... the fight was inevitable. At 17:28, the signalmen lowered the Dutch flag, and a flag with a swastika flew up on the gaff - at the same moment the Kormoran raider (German cormorant) fired a volley at close range from his six-inch guns and torpedo tube.
The mortally wounded Australian cruiser "Sydney" with the last effort put three shells into the German bandit and, engulfed in flames from bow to stern, left the battle. On the raider, the situation also developed badly - the shells pierced through the Kormoran (the former Steiermark diesel-electric ship) and disabled the power plant transformers. The raider lost its course, extensive fires broke out. At night, the Germans had to leave the ship, at that time the glow of the dying Sydney was still visible on the horizon ...
317 German sailors landed on the coast of Australia and, observing exemplary order, surrendered; the further fate of the Sydney cruiser is unknown - none of the 645 people of its crew escaped. Thus ended a unique naval battle on November 19, 1941, in which an armed civilian ship sank a real cruiser.
Where will the smart one hide the leaf? In the woods
The Club-K missile container complex externally is a set of three standard 20- or 40-foot cargo containers, in which a universal launch module, a combat control module, and a power supply and auxiliary systems module are located. The original technical solution makes the "Club" practically undetectable until the moment of its application. The cost of the kit is half a billion rubles (to be honest, not so little - the same price, for example, for a Mi-8 helicopter).
"Club" uses wide range ammunition: X-35 Uran anti-ship missiles, 3M-54TE, 3M-54TE1 and 3M-14TE missiles of the Kalibr complex to destroy surface and ground targets. The Club-K complex can be equipped with coastal positions, surface ships and vessels of various classes, railway and automobile platforms.
Analogues
In a broad sense, the practice of disguising weapons has been known since the dawn of Mankind.
In a narrow sense, there are no analogues of the "Club" complex.
ABL aft of the nuclear-powered missile cruiser USS Mississippi
Of the systems closest to their intended purpose, I managed to recall only the armored launcher Armored Box Launcher (ABL) for launching Tomahawks. ABLs were installed in the 1980s on Spruence-class destroyers, battleships, and on the helipads of the Virginia and Long Beach nuclear-powered cruisers. Of course, no versatility was envisaged - ABL was a compact box-type launcher and was used exclusively on warships. ABL was withdrawn from service after the introduction of the new UVP Mark-41.
Club-K for offense
If a samurai draws a sword from its scabbard by 5 centimeters, he must stain it with blood. The ability to kill the enemy with one movement, only for a moment showing the weapon and hiding it back, was considered a special chic. These ancient rules are best suited to describe the Soviet "special trains". The strategic rail-based missile system RT-23UTTH "Molodets" guaranteed to provide the enemy with a "one-way ticket".
The developers of the "Club" complex often draw an analogy between their product and the RT-23UTTH. But here there is the following "nuance": railway complex with ICBM "Molodets" is designed for a preventive / retaliatory nuclear strike in the event of a global war; it is understood that a second shot is no longer required. Such weapons should be hidden and disguised as much as possible in order to unexpectedly “pull out of their scabbards” at the right moment and hit the enemy on the other side of the Earth with one blow.
Unlike the truly formidable RT-23UTTKh, the Club complex is a tactical weapon and its power is not so great as to end the enemy forces with one, ten or even a hundred launches.
During Desert Storm, the US Navy fired 1,000 Tomahawk cruise missiles at Iraqi positions. But the use of a colossal number of "Tomahawks" did not decide the outcome of the local war - it took another 70,000 sorties to "fix" the effect obtained!
What, in fact, prevented the Coalition forces from continuing to bombard Iraqi positions with Tomahawks? Exorbitant price of cruise missiles - 1.5 million dollars! For comparison: the cost of one hour of flight of an F-16 fighter-bomber is 7,000 dollars. The cost of a laser-guided bomb starts at $19,000. An aircraft sortie costs dozens of times cheaper than a cruise missile, while a tactical bomber performs its “work” better, more quickly and can strike from an “air watch” position.
The use of cruise missiles against conventional targets is too inefficient and wasteful: "Tomahawks" are always used only in combination with aviation and ground forces, as an auxiliary means for suppressing air defense and destroying the most important objects in the first days of the war. Therefore, during local operations, the Club missile system loses its advantage - stealth. What is the point of disguising a launcher as a cargo container if, within a few months, thousands of armored vehicles, a million soldiers and hundreds of warships are being transferred to the area of the operation in front of the eyes of the whole world (this is how many forces it took to carry out Desert Storm). Simply installing several Club kits on a container ship and organizing a trip to the shores of a “probable enemy” is pointless from a military point of view.
Club-K on the defensive
Specialists of JSC "Concern Morinformsystem-Agat" position their "Club" missile system on the world market as an ideal weapon for developing countries - simple, powerful, and most importantly, it implements the principle of "asymmetry" so beloved by Russian designers - for example, the annual volume of traffic in China is over 75 million standard containers! It is not possible to find three containers with a "surprise" in such a cargo flow.
