S-200 SA-5 GAMMON

Nomenclature Disambiguation The "SA-5" GRIFFON / GAMMON nomenclature from the 1960s is the source of considerable confusion. The V-1000 was the first Soviet anti-ballistic missile system, developed in 1956. It intercepted and destroyed an intermediate range ballistic missile warhead coming in at 3km/s on May 4 1961. The US did not demonstrate an equivalent missile until 1984. It was launched 37 times and failed only 5 time with a success rate of 85%. The V-400 Dal-2/ V-420 Dal-M [SA-5 Griffon] was a planned next generation high performance long-range SAM developed from 1959 but cancelled by 1963. The V-400 was first seen in the public in November 1963 when it was paraded on the Red Square. Because it was considered to be a SAM, it received the DIA code SA-5, along with the NATO reporting name "Griffon". Western sources associated this missile with the Leningrad system. NATO characterized the system as "A boosted missile with a configuration similar to GUIDELINE except that it is much larger... GRIFFON has been carried on a simple transporter with no facilities for launcher loading." By 1969 CIA noted "First shown in Moscow parade of November 1963. Described in Soviet literature both as surface-to-air and anti-ballistic missile. Not known to be deployed." The S-200 (SA-5 Gammon) is an enormous SAM developed after the failure of the V-400 Dal project. DIA code SA-5 was later reused for the S-200 "Volga" SAM system, NATO reporting name Gammon. Despite its spectacular appearance, the S-200 missiles were never demonstrated at parades in the USSR. A small number of publications of photos of the rocket and launcher appeared by the end of the 1980s. However, with the availability of space reconnaissance assets, it was not possible to hide the fact and scale of the mass deployment of the new complex. The S-200 system received the designation SA-5 in the USA. But for many years in foreign directories under this designation were published photographs of the missiles of the complex "Dal", which were repeatedly photographed on the Red and Palace squares.

The task of defeating the carriers of cruise missiles, jammers, aircraft of strategic aviation at maximum ranges and heights was solved between 1963 and 1967 with the creation of the SA-5 Gammon (Russian name S-200 Angara/Vega). Together with the development of many new scientific and technical solutions for the S-200 system, A.A. Raspletin attached the fundamental importance to the creation of self-homing head for the anti-aircraft guided missile. In the accepted armament, system S-200 the anti-aircraft guided missile was for the first time equipped with homing equipment.

The S-200 air defense missile system is designed to defend the most important administrative, industrial and military targets from attacks of all types of air attack weapons. The S-200 missile system defeats modern and prospective aircraft, including air command posts, DRLOiU aircraft, jammers and other manned and unmanned aerial vehicles. C-200 is an all-weather system and can be operated under different climatic conditions.

The main elements of the S-200B anti-aircraft missile system are anti-aircraft missile battalions (RDFs) and anti-aircraft guided missiles (SAM) 5?28. Each division includes a target illumination radar and a starting battery. The radar of target illumination is a high-potential radar station for continuous radiation. It maintains the target and produces information for launching the missile. In addition, it highlights the goals in the process of homing the missile.

An S-200 battery normally consists of six SAM launchers supported with one fire control radar system, and these may be integrated with a variety of other long-range radar-based equipment. Each missile battalion has one 320 km range P-35M BARLOCK-B E/F-band target search and acquisition radar with an integral D-band IFF system, one 270 km range SQUARE PAIR H-band missile guidance radar, and six trainable semi-fixed single rail launchers.

The missile's minimum range of 60 km is due to the booster burn time and jettison requirements, limiting the system to engagements against relatively large unmaneuverable targets at ranges up to 250 km. Guidance beyond the 60 km booster jettison point is by course correction command signals from the SQUARE PAIR radar with the S-200's own active radar terminal homing seeker head activated near the projected intercept point for final guidance. The launch is carried out at a constant elevation angle of 48 degrees by a launcher aimed on azimuth. The S-200 SA-5 GAMMON is a medium to high -altitude surface-to-air missile system. The S-200 surface-to-air guided missile, such, for example, as the 5V28 missile, is configured in a twin-stage scheme of normal aerodynamic configuration with wide-delta wings. The missile body has 11 m in length and weighs close to 6 tons. The missile is 10.72 m long overall with a wing span of 2.85 m. The main body is 0.85 m in diameter and has a solid fuel dual thrust sustainer rocket motor.

