On July 29, 2014, the American information channel CNN informed the whole world that the Tochka-U ballistic missile launched during the hostilities conducted by Ukraine was not supposed to cross the state border. At least that was the meaning of the mysterious message. Why could an assumption arise that the launch target could be an object on the territory of another country? Which one? And if the target was located in Ukraine, why use ballistic missiles to destroy it? There are many questions …
Be that as it may, but precisely because of these events, the public has developed an interest in the tactical complex “Tochka-U”.
Diplomatic incident
One of the main questions was how likely is the mistake made when pointing the missile at the target? To answer it, you need to understand the device of this type of weapons.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine instantly declared their innocence, naming at once three reasons why this was impossible. Firstly, there are no ballistic missiles in service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Secondly, they didn’t get anywhere. And thirdly, the Ukrainian army did not use them. Then, at the initiative of the US State Department, a meeting was held between its representatives and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, at which the latter was once again assured that the strike was not carried out on the territory of the Russian Federation. This incident was formally exhausted, although the Tochka-U missile, which, incidentally, is in the arsenal of the Ukrainian army, fits the definition of the mysterious “ultra-precise weapons” that Prime Minister Yatsenyuk tried to frighten the leaders of the DNI and LC. At least, APU, obviously, does not possess anything more accurate.
Really did not succeed in getting into anything. But this does not mean that there was no attempt. Military experts make various bold assumptions, finding certain parallels between the successful reflection of the Israeli missile attack by the Syrian missile defense and this incident. The most plausible to many seems to be the version according to which four Ukrainian Tochka-U missiles were shot down by Russian defense systems. There is no documentary evidence of this, however, some well-known facts suggest such an idea.
So what kind of rocket is this and where did it come from Ukraine? When and where were they produced? How old are the newest designs? What are the characteristics of this type of weapon? How should they be used and why were they created? What warheads can she carry? Who can manage this complex?
These and other questions will be answered clearly and without unnecessary details by this article.
Tactical missiles and a change in military concept
All nuclear forces fall into two main categories. Strategic missiles, the submarine nuclear fleet and long-range aviation carry charges that are used to inflict maximum, fatal damage to the economy of the enemy country in the event of a global conflict. But there are also less powerful tools that solve the tasks of front-line confrontation - they are called tactical. For these purposes, in 1965, Soviet engineers from the Fakel Design Bureau created the Tochka missile. She had good characteristics, but by the end of the sixties they ceased to satisfy the requirements of the military. When using nuclear charges, the accuracy was not of particular importance, but at that time changes took place in foreign policy that affected the nature of the defense doctrine. The strategic forces were given the role of global deterrence and the guarantor of the territorial integrity of the countries of the socialist camp, but the number of local conflicts increased. The idea of using special charges during the Vietnam or Middle East wars may have visited someone’s hot heads, but, fortunately, to no avail. The role of conventional ammunition increased, therefore, it was necessary to seriously increase the accuracy of hitting the target. And at the same time and increase the range. The case was entrusted to the Engineering Design Bureau. A secret institution with a modest name was led by S.P. Invincible. Surname is speaking.
New rocket
The design documentation for the previous rocket model was transferred to KBM from the Fakel ICD. These materials turned out to be a very important component of the work, saved a lot of time and effort. Many units, assemblies and systems have been preserved, for which the Tochka missile served as a test bench. The new model has other rudders, including gas-jet ones, the destabilizer is abolished, the control and guidance technologies are changed. As a result of the hard work of engineers during 1968-1971, serious performance improvements were achieved, the apogee and perigee increased. And - most importantly - hitting the target has become more accurate. The tests were carried out at the Kapustin Yar Cosmodrome, and in 1973 the State Commission adopted the project. Production has begun. Prototypes were manufactured at the Volgograd plant "Barricades" (start-up and control systems) and the Votkinsk machine-building plant (the missiles themselves). The system went into a series at the heavy engineering plant in Petropavlovsk. In addition, orders for components were placed at various enterprises of the defense complex throughout the country. Official adoption took place in 1975, they were equipped with ground forces at the divisional level.
