ZRK S-125 "Neva": development, tactical and technical characteristics, modifications

C-125 Neva is a short-range anti-aircraft missile system (SAM) manufactured in the USSR. The export version of the complex was called "Pechora". In the NATO classification it is called SA-3 Goa. The complex was adopted by the USSR in 1961. The main developer of the ZRK was NPO Almaz named after Raspletin. Today we will get acquainted with the history of the Neva air defense system and its technical characteristics.

History

The anti-aircraft missile system was part of the USSR air defense system and was intended to protect industrial and military infrastructure from attacks of any type of air attack medium flying at medium and low altitudes. It can hit bombers, fighters, multipurpose aircraft and cruise missiles with a scattering efficiency of more than 0.2 m ² .

The development of the SAM began in the "Almaz" NGO in 1956 in response to the creation of aircraft operating effectively at low altitudes. The technical task for the development of the complex assumed the possibility of neutralizing targets flying at an altitude of 0.2 to 5 km at a range of 6 to 10 km at a speed of not more than 1500 km / h. At the first tests the complex worked with a 5B24 missile. This tandem was not effective enough, so the task was added to the task - to adjust it for a new missile 5В27, unified with the sea complex "Wave. This decision allowed to improve the TTX (tactical and technical characteristics) of the system to a considerable extent. In 1961 the complex was adopted, under the designation C-125 "Neva".

In the future, the system was modified more than once. It included equipment to combat GShM interference, sighting of the target, detachment of the PRP, identification, sound control, and installation of a remote indicator SRC. Thanks to the improved design, the SAM was able to neutralize targets located at a distance of up to 17 kilometers.

In 1964, the modernized version of the SAM was adopted for service under the name S-125 "Neva-M". The export version of the plant was called Pechora. Since 1969, the supply of the complex to the Warsaw Treaty countries began. Literally a year later, the supply of the C-125 began in other countries, in particular Afghanistan, Angola, Algeria, Hungary, Bulgaria, India, Korea, Cuba, Yugoslavia, Ethiopia, Peru, Syria and many others. In the same year of 1964, the 5B27 missile developed by the ICB "Fakel.

In 1980, the second and last attempt was made to modernize the complex. As part of the modernization, the designers proposed:

1. Transfer the stations of guidance of projectiles to an elemental digital base.
2. To decouple the missile and target channels by introducing two control posts. This made it possible to increase the maximum missile range by up to 42 kilometers, thanks to the use of the "full preemption" method.
3. Introduce a homing channel for projectiles.

Because of fears that the completion of the Neva will interfere with the production of the new S-300P SAM, the proposals described were rejected. Currently, the version of the complex, which received the designation C-125-2, or "Pechora-2", is proposed.

Composition

The system consists of an anti-aircraft missile system, anti-aircraft guided missiles and means of technical designation.

The SAM includes such means:

1. Radar station (radar) SNR125M for tracking the target and pointing missiles at it. The radar is located on two trailers. In one is the control cabinet of the UNK, and in the other - the antenna post. СНР125М works with radar and television support channels, in manual or automatic modes. The station is equipped with an automated launching device APP-125, which defines the boundaries of the missile destruction zone, as well as the coordinates of the missile meeting point with the target. In addition, it solves the problem of launching.
2. A missile battery consisting of four 5P73 launchers, each with 4 missiles.
3. A power supply system consisting of a diesel-electric station and a distribution booth.

Guidance

The complex is two-channel on the rocket and single-channel on the target. Two missiles can be aimed at the enemy's object at once. Additionally, radar facilities for detection and target designation, P-12 or P-15 models, can operate with the SAM. The facilities of the complex are located in semi-trailers and trailers, and communication between them is carried out through cables.

The solution of such a problem as the creation of a low-altitude missile complex required designers to make unusual decisions. This was the reason for the unusual appearance of the antenna device of the installation.

To hit the target, which is 10 km away and flies at a speed of 420 m / s, at an altitude of 200 m, it is necessary to launch the rocket at the moment when the target is 17 km away. And the capture and auto-tracking of the goal must be started and at all at a distance of 24 km. In this case, the detection range of such a low-altitude target should be from 32 to 35 km, taking into account the time required for additional search. In such a situation, the angle of the target's position at the moment of detection is only 0.3 °, and when taking on the auto-tracking - about 0.5 °. At such small angles, the radar signal of the guidance station, reflected from the ground, exceeds the signal reflected from the target. To reduce this influence, the C-125 was equipped with two antenna systems. The first one is not scanning, it is responsible for receiving and transmitting. And the second - scanning - only takes a reception.

