• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

15P170 Albatross

The development of the Albatross missile system was launched in accordance with a government decree of February 9, 1987 at NPO Mashinostroeniya under the leadership of Herbert Efremov. The complex was supposed to be an asymmetric response of the USSR to the development of the SDI program in the USA.

Flight tests were carried out in 1991-1992.

The Albatross project was based on proposals for a controlled warhead capable of performing an evasive maneuver against an anti-missile - the UBB was supposed to detect the launch of an anti-missile and perform a programmed evasive maneuver. The development of the UBB project with such capabilities was carried out in 1979-1980. - the design of an automation system for such an anti-missile maneuver was carried out.

The development in the Soviet Union of a new missile complex with the capability of overcoming the multi-layer ["echeloned"] missile defense system was to become part of the Soviet asymmetric response to the creation of a missile defense system in the United States within the framework of the SDI program. The new complex was supposed to have maneuvering, planning (winged) combat units with hypersonic speed. These units were supposed to be able to maneuver up to 1000 kilometers in azimuth at the entrance to the atmosphere on the "Karman line" [100km]bat speeds of about 5.8-7.5 km / s or 17-22 Mach.

The design is a three-stage solid-propellant rocket with a sequential arrangement of stages. The main goal of the development of the complex is the creation of an ICBM protected from the damaging factors of nuclear explosions, beam and kinetic weapons. Accordingly, the rocket body had to have increased resistance to the specified damaging factors.

At the heart of the whole project, Albatross, there were proposals for a controlled combat unit (UBB), which was able to maneuver to evade anti-missiles. UBB was supposed to fix the launch of the enemy's antimissile and carry out a programmed evasion maneuver. The new missile was to be three-stage, it was planned to equip it with a winged block with a nuclear charge, which was able to approach the target at low altitude and maneuver near it. Most of the elements of the rocket itself and the installation for its launching were planned to be equipped with a serious protection against laser weapons and nuclear explosions in order to ensure the maximum probability of striking the enemy at any level of opposition from him. The control and guidance system of the "Albatross" ICBM was an autonomous inertial one.

The creation of the winged combat bloc in general was a completely new thing. Initially, Soviet designers looked to create a combat unit that could evade anti-missiles, and from this idea the project for the development of Albatross arose. The combat unit of this ICBM did not just carry a nuclear charge, but also had to detect in time the launch of the enemy's antimissile and activate its own evasion complex. At the same time, the maneuvers had to be very diverse, which should ensure a sufficient unpredictability of the trajectory.

A distinctive feature of the new intercontinental missile was that its trajectory's altitudes that did not exceed 300 km. At the same time, it was possible for the Americans to detect the launch, but it was hoped to be impossible to accurately predict the trajectory and mount an adequate response counteract the missile's military blocks. The missile was to be equipped with one or several (accurate information is not available) of the planned winged units (PCBs) with nuclear charges. The PCB made a controlled flight in the atmosphere (planning) and was able to reach the target in a wide range of heights and from any direction.

ICBM control and guidance system was autonomous inertial. The development of a control and guidance system for combat equipment was carried out by NPO Mashinostroeniya (Reutovo). The winged guided warhead (UBB) was supposed to perform program anti-missile maneuvers in azimuth and flight altitude at altitudes of less than 300 km using several random evasive maneuvers. It was also supposed to use the UBB flight path correction system according to the radio contrast standard of the terrain in the target area. The use of extreme navigation on the reference matrices of the terrain was not supposed. By the end of the 1980s, the solution with the selection and recognition of the contours of radio contrast images was recognized as promising. It was planned to accumulate statistics on the use of this correction technology when testing the 3M25 Meteorite cruise missile, but this did not happen.

In NPO Mashinostroenie, systems for correcting the trajectory of combat missile elements of missile systems were developed. The correction systems for the contrast of the target area were much more difficult than the relief-metric because of the dependence of the radiocontrast on the season (leaves, grass, snow, etc.), humidity, etc. And if the surface of the water was calm, smooth or disturbed at all, it would giving an inversion on the image. By the end of the 1980s, the solution was found in the selection and recognition of contours of contrasting images, but the statistics on tests for 3M25 did not have time to be proven.

The development of the intercontinental ballistic missile (MBR) "Albatros" was conducted by specialists of NPO Nechanical Engineering from the city of Reutov. The works were initiated by a decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR of February 9, 1987. Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 173-45 of February 9, 1987 proposed the development of a launch and ground equipment complex in three basing options - mobile soil, stationary mine and relocated mine. Rocket launchers were supposed to have increased resistance to the damaging factors of a nuclear explosion, as well as to the effects of beam and other types of weapons. The main designer was Herbert Efremov. In 1991, it was planned to begin testing the complex, and in 1993 to begin mass production of this ICBM, but these plans have not been implemented.

G.A. Efremov was appointed the project developer. At the same time, the Soviet government attached particular importance to the project, since at the time a major problem was the overcoming the missile defense of the United States. Against this background, it is surprising that the work on the creation of a new strategic complex was entrusted to an enterprise that had never before worked with mobile missile systems and solid-fuel missiles.

By the end of 1987, the preliminary design of the ICBM of the Albatross complex was ready, but it aroused criticism of the country's Defense Ministry.