The unparalleled secrecy of the "Club" complex allows, in theory, to equalize the chances of strong and weak armies. In practice, the situation is somewhat more complicated: a set of three "standard 40-foot containers" in itself is not yet a weapon, because. the Club missile system is faced with the acute problem of external target designation and communication.
20-foot container Club-K with PU for launching anti-ship missiles "Uranus"
The armies of the NATO bloc are well aware that target designation and communications are stumbling blocks for the developers of any weapon, therefore they are taking unprecedented measures to destroy enemy communications - in zones local conflicts the sky is buzzing with electronic reconnaissance and electronic warfare aircraft. Radars, radio towers, command centers and communication centers are the first to be hit. Aviation, using special ammunition, disables electrical substations and de-energizes entire areas, depriving the enemy of the opportunity to use mobile and telephone communications.
It is naive to rely on the GPS system - NATO specialists know how to ruin the life of the enemy: during the aggression in Yugoslavia, GPS was turned off all over the world. The American army can easily do without this system - "Tomahawks" are guided using TERCOM - a system that independently scans the terrain; aviation can use radio beacons and military radio navigation systems. This situation was corrected only with the advent of Russia's own global positioning system Glonass.
Qualitative data for the development of a combat mission of a cruise missile can only be obtained from spacecraft or reconnaissance aircraft. The second point is immediately excluded - in a local war, air supremacy will immediately go to the stronger side. All that remains is to receive data from the satellite, but here the question arises of the possibility of receiving information under conditions of severe electronic suppression, and the working electronics unmask the position of tactical missiles.
An important factor is that the cargo turnover of standard 40-foot containers in the countries of the "third world" (namely, they are the promising customers of the "Club" complex) is quite limited. The above figure of 75 million refers only to China with its super-industry and one billion people. USA, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, Eurozone countries are the main operators of "standard 40-foot containers".
Container Terminal in New Jersey
Three containers standing among the African slums will immediately arouse suspicion, given that the processing and analysis of satellite images is performed by a computer that instantly notes all the nuances. 12-meter containers cannot appear on their own in the right place - trailers and a truck crane are needed - such a fuss will immediately attract attention. Moreover, now any military specialist in the world knows that containers can contain the Club complex (in principle, any weapon can be in suspicious containers, so they should be destroyed).
And the third question - against what goals in defensive operation can be applied complex "Club"? Against advancing tank columns? But the loss of one or two will not affect the offensive of the aggressor. Against enemy airfields? But they are far away, and the maximum firing range of Caliber missiles is 300 km. Attacks on landing sites on the coast? It's a good idea, but even without taking into account the likelihood of a breakthrough, several missiles with a 400 kg warhead will not cause serious damage.
Club-K as an anti-ship weapon
The most realistic version of the use of the missile system. Several containers on the coast can provide control of territorial waters and torrential zones; protection of naval bases and coastal infrastructure, as well as to provide cover in amphibious directions.
The problems are the same - shooting at the maximum range is possible only with the use of external target designation. Under normal conditions, the detection range of surface targets is limited to the radio horizon (30 ... 40 kilometers).
But then what is the difference between the Club complex and the Bal-E mobile coastal missile systems already adopted? The only difference is stealth. But visual stealth is not the most reliable means. In combat conditions, the included radar unambiguously unmasks the location of the missile position, and electronic reconnaissance aircraft can detect the operation of the electronic equipment of the complex.
On the other hand, self-propelled Bal-Es on a cross-country chassis can be disguised as anything and hidden in any port hangar. Bal-E, like Club, can use Kh-35 Uran anti-ship missiles. In principle, the experience of the original camouflage of missile positions has been known since the days of Vietnam, and this does not require buying a launcher for half a billion rubles.
To guess in which Club-K containers, you have to sink a beautiful ship
As for the idea of installing containers on small ships and container ships, using them in the ocean as ersatz missile carriers to destroy ships of the "probable enemy" navy, the practice of installing weapons on merchant ships has been known since the time of Columbus' caravels. At the beginning of the article, a case was cited of the successful use by the Germans of a civilian ship - the Kormoran, using the factor of surprise and the carelessness of the Sydney team, launched a preemptive strike and destroyed a large warship.
But ... with the development of aviation and radar equipment, the idea of \u200b\u200bthe "raider" disappeared into oblivion. Equipped with modern electronics, carrier-based and base patrol aircraft check hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of the ocean surface in an hour - a lone raider will no longer be able to disappear so easily into the vast expanses of the sea.
Dreaming of a “strike container ship” in one of the containers of which the Club launcher lurked, the following problems need to be solved: firstly, who will give the container ship target designation at a distance of 200 kilometers? Secondly, a container ship that appears in a war zone can be easily boarded or destroyed as a potential threat. For the US Navy, this is a familiar event - in 1988, American sailors shot down a passenger Airbus of Air Iran and did not even apologize. Do not forget that the container ship does not have any means of self-defense (and their installation immediately unmasks a civilian ship), and during Operation Desert Storm, the US Navy and the Royal Navy of Great Britain shot everyone in the combat zone for nothing boats larger than boats - British Lynx helicopters were especially rampant, destroying many patrol boats and trawlers converted into minesweepers with the help of miniature Sea Skua missiles.
