Federal State Unitary Enterprise NPO Astrophysics, within whose walls this impressive installation was developed, refused to comment on its design, principle of operation, tactical tasks and technical characteristics.
Meanwhile, our interest was not at all aroused by contempt for state secrets. We saw and freely photographed the SLK "Compression" in the Military-Technical Museum, recently opened in the village of Ivanovskoye, Moscow Region. There, a rare exhibit is also exhibited without an annotation. They say that a decommissioned copy in a very deplorable state was transferred to the museum by a certain military unit near Kolomna. The local warriors did not tell about the purpose of the apparatus: not because it was secret, but because they themselves somehow did not think about it. Otherwise they wouldn't have given it.
We tried to figure out why the “laser tank” needs sixteen “eyes” and how secret is what is put on public display under the heading of secrecy.
"Stylet": dead Souls
The second half of the 20th century can rightfully be called the era of laser euphoria. The theoretical advantages of laser weapons, which hit the target with direct fire at the speed of light, regardless of wind and ballistics, were obvious not only to science fiction writers. The first working sample of the laser was created in 1960, and already in 1963, a group of specialists from the Vympel design bureau began to develop an experimental laser locator LE-1. It was then that the main backbone of scientists of the future NPO Astrophysics was formed. In the early 1970s, the specialized laser design bureau finally took shape as a separate enterprise, received its own production facilities and a bench test base. An interdepartmental research center of the Raduga Design Bureau was created, hiding from prying eyes and ears in the numbered city of Vladimir-30.
In 1978, the NPO Astrophysics was formed, in which Nikolai Dmitrievich Ustinov, the son of the USSR Minister of Defense Dmitry Ustinov, took the post of general designer. It is difficult to say whether this affected the already successful developments of NGOs in the field of military lasers. One way or another, already in 1982, the first self-propelled laser complex 1K11 Stiletto was put into service with the Soviet army.
"Stiletto" was designed to disable the optoelectronic weapon guidance systems of the enemy. Its potential targets are tanks, self-propelled artillery mounts and even low-flying helicopters. Having found the target by means of radar, the Stiletto made its laser sounding, trying to detect optical equipment by glare lenses. Precisely localizing the "electronic eye", the device hit it with a powerful laser pulse, blinding or burning out the sensitive element (photocell, light-sensitive matrix, or even the retina of the aiming fighter).
Targeting the combat laser horizontally was carried out by turning the tower, vertically - using a system of accurately positioned large-sized mirrors. The aiming accuracy of the Stiletto is beyond doubt. To get an idea of it, it is enough to recall that the LE-1 laser locator, with which the Astrophysics NPO began, was capable of directing 196 laser beams into the target space in a fraction of a second - a ballistic missile flying at a speed of 4–5 km / s.
The 1K11 laser system was mounted on the chassis of the GMZ (caterpillar mine layer) of the Sverdlovsk Uraltransmash plant. Only two machines were manufactured, which differed from each other: during the testing process, the laser part of the complex was finalized and changed.
Formally, the SLK "Stiletto" is still in service Russian army and, as the historical brochure of NPO Astrophysics says, answers modern requirements conducting military-tactical operations. But sources at Uraltransmash claim that 1K11 copies, except for two experimental ones, were not assembled at the plant. A couple of decades later, both machines were found dismantled, with the laser part removed. One - for disposal in the sump of the 61st BTRZ near St. Petersburg, the second - at the tank repair plant in Kharkov.
"Sanguine": at the zenith
The development of laser weapons at NPO Astrophysics proceeded at a Stakhanovite pace, and already in 1983 the Sangvin SLK was put into service. Its main difference from the "Stiletto" was that the combat laser was aimed at the target without the use of large mirrors. The simplification of the optical design had a positive effect on the lethality of the weapon. But the most important improvement was the increased mobility of the laser in the vertical plane. "Sangvin" was intended to destroy optoelectronic systems of air targets.
A shot resolution system specially developed for the complex allowed it to successfully shoot at moving targets. In tests, the Sanguine SLK demonstrated the ability to stably identify and hit optical systems helicopter at ranges of more than 10 km. At short distances (up to 8 km), the device completely disabled the enemy's sights, and at extreme ranges blinded them for tens of minutes.
The Sangvina laser complex was mounted on the chassis of the Shilka self-propelled anti-aircraft gun. In addition to the combat laser, a low-power probing laser and a guidance system receiver were mounted on the tower, which recorded the reflection of the probe beam from a glare object.
