher of the S-200 family systems than a standard TZM. The new TZM has been successfully tested. However, it was not launched into the series due to the complexity of operation.

SYSTEM S-200D "DUBNA"

In addition to the R&D listed above, a number of other works were carried out at the test site and in industry aimed at improving the characteristics of the S-200, S-200V, S-200M systems.

In Saryshagan, these systems were tested in order to expand or refine their combat capabilities, as well as to check the improvements of individual tools. Shooting was carried out in a wider range of conditions than in the factory and joint tests of systems. Launches were carried out at long ranges and lower altitudes, against group, loitering and small-sized high-speed targets, as well as in interference conditions. The results of expanding the combat capabilities of the S-200 system were mentioned above. Work on the S-200V and S-200M systems made it possible to increase their ability to fire loitering targets. The combat documentation of the S-200, S-200V and S-200M systems was clarified, and improvements to individual tools were tested in practice. Firing with the S-200 system and the 8K14 operational-tactical missile was carried out, but they did not produce practical results.

In industry, in the process of serial production of the means of the S-200, S-200V and S-200M systems, in order to implement the completed R & D, introduce individual improvements and test results, as well as eliminate the shortcomings identified in the production and operation process, the production documentation.

This was done by issuing the so-called lists of notices (bulletins), which were introduced into production and made it possible to refine ground facilities systems in the army, to the level of serial at a given time. Lists were also issued for the S-200 system after the termination of its mass production. They pursued the goal of improving the characteristics of the system and pairing it with newly developed tools.

Two examples were mentioned above: the introduction of some design solutions for the S-200V system and the V-880 missile.

In total, about two dozen lists were issued for the S-200 system, and about a dozen for the S-200V system. However, far from all the issued lists were introduced into the troops. Partly due to the fact that some R&D (mentioned above) did not go into the series and the lists developed to interface them with the means of the systems were not required. Partly due to the lack of tactical need for some improvements on a number of complexes and, finally, partly due to financial constraints. Improvements were made by teams of a special enterprise at the locations of the systems.

The same resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR, which set the development of: missiles B-880, "Akkorda-200" and means of protecting the Russian Orthodox Church from missiles homing in its radiation, provided for the preparation of proposals for the further modernization of systems such as S-200. We believed that this modernization should be carried out in such a way that its results could be fully implemented in the systems that were in the troops.

By this time, the troops already had many S-200 and S-200V complexes. The serial production of the S-200M was declining, a new generation system was being developed - therefore, a new modification of the S-200 system would be unpromising for mass production. The preliminary project of such modernization was released by KB-1.

However, soon KB-1 issued an addendum to it, in which it was proposed to increase the power of the ROC transmitter by several times. Such a refinement in the troops can no longer be performed. We swallowed this "hook" - it seems ridiculous to refuse to increase the range of the system. So a new modification of the S-200 system appeared - the S-200D system. After all (as mentioned above), developers for creating new system shone big "pies and donuts" than for some kind of modernization.

Without touching on the issues of interaction between the customer and the developers (I was already transferred to the reserve), we can briefly summarize the development of the S-200D system as follows. Work on this system took place in three stages.

At the first stage, carried out on the instructions of the customer, the S-200D system was a C-200M system - with a new transmitter and separate new devices based on a new element base, built into some blocks of ground-based radio equipment, and with an upgraded V-880 missile. This stage passed only the preliminary design stage, after which work on this version of the S-200D system was discontinued.

At the second stage, KB-1 proposed its own version of the S-200D system, which was, as it were, the first stage of the subsequent system. It was a new system with a new missile. All electronics of the system had to be developed on a new element base. Here it came to the partial development of prototypes of individual system tools. However, this option did not materialize either. The groundwork for the KP was used in the development of the S-Z00PM system, and for the ROC - at the next stage of work on the system.

The third stage was carried out according to the new task of the customer. It was the S-200M system, in firing complex in which the ROC was replaced with a new one - completed by the ROC of the second stage, and the V-880 missile - with the V-880M missile, providing a firing range of up to 300 kilometers, with some refinement of other means. This variant passed the entire test cycle, including joint ones, which ended in 1987. A small number of serial means of the system were manufactured, after which their production was discontinued.

