National Air Defense - Late Cold War 1955-1991
The late 60s-early 70s was a crucial period. In those years anti-aircraft aviation was supplied with the third generation Mig-23 fighter-interceptors, capable of intercepting low-flying targets, as well as with the high-speed Mig-25s. These interceptors received the new long and medium-range R-23 and R-40 guided missiles.
In the 1970s the development of the anti-aircraft system was conditioned by the enemy's small-size strategic winged missiles. The Soviet response was the Mig-31 and SU-27 planes, which were armed with sighting systems capable of detecting the enemy at a great distance and accompanying several air targets simultaneously, as well as with more perfected anti-aircraft systems such as the S-200.
In the Soviet Union particular importance was attached to the construction of air defense. It created as a sort of two "fences" of the complexes of anti-aircraft missiles. One tried to build on the borders of the USSR, and the second - around vital installations of industrial areas. And in the zone between them were to operate fighter-interceptors. That such a doctrine defense was supposed to be able to protect our country from enemy air attack. Of course, means even such a power as the USSR, was not sufficient to create a "fence" around the perimeter of the entire border. But around the big cities and critical industrial parts, such as Central, which included Moscow, it was created and covered up their anti-aircraft missiles. Moscow region has been protected even two rings of defense.
And on the perimeter of the Soviet Union meant SAM only closed the border cities such as Leningrad, Lvov, Baku and other, mostly in the northwest, west and south-west, where may have been air strikes as the main opponent of the NATO countries were considered.
All the "assumption", including Eastern Europe, which included the Warsaw Pact countries, oceanic zone of the North and the Far East, it was assumed to be the cover of fighter-interceptors, as well as all the sky of the USSR. That's why we built the interceptors, as the main type of fighter. This line began Su-9, then continued the Su-11, Su-15 Sukhoi and MiG-25, high-altitude interceptor KB Mikoyan.
The last plane, which carried the idea of front-line fighter, able to support the air operations of ground troops, and technically not part of the air defense system, was the MiG-21. It stood light weapons, in particular, the missile R-13. This aircraft was very widely sold. MiG-21 "bis" was born in 1972-1973 during the Egyptian-Israeli war. It was modified by creating gargrota on "back" of the fuselage, which housed the extra fuel, which increased its range and it was upgraded weapons. The first MiG-21 were strictly "cannon", then the gun was removed and placed missiles in air - the air "working on the beam - K-5 and C-5M. But his appearance with K-13 missiles, backed up the line "Sayduindera", gave birth to the MiG-21 MF, which formed the basis of MiG-21 "bis".
More front-line fighter at the time the Soviets did not build, because the position of Khrushchev, and thus the country was that front-line aircraft build pointless, since the USSR has a powerful nuclear weapons and missiles.
In June 1967, Nikolai Egorychev, the head of the Moscow CPSU[B] committee and a member of the Military Council of the Moscow District of the Air Defense, spoke at the plenum of the CPSU Central Committee, where he raised the issue of the state of defense of the country, which was under the authority of the Politburo headed by General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev. In particular, he said: "... the imperialists can unleash a new big war at any moment. Leonid Ilyich said today in the report that we need to increase our vigilance, so we need to weigh more and more carefully, and carefully, whether we are ready at any moment to repel the surprise attack of the aggressor - whether in the West, the East or any other borders of our country. And not only to repulse, but also to crush the enemy ... The armament of our army must surpass everything that the armies of the imperialist countries have ...
"Perhaps, it is time ... to hear a report on the state of the country's defense and on the tasks of party organizations - civil and military, in one of the forthcoming plenary sessions, in closed order, as, for example, at the previous plenum we considered the issue of our foreign policy. For example, as a member of the Military Council of the Moscow Air Defense District, I am very concerned that the air defenses of the capital are not reliable enough. The existing system is morally obsolete, modernization of its proper effect no longer gives, the creation of a new air defense system of the capital is too prolonged...."
Egorychev said that the obvious superiority of Israeli aviation over the Egyptian raised the question of the reliability of Moscow's anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense. Is our capital adequately protected from aviation and the missiles of a possible enemy? "Obviously, the strong-willed decisions taken in the field of defense," recalled Yegorychev, "caused a certain damage to the armed forces, especially aviation, the fleet and to some extent the mechanized mechanized units. I ask, comrades, to understand me correctly. I do not want to offend anyone, I'm not hinting at anyone. But each of us has a high personal responsibility for their work, for their actions ..."
Yegorychev criticized the Ministry of Defense, which, allegedly, was ill prepared for the possibility of a surprise US attack. Yegorychev, of course, knew from Semichastny that some of the missiles ordered for combat duty did not even have warheads, which was the result of a secret agreement between the Minister of Medium Machine Building Slavsky and Defense Minister Malinovsky.
The criticism of Egorychev actually blamed the Politburo and its head Brezhnev. "Whether this was what Comrade Egorychev wanted or did not want, he cast a shadow on the defense, on our glorious armed forces," Brezhnev summed up. "We must weigh it again and again," said Yegorychev, "whether we are ready at any moment to repulse the attack of the aggressor."
This speech exacerbated the already emerging Brezhnev's conflict with Egorychev and his entourage (Egorychev belonged to the informal group of "Komsomol members " in the highest party leadership, whose leader was Aleksandr Shelepin, the political rival of Brezhnev ). The two main Soviet clans passed to a decisive battle for power. In it, the Brezhnevites defeated: a few days later Yegorychov lost the place of the Moscow party leader, and was later sent to Denmark as ambassador.
In 1967, special forces of anti-missile and anti-space defense were formed within the Air Defense Forces of the country on the rights of a separate sort of air defense forces.
In the following years, the Air Force and the Air Defense Forces continued to develop on the basis of and taking into account the experience of the Second World War, military conflicts, as well as ongoing command and staff exercises and military games, military science achievements, development and modernization of weapons and military equipment. The views on the content and nature of the struggle for supremacy in the air, air operations conducted for various purposes, aviation support for the troops and the solution of the airborne transport tasks were revised to a large extent. The issues of the breakthrough and overcoming of air defense, management, interaction and all types of security were thoroughly studied.
With the introduction of new early warning systems for missile attack, anti-missile and anti-space defense, re-equipment of the air defense forces, automation of control processes in the operational and tactical units, the combat capabilities of the country's air defense forces have significantly increased. The depth of the reconnaissance zone in the aerospace sphere increased, the lines of interception of the missile carrier aviation of the enemy were advanced, the maneuvering capabilities of fighter aviation increased, and the anti-aircraft missile defense became all-powerful.
By the end of the 1970s. special attention was paid to the development and development of more effective methods of destroying the air enemy in anti-aircraft operations. Air defense gradually acquired the form of aerospace defense. At the state level, positive measures were taken to equip the country's air defense forces with new weapons and equipment. At the same time, in the interests of the Air Force, principally new aircraft with a swept wing swept in flight were developed. Bomber and missile-cannon armaments, as well as radio electronic equipment for aviation complexes, have been improved noticeably.
Attempts by the military-political leadership of the country at the turn of the 1970s-1980s. conduct another regular reorganization of the Armed Forces of the USSR led to the breakdown of the existing structure of the Air Force and the Air Defense Forces. As a result, the air armies of frontline aviation, contrary to theory and practice, were transformed into Air Force military districts and subordinated to their leadership. The air defense troops were again divided into the frontier territory and the internal regions of the country with different schemes of troop command. In subsequent years, the innovation could not stand the tests of peacetime and demanded a return to the old organizational structure.
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