The design of the complex continued until the beginning of 1989. But at the beginning of 1989 it became absolutely clear that the creation of this RK, both in terms of technical indicators and the timing of its implementation, was under the threat of failure. In those years there was a lot of competition between the two ministries for prestigious missile orders for the Strategic Missile Forces - the MOM (Ministry of General Mechanical Engineering) and the Ministry of Defense Industry.

The main reason for the termination of developments on this topic was the doubt in the timing of the implementation of this project, including because of the problems that accompanied the technical solutions included in the project. Also, the project was affected by the collapse of the USSR in a negative way.

In June 1989, at a wide-ranging meeting at NPO Mashinostroeniya at Reutovo, the general director of the NGO G.A. Efremov put forward a proposal to turn the Albatros complex into a universal complex for the Strategic Missile Forces of the country - for mobile and silo-based types of basing. However, such a proposal caused strong opposition from other ICBM developers in the country - the Moscow Institute of Heat Engineering (MIT) and the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau from Dnepropetrovsk.

The decision was considered promising and was planned for use on the Albatross and UBB 15F178. Developed in late 1987, the draft design of the RK "Albatross" caused the Customer's dissatisfaction, since the implementation of a number of technical solutions laid down in the EA was quite problematic. Nevertheless, the work on the project implementation lasted the whole subsequent year.

The General Director G.A.Efremov talked with excitement about the greatness of the design bureau, about its outstanding enormous opportunities, about large, promising offshoots. Here there are both marine and aviation undertakings, shows a whole set of various kinds of satellites. But the main thing was the dream of the Ministry of General Machine Building - a new missile under the code "Albatross", which had universal qualities. According to the authors, in the long term it was able to replace all existing missiles in silo launchers, on the moving chassis. In a word, unified, reliable and everything else is the cheapest.

In this form, this application was made, which was openly proclaimed into the peak of the Ministry of Defense Industry, as a real threat. At that time, it is probably this danger for other developers of missile technology - Yuzhnoye and MIT that has become one of the main factors in counteracting the creation of the Albatros complex. The competitors moved and came up with counter offers, which soon closed the development of the new "Albatross" ICBM.

On 09 September 1989, in addition to the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR on February 9, 1987, a new solution came out of the development of the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR of February 9, 1987, the Military Industrial Complex Decision No. 323 was issued, which ordered the creation of two new missile systems instead of the Albatros complex - stationary silo ["mine"] and mobile ground based on a three-stage solid rocket missile, for the mobile ground complex "Topol-2". This topic of research work received the code "Universal" (rocket RT-2PM2 / 8Zh65, later - "Topol-M"). The complex with the basing in the silo launcher was created in the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, and the MIT was engaged in the development of the mobile ground-based missile complex.

According to other, officially unconfirmed data, the cessation of work on the complex occurred after consideration of the draft design by the USSR Ministry of Defense and happened in 1988-1989.

The active development of the Albatros complex in the interests of the Strategic Missile Forces of the Soviet Union was stopped after the conclusion of the START-1 treaty in 1991, but tests of the UBB prototypes continued. According to one, unconfirmed official information, the work on the Albatross complex was stopped after the draft concept was considered by the representatives of the Ministry of Defense roughly in 1988-1989, and MIT was engaged in the development of a mobile ground-based missile complex.

With a high degree of probability, it seems that the flight tests of the UBB prototypes of this complex were carried out in 1990-1992. The launches were carried out from the Kapustin Yar test site with the use of the K65M-R launch vehicle. The first launch was carried out on February 28, 1990 "without separating" the combat load. Later, with the application of developments on the Albatros complex, the engineering firm NPO began the work on the creation of aeroballistic hypersonic combat equipment (AWBO) Project 4202.

Partly, the "Albatross" ICBM, together with hypersonic blocks for it, fell victim to the general decline of the country's military-industrial complex in the early 1990s, which occurred against the background of the collapse of the USSR. But, at the end of the 1990s, using the existing reserve for this project, work was started that eventually led to the appearance of "Topol-M" and hypersonic blocks for its more advanced modification of "Yars", as well as for other ballistic missiles related to to the new generation - "Bulava" and "Sarmat".

Complex "Call"

The work on the maneuvering combat units of the Albatross complex was also used for purely peaceful purposes. So, together with the specialists of CNIIIMASH, the engineers of the NPO of mechanical engineering proposed to create on the basis of the UR-100NUTTX ICBM a space-rocket ambulance complex called the "Call". The complex, which was to be created by 2000-2003, was planned to be used to provide emergency emergency assistance to marine vessels that were in distress in the world's oceans. As a useful load on this ICBM it was planned to mount special aerospace rescue aircraft SLA-1 and SLA-2 of the complex "Prize". Thanks to the use of these devices, the speed of delivery of the emergency kit to the vessel in distress could be from 15 minutes to 1.5 hours, and landing accuracy + 20-30 meters.

So, the life-saving aircraft SLA-1 was able to deliver up to 90 life rafts or emergency kit. A rescue aircraft SLA-2 could deliver emergency rescue equipment for sea-going ships (a drainage module, a fire-fighting module, a diving module). In another version - a rescue robot or remotely piloted aircraft. Drawing of the SLA-1 and SLA-2 apparatuses of the "Call" system appeared in the advertising booklet of the NPO Mashinostroeniya, 1990s