With the improvement of air attack means of a probable enemy in the late sixties new air defense systems were required. Each of the means of combating flying targets had its own advantages, but it could not do without flaws. One of the attempts to create a universal weapon capable of destroying targets at different heights, moving at different speeds, was the Soviet Tunguska air defense system. What is hidden behind this code name and what were the prerequisites for its appearance in service will be discussed in this article.
Missile or anti-aircraft gun?
In the second half of the 20th century, a missile became the main means of air defense. Its advantages were evident during the famous incident of 1960, when a spy plane flying at a hitherto unattainable altitude was shot down by Soviet air defense. The rocket has more speed than any artillery shell, and it gets higher. True, it has a significant drawback - the price, but you should not stand behind it when there is the issue of security of air borders. In the early 80s, the Soviet Army received the 2c6 Tunguska anti-aircraft missile and cannon system, which is a mobile complex that combines both missile and artillery weapons. Such capabilities, combining "two in one", at that time did not have any air defense system in the world. In order to realize the urgent need for this type of armament, a thorough analysis of modern military conflicts, which then, fortunately, took place outside our country, was required.
Experience with the use of SZU and the general concept of "Tunguska"
1973, the Middle East. During the Doomsday War, Soviet specialist officers assisted the Arab countries involved in the conflict, including Egypt.
On October 15, ARE tracking stations reported an approaching group of Israeli Phantoms from the Mediterranean Sea, consisting of dozens of aircraft. They walked at low altitude, setting over the Nile Delta.
The enemy’s goal was Egyptian airfields. So the pilots of the Israeli Air Force tried to avoid the risk of being shot down by Soviet-made anti-aircraft missiles, capable of hitting planes flying at medium and high altitudes, but an unpleasant surprise awaited them. Among the numerous tributaries at the confluence of the ancient river into the sea, the Egyptians placed Shilka self-propelled anti-aircraft mounts on pontoon rafts, literally torn up the planes and fuselages of the Phantoms with their quick-firing guns. These ZSU had their own radar and very good automation, which helped to conduct targeted fire, and were also used by the troops of North Vietnam in the course of repelling American aggression. In a sense, ZSU Tunguska became its heir. SAM air defense had restrictions on the lower limit of the height, and anti-aircraft self-propelled mounts - on the upper. And in the USSR, they decided to combine the capabilities of these two types of anti-aircraft weapons in one system.
Varieties, modifications and names
The complex entered service with the Soviet Army in 1982, immediately after the Ulyanovsk Mechanical Plant launched the first experimental batch of vehicles. From the very beginning, the project had a signature stamp of complete secrecy, this explains some discrepancies in the encoding, numbers and letters, by which it was indicated in open sources. Sometimes the name 2C16 ("Tunguska") appears in the press. It is more correct to designate the 2S6 anti-aircraft missile system as a typo, although it is possible that the “16” is also some kind of. The improvement of military equipment is carried out constantly, this is normal practice in all armies of the world. In 1990, the Tunguska-M appeared. The anti-aircraft cannon-missile system was modernized and received a new control system scheme, which included a laser rangefinder, a friend or foe identifier, and the power plant was duplicated by an auxiliary power unit.
Work on modernization was developed after the collapse of the USSR in the difficult 90s. Their result was the Tunguska-M1 cannon-missile system, the description of which became more accessible, due to the fact that this modification was exported, in particular to India. The code used most often is 2K22. This is the factory designation of the Tunguska air defense missile system. The anti-aircraft gun and missile system also has the NATO “name” - “Grison SA-19”.
Electronic eyes and brain
From the name of the complex it is clear that its armament consists of two components - artillery and anti-aircraft missile. Both of these elements have individual guidance systems, but the radars that provide information about the air situation are common (in two ranges). It is these “eyes” that search for the target in a circular mode. Sectoral search is provided by the tracking station, and in case of visual contact, the use of optical means is also acceptable.
The latest system is able to not only determine your or someone else's aircraft, but also reliably report on its nationality at a distance of 18 km.
26 (or 216) "Tunguska" can conduct tracking of air targets according to several algorithms (inertial, three-coordinate, two-coordinate angular) using the data of its own locator or external radar stations. The necessary calculations are performed by the integrated onboard computer. The transition to a certain method of controlling tracking or shooting is carried out automatically, depending on the degree of electronic counteraction and the level of interference. If it is impossible to make automatic calculations, the fire is fired in manual mode.