CONCLUSION

Summing up the work on the creation of the third generation of anti-aircraft missile weapons - a family of long-range systems: S-200, S-200V, S-200M and S-200D, from my point of view, it is advisable to note the following:

- the S-200 system and, especially, the S-200V and S-200M systems, significantly increased the combat capabilities of the country's Air Defense Forces in terms of: increasing the range of hitting targets, combating jammers, small-sized, high-altitude and high-speed targets;

- The S-200 and S-200V systems are built using a number of principles that are new for developers. This required new scientific, technical and constructive solutions, high qualifications and hard work from the creators of the systems. These systems are new step forward in the development of domestic anti-aircraft missile weapons;

- the development of a unified V-880 missile, using both conventional and special warheads, made it possible to stop the development of a separate missile for the use of a special warhead and increase the maximum range of targets in the S-200M system;

- the S-200 system was conceived as a mobile alternative to the stationary Dal system. In fact, the S-200, S-200V and S-200M systems have become stationary in the troops, with all the ensuing consequences regarding their survivability;

- the exclusion from the S-200 system (respectively S-200V and S-200M) of the situational clarification radar in the absence of automated fire systems control systems that provide target designation in the ROC beam, led to the need to organize a cumbersome angular target search in it. The use of this search (especially sector search) could lead to a decrease in the combat capabilities of the systems - especially when firing at small high-altitude high-speed targets, as well as in dynamics air combat;

- the termination of the R&D to create training equipment for the firing systems of the S-200, S-200V and S-200M systems significantly reduced the quality of training of their combat crews;

- the lack of computers at the command posts of the firing systems of the systems did not allow automating the target distribution and preparation of initial data for firing;

- all types of rocket systems had liquid-propellant rocket engines. The operation of such missiles in the army is much more difficult than rockets with solid-propellant engines;

- the task of the new S-200D system instead of modernizing the S-200, C-200B, S-200M systems that were in the troops was a mistake;

- Lessons from the development of systems of the S-200 family were taken into account when creating a new generation of anti-aircraft guided missile weapons of the systems of the C-300 family. These systems, being built on new principles, are devoid of the shortcomings of the S-200 family systems noted above.

Start SAM S-200 / Photo: topwar.ru

The Soviet S-200 anti-aircraft missile system changed the tactics of aviation operations and forced it to abandon high flight altitudes. She became the "long arm" and "fence" that stopped the free flights of strategic reconnaissance aircraft SR-71 over the territories of the USSR and the Warsaw Pact countries.

The appearance of the American high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft Lockheed SR -71 ("Blackbird" - Blackbird, Black Bird) marked a new stage in the confrontation between the means of air attack (AOS) and air defense (Air Defense). High speed (up to 3.2 M) and altitude (about 30 km) of flight allowed him to evade existing anti-aircraft missiles and conduct reconnaissance over the territories covered by them. In the period 1964-1998. SR -71 was used for reconnaissance of the territory of Vietnam and North Korea, the Middle East region (Egypt, Jordan, Syria), the USSR and Cuba.

But with the advent of the Soviet anti-aircraft missile system (ZRS) S-200 ( SA-5, Gammon according to NATO classification) long-range (more than 100 km) action was the beginning of the decline of the era SR -71 for its intended purpose. During his service in the Far East, the author witnessed repeated (8-12 times a day) violations of the USSR air border by this aircraft. But as soon as the S-200 was put on alert, SR -71 with maximum speed and climb immediately left the missile launch zone of this anti-aircraft system.

Strategic reconnaissance aircraft SR-71 / Photo: www.nasa.gov

The S-200 air defense system became the reason for the emergence of new forms and methods of action for the aviation of the NATO countries, which, in solving combat missions, began to actively use medium (1000-4000 m), low (200-1000 m) and extremely low (up to 200 m) flight altitudes. And this automatically expanded the capabilities of low-altitude air defense systems to combat air targets. Subsequent events with the use of the S-200 showed that attempts to deceive Gammon (deception, ham translated from English) are doomed to failure.

