ZRK S-125 "Neva": development, performance characteristics, modifications

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

S-125 Neva is a short-range anti-aircraft missile system (SAM) manufactured in the USSR. The export version of the complex was named Pechora. In the NATO classification, it is called SA-3 Goa. The complex was adopted by the USSR in 1961. The main developer of the air defense system was NPO Almaz named after Raspletin. Today we will get acquainted with the history of the Neva air defense system and its technical characteristics.

History

An anti-aircraft missile system was part of the USSR air defense and was intended to protect industrial and military infrastructure from attacks by any type of air attack weapons performing a combat mission at medium, low and extremely low altitudes. Missile guidance error on the target can be from 5 to 30 meters.

The development of air defense systems began at NPO Almaz in 1956 in response to the creation of aircraft that operate effectively at low altitudes. The terms of reference for the development of the complex assumed the possibility of destroying targets flying at an altitude of 0.2 to 5 km, at a distance of 6 to 10 km, at a speed of no more than 1500 km / h. During the first tests, the complex worked with the 5V24 rocket. This tandem turned out to be insufficiently effective, therefore, inthe task made an additional requirement - to adjust it for the new 5V27 missile, unified with the Volna. This decision made it possible to significantly improve the TTX (performance characteristics) of the system. In 1961, the complex was put into service, under the designation S-125 "Neva".

In the future, the air defense system was modernized more than once. It included equipment for combating GSHN interference, television sighting of the target, diversion of the PRR, identification, sound control, as well as the installation of a remote indicator of the SRTs. Thanks to the improved design, the air defense system was able to destroy targets located at a distance of up to 17 kilometers.

In 1964, a modernized version of the air defense system was put into service under the name S-125 "Neva-M". The export version of the installation was named "Pechora". Since 1969, deliveries of the complex to the states of the Warsaw Pact began. Literally a year later, they began to supply the S-125 to other countries, in particular Afghanistan, Angola, Algeria, Hungary, Bulgaria, India, Korea, Cuba, Yugoslavia, Ethiopia, Peru, Syria and many others. In the same 1964, the 5V27 missile, developed by the Fakel Design Bureau, was put into service.

In 1980, the second and last attempt to modernize the complex took place. As part of the modernization, the designers proposed:

1. Transfer projectile guidance stations to element digital base.
2. To carry out the decoupling of the missile and target channels by introducing two control posts. This made it possible to increase the maximum range of missiles to 42 kilometers, thanks to the use"full preemption" method.
3. Introduce a homing channel for projectiles.

Due to fears that the completion of the Neva would interfere with the production of the new S-300P air defense system, the described proposals were rejected. Currently, a version of the complex is being proposed, designated S-125-2, or Pechora-2.

Composition

SAM includes the following tools:

1. Missile guidance station (SNR) SNR125M for tracking the target and guiding missiles at it. CHP is placed on two trailers. One contains the UNK control cabin, and the other contains the antenna post. CHP125M works with radar and TV tracking channels, in manual or automatic modes. The station is equipped with an automated launcher APP-125, which determines the boundaries of the zone of destruction of the air defense system, as well as the coordinates of the point where the missile meets the target. In addition, he solves launch problems.
2. Starting battery consisting of four 5P73 launchers, each with 4 missiles.
3. Energy supply system, consisting of a diesel-electric station and a distribution cabin.

Guidance

The complex is two-channel for the missile and single-channel for the target. Two missiles can be aimed at the plane at once. Additionally, radar stations for detection and target designation, models P-12 and / or P-15, can work with the air defense system. The facilities of the complex are placed in semi-trailers and trailers, and communication between them is carried out via cables.

The solution of such a problem as the creation of a low- altitude anti-aircraft missile system,demanded unusual solutions from designers. This was the reason for such an unusual appearance of the CHP antenna device.

To hit a target that is at a distance of 10 km and flies at a speed of 420 m/s, at an altitude of 200 m, it is necessary to launch a rocket at the moment when the target is at a distance of 17 km. And the capture and auto-tracking of the target must be started at a distance of 24 km. In this case, the detection range of a low- altitude target should be from 32 to 35 km, taking into account the time required to detect, capture the target, track and launch missiles. In such a situation, the elevation angle of the target at the time of detection is only 0.3 °, and when capturing for auto-tracking, it is about 0.5 °. At such small angles, the radar signal of the guidance station reflected from the ground exceeds the signal reflected from the target. To reduce this influence, two antenna systems were placed at the CHP-125 antenna post. The first of them is responsible for receiving and transmitting, and the second one receives the reflected signals from the target and the response signals of the missiles.