Conclusion
The wise Lao Tzu once said: “To send unprepared people into battle means to betray them.” I am categorically against any "asymmetric" means. In modern conditions, their use leads to even greater human losses, because. no "cheap asymmetric means" can withstand the well-equipped and trained army, aviation, etc. I am all for the development of real combat systems and the construction of real warships, and not "container ships with missiles."
As for the prospects of the original Club-K missile system (“accessible strategic weapon” according to its creators), I have no right to draw any conclusions here. If Club-K is successful on the world market, then this will be the best refutation of all military theories, although these are already problems of the Morinformsystem-Agat Concern Open Joint Stock Company.
Much more pleasant is the fact that the cruise missiles of the Caliber family have a diameter of 533 mm, which means they are adapted to be launched from Russian nuclear-powered Pike torpedo tubes. This is the real Russian combat system!
Note. The German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran was a capital ship with a total displacement of 8,700 tons. The fuel supply allowed him to go around four times globe(without any nuclear reactors!). Raider armament - 6 x 150 mm guns, 6 torpedo tubes, 2 seaplanes, a hundred sea mines.
The so-called throw tests of the Kh-35UE missile, fired from launchers placed in a standard cargo container of the Club-K complex, have successfully passed. The launch was carried out on August 22 at one of the specialized training grounds.
The Kh-35 anti-ship missile is notable for low visibility and flight to the target at a height of no more than fifteen meters, and on the final part of the trajectory - four meters. A combined homing system and a powerful warhead make it possible to destroy a warship with a displacement of 5,000 tons with one missile.
Throw tests are the first stage of testing any missiles. It turns out: are the launch preparation algorithms developed correctly, how the product itself reacts to the commands given, and in general - is the rocket capable of leaving the launcher without any problems.
Unfortunately, we have a strange practice. Tanks, missiles, planes are still in the drawings, and it is already being announced that they will definitely be put into service with an indication of a specific date. All dates pass, years fly by, but the promised miracle weapon still does not exist. So the belated message about the successful launch of the rocket from the Club-K container gives hope that the work is going according to schedule and in right direction. That is, there was a thorough check of the results obtained, and only after that the success was publicly announced.
| Video: Sergey Ptichkin / RG |
For the first time, a mock-up of this missile system was shown at a military-technical show in Malaysia in 2009. He immediately made a splash. The fact is that Club-K is a standard cargo 20- and 40-foot containers that are transported by sea, by rail or by trailer cars. Command posts and launchers with Kh-35UE, 3M-54E and 3M-14E multi-purpose missiles capable of hitting both surface and land targets are placed inside the containers.
Any container ship carrying a Club-K is essentially a missile carrier with a devastating salvo. And any echelon with such containers or a convoy of heavy container vehicles - powerful missile units capable of appearing where the enemy does not wait.
Nothing like this was developed either in the USA or in Western Europe. At first, the adherents of the world order were even indignant, expressing fear that such containers with missile surprises could fall into the hands of terrorists, which is unacceptable. Then, however, they calmed down, which is natural - Russia does not trade weapons with terrorists.
On the other hand, there were allegations that the developers of the original missile system were simply bluffing, trying to push a dummy onto the world market. According to Western engineers, it is physically impossible to place four launchers and a control cabin in the limited space of a cargo container, and the Russians are definitely not capable of it.
Tests that successfully passed on August 22 showed that Club-K is not a fiction, but a real-life combat system. As it became known to RG, similar tests are being prepared with 3M-54E and 3M-14E missiles. By the way, the 3M-54E missile is capable of destroying even an aircraft carrier. Furthermore. It is planned that Club-K mobile missile systems will take part in the large-scale exercises "Kavkaz-2012", that is, their military tests begin.
By the way, the English word Сlub has several Russian synonyms: club, container and cudgel. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the new "Dubina" turned out to be not at all a primitive weapon, but one of the most high-tech missile systems in the modern world.
For the first time, the Club-K missile system was presented by the Russian Design Bureau Novator at the Asian Defense Systems Exhibition, held in April 2009 in Malaysia. In Russia, "Club-K" was shown to the general public in St. Petersburg at the naval show "IMDS-2011". The system is a launcher with four anti-ship cruise missiles Kh-35UE, as well as missiles of the 3M-54KE, 3M-54KE1 and 3M-14KE types.
The complex looks like a standard sea (20 or 40 foot) shipping container used for shipping. Due to this disguise, it is almost impossible to notice the Club-K until it is activated. Functionally, the Club-K complex consists of a universal launch module (USM), a combat control module (MBU) and a power supply and life support module (MEZH). Russian developers call the missile system "available weapons strategic purpose”, each container costs, according to various estimates, about 10 ... 15 million dollars.
