undoubtedly, recently published by the TV channel "Zvezda" exclusive footage of successful field tests of a promising light multipurpose guided missile (LMUR, "Product 305") to equip the modernized attack and reconnaissance helicopters Mi-28NM "Night Hunter" made a splash as in Russian expert circles, and among amateur observers of domestic military equipment. Based on information, voiced by the general designer of JSC "Moscow Helicopter Plant named after. ML. Mil "by Vitaly Shcherbina on the air of the" Military Acceptance "program, as well as approximate weight and size indicators and aerodynamic layout of a prototype of a new tactical missile, captured on video while moving from the transport cart to the suspension unit of the "Night Predator", there are several fundamental conclusions.
Tactical missiles with multi-range homing heads and bispectral infrared sensors are the key to the success of the strike operations of the promising army aviation. Domestic LMUR will give odds to American JAGM
At first, For the first time in the history of army aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces, the ammunition load of modern Mi-28NM attack helicopters will be replenished with multi-purpose tactical missiles, ensuring the destruction of not only surface stationary and mobile (ground and surface) goals, but also maneuvering air objects. This opportunity will be realized due to the high performance characteristics of the "product 305", achieved through the use of an aerodynamic "duck" scheme with developed nose aerodynamic rudders and a powerful solid propellant rocket charge, and also by equipping the rocket with a highly sensitive multispectral optoelectronic seeker using not only semi-active laser and TV / photocontrast sensors, but also a dual-band matrix IR photodetector (average- and long-wave infrared: 3-5 and 8-13 microns, respectively).
Bispectral infrared matrix photodetectors are most often the basis of the seeker of guided short and medium-range air combat missiles. (Р-73РДМ, AIM-9X Block I-III «Sidewinder», MICA-IR, etc.) and are able to select targets even with a low infrared signature against the background as IR traps, and optical-electronic interference. Furthermore, based on information on equipping the seeker with a promising LMUR with a television sensor with an integrated terminal for transmitting video images via a telemetric channel to the carrier helicopter, we can conclude about an even higher level of its noise immunity, achieved thanks to the ability to "capture" the silhouette of the intercepted target (regardless of any types of IR traps and the frequency of their shooting), as well as the possibility of correcting the terminal section of the missile trajectory directly from the PS-7V multifunctional console.
Secondly, due to the presence of the same multispectral seeker, the "product 305" can attack the target object in the "fire-and-forget" mode, even in a difficult jamming environment, which will significantly relieve the pilot and navigator operator, allowing the latter to focus on overcoming the enemy's air defense system and on analyzing information about ground / surface and air tactical situations, displayed on the MFI-10-6M and provided by the over-sleeve multifunctional radar H025 and the sighting and navigation optical-electronic complex PrPNK-28.
Recall, that the anti-tank / multipurpose missiles 9М114 "Shturm-V" included in the standard equipment of the "Night Hunters", 9M120M / F "Attack-B" and "Chrysanthemum-VM", possessing a semi-automatic radio command guidance system, exclude the implementation of the "fire-and-forget" mode. Immediately after the release of the ATGM data from the TPK, navigator operators are forced to hold a fixed aiming marker / tag on the target sighted by the optoelectronic complex until it is hit. This technique does not allow pilots to promptly withdraw rotorcraft from the review sectors of radar detectors and target designation radars of enemy anti-aircraft missile systems., covering the target.
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Thirdly, due to a fairly large solid-propellant solid propellant charge and excellent flight performance, "Product 305" is capable of attacking ground / surface targets at a distance of up to 25 km with dive angles of more than 60-70 degrees. These qualities of advanced LMUR will relieve the pilots and navigational operators of the Mi-28NM from the need to enter the range of such short and medium-range air defense systems., as "Avenger", IM SHORAD, VL-MICA и «SPIDER-SR»; will allow attacking enemy tanks and heavy infantry fighting vehicles in the most vulnerable areas of the upper projection; and will also provide the ability to strike at enemy self-propelled air defense systems from the "dead craters" located in the upper hemisphere (cone-shaped spatial zones outside the viewing sectors of electro-optical and radar tracking and guidance equipment).
finally, fourthly, due to the large dive angles on the target, the "product 305" will be able to easily "break through" through the close projectile barrier of the "Iron Fist" and "Trophy" active protection complexes promoted in the Israeli and Western media, infrared and AFAR sensors of which have only a 70-degree field of view in the elevation plane. In fact, soon the Mi-28NM will receive a more maneuverable (due to the nose aerodynamic rudders of a larger area) conceptual analogue of the American multipurpose tactical missile JAGM, developed by the military-industrial corporation "Lockheed Martin".
Eugene Damantsev
