"Lever-AB". The latest electronic warfare systems

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

Modern military equipment is impossible to imagine without a huge amount of electronic components. It is not surprising that their damage entails the inoperability of weapons. So the latest electronic warfare equipment, such as the AB Lever, is an essential component of any modern army.

What is electronic warfare, what does it mean?

EW, that is, electronic warfare, implies the impact, through directed interference, on the enemy’s radio-technical controls, on his communications, information flows with parallel protection of his own systems from possible similar opposition from the enemy.

How is artificial interference created?

Active and passive means can be used for this. The first category includes jammers, as well as their transmitters. By "passive" refers to various categories of reflectors that impede the passage of radio waves and at the same time bend them. Electronic warfare units are among the most important, even being part of missileparts. It is on their work that the accuracy of missile guidance largely depends, since the enemy will most likely strongly oppose this.

Active interference

The most difficult thing is with active interference, as they are very diverse and require a significant amount of energy to generate. To create them, special generators and transmitters are used, the development of which in many countries of the world began immediately after the Second World War. These signals distort or "white noise" those pulses that come from the enemy's radar.

Unable to properly pass through space, the waves either distort, giving the impression of multiple targets, or disappear altogether, leaving the radar screens blank. Thus, active interference is divided into two types: suppressive and distorting.

The importance of electronic warfare systems

The importance of electronic warfare is indicated by special attention to them in the event of a full-scale war. So, in the instructions for air defense fighters (both ours and Americans) it is said in black and white that enemy aircraft equipped with electronic warfare should be destroyed first. Simply put, in the event of a strike by a potential enemy, not even tactical bombers, but EA-6B Prowlers or EC-130H Hercules should have been destroyed first.

And this despite the fact that this equipment does not have any weapons at all … So the EW specialists are always at the forefront of defense. Moreover, in foreign sources there is no term at all"electronic warfare". The expression "electronic … warfare" is used there. Given the importance that modern high-tech equipment plays in the army, this is fully justified.

Importance of electronic warfare equipment installed on aircraft

The most important task of electronic warfare (or war) specialists is to “stun” the enemy, depriving him of the ability to see and hear through his electronic “eyes and ears”. It is especially important from the very first minutes of the battle (and ideally even before it) to jam enemy radars and / or bring your strike aircraft or missile units to them.

If the EW systems work perfectly, then their own strike and fighter aircraft get the opportunity to break through directly to enemy targets, being completely invisible. In this case, the enemy can only use visual targeting, which, given the speeds of modern aircraft, reduces air defense capabilities to almost zero.

The most pleasant thing is that the most complex rockets worth millions of dollars each in such a situation turn out to be useless rubbish, blinded and "brainless". Even the rise of interceptors will not be able to radically change the situation. Without correction from the ground, their ability to detect enemy aircraft is very small, and the risk of losing equipment and a pilot is very high.

Development of new technologies

At present, the domestic defense industry has somewhat recovered from a deep systemic crisis, and therefore intensive development is underwaythe latest high-tech examples of these types of weapons. The Kazan Optical and Mechanical Plant plays a huge role in this. It is part of the huge KRET (Radioelectronic Technologies Concern). The products of this holding are the most important component of the security of our entire country.

It is at this plant that the Lever-AV complex is being developed. At the beginning of last year, several samples of this electronic warfare equipment were already handed over to our military for field testing. It is reported that the entire State Order for 2015 was completed in full compliance with the deadlines, and work has already begun on the running (as any shortcomings are identified) modernization of Lever-AV.

Parallel production equipment

Are there any other means of electronic warfare being developed and produced in our country? Yes. For example, "Vitebsk": this electronic warfare is produced by the same concern, and the characteristics are similar.

The purpose of "Vitebsk" is to protect a variety of military equipment. Unlike the "Lever", the system forms a full-size "dome", which protects not only a specific helicopter or aircraft, but everything that falls within its scope. The complex can also work as an autonomous active jammer, being mounted on a helicopter or a specially equipped AWACS aircraft.

What else is valuable "Vitebsk"? This electronic warfare can automatically scan the surrounding space, determines in real time who is scanning and from what distancetechnology. At the same time, a digital “imprint” is immediately taken from the enemy equipment, which makes it possible to subsequently determine the type and type of equipment of a potential enemy. In addition, "Vitebsk" is able to almost instantly calculate the location of enemy equipment, study the phase of its operation and "adjust" a certain equipment protection strategy to the existing conditions.

Moreover, this EW station can also form entire "squadrons" of false targets, for the "destruction" of which the enemy will spend his resources, time and energy. Just one aircraft equipped with Vitebsk can waste the strength of an entire squadron of interceptors, forcing enemy vehicles to intercept virtual targets. In a word, electronic warfare systems are vital for the modern army. Moreover, it is important not only to blind the enemy’s electronics, but also to “deceive” it, when you can integrate into the transmission system of the most important tactical data by sending deliberately false data.