Another reason for the creation of the S-200 was the adoption oflong-range airborne weapons such as the Blue Steel and Hound Dog cruise missiles. This reduced the effectiveness of the existing air defense system of the USSR, especially in the Northern and Far Eastern strategic aerospace directions.

Creation of the S-200 air defense system

These prerequisites became the basis for setting the task (Decree No. 608-293 of 06/04/1958) to create a long-range air defense system S-200. According to the tactical and technical specifications, this should be a multi-channel air defense system capable of hitting targets such as Il-28 and MiG-19, operating at speeds up to 1000 m / s in the altitude range of 5-35 km, at a distance of up to 200 km with a probability of 0.7- 0.8. The lead developers of the S-200 system and anti-aircraft guided missile (SAM) were KB-1 GKRE (NPO Almaz) and OKB-2 GKAT (MKB Fakel).

After a deep study, KB-1 presented the draft air defense system in two versions. The first involved the creation of a single-channel S-200 with combined missile guidance and a range of 150 km, and the second - a five-channel S-200A air defense system with a continuous-wave radar, a semi-active missile guidance system and pre-launch target acquisition. This option, based on the principle of "shot - forgot" and was approved (Decree No. 735-338 of 07/04/1959).

The air defense system was supposed to ensure the defeat of targets such as Il-28 and MiG-17 with a homing missile V-650 at a distance of 90-100 km and 60-65 km, respectively.

Il-28 front-line bomber / Photo: s00.yaplakal.com

In 1960, the task was set to increase the range of destruction of supersonic (subsonic) targets to 110-120 (160-180) km. In 1967, the S-200A Angara air defense system with a launch range of 160 km against a Tu-16 target was put into service. As a result, mixed brigades began to form as part of the S-200 air defense system and the S-125 air defense system. According to the United States, in 1970 the number of S-200 air defense launchers reached 1100, in 1975 - 1600, in 1980 - 1900, and in the middle of 1980 - about 2030 units. Practically, all the most important objects of the country were covered by S-200 air defense systems.

Composition and capabilities

ZRS S-200A("Angara") - an all-weather multi-channel transportable long-range air defense system that ensured the defeat of various manned and unmanned air targets at speeds up to 1200 m / s at altitudes of 300-40000 m and ranges up to 300 km in conditions of intense electronic countermeasures. It was a combination of system-wide means and a group of anti-aircraft divisions (firing channels). The latter included radio engineering (target illumination radar - antenna post, hardware cabin and power conversion cabin) and launch (launch control cabin, 6 launchers, 12 charging machines and power supplies) batteries.

ZRS S-200 "Angara" / Photo: www.armyrecognition.com

The main elements of the S-200 air defense system were a command post (CP), a target illumination radar (ROC), a launch position (SP), and a two-stage anti-aircraft missile.

KP in cooperation with a higher command post, he solved the tasks of receiving and distributing targets between firing channels. To expand the capabilities for detecting KP targets, surveillance radars of the P-14A "Defence" or P-14F "Van" type were attached. In difficult weather and climatic conditions, the S-200 radar equipment was placed under special shelters. ROC was a station of continuous radiation, which provided irradiation of the target and guidance of missiles on it by the reflected signal, as well as obtaining information about the target and the missile in flight. The two-mode ROC made it possible to capture the target and switch to its auto-tracking by the homing head (GOS) of the missile at a distance of up to 410 km.

ROC SAM S-200 / Photo: topwar.ru

joint venture (2-5 in the division) serves to prepare and launch missiles at the target. It consists of six launchers (PU), 12 charging machines, a launch control cabin and a power supply system. A typical SP is a circular platform system for six launchers with a platform for the launch control cabin in the center, power supplies and a rail system for charging vehicles (two for each launcher). Launch control cabin provides automated control of the readiness and launch of six missiles in no more than 60 s. transported PU with a constant launch angle is designed for missile placement, automatic loading, pre-launch preparation, missile guidance and launch. Loading machine provided automatic reloading of the launcher with a rocket.