The Club-K container missile system has caused real panic among Western military experts, as it can completely change the rules of modern warfare. The compact container can be mounted on ships, trucks or railway platforms, and due to the excellent camouflage of the missile system, the enemy will have to conduct much more thorough reconnaissance when planning an attack.
In fact, the situation is much worse. She's just catastrophic. The fact is that in any decent developed country all ports and railway stations are filled with 40-foot containers. These containers, moreover, are widely used as temporary warehouses and for accommodation of change houses for workers, as well as for equipment - for example, modular oil and gas boilers, diesel power plants, liquid tanks, and so on are mounted in them.
Thus, the entire territory of the country is filled with tens and even hundreds of thousands of such containers. Which of them contain inside the rocket? How to define it? Civilian transport is perfectly suited for transshipment of such goods. A huge number of railway platforms, river and sea vessels and even cargo trailers can carry such containers.
The Daily Telegraph claims that if Iraq had had missile systems Club-K, a US invasion of the Persian Gulf would be impossible: any civilian cargo ship in the Gulf would pose a potential threat to warships and cargo.
Pentagon experts are worried that Russia is openly offering "Club-K" to anyone who is under threat of attack from the United States. In the event that this missile system enters service with Venezuela or Iran, this, according to American analysts, could destabilize the situation in the world.
“This system allows for the spread of cruise missiles on a scale that we have never seen before,” Pentagon defense consultant Reuben Johnson assesses the potential of Club-K. - Thanks to careful camouflage and high mobility, you can no longer easily determine that an object is being used as a launcher. First, a harmless cargo ship appears on your shores, and the next minute your military installations are already destroyed by explosions.
The main element of the Club missile system is the Alfa universal missile, which was demonstrated in 1993 at the arms exhibition in Abu Dhabi and at the international aerospace show MAKS-93 in Zhukovsky. In the same year, she was put into service.
According to the Western classification, the rocket received the designation SS-N-27 Sizzler (“hissing”, for its characteristic hissing sound at launch). In Russia and abroad, it was designated as "Club" (Сlub), "Turquoise" (Biryuza) and "Alpha" (Alpha or Alfa). However, these are all export names - this system is known to the domestic military under the code "Caliber".
India became the first foreign customer of the sea-based Club missile system. Surface and underwater missile systems are installed on Project 11356 frigates (Talwar type) and Project 877EKM diesel submarines of the Indian Navy, built by Russian companies. On previously purchased submarines, the Club complex is installed during repair and modernization work on them.
The Club missile system is also supplied to China, and agreements have been reached on deliveries to several other countries. Iran and Venezuela have already expressed their interest in purchasing new items, according to the Sunday Telegraph.
But so far we have been talking about sea-based Club systems - for surface ships and submarines. Now, Russian developers have taken a revolutionary step - they put ship-based missiles in a standard container and achieved their autonomous launch. And this radically changes the tactics and strategy of using missiles.
At the same time, Club-K missiles are not formally subject to any restrictions. Their flight range is up to 250-300 km, and they are not even ballistic, but winged. The Americans themselves at one time brought cruise missiles out of the brackets of agreements on restricting the export of missile technologies - and now they are reaping the benefits.
How did Club-K scare the military experts of the Pentagon? In principle, in combat and technological terms, there is nothing super-new there - the complex "shoots" with subsonic cruise missiles of various modifications (even the 3M54E missile is subsonic - only the last 20-30 km of its shock part passes on 3M supersonic in order to effectively overcome powerful air defense and create a large kinetic effect on a large target). The system allows you to hit sea and ground targets at a distance of 200-300 km from the launch point, including aircraft carriers - but in itself it is not a Wunderwaffe.
The main thing here is different - the whole complex is made in the form of a standard 20 or 40-foot sea container. This means that it becomes almost invisible to any kind of aerial and technical reconnaissance. This is the whole “salt” of the idea. The container may be on board a merchant ship. On the railway platform. It can be loaded onto a semi-trailer and delivered to the area of application by a conventional truck as an ordinary cargo. Truly, how not to remember the railway launchers ballistic missiles"Scalpel" of the times of the USSR!
However, if the destruction of the "refrigerators" can be explained by the needs of control over the launches of ballistic missiles, then here you will not drive up on a crooked goat. Cruise missiles, "this is a means of coastal defense" - and that's it!
It goes without saying that during an attack, air defense systems are primarily suppressed, and then coastal defenses are blown to smithereens. But there is nothing to spread here - hundreds, and even thousands, and even tens of thousands of decoys (ordinary containers, which someone aptly called "erythrocytes of world trade") simply will not allow any fluff or dust to be allowed.
This will force aircraft carriers to stay away from the coast, thereby limiting the range of use of aircraft from them - this is the time. If it comes to landing, then some of the containers can “open” and let the landing ships sink to the bottom - these are two. But to hell with them, with the ships - but there is also a landing force, the main striking force and equipment, the losses of which are operationally irreparable.