When operating at low altitudes, the transmitting antenna is set to 1 °. The transmitter then irradiates the ground surface with only the side lobes of the antenna diagram. This allows you to reduce the reflected from the ground signal in dozens of times. To reduce the error of tracking the target associated with the appearance of "mirror reflection" (which is the interference between the direct and the target signals re-reflected from the ground), the receiving antennas of the two planes rotate 45 ° to the horizon. Because of this, the antenna post of the SAM also acquires its characteristic shape.

Another task related to the low altitude of the enemy's target flight is the construction of the SDT (selector of moving targets), which could effectively allocate the target signal, among the powerful reflections of the signal from the ground and all kinds of passive interference. For this purpose, a periodical reading device was created that operated on solid ULVs (ultrasonic delay lines).

The parameters of this SDT largely exceed the parameters of all previously existing radars working with pulsed radiation. Suppression of interference from passive objects reaches 33-36 dB. To stabilize the repetition periods of the probing pulses, the synchronizer was adjusted to the delay line. Later it turned out that such a solution is one of the drawbacks of the station, since it does not allow changing the frequency of repetition with the aim of detuning from impulse noise. To level the active interference, a frequency hopping system of the transmitter frequency was provided, which occurs if the interference exceeds a predetermined level.

The device of a rocket

The anti-aircraft guided missile (SAM) 5В27, developed in the ICB "Fakel", was a two-stage guided missile and was built according to the aerodynamic scheme "Duck". The first stage of the rocket consists of a solid-fuel accelerator; Four stabilizers, opening after the start; And pairs of aerodynamic surfaces located on the connecting compartment and necessary to reduce the flight speed of the accelerator after the separation of the stages. Immediately after the separation of stages, the surface data is unfolded, which entails an intensive rotation, the separation of the stabilizing consoles, and finally, the deceleration of the accelerator with its subsequent erratic fall.

The second stage of the missile also has a solid fuel engine. Its design consists of a set of compartments in which are located: control units, radio fighter, combat high-explosive fragment, airborne equipment, motor and receivers of control commands.

Control of the flight trajectory of the missile and aiming it at the target is carried out by means of radio commands sent from the ground-based target radar. The detonation of the warhead occurs when the missile approaches the enemy target at the appropriate distance at the command of the radio blast. It is also possible to undermine the command from the guidance station.

Starting starter works from two to four seconds, and the march - up to 20 seconds. The time required for the self-destruction of the missile is 49 seconds. The permissible overload of the missile maneuver is 6 units. The rocket operates in a wide temperature range - from -40 ° to + 50 ° C.

When the V-601P missiles were adopted, the designers began working to expand the capabilities of the anti-aircraft missile system. Their tasks included such changes: shelling of targets moving at a speed of up to 2500 km / h, damage to near-sound (moving at a speed close to the speed of sound) targets at an altitude of up to 18 km, as well as increasing noise immunity and likelihood of hitting.

Modifications of missiles

In the process of technology development, such modifications of missiles were created:

1. 5В27Г. Index "G" means "hermetic".
2. 5V27GP. The index "P" indicates a reduced near border of defeat up to 2.7 km.
3. 5В27ГПС. Index "C" means the presence of a selective block, which reduces the probability of automatic operation of the radio fuse when the signal is reflected from the surrounding area.
4. 5V27GPU. Index "U" means the availability of accelerated prelaunch preparation. Reduction of training time is achieved due to the supply to the aircraft equipment of increased voltage from the power source, when the preheating mode of the equipment is switched on. Equipment prelaunch preparation, located in the cabin of the UNK, also received appropriate modification.

All modifications of the missiles were produced at the Kirov Plant No. 32. Specially for the training of personnel, the plant produced overall weight, cut and training models of rockets.

The launch of missiles

The missile is launched from the launcher (PU) of the 5P73 model, which is guided by the elevation and azimuth angle. The four-beam transported launcher was designed by the Design Bureau of Special Machine-Building under the direction of B.S. Korobov. Without running gear and gas reflectors, it can be transported by a YaAZ-214 vehicle.

When firing at low-flying targets, the minimum launch angle of the missile is 9 °. To avoid soil erosion, a multi-section circular rubber-metal coating was applied around the launcher. The PU is charged in series, with the help of two transport-charging machines built on the basis of the ZiL-131 or Zil-157 cars, which have increased cross-country capability.

Power supply of the station was carried out by means of a mobile transformer substation, mounted in the body of an automobile trailer. The reconnaissance and target designation stations type P-12NM and P-15 were equipped with autonomous power sources AD-10-T230.

State ownership of aircraft was determined using radar interrogators.