Scheme of the starting position of the S-200 air defense system / Photo: topwar.ru

Two-stage missiles (5V21, 5V28, 5V28M) is made according to the normal aerodynamic scheme with four delta wings of high elongation and a semi-active seeker. The first stage consists of 4 solid propellant boosters, which are installed between the wings of the second stage. The second (propulsion) stage of the rocket is made in the form of a number of hardware compartments with a liquid-propellant two-component rocket engine. A semi-active seeker is located in the head compartment, which begins to work 17 seconds after the command is issued to prepare the missile for launch. To hit the target, the missile defense system is equipped with a high-explosive fragmentation warhead - 91 kg of explosive, 37,000 spherical submunitions of two types (weighing 3.5 g and 2 g) and a radio fuse. When a warhead is detonated, the fragments scatter in a sector of 120 degrees. at speeds up to 1700 m/s.

SAM 5V21 on PU / Photo topwar.ru

ZRS S-200V("Vega") and S-200D("Dubna") - modernized versions of this system with an increased range and height of hitting targets, as well as a modified 5V28M missile.

The main characteristics of the S-200 air defense system

Combat use and deliveries abroad

The combat "baptism" of the S-200VE air defense system received in Syria (1982), where it shot down an Israeli E-2C Hawkeye early warning aircraft at a distance of 180 km. After that, the American carrier fleet immediately withdrew from the coast of Lebanon. In March 1986, the S-200 division on duty near the city of Sirte (Libya) shot down three carrier-based attack aircraft of the A-6 and A-7 types of the American aircraft carrier Saratoga with successive launches of three missiles. In 1983 (September 1), a South Korean Boeing-747 that violated the border of the USSR was shot down by an S-200 missile. In 2001 (October 4), the Ukrainian S-200 air defense system during the exercises mistakenly shot down a Russian Tu-154, which was flying along the Tel Aviv-Novosibirsk route.

Aircraft E-2C Hawkeye / Photo: www.navy.mil

With the entry into service of the S-300P air defense system by the beginning of 2000. The Angara and Vega air defense systems were completely withdrawn from service. On the basis of the 5V28 anti-aircraft missile of the S-200V complex, the Kholod hypersonic flying laboratory was created to test hypersonic ramjet engines (scramjet engines). On November 27, 1991, at the test site in Kazakhstan, for the first time in the world, a hypersonic ramjet was tested in flight, which exceeded the speed of sound by 6 times at an altitude of 35 km.

Flying layuoratoriya "Cold" / Photo: topwar.ru

Since the early 1980s S-200V air defense systems under the symbol S-200VE "Vega-E" were supplied to the GDR, Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Hungary, North Korea, Libya, Syria and Iran. In total, the S-200 air defense system, in addition to the USSR, was put into service with the armies of 11 foreign countries.

Long range anti-aircraft missile system S-200 "Angara"(SA-5 "Gammon") is designed to combat modern and advanced air targets: AWACS and control aircraft, air elements of reconnaissance and strike systems, high-altitude high-speed reconnaissance aircraft of the SR-71 type, jammers and other manned and unmanned air attack weapons under conditions of intense radio interference. The system is all-weather and can be operated in various climatic conditions. The development of the complex began in the 50s in KB-1 (now Almaz). General designer A. Raspletin. The anti-aircraft guided missile was developed at the Fakel design bureau, general designer P. Grushin.

First divisions S-200A "Angara" were deployed from 1963 to 1964. on the outskirts of Tallinn. A total of 1950 launchers were deployed. However, the beginning of the widespread deployment of the S-300 led to a reduction in the number of S-200 Angara divisions to 500 launchers in 1996. During its existence, the S-200 air defense system was modernized many times: in 1970, it entered service with the S-200V Vega and in 1975 - S-200D "Dubna". During the upgrades, the firing range and target engagement height were significantly increased (from 20 to 41 km). In Russia, the S-200 Angara was part of anti-aircraft missile brigades or mixed regiments, which also included S-125 divisions and ZU-23 or S-60 direct cover. The main elements of the S-200 Angara anti-aircraft missile system are anti-aircraft missile divisions and anti-aircraft guided missiles. Each division includes a target illumination radar and a starting battery.