When working at low altitudes, the transmitting antenna is set to 1°. In this case, the transmitter irradiates the earth's surface only with the side lobes of the antenna diagram. This allows you to reduce the signal reflected from the ground by tens of times. To reduce the target tracking error associated with the occurrence of “mirror reflection” (which is interference between the direct and re-reflected target signals from the ground), the receiving antennas of the two planes are rotated 45 ° to the horizon. Because of this, the antenna postSAM and acquired its characteristic appearance.

Another task related to the low altitude of the target flight is the introduction of the MDC (moving target selector) into the SNR, which effectively highlights the target signal against the background of local objects and passive interference. For this, a period subtractor operating on solid UDLs (ultrasonic delay lines) was created.

The parameters of the SDC largely exceed the parameters of all previously existing radars operating with pulsed radiation. The suppression of interference from local objects reaches 33-36 dB. To stabilize the repetition periods of probing pulses, the synchronizer was adjusted to the delay line. Later it turned out that such a solution is one of the disadvantages of the station, since it does not make it possible to change the repetition frequency in order to tune out from impulse noise. To deviate from active interference, a transmitter frequency hopping device was provided, which is triggered when the interference level exceeds a specified level.

Rocket device

The 5V27 anti-aircraft guided missile (SAM) developed at the Fakel Design Bureau was two-stage and was built according to the Duck aerodynamic scheme. The first stage of the rocket consists of a solid propellant booster; four stabilizers that open after launch; and a pair of aerodynamic surfaces located on the connecting compartment and necessary to reduce the speed of the booster flight after the first stage is undocked. Immediately after the undocking of the first stage, these surfaces turn around, which entails intensedeceleration of the accelerator with its subsequent rapid fall to the ground.

The second stage of missiles also has a solid propellant engine. Its design consists of a set of compartments that contain: receiving and transmitting equipment for response signals, equipment for a radio fuse, a high-explosive fragmentation unit, receiving equipment for control commands and steering machines, with the help of which the missile is guided to the target.

Control of the missile's flight path and aiming it at the target is carried out by means of radio commands given from the CHP. Undermining the warhead occurs when the rocket approaches the target at the appropriate distance at the command of the radio fuse. It is also possible to undermine on command from the guidance station.

The starting accelerator works from two to four seconds, and the marching accelerator - up to 20 s. The time required for the self-destruction of the rocket is 49 s. Permissible maneuvering overloads of missiles are 6 units. The missile operates in a wide temperature range - from -40° to +50°С.

When the V-601P missiles were adopted, the designers began to work on expanding the capabilities of the anti-aircraft missile system. Their tasks included such changes: shelling targets moving at speeds up to 2500 km / h, hitting transonic (moving at a speed close to the speed of sound) targets at altitudes up to 18 km, as well as increasing noise immunity and hit probability.

Missile modifications

During the development of technology, the following missile modifications were created:

1. 5B27Y. Index "G" means "sealed".
2. 5В27ГП. Index "P" indicates a reduced near boundary of the lesion to 2.7 km.
3. 5B27GPS. Index "C" means the presence of a selective block that reduces the likelihood of automatic triggering of a radio fuse when a signal is reflected from the surrounding area.
4. 5В27GPU. Index "Y" means the presence of accelerated pre-launch preparation. Reducing the preparation time is achieved by supplying an increased voltage to the on-board equipment from the power source, when the pre-launch heating of the equipment is turned on. The equipment for pre-launch preparation, located in the UNK cockpit, also received a corresponding revision.

All modifications of missiles were produced at the Kirov Plant No. 32. Especially for training personnel, the plant produced overall weight, sectional and training mock-ups of missiles.

Missile launch

The missile is launched from the launcher (PU) 5P73, which is guided in elevation and azimuth. The four-beam transportable launcher was designed at the Design Bureau of Special Machine Building under the leadership of B. S. Korobov. Without a running gear and gas deflectors, it can be transported by a YAZ-214 car.

When firing at low-flying targets, the minimum starting angle of the missile is 9°. To avoid soil erosion, a multi-sectional circular rubber-metal coating was laid around the launcher. The launcher is charged in series, using two transport-loading vehicles built on the basis of ZIL-131 or ZIL-157 vehicles, which havecross-country.

The station was powered by a mobile diesel-electric station mounted in the back of a car trailer. Reconnaissance and target designation stations of the P-12NM and P-15 types were equipped with autonomous power sources AD-10-T230.