Artillery
The Shilka self-propelled anti-aircraft mount (ZSU-23-4) showed its high efficiency, but by the end of the 70s its Soviet military technical characteristics ceased to satisfy. Claims were presented primarily to an insufficient caliber (22 mm), which caused a relatively small radius of damage. Guns ZRPK 2S16 "Tunguska" more powerful, thirty-millimeter, and their number decreased by half, there were two. This is exactly the case when less is better, but better. The firing range increased from 2.5 to 8 km, and the intensity of the fire, despite the smaller number of barrels, increased from 3.4 to 5 rounds per minute.
Rockets
The main weapon of the complex is a two-stage guided missile 9M311. It is arranged very interestingly. The first stage is solid fuel, which is a lightweight fiberglass shell filled with fuel. The second part, which directly hits the target, does not have an engine, it moves, like an artillery shell, due to the impulse received during acceleration, but it can be controlled by a gas generator located in the rear part. The connection of the rocket with the control station is optical, which ensures perfect noise immunity. Guidance is carried out in a semi-automatic radio command mode using the letter frequencies set immediately before launch from the Tunguska air defense missile system. Its anti-aircraft missile-cannon complex by its circuitry eliminates the possibility of electronic interception or redirection of a rocket. For a guaranteed defeat, a blow to the target is not needed, the fuse will ensure the expansion of the rod striking elements at the desired distance in non-contact mode. Launchers eight.
Chassis
The mobility of air defense elements in the frontline zone, for the actions in which the complex is designed, in fact, is impossible without a powerful, reliable and high-speed chassis with high traffic. In order to avoid unnecessary expenses, it was decided to mount the 2K22 Tunguska anti-aircraft missile and cannon system on the GM-352 chassis of the previously developed Osa self-propelled gun. The speed that the car develops on the highway is 65 km / h; in off-road conditions or in crushed terrain, it is naturally lower (from 10 to 40 km / h). The diesel engine V-46-2C1 with a capacity of 710 liters. from. provides an angle of rise to 35 °. Suspensions of track rollers are individual, with a hydropneumatic drive, including adjusting the height of the casing above the ground.
Crew
Protection of personnel is ensured by bulletproof and anti-shatter armoring of the all-welded housing. In the bow of the car there is a driver’s seat, besides him, three more people who are in a mobile tower (commander, radar operator and gunner) make up the crew of the Tunguska air defense missile system. The anti-aircraft missile-cannon system responds to a change in situation within 8 seconds, its reloading (using a special machine based on KamAZ-43101) takes 16 minutes.
Such a time frame requires excellent training and high qualifications achieved through ongoing academic work.
The creators of the complex
Special words deserve the chief designer of the system - Shipunov A. G., as well as V. P. Gryazev, who designed the guns, and the chief specialist in rocket-propelled shells - V. M. Kuznetsov, through whose efforts the Tunguska was created. Anti-aircraft missile-cannon system was the result of the cooperation of many enterprises of the USSR. The caterpillar chassis was manufactured in Minsk at a tractor plant, guidance systems were assembled and debugged at the Signal, and optics at the Leningrad LOMO. Other scientific and production organizations of the Soviet Union took part in the work.
Artillery weapons were made in Tula, missiles were assembled in Kirov ("Lighthouse").
Application Experience
At present, there is no more powerful mobile air defense system in the world than the Tunguska. However, the anti-aircraft cannon-missile system, however, for its intended purpose has not yet been used. During the hostilities in the Chechen Republic, it was used for delivering fire attacks on ground targets, but for these purposes there are specialized types of equipment and ammunition. Armor protection 2K22 was not enough to conduct a land war. After fifteen out of two dozen Tunguska-M1 air defense systems were damaged (mainly as a result of RPG shots), the command came to the logical conclusion about the poor effectiveness of air defense systems in a guerrilla war. The consolation could be the absence of casualties among personnel.
Organizational structure
The Tunguska-M air defense system is designed to destroy such complex targets as helicopters and low-flying cruise missiles. In a dynamic battle, each such machine can make independent decisions, guided by the operational environment, but the greatest efficiency is ensured by group application. For this, the corresponding army command structures have been organized.
In each platoon consisting of four Tunguska air defense systems, an anti-aircraft missile and cannon complex equipped with a central command post “Rangir” is a commander’s, forming, together with a platoon armed with the Strela air defense system, a larger unit - a mobile anti-aircraft missile artillery the battery. In turn, the batteries are subordinate to the divisional or regimental management structure.