The missile flies to its target at 1,200 m/s, using guidance commands from the target illumination radar. The missile’s engagement ceiling ranges from 300 m to 27,000 meters for earlier models and up to 40,000 meters for the latest-design variants, and its engagement ranges vary from 7 km to 200 km for earlier designs and up to 300 km for more advanced versions.

The first stage consists of four solid-fuel accelerators installed on the march stage between the wings. The first stage includes four solid-fuel boosters installed between the wings on the sustainer. The four jettisonable wraparound solid propellant boosters provide a combined thrust of 12 t/s. The single-stage missile has four jettisonable, wraparound solid propellant boosters, each of which is is 4.9 m long and 0.48 m in diameter with a single fin spanning 0.35 m from the booster body.

The sustainer has a liquid-propellant engine and wide-delta wings. The sustainer is divided into several compartments accommodating a semi-active radar homing guidance unit, mission equipment, high-explosive (HE) fragmentation warhead with a fuse safety and arming mechanism, pump-discharged propellant tankage, liquid propellant engine and a steering mechanism. The "march" stage is equipped with a liquid two-component rocket engine with a pumping system for supplying fuel components to the engine. Structurally, the march stage consists of a number of compartments in which a semi-active radar homing head, on-board equipment blocks, high-explosive fragmentation warhead with a safety-actuating mechanism, tanks with fuel components, a liquid rocket engine, rocket control units are located.

The liquid rocket engine with a turbo-pump system for supplying fuel components to a single-action combustion chamber (without reclosing) operated on components that had already become traditional for domestic SAMs. Nitric acid with the addition of nitrogen tetroxide was used as the oxidizing agent, and triethylaminexylidine (TG-02, "thin") was used for fuel. The temperature of the gases in the combustion chamber reached 2500-3000 degrees Celsius. The engine was made according to the "open" scheme - the combustion products of the gas generator, providing the operation of the turbo-pump unit, were discharged through the elongated branch pipe into the atmosphere. The initial launch of the turbo-pump unit was provided by a pyrostarter.

The launch of the missile is inclined, with a constant elevation angle, from the launcher guided along the azimuth. Control of the missile's flight and aiming at the target is carried out using the semi-active radar homing head installed on it.

Its warhead is designed in the form of two joined oblate hemispheres of 80 cm in diameter, containing 80 kg of explosive charge and about 1,000 steel shrapnel balls with a diameter of 1 cm each. The warhead is detonated by an onboard proximity fusing system at about 20 m from its target. The large HE warhead is detonated either by a command signal or the onboard proximity fusing system. When fitted with a nuclear warhead only the command detonation option is used.

The warhead with a load of steel shrapnel balls provides a 120°-wide engagement envelope allowing a very high probability of success. The missile uses semi-active radar homing guidance, but in cases where the target is missed or not identified as ‘hostile’ by the friend-or-foe identification system, the missile switches over to upward path and self destroys once all the fuel is burnt out. The single launch hit probability is set at 80%. For increasing the probability of kill, one target is normally engaged using two missiles, and three missiles are usually launched in the event of targets employing electronic countermeasures against missiles.

The technique of the starting position consisted of a cockpit for preparing and controlling the launch of K-3 missiles, six 5P72 launchers, each of which could be equipped with two 5U24 automatic loading machines, powered by a specially laid short rail track, and power supply systems. The use of charging machines provided a fast, without a long mutual exhibition with loading means, feeding heavy launchers on launchers, too cumbersome to carry out manual reloading in the type of S-75 systems. However, it was also planned to replenish the spent ammunition with the delivery of missiles to the launcher from the technical division by road vehicles - on the transport and reloading machine 5T83. After that, with a favorable tactical situation, it was possible to transfer the missiles from the launcher.

There are other schemes for deploying elements of the SAM, so in Iran, a scheme has been adopted for 2 PFs at the launch positions, which is generally justified considering the single-channel targeting scheme, alongside the UE, high-security bunkers with spare missiles. The North Korean scheme for the replacement of elements of the S-200 SAM system is also different from that adopted in the USSR.

The S-200 supplemented the S-75 and S-125 complexes with radio command guidance, making it much more difficult for the enemy to conduct both electronic warfare and high-altitude reconnaissance. Particularly clearly, the advantages of the S-200 over these systems could be manifested when firing the active jammers, which served as an almost ideal target for S-200 homing missiles.