And thirdly, this allows you to keep more serious weapons and reserves closer to the coast. After all, we drove away the aircraft carriers, and their ability to influence the coast is greatly reduced.
Of course, it would be nice to hide coastal air defense systems in such containers. Then for sure - the sea borders will be locked. And, of course, to trade, trade and trade these systems again. After all, no one is allowed to defend themselves.
And now let's figure it out - is Club-K really as scary as it is painted? I must say that the Club family now includes several cruise missiles for various purposes, range and power.
The most powerful of them is the winged anti-ship 3M-54KE, created on the basis of the Granat missile, designed specifically for strikes against aircraft carriers. Its flight takes place at a speed of Mach 0.8 (0.8 of the speed of sound). When approaching the target, it separates from the sustainer engine and accelerates to Mach 3 - over 1 km / s - at a flight altitude of 5-10 m. A high-penetrating warhead contains 200 kg explosive. The range of the missile is 300 km.
Cruise anti-ship missiles ZM-54KE and ZM-54KE1 have a similar basic configuration. They are made according to the normal winged aerodynamic scheme with a drop-down trapezoidal wing. The main difference between these rockets is the number of stages.
The ZM-54KE rocket has three stages: a solid propellant launch stage, a propulsion stage with a liquid propellant engine, and a third solid propellant stage. The launch of the ZM54KE missile can be carried out from the universal vertical or inclined launchers ZS-14NE of a surface ship or a standard 533 mm torpedo tube of a submarine.
The launch is provided by the first solid fuel stage. After gaining altitude and speed, the first stage separates, the ventral air intake extends, the second-stage main turbojet engine starts and the wing opens. The missile flight altitude is reduced to 20 m above sea level, and the missile flies to the target according to the target designation data entered into the memory of its onboard control system before launch.
On the marching section, the rocket has a subsonic flight speed of 180-240 m / s, respectively, a long range. Targeting is provided by the onboard inertial navigation system. At a distance of 30-40 km from the target, the rocket makes a “hill” with the inclusion of an active radar head homing ARGS-54E.
ARGS-54E detects and selects surface targets (selects the most important ones) at a distance of up to 65 km. The missile is guided in the sector of angles in azimuth -45°, and in the vertical plane in the sector from -20° to +10°. The weight of the ARGS-54E without the hull and fairing is no more than 40 kg, and the length is 700 mm.
After the target is detected and captured by the homing head of the ZM54KE missile, the second subsonic stage is separated and the third solid propellant stage begins to operate, developing supersonic speeds up to 1000 m/s. In the final flight segment of 20 km, the rocket descends to a height of up to 10 m above the water.
At a supersonic speed of a rocket flying over the crests of waves in the final section, the probability of intercepting a rocket is small. Nevertheless, in order to completely exclude the possibility of interception of the ZM-54KE missile by air defense systems of the target, the onboard missile control system can choose the optimal route for reaching the attacked ship. In addition, when attacking large surface targets, a salvo launch of several missiles can be carried out, which will reach the target from different directions.
The subsonic cruising speed of the missile makes it possible to have a minimum fuel consumption per kilometer, and the supersonic speed should provide low vulnerability to anti-aircraft weapons of the enemy ship's short-range self-defense.
The main difference between the ZM-54KE1 cruise missile and the ZM-54KE missile is the absence of a third solid-propellant stage. Thus, the ZM-54KE1 rocket has only a subsonic flight mode. The ZM-54KE1 missile is almost 2 meters shorter than the ZM-54KE. This is done in order to be able to place it on ships of small displacement and on submarines with shortened torpedo tubes manufactured in NATO countries.
But the ZM-54KE1 rocket has almost twice as much warhead(400 kg). The flight of the ZM-54KE1 rocket takes place in the same way as that of the ZM-54KE, but without acceleration in the final section.
The ZM-14KE cruise missile does not differ much from the ZM-54KE1 missile in terms of its design and performance data. The difference lies in the fact that the ZM14KE missile is designed to destroy ground targets and has a slightly different control system. In particular, its control system includes a baro-altimeter, which provides greater secrecy of flight over land due to precise altitude maintenance in the terrain envelope mode, as well as a satellite navigation system that contributes to high pointing accuracy.
As for the new Kh-35UE cruise missile, we will consider it a little later in a separate article.
It should be noted that a number of significant technical factors are bypassed in the publications of the Western media. For example, "Club-K" is positioned by its manufacturer - OJSC "Concern" Morinformsystem-Agat "- as a universal launch module, which houses a lifting launcher for four missiles. But in order to bring the Club-K complex into combat condition and launch missiles, two more of the same 40-foot containers are required, in which the Combat Control Module and the Power Supply and Life Support Module are located.
These two modules provide:
- daily maintenance and routine checks of missiles;
- reception of target designation and commands for firing via satellite;
- calculation of initial shooting data;
- carrying out prelaunch preparation;
- development of a flight mission and launch of cruise missiles.