Modernization

In the early 1970s, the Neva anti-aircraft missile system was modernized. Improved radar equipment allowed to increase noise immunity when sighting the target and controlling the missile. Thanks to the introduction of the "Karat-2" equipment intended for television-optical sighting and tracking, it became possible to accompany and shell enemy targets without radar radiation into the surrounding area. The transmitter of the target channel was switched at the antenna station. The work on the interfering aircraft was significantly facilitated under the condition of visual visibility.

At the same time, there were weak points in the optical channel of sighting. In cloud conditions, as well as when observing toward the sun or the presence of an artificial light source installed on an enemy aircraft, the efficiency of the channel dropped sharply. In addition, sighting by the television-optical method could not provide installation operators with data on target range. This limited the ability to choose guidance methods and reduced the effectiveness of attack speed targets.

In the second half of the 70s, the S-125 air defense system received equipment that increased the effectiveness of its use in firing at targets moving at low altitudes, as well as ground and surface targets. Also, a modified 4B27D missile was created, the increased speed of its flight allowed to fire targets "after-flight". The length of the rocket increased, and the mass increased to 0.98 tons. Heavy ZURs were loaded into a launcher of 3 pieces. On May 3, 1978, the S-125M1 missile system with the 5V27D missile was put into service.

Versions

During the development of the complex the following modifications were made.

For the Air Defense of the USSR:

1. C-125 Neva. The basic version with a 5B24 missile with a range of up to 16 km.
2. C-125M "Neva-M". The complex, which received missiles 5В27 and increased to 22 km range.
3. C-125M1 "Neva-M1". It differs from version "M" of increased noise immunity and new missiles 5В27Д with the ability to attack after-driving.

For the Soviet Navy:

1. M-1 "The Wave". Ship analog version of the C-125.
2. M-1M "Wave-M". Ship analog version of the C-125M.
3. M-1P "Wave-P". A ship analog of the S-152M1 version, with the addition of the 9S33 telesystem.
4. M-1H. "Wave-N". The complex is aimed at combating low-flying RCC.

For export:

1. "Pechora". The export version of the Neva air defense system.
2. Pechora-M. The export version of the Neva-M missile system.
3. "Pechora-2M". The export version of the Neva-M1 air defense system.

The S-125 "Pechora-2M" SAM system is still supplied to a number of countries.

Characteristics

The main tactical and technical characteristics of the Neva air defense system:

1. The range of heights of damage is 0.02-18 km.
2. The maximum range of damage is 11-18 km, depending on the altitude.
3. The probability of hitting one missile at the target is 0.25.
4. The time to autocaptate the target for autosupport is 8 seconds.
5. The operating mode of the launcher is semi-automatic.
6. Data generation time is 7 seconds.
7. The accuracy of the forecast of the meeting point is 1.5-3 km.
8. The distance between the center of the position and the control cabin is up to 20 m.
9. The distance between the control cab and the launch device is up to 70 m.
10. The length of the rocket is 5948 mm.
11. The diameter of the first stage of the rocket is 552 mm.
12. The diameter of the second stage of the rocket is 379 mm.
13. The starting mass of the rocket is 980 kg.
14. The flight speed of the rocket is up to 730 m / s.
15. The maximum permissible target speed is 700 m / s.
16. The weight of the warhead of the missile is 72 kg.

Exploitation

The S-125 short-range SAM was used in various military conflicts of a local type. In 1970, 40 divisions of the "Neva" with the Soviet personnel went to Egypt. There they quickly showed their effectiveness. In 16 firing, Soviet SAMs shot down 9 and damaged 3 Israeli planes. After this, a truce came to Suez.

In 1999, during the time of NATO aggression against Yugoslavia, the S-125 air defense missile system was last used on the battlefield. By the beginning of hostilities, Yugoslavia had 14 C-125 batteries and 60 launchers. Some of them were equipped with television cameras and laser range finders, which allowed launching missiles without preliminary target designation. Nevertheless, in general, the effectiveness of the complexes used in Yugoslavia was undermined because they were by then obsolete and needed regular maintenance. For most of the missiles used in the C-125, the residual resource was zero.

The methods of electronic countermeasures available to NATO troops proved to be very effective in confronting Russian missile systems. Until the end of the conflict, only two of the eight divisions of the S-125 air defense systems, operating in the vicinity of Belgrade, remained combat-ready. In order to reduce losses, the "Neva" divisions used their radars for 23-25 seconds. Such a period of time was calculated by the headquarters as a result of the first losses in the collision with the NATO anti-radar missiles HARM. Calculations of missile systems had to master a hidden maneuver, assuming a constant change of positions and shooting from "ambushes." As a result, it was the S-125 air defense system, of which we considered the TTX, that the American F-117 fighter was brought down.