Anti-aircraft guided missile system S-200 two-stage. The first stage consists of four solid propellant boosters. The sustainer stage is equipped with a liquid-propellant two-component rocket engine. Warhead high-explosive fragmentation. The missile has a semi-active homing head. The warhead consists of two interconnected flattened hemispheres with a diameter of about 80 cm, containing 80 kg of explosives and a total of about 37 thousand steel balls of two diameters: 6 and 8 mm. Undermining is carried out when the target enters the zone of operation of the active radio fuse (the angle is approximately 60 degrees to the axis of the rocket's flight, the distance is several tens of meters).

In order to force a missile to self-destruct, the missile must lose its target. It is impossible to give a command for self-destruction from the ground, you can only stop irradiating the target from the ground, then the rocket will attempt to search for the target and, not finding it, will go on self-destruction. This is the only way to cancel target destruction after missile launch. There were also missiles to destroy group targets with a nuclear warhead. The rocket has a length of 11 m and weighs about 6 tons. The on-board electrical network in flight is powered by a generator driven by a gas turbine engine running on the same components as the sustainer (liquid) engine of the rocket. The probability of hitting a target with one missile is considered equal to 80%, usually a burst of two is launched, and in conditions of electronic warfare even of three missiles. The probability of hitting a target with two missiles is more than 96%.

The 5N62V target illumination radar is a high-potential continuous-wave radar. It provides target tracking and generates information for missile launch. In addition, it highlights targets in the process of homing the missile. The starting battery has six launchers, which are located in a circle around the ROC. They carry out storage, pre-launch preparation and launch of anti-aircraft missiles. As part of the air defense system S-200 includes: control and target designation station K-9M, target illumination radar RPTs 5N62V (antenna post K-1V, equipment cabin K-2V), launch battery 5ZH51 (launch preparation cabin K-ZV, launchers 5P72V, charging vehicles 5Yu24M, anti-aircraft guided missiles 5V21V and 5V28), power sources - diesel power plants. For the early detection of air targets, the ZRDN is attached radar station aerial reconnaissance type P-35 and others.

Complex modifications:
S-200A "Angara", missile V-860/5V21 or V-860P/5V21A, appeared in 1967, range 160 km height 20 km
S-200V "Vega", missile V-860PV / 5V21P, appeared in 1970, range 250 km, height 29 km
S-200 "Vega", V-870 missile, range increased to 240 km and altitude to 40 km with a new, shorter rocket with a solid rocket engine.
S-200M "Vega-M", missile V-880/5V28 or V-880N/5V28N (with a nuclear warhead), range 240 km, altitude 29 km
S-200VE "Vega-E", V-880E / 5V28E missile, export version, explosive submunition only, range 240 km, altitude 29 km
S-200D "Dubna", missile 5V25V, V-880M / 5V28M or V-880MN / 5V28MN (with a nuclear warhead), appeared in 1976, explosive and nuclear warheads, range 300 km, height 40 km.

Tactical and technical characteristics of the S-200 A / V / D complex
Target range
- maximum km. 150 / 240 / 300
- minimum km 17 / 7 / 7
Target Height
- maximum km 40 / 35 / 41
- minimum km 0.3 / 0.05 / 0.05
Target speed 4,300 km/h
Rocket length 10 800 mm
Suspension step diameter 860 mm
Launch weight of the rocket 7100 / 8000 kg
Weight of warhead B-860 217 kg
The number of striking elements 37,000 pieces.

Start SAM S-200 / Photo: topwar.ru

The Soviet S-200 anti-aircraft missile system changed the tactics of aviation operations and forced it to abandon high flight altitudes. She became the "long arm" and "fence" that stopped the free flights of strategic reconnaissance aircraft SR-71 over the territories of the USSR and the Warsaw Pact countries.