It is clear that this requires a trained combat crew, a centralized command post, satellite navigation and communications. It is unlikely that this is available to terrorists, even if they are from Hezbollah. They do not have their own satellites, "Club-K", of course, is tied to the Russian space group and the corresponding control.
The real purpose of the container complex "Club-K" is the arming of mobilized civilian ships in a threatened period. In the event of possible aggression, a coastal state can quickly receive a small fleet designed to fight a potential enemy's naval strike force.
The same containers located on the coast will cover it from approaching landing craft. That is, it is a very effective weapon of defense. At the same time, it is very cheap - about 15 million dollars for a basic complex (three containers, 4 missiles). This is an order of magnitude lower than the cost of a frigate or corvette, which are usually used to defend the coastline.
"Club-K" is able to replace the fleet and naval aviation. For poor countries with a long coastline, this is a serious alternative to purchasing expensive equipment that is usually purchased in Western Europe. Spanish frigates, German submarines, French missile systems, Italian helicopters and other weapons, components for which are manufactured in a dozen countries, may lose a fair sector of the market.
/Based on warcyb.org.ru, ru.wikipedia.org and i-korotchenko.livejournal.com/
One of the values English word Club - "club". And this is a very appropriate name for the Russian Club-K missile weapon container complex. Appearing out of nowhere, the Russian "club" can quickly calm down any unbridled aggressor.
Imagine an early summer morning somewhere on the coast of Latin America, or South-East Asia. Or Africa. A light breeze from the ocean, unhurried waves, lush greenery, an old steamboat, which just as leisurely sips somewhere along the coast with several shabby containers on board ... But this idyll is suddenly disturbed by a group of ships of an unexpected aggressor who, predatory and treacherously, decided to attack civilians and friendly Latin American (African, etc.) workers, whose entire “fault” was that uranium, diamonds, oil, gas, or something like that was found on their lands. And to protect this "good" they recently bought some Kalashnikov assault rifles (AK) from old friends in a distant northern country ... .. Have you imagined? Now imagine that the enemy ships are getting closer and closer. And it seems that nothing - not even AK - can save a small but proud country from the inevitable enslavement of mercenaries sharks of world imperialism! But what is it?! The shabby containers on the deck of an old steamer suddenly open and from there, in a few moments, cruise missiles start, which swiftly rush over the surface of the water to the enemy fleet, which has come to believe in its impunity. And while he, stunned by the suddenness of the attack, frantically tries to intercept the missile "slap" from the old vessel, another swarm of anti-ship missiles rises from the shore - from those containers where, according to enemy intelligence, local fishermen lived yesterday. Aggressor in a panic! His fleet is sinking fast! The admiral is still trying to deploy his flagship, half-dead from a missile attack, in order to get away from these inhospitable shores. But at this moment, the flagship of the adversary receives a couple of torpedoes on board from a submarine that has come from nowhere and who knows whose, and this is where it all ends. The enemy fleet has been destroyed. The peaceful and hardworking people of a small but proud southern country fish out the surviving sailors and paratroopers of the aggressor from the ocean, and glorify the wisdom of their leaders, who quietly bought from their big northern brother not only Kalashnikov assault rifles, but also container missile systems Club-K.
Making a "club" A battle like the one described above has never happened. Just as there was no unidentified submarine, which, which put the final point in the attempt of a hypothetical aggressor to attack a hypothetical peaceful country. But the Club-K missile weapon container complex itself, of course, exists. And it works approximately as described at the beginning of this material. Adjusted for the fact that the Kh-35UE anti-ship missile included, for example, is designed to hit surface targets with a displacement of up to 5,000 tons. That is, the aircraft carrier "George Bush" with a displacement of 99,000 tons, of course, is unlikely to be seriously hooked, even if it breaks through. But the Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate is guaranteed to destroy. But about everything in order. For the first time, the new Russian missile system Club became publicly known at the beginning of this century. And this was due to the creation of the Novator Design Bureau (Yekaterinburg) of a new Russian cruise tactical missile based on the Caliber design and development work.
In fairness, it must be said that the rocket itself, called Alpha, was presented back in 1993 at the Moscow Aviation and Space Salon and at the arms exhibition in Abu Dhabi. But one-piece missile systems to destroy various types of ships and ground (coastal) structures Club-N (based on surface ships), Club-S (based on submarines), Club-M (self-propelled launcher on land), Club-U ( the possibility of placing on ships of small displacement) appeared at the end of the past - the beginning of this century. Their development was the Club-K container missile weapon system, the concept of which was first shown to the general public in the export version at the LIMA-2009 weapons show. Two years later, the Russian concern Morinformsystem-Agat presented a full-scale model at exhibitions and is now ready to mass-produce this missile system. The combat capabilities of the Club-K are, in fact, the quintessence of the entire family of Club missile systems developed in Russia. It is designed to destroy both surface ships of various classes and types, as well as ground and coastal targets.
