AA-11 ARCHER / R-73 RVV-MD - Design
The missile design features a canard aerodynamic configuration: control surfaces are positioned ahead of the wing at a distance from the center of mass. The airframe consists of modular compartments accommodating the homing head, aerodynamic control surface drive system, autopilot, proximity fuze, warhead, engine, gas-dynamic control system and aileron drive system. The lifting surfaces have a small aspect ratio. Strakes are mounted ahead of the aerodynamic control surfaces. The combined aero-gas-dynamic control gives the R-73 highly maneuverable flight characteristics. During flight, yaw and pitch are controlled by four aerodynamic control surfaces connected in pairs and by just as many gas-dynamic spoilers (fins) installed at the nozzle end of the engine.
Control with engine not operating is provided by aerodynamic control surfaces. Roll stabilization of the missile is maintained with the help of four mechanically interconnected ailerons mounted on the wings. Drives of all missile controls are gas, powered from a solid-propellant gas generator.
The passive infrared homing head supports target lock-on before launch. Guidance to the predicted position is by the proportional navigation method. The missile's combat equipment consists of an active proximity (radar or laser) fuze and impact fuze and a continuous-rod warhead. The engine operates on high-impulse solid propellant and has a high-tensile steel case.
In a rocket made according to the aerodynamic "canard" scheme with destabilizers in the head of the hull and the traditional cruciform arrangement of aerodynamic surfaces on the nozzle of the engine, an interceptor-type gas-dynamic control unit is installed, which creates a lateral force due to the deflection of the gas jet of the engine, which gives the rocket high maneuverability. Destabilizers are located in front of the rudders and, in addition to their traditional purpose, reduce local angles of attack, protecting steering surfaces from flow disruptions and a drop in efficiency during sharp maneuvers. With the engine running, the rocket pitch and heading are controlled and stabilized by four aerodynamic rudders and four gas-dynamic spoilers connected in pairs for each channel. After the end of the engine operation, control and stabilization are carried out only by aerodynamic rudders. The roll stabilization of the rocket is carried out using four mechanically interconnected ailerons.
Gas-dynamic control provides high maneuverability immediately after launch, when the speed is not yet high and the efficiency of conventional rudders is insufficient. The deflection of the jet allows the missile, which has barely left the APU, to change the direction of flight by 90 ° or more. R-73 practically does not impose restrictions on launch conditions and carrier maneuvers. The high controllability and super-maneuverability of the R-73 allows it to attack targets flying at altitudes from 5m with overloads up to 12g, not only on catch-up courses, but also on counter-intersecting courses, attacking them along optimal "broken" trajectories with virtually no bend radius with its own overloads up to 40g. The 7700N thrust engine gives the rocket a high power-to-weight ratio, so that it can be launched into the rear hemisphere to defend the carrier. This "reverse start" technique has been tested.
The R-73 autopilot uses information from the pen-type sensors of the angles of attack and slip, placed in front of the destabilizers, and is comparable to the aircraft ACS in terms of the volume of operations performed. The complex of feather sensors, destabilizers and rudders forms a characteristic "herringbone" on the first compartment of the missile - seeker. Aerodynamic rudders with a pairwise aerodynamic link are activated by the steering gears located in the front of the second compartment, behind which are the autopilot and active radio fuse units. The third compartment is occupied by a solid-fuel gas generator of increased productivity. The working fluid generated by it enters the steering gears of the aerodynamic rudders and through the gas pipeline passing through the gargrot to the steering gears of the spoilers and ailerons located in the tail compartment of the rocket. The fourth compartment is a warhead, inside which the PIM is located. The radius of destruction of the warhead is about 3.5m. Fuse - radar. Modifications R-73L, R-73EL are equipped with an optical laser fuse (see.photo ). The fifth compartment is a single-mode solid-propellant rocket engine. In the tail section of the engine, steering gears for driving aileron and gas-dynamic spoilers are installed.
R-73 is equipped with a small-sized passive infrared homing head with increased sensitivity and noise immunity with deep cooling of the photodetector, which locks the target in the harness under the carrier. This head fulfills target designation angles up to 45 ° (60 ° for RMD-2), has coordinator pumping angles up to 75 ° and target tracking angular velocity (line of sight angular velocity) up to 60 ° / s. To save the pilot from wasting time choosing short- or medium-range weapons in a rapidly changing combat situation, the permitted launch range of the R-73 was increased to 30 km (RMD2 to 40 km). The GOS allows you to tune out natural and artificial interference using digital signal processing. The missile attacks a target flying in the altitude range from 20m (5m for R-73M RMD-2) to 20km at a speed of up to 2500 km / h, whatever its initial position.
The main elements of the rocket, with the exception of the steel engine body, are made of aluminum alloys. The compartments are joined by a bayonet connection, with the exception of the end compartment joints, carried out by means of flange connections. The fully assembled rocket is delivered to the troops in a hermetically sealed cover and wooden cork.
Depending on the modification, the missile is equipped with a laser or radio fuse. Warhead weighing 7.4 kg (explosive weight - 2.45 kg) of the rod type. The striking elements of the warhead are massive uranium rods. The main construction material is aluminum alloys, the engine body is steel.
A P-72 rail launcher is used for suspension under the launch vehicles and launching the rocket - with the sequential exit of three yokes from the guides; aircraft suspension assemblies - lug type. The equipment placed in this device makes it possible to use the rocket from any modern aircraft without significant modifications. According to other sources, the R-73 missiles are suspended on the APU-73 aircraft launchers, installed on the outer underwing suspension points.
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