The appearance of the American high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft Lockheed SR -71 ("Blackbird" - Blackbird, Black Bird) marked a new stage in the confrontation between the means of air attack (AOS) and air defense (Air Defense). High speed (up to 3.2 M) and altitude (about 30 km) of flight allowed him to evade existing anti-aircraft missiles and conduct reconnaissance over the territories covered by them. In the period 1964-1998. SR -71 was used for reconnaissance of the territory of Vietnam and North Korea, the Middle East region (Egypt, Jordan, Syria), the USSR and Cuba.

But with the advent of the Soviet anti-aircraft missile system (ZRS) S-200 ( SA-5, Gammon according to NATO classification) long-range (more than 100 km) action was the beginning of the decline of the era SR -71 for its intended purpose. During his service in the Far East, the author witnessed repeated (8-12 times a day) violations of the USSR air border by this aircraft. But as soon as the S-200 was put on alert, SR -71 with maximum speed and climb immediately left the missile launch zone of this anti-aircraft system.

Strategic reconnaissance aircraft SR-71 / Photo: www.nasa.gov

The S-200 air defense system became the reason for the emergence of new forms and methods of action for the aviation of the NATO countries, which, in solving combat missions, began to actively use medium (1000-4000 m), low (200-1000 m) and extremely low (up to 200 m) flight altitudes. And this automatically expanded the capabilities of low-altitude air defense systems to combat air targets. Subsequent events with the use of the S-200 showed that attempts to deceive Gammon (deception, ham translated from English) are doomed to failure.

Another reason for the creation of the S-200 was the adoption oflong-range airborne weapons such as the Blue Steel and Hound Dog cruise missiles. This reduced the effectiveness of the existing air defense system of the USSR, especially in the Northern and Far Eastern strategic aerospace directions.

Creation of the S-200 air defense system

These prerequisites became the basis for setting the task (Decree No. 608-293 of 06/04/1958) to create a long-range air defense system S-200. According to the tactical and technical specifications, this should be a multi-channel air defense system capable of hitting targets such as Il-28 and MiG-19, operating at speeds up to 1000 m / s in the altitude range of 5-35 km, at a distance of up to 200 km with a probability of 0.7- 0.8. The lead developers of the S-200 system and anti-aircraft guided missile (SAM) were KB-1 GKRE (NPO Almaz) and OKB-2 GKAT (MKB Fakel).

After a deep study, KB-1 presented the draft air defense system in two versions. The first involved the creation of a single-channel S-200 with combined missile guidance and a range of 150 km, and the second - a five-channel S-200A air defense system with a continuous-wave radar, a semi-active missile guidance system and pre-launch target acquisition. This option, based on the principle of "shot - forgot" and was approved (Decree No. 735-338 of 07/04/1959).

The air defense system was supposed to ensure the defeat of targets such as Il-28 and MiG-17 with a homing missile V-650 at a distance of 90-100 km and 60-65 km, respectively.

Il-28 front-line bomber / Photo: s00.yaplakal.com

In 1960, the task was set to increase the range of destruction of supersonic (subsonic) targets to 110-120 (160-180) km. In 1967, the S-200A Angara air defense system with a launch range of 160 km against a Tu-16 target was put into service. As a result, mixed brigades began to form as part of the S-200 air defense system and the S-125 air defense system. According to the United States, in 1970 the number of S-200 air defense launchers reached 1100, in 1975 - 1600, in 1980 - 1900, and in the middle of 1980 - about 2030 units. Practically, all the most important objects of the country were covered by S-200 air defense systems.

Composition and capabilities

ZRS S-200A("Angara") - an all-weather multi-channel transportable long-range air defense system that ensured the defeat of various manned and unmanned air targets at speeds up to 1200 m / s at altitudes of 300-40000 m and ranges up to 300 km in conditions of intense electronic countermeasures. It was a combination of system-wide means and a group of anti-aircraft divisions (firing channels). The latter included radio engineering (target illumination radar - antenna post, hardware cabin and power conversion cabin) and launch (launch control cabin, 6 launchers, 12 charging machines and power supplies) batteries.

ZRS S-200 "Angara" / Photo: www.armyrecognition.com

The main elements of the S-200 air defense system were a command post (CP), a target illumination radar (ROC), a launch position (SP), and a two-stage anti-aircraft missile.