The main element of the new missile system is a universal launch module, made in the form of a standard 20 or 40-foot sea container. It contains 4 missiles. For missiles 3M-54KE, 3M-54KE1, 3M-14KE, a vertical launch launcher is provided, for Kh-35UE missiles - an inclined one. The launch module is completely autonomous and is already an independent combat unit. However, the complete set of the Club-K complex, in addition to containers with missiles, consists of three more containers, one of which houses the fire control system, the other contains combat control, communications and navigation equipment, and the third contains power supply, life support and fire extinguishing systems. So, what can she do, this Russian "container club"? The 3M-54TE and 3M-54TE1 missiles developed by Novator are used against surface ships of all classes and types, both single and as part of a group, in conditions of strong electronic and fire resistance. The firing range of the first missile is up to 220 km, the second - up to 300 km (all performance characteristics are given according to open sources published on the export versions of these missiles). 3M-54TE1 carries a high-explosive charge of 400 kg, but moves at subsonic speed. The 3M-54TE has half the charge, but on the way to the target it develops a speed that is almost three times the speed of sound. The onboard control system for 3M-54TE/3M-54TE1 missiles is based on an autonomous inertial navigation system. Pre-launch preparation, formation and input of a flight task are carried out by a universal control system. Guidance on the final section of the trajectory - with the help of an anti-interference active radar homing head (ARGS-54), which has a maximum range of up to 65 km.
Since the combat stage of the 3M-54TE missile is reduced to a height of up to 10 m in the final flight section of about 20 km, the ARGS-54 can operate with sea waves up to 6 points. The 3M-14TE missile is, in fact, an analogue of the 3M-54TE1 missile. But it has a high-explosive fragmentation warhead weighing 450 kg, therefore it is designed to destroy command and control equipment, air defense systems, airfields, military equipment and manpower in areas of concentration, naval bases and other important objects of military and civilian infrastructure at a distance of up to 300 km. After launch, it flies along a predetermined route, built taking into account intelligence data on the position of the target and the presence of enemy air defense systems. The missile is able to overcome the zones of a developed enemy air defense system, which is ensured by low flight altitudes (20 m - above the sea, 50-150 m - above the ground) with enveloping terrain and autonomy of guidance in the "silence" mode in the main area. Correction of the flight trajectory on the cruising section is carried out according to the data of the satellite navigation subsystem and the terrain correction subsystem. Guidance on the final section of the trajectory - 20 km, is also carried out using an anti-interference active radar homing head (ARGS-14E), which effectively highlights low-profile small targets against the background of the underlying surface. In 2011, at the IMDS-2011 exhibition, Russian companies also demonstrated the Club-K variant with X-35 missiles, which were developed by the Zvezda Design Bureau to replace the obsolete Termites and are now successfully used as part of the Uranium (SS- N-25 "Switchblade") and coastal missile systems "Bal" (SSC-6 "Sennight"). Of course, the mass of its warhead - 145 kg, is significantly inferior to the mass of warhead missiles 3M-54KE, 3M-54KE1, 3M-14KE. But it will be enough to sink not only the frigate, but also some of the destroyers. In addition, a modification of this Kh-35UE missile now flies to a range of 260 km, although the length of the missile in the ship version is still less than 4.5 meters. Therefore, a 20-foot container is enough to accommodate it in a container version. And although this missile is still subsonic, its new homing head will allow it to capture targets at a distance of 50 km. Asymmetric response The main advantage of the new Russian Club-K missile system is stealth and surprise. Today, in all corners of the world, billions of standard 40 and 20-foot containers move hourly and daily in various directions. Only transport companies in China have more than 100 million units.
And in appearance, containers with Club-K are no different from others. They don’t even “glow”, so you can detect the rocket “stuffing” only if you open such a container or it starts working. And you can place this weapon anywhere - on a car trailer, on railway, on any cargo ship, just in a warehouse on the shore. Therefore, the appearance of such weapons caused an explosion of emotions in the Western press. "The Russian Club-K missile system will completely change the rules of war and lead to a large-scale proliferation of ballistic missiles," British The Daily Telegraph said. “One of the Russian companies is marketing a new weapon system with cruise missiles, which has a huge destructive power. This installation can be hidden in a sea container, which makes it possible for any merchant ship to destroy an aircraft carrier,” Reuters echoed. In fact, the idea of camouflaging missiles is certainly not new. For example, Soviet engineers successfully camouflaged Scalpel intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) with a range of more than 10,000 km under the guise of an ordinary cargo-passenger train (the famous Soviet combat railway missile systems Molodets, whose production is now being revived in Russia). In the early 80s of the last century, experiments were also carried out in the Soviet Union on basing Ka-27 helicopters and Yak-38 attack aircraft not only on ships, but also on civilian ships. At the same time, the Moscow Institute of Thermal Engineering began to work on the idea of placing a small-sized Kurier ICBM in a cargo container, but this work was stopped under pressure from the United States in 1991, and the then leader of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev announced that the Soviet Union would no longer work on the creation of small-sized intercontinental ballistic missiles. But the followers of the Soviet engineering school were still able to place the missiles in a standard shipping container. And even though this is not an ICBM, but a tactical cruise missile (more precisely, there are 4 of them in each container), the success from this does not become less. Moreover, in this form, Russian missiles will quickly find their buyer.