Further modernization of the complex took place in the mid-eighties. Various climatic operating conditions were also taken into account, for which additional tests were carried out in Transbaikalia and Central Asia.
The Tochka-U tactical missile (that was the new name for this weapon) was built in the city of Votkinsk.
Point-P and new guidance systems
The first test launches began in 1971, they were made by factory specialists. Within two years, the refinement and final determination of the compliance of the received data with the state order was carried out. Characteristics quite arranged a high commission. Deviation from the set target did not exceed 250 meters with a minimum range of 15 kilometers and a maximum of 70.
Improved and target designation systems. Tochka-R could use a passive head to direct radios and radars to radiation, which expanded the range of its use and allowed the use of these weapons to suppress enemy air defense or disorientate military command and communication systems of a potential enemy. With a lesion area of two hectares, accuracy increased - now it was 45 meters.
These were very good indicators.
Appointment
Tactical use of weapons implies the possibility of delivering strikes against small-sized targets, which the military understands as small and large airfields, headquarters, communications centers, warehouses, storage facilities, railway stations, ports and other infrastructure facilities that acquire military significance in a special period.
Moreover, the size of such a goal cannot be called miniature. There can be no talk of a ballistic missile (even a small one) entering a separate building, ship, plane, helicopter or railway carriage. The strike is delivered over the area, for which a whole arsenal of various combat charging warheads has been developed.
At that time, when the Tochka-U rocket entered the arsenal of the Soviet Army, Soviet citizens learned about international terrorism mainly from the Vremya program, and only then when they talked about the situation in Ulster. The events of recent decades have shown that this tactical tool can also be useful for combating gangs, in particular, for destroying militant bases and their training camps. But in no case was it intended to use Tochka-U missiles for firing at residential areas of cities or villages. No matter how high the accuracy, it is impossible to achieve the selective defeat of armed groups of people surrounded by civilians.
By land and water
The missile itself cannot be launched from the launcher. The system is mobile; it is a convoy of several vehicles, the number of which varies depending on the task. First, we need a launcher that directly launches the Tochka-U rocket. But not for the sake of a single shot a complex was created! The control unit is followed by a convoy consisting of a charging and transporting machine, a mobile test station and a maintenance workshop. Missiles are transported in special containers designed for the safe transportation of ammunition. The charging machine is equipped with handling equipment. The equipment and devices are designed to monitor the health of systems and assemblies. Almost everything is provided in case of emergency situations.
A refueling tanker is needed only if there is a march over long distances (more than 650 km - this is the power reserve). The rocket is refueled at the factory, it has a solid fuel engine.
The complex can move around almost any terrain, even by water. Driving speed on a good road is up to 60 km / h, on a dirt road - up to 40 km / h, on rough terrain - 15 km / h. When using water-jet engines, cars will overcome the water barrier at a speed of 8 km / h. Motor resources of vehicles is 15 thousand kilometers.
Special charges
"Point-U" - a ballistic missile. Its characteristics, although more modest than that of strategic monsters, are quite sufficient to consider it a possible carrier of special charges. Under this term, the military refers to weapons of mass destruction, nuclear and chemical. To strike an enemy with them, you need an appropriate warhead, which is also called the combat charging compartment. The Tochka-U tactical missile can be equipped with nuclear charges, depending on the required blast power. So, the head part 9H39 has a TNT equivalent of up to one hundred kilotons, and 9H64 - up to two hundred.
When using nuclear special charges that the Tochka-U missile can be equipped with, the radius of destruction (solid), measured from the epicenter, will be more than one and a half kilometers.
To conduct tactical chemical military operations, 9N123G and 9N123G2-1 warheads are provided, each containing 65 OM sub-elements in the amount of 60.5 and 50.5 kg, respectively (Zoman).