Development plans

KRET also has plans for the evolutionary development of existing electronic warfare systems, focusing on the data that will be obtained during the operation and testing of new items. So, already in 2017, it is planned to start production of a modernized version of the complex, which will include those changes, the need for which will be revealed during field tests. Currently, work is underway on the serial production of the new Lever.

Working with the Mikoyan Design Bureau

The main distinguishing feature of Lever-AB is that its designers created a separate modificationcomplex, specially designed for installation on Mi-8 helicopters. The index of such machines is Mi-8MTPR-1. What is the breakthrough here? The fact is that the G8 is a real worker of the sky. These helicopters are widely used in our country and abroad, they are equally useful for both civilian life and war.

But in the latter case, the life of the pilot and the safety of the cargo are in great danger, since the Mi-8 has no armor, it has no protection against anti-aircraft systems. The presence of an electronic warfare system on board a helicopter is a real opportunity to significantly increase the survivability of a vehicle in combat conditions, as well as the efficiency of using air-to-ground missiles, counteracting enemy air defense systems.

Some features of the new complex

Representatives of the defense industry are not too willing to talk about the features of the new product, but some information still gets to journalists from near-military publications. As you know, the Radioelectronic Technologies Concern produces this equipment designed for electronic warfare in various conditions, at any time of the day and regardless of meteorological factors. The complex we are discussing can be mounted on any domestic helicopter, which significantly increases flexibility and increases the possibility of its use.

It is the index "AB" that indicates his aviation "pedigree". In addition, there is a lot of information about the ongoing creation of other variants of the complex, intended for installation on other variants of military equipment. ATIn particular, it is planned to create vehicles for air defense units and the Strategic Missile Forces, which will protect launchers and air defense systems, blinding enemy aircraft and missiles that have advanced to destroy them. It should be noted that at present there is no official information about these options for the complex at all. So far, there is only some data on how the Lever-AV system works on helicopters of the Mi-8 family.

General facts, some information

As we said, so far only some general information is known, according to which, nevertheless, some conclusions can still be drawn. So, according to the domestic media, which work directly with the Ministry of Defense, the new complex is capable of suppressing enemy electronic activity at ranges up to 100 kilometers. Thus, the radius of action makes it possible, with a sufficient degree of reliability, to cover the crews of air defense systems without their visual detection by the enemy. This is especially good when combat operations are conducted in meteorological conditions favorable for the enemy. It is also known that work can be carried out simultaneously for several purposes.

If the "Rychag-AB" system is installed on the Mi-8 helicopter, then the latter undergoes the procedure of retrofitting and some modernization. So, containers for equipment are mounted in the cargo compartment, on-board wiring is being retrofitted so that electricity with the necessary voltage indicators is supplied to the system, etc. Phased antennas are mounted on the sides, necessary for directing the Lever radiation.

Pounofficial data, multibeam phased arrays are used as antennas. The helicopter carrying this complex on board is quite easy to distinguish among others. The point here is two particularly noticeable antennas, which are installed in front of the very tail section of the machine.

What about the crew? It is known that the radiation produced by such systems cannot be definitely called safe for human he alth … To avoid negative consequences, special shielding is put on the machine. It not only protects the crew from powerful electromagnetic radiation, but also prevents the failure of the on-board equipment of the helicopter itself, which is also "indifferent" to the radiation of this device. Since operation within a radius of one hundred kilometers requires a very high signal strength, installing additional shielding is vital.

Extended features of the complex

According to unconfirmed data, the Rychag-AB active jamming station is capable of not only dampening the radiation of enemy devices, but also collecting their characteristics and compiling a special “card file” of signals. What is it for? The point is self-learning: the “wiser” Rychag-AB complex is able to independently not only determine the characteristics of the target, but also automatically select the radiation power necessary to neutralize this or that equipment.

Thus, the system can not only flexibly adapt to various operating conditions, but also independently accumulate information about new enemy devices that were not yet in the database at the time the complex was created.

Interestingit would be to find out if the jamming station can synchronize this data with other Rychag-AV electronic warfare, but so far this information has not been covered in the press. Most likely, there is such a possibility, and it simply must be, because the loss of one complex will entail the loss of the data accumulated by it.

There is evidence that Mi-8 helicopters equipped with this system can counteract enemy air defense systems, act to suppress its communications and control, and also protect their troops from enemy electronic warfare equipment, which he will actively use on certain sections of the front.

About the supply of converted machines

As of 2015, the Kazan Helicopter Plant has already fully implemented the plan of the Ministry of Defense for the supply of helicopters equipped with electronic warfare systems, even in the basic configuration. It should be noted that the first machines were handed over to the customer at the very beginning of the year. Most likely, work continues to this day, since there were no complaints from the military about the delivery time.

It is known that "Rychag-AV" (electronic warfare group protection station) is already undergoing a full-scale modernization. It is known that it is planned to slightly increase the radius of its possible use, develop special options for small vessels and ground equipment, as well as improve the self-defense of the complex from enemy countermeasures. Most likely, all variants of this jamming station will be operated by the troops in parallel, constantly going through the planned procedure.modernization.