First of all, among those countries that cannot, are not ready or do not want to spend a lot of money on creating large armed forces and adhere to a defensive strategy. Because the Club-K complex is, first of all, a means not of attack, but of defense. Of course, it is possible to use this complex as a weapon for an attack, but for this type of hostilities there are much cheaper and effective means. But to repel an enemy attack, using the advantage in stealth and surprise - this is just right for Club-K. Because even a superior opponent will first think whether he should attack at all if he can suddenly get hit in the ear with a “club” that has arrived from nowhere. “When starting to develop the Club-K missile system, we proceeded from the understanding that not all states have the ability to maintain such expensive “toys” as corvettes, frigates, destroyers, cruisers and other powerful, well-equipped missile weapons in their fleet. ships.
However, no one has the right to deprive them of the opportunity to ensure their sovereignty. At the same time, a potential aggressor must really understand that he can receive unacceptable damage for himself, ”the Morinformsystem-Agat concern at one time outlined the ideology of creating this missile system. Of course, Club-K does not completely replace the navy and naval aviation. But for poor states with a long coastline, it allows you to build an optimal and highly effective defense system that can change its configuration very quickly, flexibly, and most importantly, unnoticed by a potential enemy. And none of the world's weapons manufacturers, except for our gunsmiths, can now offer such a defense option.
The Club-K container missile weapon system is designed to destroy surface and ground targets with 3M-54TE cruise missiles,
3M-54TE1 and 3M-14TE. The Club-K complex can be equipped with coastal positions, surface ships and vessels of various classes, railway and automobile platforms. The Club-K complex is housed in a standard 40-foot shipping container.
Functionally, the Club-K complex consists of the Universal Launch Module (USM), the Combat Control Module (MoBU) and the Power Supply and Life Support Module (MEZH).
The Universal Launch Module houses an elevating launcher for 4 missiles. USM is designed to prepare and launch missiles from transport and launch containers.
MOBU provides:
- daily maintenance and routine checks of missiles;
- reception of the control center and commands for firing;
- calculation of initial shooting data;
- carrying out prelaunch preparation;
- development of a flight mission and launch of cruise missiles.
MOBU and MEI can be designed and manufactured as separate standard shipping containers.
PECULIARITIES:
- Can be used from any land and sea platforms
- Efficiency of delivery and installation on a carrier or coastal position
- Defeat surface and ground targets
- Ability to build up ammunition
Photo taken at MAKS-2011. The complex is a rather specific weapon, more reminiscent of the weapons of a sea raider, will there be a niche for it in Russian fleet Or is it just for export?
Club-K missile weapon container complex.
The Russian Club-K missile system not only makes it possible to launch missiles from any ships, trucks and railway platforms, but also makes these launches invisible, as it is disguised as a typical cargo container. Pentagon experts seriously fear that the new Russian weapons can completely change the world military balance.
The Club-K missile system, which The Daily Telegraph writes about, was presented by the Russian Design Bureau Novator at the Asian Defense Systems Exhibition, held from April 19 to 22 in Malaysia. The system is equipped with four cruise sea or land-based ballistic missiles. The complex looks like a standard 12-meter shipping container used for shipping. Due to this disguise, it is almost impossible to notice Club-K until it is activated.
impossible. Russian developers call the missile system "accessible strategic weapons", each container costs about $15 million.
As the British publication notes, the Club-K container missile system is causing real panic among Western military experts, as it can completely change the rules of modern warfare. The compact container can be mounted on ships, trucks or railway platforms, and due to the excellent camouflage of the missile system, the enemy will have to conduct much more thorough reconnaissance when planning an attack.
The Daily Telegraph argues that if Iraq had had Club-K missile systems in 2003, a US invasion of the Persian Gulf would have been impossible: any cargo ship in the Gulf would have been a potential threat.
Pentagon experts are worried that Russia is openly offering Club-K to anyone who is under threat of attack from the United States.
In the event that the missile system enters service with Venezuela or Iran, this, according to American analysts, could destabilize the situation in the world. The United States has previously expressed considerable concern when Russia was about to sell Iran S-300 medium-range anti-aircraft missile systems that could repel a potential missile attack on the country's nuclear facilities by the United States and Israel.
“This system allows for the spread of ballistic missiles on a scale that we have never seen before,” Pentagon defense consultant Reuben Johnson assesses the potential of Club-K. - Thanks to careful disguise, you can no longer easily determine that the object is being used as a launcher. First, a harmless cargo ship appears on your shores, and the next minute your military installations are already destroyed by explosions.
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