Three years after Sanguine, the arsenal of the Soviet army was replenished with the Akvilon shipborne laser system with an operating principle similar to ground-based SLKs. Sea-based has an important advantage over land-based: the power system of a warship can provide much more electricity to pump the laser. So, you can increase the power and rate of fire of the gun. The Akvilon complex was intended to destroy the optoelectronic systems of the enemy coast guard.
"Squeeze": laser rainbow
SLK 1K17 "Compression" was put into service in 1992 and was much more advanced than the "Stiletto". The first difference that catches the eye is the use of a multichannel laser. Each of the 12 optical channels (upper and lower row of lenses) had an individual guidance system. The multichannel scheme made it possible to make the laser installation multirange. As a countermeasure to such systems, the enemy could protect his optics with light filters that block radiation of a certain frequency. But against simultaneous damage by rays of different wavelengths, the light filter is powerless.
The lenses in the middle row are sighting systems. The small and large lenses on the right are the probing laser and the receiving channel automatic system guidance. The same pair of lenses on the left are optical sights: a small daylight and a large night one. The night sight was equipped with two laser rangefinder illuminators. In the stowed position, the optics of the guidance systems and the emitters were covered with armored shields.
In SLC "Compression" a solid-state laser with fluorescent pump lamps was used. Such lasers are quite compact and reliable for use in self-propelled units. Foreign experience also testifies to this: in the American ZEUS system, installed on the Humvee all-terrain vehicle and designed to "ignite" enemy mines at a distance, a laser with a solid working body was mainly used.
In amateur circles, there is a tale about a 30-kilogram ruby crystal grown specifically for the "Compression". In fact, ruby lasers became obsolete almost immediately after their birth. Nowadays, they are used only to create holograms and tattoos. The working fluid in 1K17 could well have been yttrium aluminum garnet with neodymium additives. The so-called YAG lasers in pulsed mode are capable of developing impressive power.
Generation in YAG occurs at a wavelength of 1064 nm. This is infrared radiation, which in difficult weather conditions is subject to scattering to a lesser extent than visible light. Due to the high power of the YAG laser on a nonlinear crystal, harmonics can be obtained - pulses with a wavelength two, three, four times shorter than the original one. Thus, multiband radiation is formed.
The main problem of any laser is its extremely low efficiency. Even in the most modern and complex gas lasers, the ratio of the radiation energy to the pump energy does not exceed 20%. Pump lamps require a lot of electricity. Powerful generators and an auxiliary power unit occupied most of the enlarged cabin of the 2S19 Msta-S self-propelled artillery mount (already rather big), on the basis of which the Compression SLK was built.
The generators charge the bank of capacitors, which, in turn, gives a powerful pulsed discharge to the lamps. It takes time to "refuel" the capacitors. The rate of fire of the SLK "Compression" is perhaps one of its most mysterious parameters and, perhaps, one of its main tactical shortcomings.
In secret around the world
The most important advantage of laser weapons is direct fire. Independence from the vagaries of the wind and an elementary aiming scheme without ballistic corrections means shooting accuracy that is inaccessible to conventional artillery. According to the official pamphlet of the NPO Astrophysics, which claims that the Sanguine could hit targets at a distance of more than 10 km, the range of the Compression is at least twice the range of, say, a modern tank. This means that if a hypothetical tank approaches 1K17 in an open area, then it will be disabled before it opens fire. Sounds tempting.
However, direct fire is both the main advantage and the main disadvantage of laser weapons. It requires direct line of sight to work. Even if you fight in the desert, the 10-kilometer mark will disappear over the horizon. To greet guests with a blinding light, a self-propelled laser must be put on the mountain for everyone to see. In real conditions, such tactics are contraindicated. In addition, the vast majority of theaters of war have at least some relief.
And when the same hypothetical tanks are within range of the SLK, they immediately benefit from the rate of fire. "Squeeze" can disable one tank, but while the capacitors are charged again, the second can avenge a blinded comrade. In addition, there are weapons much more long-range than artillery. For example, a Maverick missile with a radar (non-dazzling) guidance system is launched from a distance of 25 km, and the one overlooking the surroundings of the SLK on the mountain is an excellent target for it.
Do not forget that dust, fog, precipitation, smoke screens, if they do not negate the effect of an infrared laser, then at least significantly reduce its range. So the self-propelled laser complex has, to put it mildly, a very narrow area of tactical application.
