The new complex
That concern aerospace defense “Almaz-Antey” has begun the development of promising anti-aircraft missile complex medium-range, on Monday said the General Director of the concern Jan Novikov. Development work on the new complex will take place on the basis of Scientific research Institute of instrument design (NIIP). Tikhomirov, who is a leading developer of anti-aircraft missile complexes of a family of “Buk” (medium-range SAM, which is one of the main assets of the military defense in the Russian army).
For the first time to start developing a new air defense system in September, reported the press service of “Almaz-Antey”. According to its characteristics, the new SAM will be beyond the capabilities of standing on the arms in the army of the complexes: promising development can cover large areas of detection and destruction of targets noted in September, the press service of the concern. SAM “Almaz-Antey” will become more resilient and protected from interference in comparison with the existing in the Russian army. The developer hopes to achieve this by increasing the amount of automation in the composition of the SAM.
Promising SAM will have the opportunity of deep integration in a single system of distributed defenses a different range, which the current Russian air defense system virtually no. The new facilities will become elements of network-centric management system is a kind of a military “Internet of things”, in which military equipment will be managed through a secure digital communication networks, noted in a press-service.
Disturbance hypersonic
New medium-range SAM will be able to fight hypersonic targets, said the expert of the center for military-political studies at MGIMO, Vladimir Korovin. Anti-aircraft system “Almaz-Antey” will have a highly maneuverable high-speed missiles capable of intercepting hypersonic and ballistic targets for tactical purposes, said Korovin.
In future the complex will be combined the possibility of missile weapons and electronic countermeasures, said the chief editor of the magazine “Arsenal Fatherland” Victor murakhovski.
“It will be much more automated and robotic system, which might integrate into your composition as a firing and radio-electronic means of destruction. What is now separately performed by the electronic warfare systems and fire defenses will be merged into one system,” — said murakhovski.
Western analogue
To foreign analogues prospective Russian medium-range SAM experts attribute the us-European MEADS (Medium Extended Air Defense System), which is developed by American, German and Italian plants to replace the troops of the NATO air defense system the MIM-104 Patriot from the USA.
Unlike the American system, even one launcher of the new complex is able to provide perimeter protection of military groups against air and missile attacks, while “the Patriot” to cover the circle should be at least four launchers.
MEADS SAM system capable of hitting aircraft at a distance of three to 100 km, and the head of tactical ballistic missiles not beyond 35 km, the maximum height of the targets is 25 km away. For comparison, the height of the targets of the Russian medium-range SAM “Buk-M3” is 35 km away.
MEADS development is ongoing, but last summer the German Minister of defense Ursula von der Leyen announced that the Bundeswehr will replace the existing American Patriot to MEADS.
In place of the “Buku”
Today, most modern anti-aircraft missile complex medium-range, which is in service with the Russian army, is the SAM “Buk-M3”.It is designed to defeat aircraft strategic and tactical aircraft helicopters, including hovering, cruise missiles and other aerial targets and to fire surface and ground Radiocontrast objects. The first brigade set of these complexes entered the army in 2016.
Experts assign “Buku-M3” in service in Russian air defense units not more than one and a half decades. As noted by Korovin, the third “Buk” is a deep and high-quality modernization of the system created in the 1970-ies. And its characteristics, he will not be able to fully engage in the promising network-centric control system air defense Russia.
The new product “Almaz-Antey”, if it entered service, will cease to be only anti-aircraft missile complex will become a multi-functional system of air and missile defense, said murakhovski,
New SAM will not become another product of the family of “Beech” — this is a new product with the original architecture, said military expert Ilya Kramnik. “Perhaps the missile will change its layout and it will have the possibility of vertical missile launch, not horizontal, as in “Beech”, — said Kramnik. It is difficult to judge the cost and timing of developing a new SAM, the expert said, but, according to him, the total costs can amount to billions of dollars.