Conventional ammunition
The range of high explosive ammunition is presented more widely. The 9N123F high-explosive fragmentation warhead provides for the detonation of 162 kg of TNT, scattering nearly fifteen thousand fragments. For the greatest effect, the final maneuver that the Tochka-U rocket makes is important. The defeat area of up to three hectares is ensured by undermining the charge at a height of 20 meters after a turn from the ballistic trajectory to the mode of almost vertical fall. The axis of the cone of the spread of fragments is shifted to expand the firing sector.
The 9H123K cartridge warhead contains fifty elements (each weighing about eight kilograms), filled with striking elements with a total number of close to 16 thousand. Each of the cartridges represents an analogue of a conventional anti-personnel grenade, only of a larger size. Ammunition destroys objects that are not covered by defense on an area of up to seven hectares.
It is also possible to use the Tochka-U missile for scattering propaganda literature.
Tactical and technical details
For a tactical missile, not only the maximum flight range is important, but also the minimum. Otherwise, the enemy will be able to come so close that it will be invulnerable, and therefore especially dangerous. The parabola of the steepest trajectory with a 15-kilometer base is an extremely small distance that the Tochka-U (ballistic missile) can shoot at. The flight characteristics in this case will be as follows: altitude - up to 26 thousand meters, thrust - 9800 kN, engine operating time - up to 28 seconds. Next, the flight goes along a ballistic trajectory.
If the target is beyond the horizon, then the parameters will be slightly different. The highest height (apogee) will decrease significantly. In 2 minutes 16 seconds, a missile will overcome 120 km - this is the maximum range of the Tochka-U missile.
For conducting successful firing, the operational deployment of combat crew is also important. A well-trained crew of the launcher, consisting of four people, is able to transfer the complex from transport to combat state in 16 minutes, this is the standard. If the need to start is known in advance, then just two minutes after issuing the start command, it will be performed. A warhead weighing almost half a ton will fly toward the target. The speed of the Tochka-U rocket reaches one kilometer per second, Each type of weapon is designed to solve a certain range of tasks, which, depending on specific conditions, can be more or less wide. A weapon is a kind of tool, in some cases it must be very powerful and rude, and in other situations it is better to use something more subtle and delicate. Tactical ballistic ammunition, despite the high accuracy of aiming at the target, cannot provide a clear selectivity for the defeat, therefore, as a rule, they are not used in densely populated areas.
Practical Tactical Application
The Tochka-U missile, whose target radius does not exceed 120 kilometers, is perfect for destroying camps and terrorist bases located in mountains or in the desert. During the first campaign in Chechnya, it was used for its intended purpose, as General G. N. Troshev wrote in his memoirs (the book was called “The Chechen Break”). The tactics of using this ammunition suggest that the command has reliable information and the exact coordinates of the target. Such information in our time can be provided by space reconnaissance (in the case of suitable weather over the theater of operations and the absence of clouds obscuring the zone of shelling). The use of other sources is not excluded if they are obtained from qualified agents with experience in working with topographic maps.
March 2000, the vicinity of the village of Komsomolskoye … It is known that in this area there is a militant camp. The object is well fortified, the level of fortification is such that when trying to storm, large losses of personnel are inevitable. Near the village, which, of course, cannot be destroyed. The explosion of the Tochka-U rocket covered the defensive area, and the powerful gang formation ceased to exist without ever entering the battle for which it had so carefully prepared. Tactical rocket launchers also solved similar problems in other sectors of the front, minimizing losses and achieving impressive successes, an important part of which was excellent training in calculations.
The same high qualifications were shown by the crews of the Russian divisions during the events of 2008 in South Ossetia. The Syrian military is doing a good job of this, suppressing the anti-government rebellion. Their goals are usually the base of terrorists in the desert.
Ukraine cannot boast of such accuracy. Tochka-U missiles, inherited from the USSR by this country, may have already exhausted their shelf life (it is ten years). In 2000, during the exercises at the Goncharovsky training ground, a launch was carried out, as a result of which three people were killed and injured five residents of Brovary (Kiev region). The warhead was used training, without a charge, otherwise there could be a lot of victims.