The state affiliation of the aircraft was determined using the equipment of the state identification "friend or foe".

Modernization

In the early 1970s, the Neva anti-aircraft missile system underwent modernization. The improvement of the equipment of the radio receiver made it possible to increase the noise immunity of the receiving device of the target channel and the missile control equipment. Thanks to the introduction of the Karat-2 equipment, designed for television-optical sighting and target tracking, it became possible to track and fire at targets without radar radiation into the surrounding space. Interfering aircraft work has been greatly facilitated with visual visibility.

At the same time, the optical sighting channel also had weaknesses. In cloudy conditions, as well as when observing towards the sun or in the presence of an artificial light source installed on an enemy aircraft, the channel's efficiency dropped sharply. In addition, target tracking over a television channel could not provide tracking operators with target range data. This limited the choice of targeting methods and reduced the effectiveness of attacking high-speed targets.

In the second half of the 70s, the S-125 air defense system received equipment that increasesthe effectiveness of its use when firing at targets moving at low and extremely low altitudes, as well as ground and surface targets. A modified 5V27D missile was also created, the increased flight speed of which made it possible to fire at targets "in pursuit". The length of the rocket increased, and the mass increased to 0.98 tons. On May 3, 1978, the S-125M1 air defense system with the 5V27D missile was put into service.

Versions

During the completion of the complex, the following modifications were created.

For USSR air defense:

1. С-125 "Neva". Basic version with a 5V24 missile with a range of up to 16 km.
2. S-125M "Neva-M". The complex, which received 5V27 missiles and a range increased to 22 km.
3. S-125M1 "Neva-M1". It differs from the “M” version in increased noise immunity and new 5V27D missiles with the ability to fire in pursuit.

For the Soviet Navy:

1. M-1 "Wave". Ship analogue of the S-125 version.
2. M-1M "Volna-M". Ship analogue of the S-125M version.
3. M-1P "Volna-P". Ship analogue of the S-152M1 version, with the addition of a 9Sh33 telesystem.
4. M-1H. "Wave-N". The complex is aimed at combating low-flying anti-ship missiles.

For export:

1. "Pechora". Export version of the Neva air defense system.
2. Pechora-M. Export version of the Neva-M air defense system.
3. Pechora-2M. Export version of the Neva-M1 air defense system.

S-125 Pechora-2M air defense systems are still supplied to a number of countries.

Features

The main performance characteristics of the Neva air defense system:

1. The range of defeat heights is 0.02-18 km.
2. Maximum effective range - 11-18 km, depending on altitude.
3. The distance between the center of the position and the control cabin is up to 20 m.
4. The distance between the control cabin and the starting device is up to 70 m.
5. Rocket length - 5948 mm.
6. The diameter of the 1st stage of the rocket is 552 mm.
7. The diameter of the 2nd stage of the rocket is 379mm.
8. The launch weight of the rocket is 980 kg.
9. Rocket flight speed - up to 730 m/s.
10. The maximum allowable target speed is 700m/s.
11. The weight of the missile warhead is 72 kg.

Operation

S-125 short-range air defense systems were used in various local military conflicts. In 1970, 40 Neva divisions with Soviet personnel went to Egypt. There they quickly showed their effectiveness. In 16 firings, Soviet air defense systems shot down 9 and damaged 3 Israeli aircraft. After that, a truce came to Suez.

In 1999, during the NATO aggression against Yugoslavia, S-125 air defense systems were last used on the battlefield. By the beginning of hostilities, Yugoslavia had 14 S-125 batteries. Some of them were equipped with television sights and laser rangefinders, which made it possible to launch missiles without prior target designation. Nevertheless, in general, the effectiveness of the complexes used in Yugoslavia was undermined due to the fact that by that time they were rather outdated and needed regular maintenance. Most of the missiles used in the S-125 had zero residual life.

Methods of electronic countermeasures thatNATO troops have proved to be very effective in confronting Soviet anti-aircraft missile systems. Until the end of the conflict, only two of the eight divisions of the S-125 air defense system operating in the vicinity of Belgrade remained combat-ready. In order to reduce losses, the air defense systems worked on radiation for 23-25 seconds. Such a period of time was calculated by the headquarters as a result of the first losses in a collision with NATO HARM anti-radar missiles. The crews of the missile systems had to master a covert maneuver, involving a constant change of positions and firing from "ambushes". As a result, it was the S-125 air defense system, the performance characteristics of which we examined, that managed to shoot down the American F-117 fighter.