KP in cooperation with a higher command post, he solved the tasks of receiving and distributing targets between firing channels. To expand the capabilities for detecting KP targets, surveillance radars of the P-14A "Defence" or P-14F "Van" type were attached. In difficult weather and climatic conditions, the S-200 radar equipment was placed under special shelters. ROC was a station of continuous radiation, which provided irradiation of the target and guidance of missiles on it by the reflected signal, as well as obtaining information about the target and the missile in flight. The two-mode ROC made it possible to capture the target and switch to its auto-tracking by the homing head (GOS) of the missile at a distance of up to 410 km.

ROC SAM S-200 / Photo: topwar.ru

joint venture (2-5 in the division) serves to prepare and launch missiles at the target. It consists of six launchers (PU), 12 charging machines, a launch control cabin and a power supply system. A typical SP is a circular platform system for six launchers with a platform for the launch control cabin in the center, power supplies and a rail system for charging vehicles (two for each launcher). Launch control cabin provides automated control of the readiness and launch of six missiles in no more than 60 s. transported PU with a constant launch angle is designed for missile placement, automatic loading, pre-launch preparation, missile guidance and launch. Loading machine provided automatic reloading of the launcher with a rocket.

Scheme of the starting position of the S-200 air defense system / Photo: topwar.ru

Two-stage missiles (5V21, 5V28, 5V28M) is made according to the normal aerodynamic scheme with four delta wings of high elongation and a semi-active seeker. The first stage consists of 4 solid propellant boosters, which are installed between the wings of the second stage. The second (propulsion) stage of the rocket is made in the form of a number of hardware compartments with a liquid-propellant two-component rocket engine. A semi-active seeker is located in the head compartment, which begins to work 17 seconds after the command is issued to prepare the missile for launch. To hit the target, the missile defense system is equipped with a high-explosive fragmentation warhead - 91 kg of explosive, 37,000 spherical submunitions of two types (weighing 3.5 g and 2 g) and a radio fuse. When a warhead is detonated, the fragments scatter in a sector of 120 degrees. at speeds up to 1700 m/s.

SAM 5V21 on PU / Photo topwar.ru

ZRS S-200V("Vega") and S-200D("Dubna") - modernized versions of this system with an increased range and height of hitting targets, as well as a modified 5V28M missile.

The main characteristics of the S-200 air defense system

Combat use and deliveries abroad

The combat "baptism" of the S-200VE air defense system received in Syria (1982), where it shot down an Israeli E-2C Hawkeye early warning aircraft at a distance of 180 km. After that, the American carrier fleet immediately withdrew from the coast of Lebanon. In March 1986, the S-200 division on duty near the city of Sirte (Libya) shot down three carrier-based attack aircraft of the A-6 and A-7 types of the American aircraft carrier Saratoga with successive launches of three missiles. In 1983 (September 1), a South Korean Boeing-747 that violated the border of the USSR was shot down by an S-200 missile. In 2001 (October 4), the Ukrainian S-200 air defense system during the exercises mistakenly shot down a Russian Tu-154, which was flying along the Tel Aviv-Novosibirsk route.

Aircraft E-2C Hawkeye / Photo: www.navy.mil

With the entry into service of the S-300P air defense system by the beginning of 2000. The Angara and Vega air defense systems were completely withdrawn from service. On the basis of the 5V28 anti-aircraft missile of the S-200V complex, the Kholod hypersonic flying laboratory was created to test hypersonic ramjet engines (scramjet engines). On November 27, 1991, at the test site in Kazakhstan, for the first time in the world, a hypersonic ramjet was tested in flight, which exceeded the speed of sound by 6 times at an altitude of 35 km.

Flying layuoratoriya "Cold" / Photo: topwar.ru

Since the early 1980s S-200V air defense systems under the symbol S-200VE "Vega-E" were supplied to the GDR, Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Hungary, North Korea, Libya, Syria and Iran. In total, the S-200 air defense system, in addition to the USSR, was put into service with the armies of 11 foreign countries.