The latest projects airmobile missile systems Club K. Rocket complex Club-K

Today, a lot is discussed in the press, and not only, the Club-K missile system in a container design. Many Western countries, and especially the United States, are not seriously worried about the Russian novelty. We can say that this is a "miracle weapon" that can turn a weak enemy into a powerful defense system. The developers say that this is a deterrent weapon, its presence deters the potential military threat of a potential adversary. Is the weapon in the container a new weapon or a well-forgotten weapon?

But let's consider everything in order. First of all, let's solve the question: are new ideas used in the Club-K complex, or have their designers used them before? In the defense industry, work is constantly being carried out to reduce the size of weapons, with the same or better combat characteristics. Let's remember the domestic ship cruise missiles, the first KSS, KShch and P-15 missiles of this class were placed in hangars and stabilized bulky launchers. But a little time passed, and they were replaced by containers, which made it possible to significantly reduce dimensions launch systems and the missiles themselves, the latter began to be equipped with folding wings. As a result, all this made it possible to increase the ammunition capacity of missiles on ships.

Soon, new technologies were introduced in the field of electronics, the creation of new small-sized engines, there was some progress in rocket fuel, explosives, etc. All this made the cruise missile small-sized, the Harpoon anti-ship missile, the Tomahawk strategic cruise missile, in France - "Exoset", and the USSR X-35, "Club" and others.
In the future, the containers became multi-missile, they housed from 2 to 4 missiles. In fact, these were already rocket modules, then below-deck cellular launchers appeared. Including the ship version of the Club missile system has such capabilities.
But all of the above is not directly related to the containers of the Club-K RK. In this case, we are talking about the placement of weapons in standard civilian shipping containers by sea and rail transport, which are daily transported by the thousands around the world on ships, railway, on vehicles and aircraft. This is where the term "stealth" and "camouflage" comes in. It is practically impossible to find a container with weapons in a huge volume of transported goods, but it is convenient to install it in a heavy truck trailer, put it on the deck of a container ship or leave it at the container storage terminal in the port. Go look for him...

A similar situation at one time developed with our combat railway complexes (BZHRK). At the talks in Geneva on the reduction of strategic arms, the American side proposed to conduct an experiment, the essence of which was as follows: a train with a BZHRK is placed at a large railway junction, then this object is photographed from space and specialists must identify where the missile system is located. So, this operation was difficult even for our military specialists. Therefore, the Americans in every possible way limited the BZHRK in movement, forbidding their movement in Peaceful time outside the bases of permanent deployment. So this is the BZHRK, here the length of the rocket is 23 meters and more than a hundred tons, another thing is the small-sized missiles of the "Club" system with a length of only 6 - 8 meters and weighing just over two tons.
It is known that in the late 1970s - early 1980s, work was carried out in the Soviet Union on container-based carrier-based aviation of the Russian Navy. It was supposed due to such placement of aviation systems on container ships to significantly increase combat capabilities fleet in war time, having received a certain number of "escort" aircraft carriers and helicopter carriers, as was done during the Second World War, but then it did not even come to containers.

The ability to operate Ka-252 helicopters (after the adoption of the Ka-27) and Yak-38 attack aircraft not only with aircraft carriers, but also from civilian vessels - container ships and bulk carriers opened up attractive prospects. In order to test the practical feasibility of this idea, in September 1983, by order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, the pilots of the combat unit of the Navy aviation for the first time in the USSR landed Yak-38 military aircraft on a civilian vessel - the motor ship Agostinho Neto of the RO-RO type. The first to land was on September 14, 1983, Senior Pilot-Inspector Colonel Yu.N. Kozlov. A total of 20 flights were made up to September 29. State tests (18 flights) were carried out by V.V. Vasenkov and A.I. Yakovenko from the container ship Nikolay Cherkasov. They showed that boarding a ship of this type is very difficult due to the limited possible trajectories of approach. Big problems were also caused by the tightness of the site (18 × 24 m) surrounded by ship structures, allocated for the landing of VTOL aircraft. However, the idea itself was not rejected, and in the future the possibility of using civilian ships as "mini-aircraft carriers" was not denied.
Ideas are ideas, but practice tells a different story. When they began to consider how many containers needed to be converted, especially where to store them in peacetime and who would be responsible for them, then after thinking about this idea, they abandoned it.

