The Russian air defense system has more than a century of history, which began in the suburbs of St. Petersburg in 1890. The first attempts to adapt the existing artillery for firing at flying targets were made at firing ranges near Ust-Izhora and in Krasnoye Selo. However, these attempts revealed the complete inability of conventional artillery to destroy air targets, and untrained military personnel to control cannons.
The beginning of air defense
Deciphering the well-known abbreviation means air defense, that is, a system of measures to protect the territory and objects from air attacks. The first firing near Petersburg was carried out from four-inch cannons using ordinary bullet shrapnel.
It was this combination of technical characteristics that revealed the inability of the available means to destroy airborne objects, which then were played by balloons and balloons. However, according to the test results, Russian engineers received technical specifications for the development of a special gun, which was completed in 1914. At that time, not only artillery guns were technically imperfect, but also the airplanes themselves, unable to rise to a height exceeding three kilometers.
World War I
Until 1914, the use of air defense systems in combat conditions was not very relevant, since aviation was practically not used. However, in Germany and in Russia, the history of air defense begins in 1910. The countries obviously foresaw the imminent conflict and tried to prepare for it, given the sad experience of the previous wars.
Thus, the history of air defense in Russia totals one hundred and seven years, during which they significantly developed and evolved from guns firing at balloons to high-tech early warning systems that could hit targets even in space.
The birthday of the air defense system is considered December 8, 1914, when a system of defensive structures and means directed against air targets began to function on the approaches to Petrograd. In order to secure the imperial capital, an extensive network of observation posts was created at the remote approaches to it, consisting of towers and telephone points, from which information about the approaching enemy was reported to the headquarters.
World War I fighter aircraft
An integral part of the air defense system of any country and at any time is fighter aircraft, capable of defusing attacking aircraft at remote approaches.
In turn, the effective functioning of military aviation requires a significant number of highly qualified pilots. For these purposes, the Volunteer Field near St. Petersburg in 1910 formed the first Officer Aeronautical School in Russia, which set itself the task of training first-class aeronauts, as pilots were called at that time.
In parallel with the network of observation points, a system was created, which received the official name "Radio Telegraph Defense of Petrograd." This system was designed to intercept the negotiations of hostile pilots attacking the Russian army.
After the revolution
Deciphering air defense as an air defense creates the illusion that the system is extremely simple and designed only to bring down enemy aircraft. However, it was already clear on the sidelines of the First World War that the troops were faced with numerous and complex tasks, not only in controlling the sky, but also in reconnaissance, camouflage and the formation of the front line of front-line aviation.
After the victory of the October Revolution, all the air defense forces available on the territory of Petrograd came under the control of the Red Army, which was engaged in their reform and reorganization.
Actually, the abbreviation for air defense and decoding appeared in 1925, when the terms "air defense of the country" and "air defense of the front line" were first used in official documents. It was at this time that priority areas for the development of air defense were identified. However, more than ten years passed before their full implementation.
Air defense of the largest cities
Since defense from air attacks required significant resources, both human and technical, the Soviet leadership decided to organize defense by means of air defense of several key cities of the USSR. These included Moscow, Leningrad, Baku and Kiev.
In 1938, air defense corps were formed to protect against air attacks in Moscow, Baku and Leningrad. An air defense brigade was organized for the defense of Kiev. The decryption with reference to the means used to repel enemy air attacks is as follows:
- anti-aircraft machine guns ;
- flak;
- aerial reconnaissance;
- communication and notification;
- anti-aircraft projectors.
Of course, this list has little to do with the current state of affairs, since over the past eighty years the structure has become much more complicated, and the technique has become more universal. In addition, radio reconnaissance and information warfare are now of great importance in air defense.
By the beginning of World War II, the early detection of the enemy air force and their destruction becomes especially important. To solve this problem, special electronic intelligence tools are being developed. The first country to deploy a wide network of radar stations was Great Britain.
The first devices designed to control anti-aircraft fire were also developed there, which significantly increased its accuracy and increased density.
The current state of air defense
The decoding of the well-known abbreviation does not fully correspond to modern realities, since today contactless methods of warfare based on missile weapons and special aviation with low visibility are becoming increasingly important in the world.
In addition, missile defense is being used more and more often next to the air defense abbreviation, which means missile defense. It is impossible today to imagine effective air defense without the use of missile weapons, which means that systems that are of fundamental importance for the integration of various systems from an anti-aircraft gun to radar systems are gaining more importance.
In the age of the Internet, competent search and the ability to distinguish reliable information from incorrect information is of great importance. Increasingly, users are looking for a transcript of air defense of the internal affairs department, which means the passport and visa department of the Department of the Interior - the police department involved in the certification of the population.