This article marks the 25th
anniversary of the most mass-produced tank in the last quarter of the 20th
century.
 rom 1994 to 1997,
a number of enterprises of the military industrial complex created a versatile
multifunctional system based on the well-known Buk-M1 SAM system and intended
for use in air, missile and coastal defense systems.
 |
| Fig.
1 |
The new system was nicknamed Buk-M1-2 (leading developer is the Tikhomirov
Instrument-Making Research Institute together with the Kort-M JSC, the
leading manufacturer is the Ulyanovsk Mechanical Plant). It is intended
for air defense of troops and facilities from current and developmental
high-speed tactical and strategic aircraft, attack helicopters, including
hovering rotary-wing aircraft, tactical, ballistic, cruise and aircraft
missiles in a massive raid with the use of intensive radio and fire countermeasures
as well as for engagement of waterborne and ground targets.
The high firepower of the system, which is ensured by six firing channels,
guarantees the engagement of the same number of targets simultaneously
flying from different directions at various altitudes.
The Buk-M1-2 system, presented in Fig. 1, comprises:
— command post (CP);
— target acquisition and designation radar;
— six self-propelled mounts (SPM);
— three loader-launchers (LL) attached to the SPMs;
— 9M317 surface-to-air missiles placed on the SPMs (four pieces each)
and loader-launchers (eight pieces, of which four are on the launcher and
four are on load-carrying supports).
The basic characteristics of the Buk-M1-2 air defense missile system
compared with the Buk-M1 and the Eurosam system developed by West European
countries are presented in Table 1.
The aforementioned characteristics have been attained through the use
of the highly effective 9M317 SAM (leading developer and manufacturer is
the Dolgoprudny Research and Production Enterprise) and the new fire control
system which incorporated specially developed design features into the
CP, SPMs and LLs.
The full-scale tests of the Buk-M1-2 air defense missile system, during
which a sea mine sweeper, parked strategic aircraft, launchers and tactical,
ballistic and cruise missiles were engaged, have confirmed its high effectiveness
as a multifunctional defensive asset.
Table 1. Medium range SAM system types
| Basic Characteristics |
Buk-M1 |
Buk-M1-2 |
Eurosam |
| 1. Targets to be engaged |
Strategic and tactical aircraft
Helicopters, including hovering ones
Cruise missiles |
Strategic and tactical aircraft
Helicopters, including hovering ones
Cruise missiles
Tactical ballistic missiles
Aircraft missiles
Precision-guided weapon components
Waterborne targets
Ground targets |
Strategic and tactical aircraft
Helicopters and cruise missiles
Tactical ballistic missiles
Antiradar missiles |
2. Engagement zone limits, km:
2.1. Approaching F-15 aircraft:
— range
— altitude |
3 - 35
0.015 - 22 |
3 - 45
0.015 - 25 |
3 - 35
0.015 - 20 |
2.2. Lance tactical ballistic missile:
— range
— altitude |
is not insured |
up tp 20
2 -16 |
up to 20
no data |
2.3. HARM:
— range
— altitude |
is not insured
|
up to 20
0.1-15 |
up to 20
no data |
2.4. ALCM:
— range |
20 - 25 |
30 - 35 |
no data |
2.5. Destroyer-type waterborne targets:
— range |
is not ensured |
3 - 25 |
no data |
| 2.6. Ground targets such as parked aircraft, launchers
and large command posts |
is not ensured |
10 - 15 |
is not ensured |
3. One-missile
target kill probability:
— non-maneuvering
F-15 aircraft
— Lance tactical
ballistic missile
— HARM
— ALCM |
0.7-0.85
-
-
0.4 |
0.9-0.95
0.5-0.7
0.5-0.7
0.5-0.7 |
0.7-0.85
-
-
- |
| 4. Time into action, min |
5 |
5 |
15 |
|
Yevgeny Pigin, Gennady
Kaufman