Similar work on the placement of weapons in standard containers was carried out in the West. The war for the Falkland Islands forced the British government to quickly increase the naval component, especially aviation. After all, it is difficult to do without aviation support far from their native shores. Then, in 1982, the British placed in the same containers a complex for airfield maintenance of the Harriers (including air defense installations), loaded these containers onto the Atlantic Conveyor and sent them to the Falklands.

Currently, containerized modules are key elements of the LSC-X and LCS programs. According to the command of the US Navy, the “automatic configuration” for replacing modules on the plug-and-play principle (“plug and play”) should be worked out on the Sea Fighter, which, however, immediately received a new sound - plug-and-fight ("turn on and fight"). But the modules themselves are still being created, and so far there is nothing to “turn on”. It is known, however, that four modules are designed for anti-mine operations, while others are for anti-submarine and anti-surface ships and boats.

The German company Blohm+Voss has been developing interchangeable MEKO modules for various weapon systems since the 1970s, since then more than 1500 MEKO modules for various systems have been produced and installed on about 60 ships. The newest MEKO Mission Module has the same external dimensions as the 20-foot ISO Type 1C container. In this way, assured easy transportability around the world by land, air and sea was ensured.
For German supply transports such as Berlin and Elba, various “sets” of modules have been developed in standard sizes of 20-foot containers. Thanks to this, you can quickly assemble a floating hospital or a command ship, or a ship for humanitarian operation or other options.

The container deployment of weapons and our strategic nuclear forces has also been affected. At the turn of the 1980s, several projects of solid-propellant strategic missiles, including an ultra-precise small-sized solid-propellant rocket, were completed at the Leningrad Design Bureau Arsenal. In 1976, the design bureau "Arsenal" them. M.V. Frunze was entrusted with the development of a mobile combat missile system (PBRK) with a small-sized solid-fuel intercontinental-range missile F-22 (R&D "Verenitsa"). The work was carried out in accordance with the decisions of the military-industrial complex of April 5, 1976. No. 57 and dated May 26, 1977. No. 123 as part of the Horizon-1 research project with the involvement of the Design Bureau of General Engineering, Design Bureau "Motor", PO "Iskra" and the Research Institute of Automation and Instrumentation for TTZ of the leading institutes of the Ministry of General Machinery and the Ministry of Defense (TsNIIMash and 4 Research Institutes of the Ministry of Defense).

The main purpose of the complex is to participate in delivering a retaliatory strike after an enemy nuclear missile attack. Based on this, the most important characteristic of the PBRK was survivability, i.e. maintaining high combat readiness of mobile launchers (MPU) and mobile command posts (MCP) after the enemy's nuclear impact on the base area.

As a result of the scientific research and design studies, the main directions for ensuring the required survivability of the complex were determined due to: stealth from the technical means of reconnaissance of a potential enemy by disguising the MPU and PKP under the universal unified containers UUK-30 intended for the transportation of national economic goods, and giving container units high mobility during their transportation to the process of combat duty on standard road trains - container carriers (tractor MAZ-6422 and semi-trailer MAZ-9389) with imitation of the technology of work carried out with containers UUK-30; reducing the probability of hitting combat units during a nuclear missile attack by dispersing MPUs and PKPs in vast inalienable base areas, etc.

In connection with the transition of Arsenal Design Bureau to the space theme, work on the missile direction was curtailed, but work in the Soviet Union on small-sized ICBMs was not interrupted. by decree of July 21, 1983, No. 696-213, the MIT was entrusted with the development of a mobile ground complex with an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) "Courier", which was carried out, aimed at increasing the survivability of the Strategic Missile Forces grouping by introducing complexes of increased mobility and stealth into its composition. ICBM "Courier" was several times lighter than previously created intercontinental missiles and roughly corresponded to the American missile "Midgetman".

The preliminary design of the Kurier complex was completed in 1984. For the rocket, several variants of mobile basing were worked out, including in a container version, but according to tradition for MIT, the main one was an automobile version on a light wheeled chassis. Work on the topic “Courier” was completed in 1991 in accordance with political decision the leadership of the USSR and the USA to stop the development of this missile and its American counterpart, the Midgetman missile. MS Gorbachev announced to the USA that the USSR was ending tests of small-sized ICBMs.
Of course, when strategic missiles are deployed in a container, their secrecy increases dramatically, but the question of control of such weapons remains. As you know, the START Treaty is now in force, which provides for various types of inspections, including on suspicion. And containers with ICBMs will pose a threat to confidence between partners in strategic offensive arms, this could disrupt stability in the strategic area.
Another thing is tactical, operational-tactical weapons. So far, such control does not apply to them, especially if a missile has a limited firing range, then it does not fall under the ban on the spread of missile technologies. Along this path and the construction of the complex "Club-K".

