START LAUNCHERS AT SEA AND IN AIR

Gennady Muratshin, Director General of the Start Research and Production Enterprise
 

Througout its semicentennial history, the Start Research and Production Enterprise has been involved in the development of weapon launchers for the Navy, and it was one of its priority tasks. The beginning of the work dates back to the 1950s when a multiple antisubmarine rocket launcher was under development.

The Tu-22M3 bomber

In the same years, Start developed multiple launchers for the Grad-M and Ogon systems intended to attack enemy coastal positions by fire before landing operations commence.

The Grad-M system launcher, designated MS-73, features servo drives used to direct the launcher towards the target as the ship is rolling and pitching. The launcher is intended to equip medium-displacement amphibious assault ships. It accommodates eight rocket blocks, 20 rockets each, in a drum. In action, the rocket blocks are transported in pairs onto the launch rails. The rockets can be fired in ripples with a separation interval of 0.5 s. After each ripple, the empty blocks are lowered into the drum, while the next pair is transported onto the rails. The high rate of fire and the long firing range of up to 20 km assure effective support to a landing party.

The MS-227 launchers of the Ogon system have a small weight and size, as they are intended to equip high-speed small-displacement landing craft. One such launcher carries a block of 22 rockets, and the reload rounds can be arranged under deck, if required. The system’s design allows loading the tubes in the underdeck position. In action, the launcher is raised above the deck and rockets are fired in ripples with a separation interval of 0.2 s. Depending on the rocket type, targets are hitted out to a range of 4.5 to 10 km.

The Klinok ADM system

In the 1970s, the company took part in the development of the Shtil and Klinok shipborne air defense missile (ADM) systems intended for medium- and large-displacement ships.

The ZS-90 launcher developed by Start for the Shtil ADM system carries 24 missiles, type 9M38 (Buk-M1), in an underdeck drum. The missiles can be loaded onto the launcher rails automatically. The raming rate is 3 m/s. The aiming drives angular rate is 46 deg/s in elevation and 84 deg/s in azimuth, the rate of fire being 5 shots per minute. The 3S95 launcher of the Klinok ADM system comprises 3 or 4 modules of 8 container-launchers each. The launcher directs the missiles of the Tor-M1 type in azimuth. The rate of fire of 24 launches per minute allows simultaneous engagement of several targets.

In 1975, Start began developing an internal rotary launcher (IRL) for firing cruise missiles from aircraft. The system was ordered by the Tupolev Design Bureau.

The challenging task called for the diversification of the entire pilot production to the aviation specifics. There were no analogs of this equipment in Russia or abroad at that time, so an extensive research, design and experimental work had to be carried out to develop the design. Having studied different variants of the system, the choice was made in favor of a rotary version with a catapult fitted inside a drum accommodating six lever-motion mechanisms designed to hold the missiles and guide them when they are being ejected from the missile bay of the carrier aircraft. An air-hydraulic accumulator chargeable from the platform’s hydraulic system and capable of being quickly reloaded for firing single missiles or missile salvos was used as the catapult. The drum had a rotary drive to set any of the six missiles to the firing position. Following a series of experiments the system underwent rig tests and was accepted. As a result, the MKU-5-6 system entered service with the Tu-95MS aircraft. It was followed similar systems developed for Tu-22Ms and Tu-160s.

Operation of these systems by Air Force units for over 10 years proved their outstanding performance characteristics and high reliability, which made it possible to increase the overhaul life by 20 percent at a later stage. Presently, Start performs full-scale overhauls of the systems. Since 1983, along with the development of IRLs for air-to-surface missiles, the company has been engaged, jointly with the Sukhoi Design Bureau, in research and development of various kinds of air-to-air missile launch catapults.