The Ukrainian military-industrial complex inherited one of the best design and production schools and a base from the USSR. This allowed Ukrainian gunsmiths during 30 years of independence to create high-quality firearms and sophisticated military equipment, which are respected and in demand on world markets.
Shopping center “Vilkha”
The Ukrainian tactical package complex “Alder” with corrected ammunition of 300 mm caliber has become a kind of legend of the domestic missile industry of recent times, together with the anti-ship missile complex “Neptun”.
The “Vilkha” missile defense system was developed on the basis of the Soviet “Smerch” multiple rocket launcher system and was adopted by the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2018. About fifteen domestic enterprises took part in the creation of the missile complex, among which the main executors of the works are the Dnipro-based Pivdenne Design Bureau, the capital Luch Design Bureau, the Artem Plant, and the Pavlograd Chemical Plant.
For the first time, at the end of January 2016, the then President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, announced the project of the “Vilkha” shopping center. For some time, the tactical and technical characteristics of the combat complex were kept secret.
The completion of the project was planned for the end of 2016 — the beginning of 2017. At the same time, some assumed that the newest TRK would surpass the Soviet Tochka-U missile complex in terms of its combat characteristics and become its replacement.
The first trials of “Alder” were conducted on March 22, 2016. The launches took place at a training ground in the south of the country. At that time, it was known that the “Alder” will have a guided 300-mm rocket ammunition, which, depending on the tasks, can serve as a system for defeating ground targets, and a means of combating water targets.
The defining feature of the “Alder” is its guidance system and the ability to adjust the trajectory of the projectile in flight. At the same time, movement correction will not be done with the help of GPS, the signals of which can be jammed by enemy EW devices.
According to official data, the “Alder” is capable of hitting targets at a distance of 60 to 120 km, while the range of the “Smerch” was limited to 90 km. And the deviation of the Ukrainian TRK missile from the target at the maximum range does not exceed 7 m.
In November 2017, the installation of the production line of missile casings for the Vilkha missile complex began at the Artem plant in Kyiv.
On August 24, 2018, “Vilkha” TRC took part in the parade on the occasion of the Independence Day of Ukraine. And in October 2018, the general director of KB “Luch” announced that the missile complex was adopted by the Armed Forces and its mass production had begun.
In 2019, control tests of the modernized version of the “Vilkha-M” and “Vilkha-R” TRK took place at the test site near Odesa, which was the final stage of its creation.
The updated missile complex has increased accuracy and a longer range, in particular, the missiles are capable of accurately hitting targets at a distance of about 130 km.
Each launcher of TRK “Vilkha” has 12 missiles, each missile carries a warhead weighing up to 250 kg and is guided to the target separately from the rest. The weight of the rocket itself is from 900 to 1,000 kg. The components for the production of “Alder” are domestic.
One of the features is the missile control system. It provides for the correction of the rocket’s flight by impulse engines. The missile has an engine housing, a nozzle block, stabilizers, a warhead, a safety-executive mechanism, a guidance system, a system for receiving satellite navigation signals, gas control, detonators produced by Ukrainian enterprises.
After launch, the rocket takes off at a speed of about 30 meters per second, which is not enough to control it with the help of aerodynamics. Therefore, after leaving the guide, the rocket is stabilized by small disposable jet engines. They all work in a few seconds.
The middle part of the missile trajectory is uncontrolled. In the third, final part of the flight, when the rocket begins to descend, the aerodynamic rudders open in the front of the rocket. The control system integrates signals from the global navigation system and its own inertial system and forms commands on the steering wheel. Management takes place according to the standard method of parallel-proportional approximation. At the same time, the missile is guided until it hits the target.
It is worth noting that the TRK salvo with a package of 12 missiles is carried out in 48 seconds, and the exit from the launch zone is carried out within 3-4 minutes. The missile complex is mounted on the chassis of a four-axle KrAZ-7634 vehicle with an 8×8 wheel formula.
The complex is produced in three versions. Currently, it is known about the production of more than half a hundred units of this weapon.
The missile complex is successfully used in the fight against the Russian invaders.
Tactical and technical characteristics:
- Caliber — 300 mm
- Weight – 33 tons
- Number of guides — 12 pcs.
- The firing range is up to 202 km
- Deviation from the target — from 7 to 30 m depending on the distance
- Speed — 60 km/h.
OTRK “Thunder”
The Ukrainian operational-tactical missile complex “Thunder” or “Sapsan” has been under development by the “Pivdne” Design Bureau since 2013.
The complex is built on the basis of a solid-fuel ballistic missile with a range of 50 to 300 km and is designed to create a shield of non-nuclear deterrence of an aggressor.
Back in 1994, in Dnipro, the “Southern” Design Bureau began to implement the idea of creating an operational-tactical missile for the Ukrainian army with a range of up to 500 km. At the time, this development was called “Borysfen” and it was believed that it was supposed to replace the outdated Soviet Scud-type missiles, of which there were more than 200 launchers in storage, and tactical missiles “Tochka-U”.
It was claimed that the new complex is a high-precision weapon of a new generation, capable of ensuring the creation of a reliable shield of non-nuclear deterrence both for Ukraine itself and for any state. However, against the background of the constant reduction of the army and the solution of social problems, in conditions of chronic lack of money, there were few lobbyists for this idea.
The project of the complex was revived in 2013. The first tests of the prototype of the “Grim” system were supposed to take place in the winter of 2015, but due to bureaucratic obstacles, they did not take place. It is interesting that the customer of the tests was a foreign buyer – Saudi Arabia.
The range of the export version of the new ballistic missile was supposed to be 280 km, whereas the range intended for the Armed Forces of Ukraine was 450 km. The first test of the missile took place on December 1, 2016 at a training ground in southern Ukraine. In January 2018, photos of the transport-launcher of the complex without a camouflage cover were published, as well as photos of rocket engine tests on the stand. In October 2018, it became known that the testing of homing heads for the missile of the complex had been completed.
In total, four types of heads were developed. And in April 2019, it became known that two prototypes of the complex had already been manufactured. Moreover, one of them is for a foreign order from Saudi Arabia, and the other is for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The missile for the newest Ukrainian OTRK allows you to hit land, sea and air targets depending on the installed warhead and guidance system. The flight of the missile can take place both on a ballistic and on an aeroballistic trajectory, which should help in overcoming the enemy’s air defense system of any complexity.
The monoblock scheme of the missile uses a high-explosive high-explosive or high-explosive high-explosive ampoule. The cartridge warhead is equipped with high-explosive warheads. At the same time, the estimated area of damage of the rocket when using a high-explosive fragmentation charge is more than 10,000 square meters. m, and cassette – 2–3 ha.
The development and production of self-propelled chassis for the missile system is engaged in by the Kharkiv Transport Equipment Plant PJSC together with the Design Bureau named after Morozova. They created and implemented into a rolling stock the first Ukrainian self-propelled five-axle chassis, which was developed by Ukrainian designers.
As part of the “Thunder” project, two more special vehicles are planned – a transport and charging vehicle and a transport vehicle for the transportation of missiles. The self-propelled launcher itself is equipped with two containers for surface-to-surface missiles.
Tactical and technical characteristics:
- The flight range is from 50 to 500 km
- The mass of the rocket is 3 tons
- The length of the rocket is 7.2 m
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