The missile system is interesting, but dangerous for a potential enemy. And already the British The Daily Telegraph is sounding the alarm: the Russian missile system Club-K weapons will completely change the rules of warfare and lead to a massive proliferation of ballistic missiles. BUT information Agency Reuters circulated a message under the heading "Deadly New Russian weapons can be hidden in a normal sea ​​container". It states: "One of Russian companies is marketing a new combat complex with cruise missiles with tremendous destructive power. This installation can be hidden in a sea container, which makes it possible for any merchant ship to destroy an aircraft carrier.”
The Daily Telegraph claims that if Iraq had had missile systems Club-K, a US invasion of the Persian Gulf would be impossible: any cargo ship in the Gulf would be a potential threat.
It turns out that the ideas for placing weapons in standard “civilian” containers are not entirely new, the whole world is moving in this direction in one form or another, but here they are applied to the latest Club missile weapon system (which is in stable demand from our foreign partners ), all this gives certain prospects for military-technical cooperation.
I would like to note that in 2012, successful throw tests of the Club-K missile container complex with the X-35UE missile were already carried out, a source in the Morinformsystem-Agat concern, which conducted the tests, said. In the near future, similar tests of the Club-K complex with 3M-54E and 3M-14E missiles will take place. The complex has become universal in terms of targets, it can hit ships, and stationary coastal targets at the tactical and operational depth of the troops.

Most recently, Russia showed at the Euronaval-2014 Naval Show a model of a new project 22160 modular patrol ship under construction in Zelenodolsk. This ship is equipped with modular-type missiles. As noted, at the request of the customer, it is possible to install an air defense missile system, containers with Club-N or Uran-E missiles. And as you can see in the photo, the same containers of the Club-K complex are installed in the stern. The project developer of the ship is the Northern Design Bureau.
We can say that the ideas of designers began to be embodied in metal. Since it is known that on February 26, 2014 at the Zelenodolsk plant named after A.M. Gorky, the laying of the lead patrol ship of project 22160, which received the name "Vasily Bykov", took place.
A.V. Karpenko, Military-technical cooperation "NEVSKY BASTION", 11/15/2014

... the fight was inevitable. At 17:28, the signalmen lowered the Dutch flag, and a banner 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 a 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

container complex missile Club-K outwardly, it 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).

The Club uses a wide range of 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

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 "trains special purpose". The rail-based strategic 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”: the railway complex with the Molodets ICBM is designed for preventive / response nuclear strike when 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.

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's the point of disguising PU under cargo container if, within a few months, thousands of armored vehicles, a million soldiers and hundreds of warships are transferred to the area of ​​​​the operation in front of the eyes of the whole world (this is how many forces were required to carry out the "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 OJSC "Concern Morinformsystem-Agat" position their missile system "Club" in the world market as perfect 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 transportation in China is more than 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"

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 move to more strong 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. 12m containers cannot spawn on their own 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 targets in a defensive operation can the Club complex be used? Against advancing tank columns? But the loss of one or two tanks will in no way 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? 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 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. AT normal conditions the detection range of surface targets is limited by 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

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 Great Britain simply shot down in the war zone all watercraft larger than a boat - the British Lynx helicopters were especially raging, 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. AT modern conditions their use leads to even greater human losses, tk. no "cheap asymmetric means" can withstand the well-equipped and trained army, air force and navy. 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.

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 Club-K container missile weapon system is designed to engage 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 a Universal Launch Module (USM), a Combat Control Module (MoBU) and a 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 FEI 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 naval raider, will there be a niche for it in the Russian fleet or is it an exclusively export option?

Club-K missile weapon container complex.

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. Thanks to this disguise, it is almost impossible to notice Club-K until it is activated.
impossible. Russian developers call the missile system "available weapons strategic purpose”, each container costs about 15 million dollars.

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 conduct modern war. 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.