Why were SLK "Compression" and its predecessors born? There are many opinions on this matter. Perhaps these devices were considered as test benches for testing future military and military space technologies. Perhaps the military leadership of the country was ready to invest in technologies, the effectiveness of which at that moment seemed doubtful, in the hope of empirically finding the superweapon of the future. Or maybe the three mysterious cars with the letter “C” were born because Ustinov was the general designer. More precisely, the son of Ustinov (Minister of Armaments, and then Minister of Defense).
There is a version that SLK "Compression" is a weapon of psychological action. The mere possibility of the presence of such a machine on the battlefield makes gunners, observers, snipers be wary of optics for fear of losing their sight. Contrary to popular belief, the Compression is not covered by the UN Protocol prohibiting the use of blinding weapons, as it is intended to destroy optoelectronic systems, and not personnel. The use of weapons for which blinding people is a possible side effect is not prohibited.
This version partly explains the fact that the news about the creation in the USSR of highly classified weapons, including the Stiletto and Compression, quickly appeared in the free American press, in particular in Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine.
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the emergence of new historical data indicating incidents between superpowers, show that cold war almost went hot.
Fingers were already reaching for the nuclear button, the launch codes had already been activated when the US military and secret services learned that the US Shuttle was attacked by a Soviet superweapon.
President Ronald Reagan, after consultations, was preparing to order a pre-emptive nuclear strike on the Soviets when it became clear that the Space Shuttle Challenger had been fired upon by the USSR's high-tech laser weapon system.
Challenger, during his mission 41-G, allegedly had to carry out espionage activities with the help of the equipment that was on board
It was also equipped with a specially modified format camera (LFC) with high resolution
The National Intelligence Bureau suspected that a large complex of a new missile defense system was being built in Soviet Tajikistan, some agencies believed that the Soviets were building a large beam plant or a laser beam generator
how could it look Soviet laser system Terra-3
..
. crew and ship return to Earth safely three days after Terra-3 attacks.
Unfortunately, a few years after the Soviet attack, the shuttle Challenger exploded after launch on January 28, 1986, killing everyone on board.
modern installation
Project "Terra-3"
In 1981, the United States launched the first space shuttle, the Space Shuttle. Naturally, this attracted the attention of the USSR government and the leadership of the Ministry of Defense. In the fall of 1983, Marshal Dmitry Ustinov suggested that Votintsev, the commander of the Missile Defense Forces, use a laser system to escort the Shuttle. And on October 10, 1984, during the thirteenth flight of the Challenger shuttle, when its turns in orbit passed in the area of the test site "A", the experiment took place when the laser installation was operating in the detection mode with a minimum radiation power. The height of the ship's orbit at that time was 365 kilometers. As the Challenger crew later reported, during the flight over the Balkhash region, the ship suddenly lost communication, equipment malfunctioned, and the astronauts themselves felt unwell. The Americans began to understand. Soon they realized that the crew was subjected to some kind of artificial influence from the USSR, and they made an official protest.
At present, the Terra-3 complex is abandoned and rusting - Kazakhstan was unable to raise this object.
http://astrotek.ru/proekt-terra-3/
P.S. comment
In 1969, the Luch Central Design Bureau was formed. to create powerful lasers various types and purposes. In 1978, the Central Design Bureau was transformed into the NPO Astrophysics» as the leading specialized organization in the country for the development of weapons systems and complexes using lasers in the interests of all types of the Armed Forces.
Among the most important areas for the development of technologies and equipment, in which NPO Astrophysics plays the role of a leading organization, include:
1. Laser complexes, including:
for power and functional suppression;
automated systems for chemical and bacteriological remote reconnaissance;
laser optical locators;
space control complexes.
2. Powerful lasers of various types.
3. Precision laser guidance systems.
4. Large-sized telescope construction.
5. Laser and optoelectronic base.
The enterprise has created a number of laser systems, including:
-laser space control complex;
- mobile complex of remote chemical reconnaissance;
- a mobile laser complex for monitoring the environment is being developed.
NPO Astrophysics, along with experience in creating laser devices, has a unique experience for Russia in integrating laser and other high technology to create systems and complexes capable of solving complex and large-scale tasks in various areas of human life.
As part of the NPO Astrophysics, large scientific schools in the field of high-power lasers, nonlinear optics, optical information processing, interaction of light with matter.