Air-to-air missiles can make up for the shortage of existing weapons and equipment.
■ It can realize multi-purpose of one bomb and quickly make up for the shortage of existing weapons and equipment.
■ Good feasibility can greatly improve the level of military maintenance and support.
Air-to-air missile has high guidance precision, strong maneuverability, fast attack speed and excellent performance, but its structure is complex and technical difficulty is great, so the development cycle is long and the development risk and cost are high. However, transforming air-to-air missiles into air defense missiles can further exert the effectiveness of air-to-air missiles and realize multi-purpose of one missile. In recent years, it has become an important way for western countries to develop air defense missile systems because it is technically simple and easy to modify air-to-air missiles into air defense missiles.
■ Give full play to advantages and tap potential.
There are many advantages in transforming air-to-air missiles into air-to-air missiles: first, it can give full play to the operational effectiveness of existing air-to-air missiles and shorten the period of developing new air-to-air missile systems; Secondly, the development of air defense missile system based on the existing advanced air-to-air missiles can provide reliable and practical weapon systems for the troops with little risk and save development funds; Third, it can quickly make up for the shortcomings of the existing weapon system and solve the equipment problem urgently needed by combat troops in a timely and effective manner; Fourth, it can simplify the use, maintenance and technical support of troops. In addition, the modified air defense missile system has obvious advantages, such as "no matter after launch", strong tactical maneuverability, fast response speed and short maintenance time. In terms of feasibility, because the targets and missions of the two missiles are roughly the same, the modification work is also simple and easy.
The modification of air-to-air missiles is generally after the products enter mass production, so as to provide good technical, quality and manpower guarantee for product modification. Missiles such as AIM-120, Snake -5, Derby, etc. all started to be modified after mass production.
■ Competing for development has its own merits.
At present, many countries and regions in the world have tried to transform air-to-air missiles into air defense missiles, and there have been many successful examples. For example, the United States modified the "advanced central control air-to-air missile" into "Slaram"; France changed the "Mika" air-to-air missile into an air defense missile; Yugoslavia modified "slings"; Israel developed the "Byder" series air defense missile system by using two most advanced air-to-air missiles. Germany’s modified air defense missile system with short-range air-to-air missiles has become the main air defense missile system in Germany.
Russian "Viper" multi-target confrontation. Russia has also developed the "Viper" medium-range air-to-air missile into an air defense missile, which can be launched through a land-based missile system or the launcher of an S-60 anti-aircraft gun. When subjected to strong electromagnetic interference, it can be converted into passive anti-radiation mode, which has the ability of "no matter after launching" and multi-target confrontation. After the target is locked, the missile will turn to active self-guidance and be able to deal with large-scale attacks. After improvement, the maintenance of missile launching system becomes simpler.
The French "Mika" was launched vertically. "Mika" air defense missile system combines the concepts of vertical launch, decentralized deployment and modular structure, and its biggest highlight is vertical launch. The system is an open and decentralized module assembly, and each combat unit includes several modules. Because of the decentralized system layout, each module and tactical command center are independent, and the system will not paralyze the whole combat system because a module unit is destroyed, thus ensuring a high battlefield survival rate of the whole system. The system has the ability of "no matter after launch", and can carry out all-round attacks on fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, drones and air-to-ground missiles; It can fight all weather and intercept multiple targets at the same time.
The US "Slam Ram" launched at zero speed. The American "Slaram" air defense system is equipped with an active homing head, which has line of sight, non-line of sight and over-the-horizon defense capabilities, and has added command self-destruction capabilities; In order to ensure compatibility with land-launched systems, the flight control software has been improved to achieve zero-speed launch.
"Byder" quickly counter air defense. "Byder" is an improved low-altitude rapid response air defense missile system based on the Israeli short-range combat air-to-air missile "Strange Snake -5" and the medium-range interception air-to-air missile "Derby", which can be used to attack aircraft, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles, cruise missiles and precision guided weapons. The system has the ability of "no matter after launching" and the ability to engage with multiple targets all day, all day and at the same time, and can be launched by one, multiple or continuous fire.
■ Science and technology are in full swing
Although the air-to-air missile to be modified is a mature product, in order to meet the requirements of new deployment conditions, the weapon system (including the missile itself) needs to be improved. For example, in order to increase the range, sometimes a good engine or booster is needed; In order to adapt to the ground fire control system, it is sometimes necessary to equip the target distribution unit.
Increase the detection distance of seeker. With the wide application of advanced technology, the infrared radiation characteristics and radar reflection cross section of the new generation of air raid weapons are getting smaller and smaller, and the stealth performance is good, so it is difficult to find air defense missiles. Even if they are found, they are too late to deal with them in most cases. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the detection distance of the seeker to capture the target as soon as possible. Moreover, improving the attack area of the missile also means expanding the defense range of the missile, which is of great significance to improving the overall performance of the missile.
Improve the missile range. Because most of the air-raid weapons adopt the way of attacking the ground outside the defense zone, it requires the air-defense missile system to have sufficient range. The usual practice is to improve the shape of the missile to increase the range, and it can also be achieved by adding boosters to the missile, such as the Israeli Byder.
Improve anti-interference ability. At present, many air attack weapons, such as helicopter gunships and cruise missiles, mostly use ground-to-ground flight tactics, and air defense weapon systems are difficult to detect. Therefore, in order to deal with this kind of air attack weapon, air defense missiles must improve their anti-jamming ability, especially their anti-ground clutter ability, so as to capture the target and destroy it as soon as possible.
Adopt vertical emission. Due to the long loading time of oblique launch and the limited number of missiles to be launched, the launch rate is affected and the reaction time of the system is increased. Therefore, the new generation of air defense missile systems have begun to adopt vertical launch technology. The response time of vertical launch is short, which can effectively intercept all directions and heights, and has strong anti-saturation attack ability, low cost, low life cycle cost, small volume and easy maneuverability. However, in order to make the modified air defense missile have vertical launch capability, it is necessary to redesign and transform the missile. These two technologies are complex and difficult, and the transformation needs to be "aggressive".
At present, the modification of air-to-air missiles into air defense missiles abroad has been in full swing, and some systems have been deployed in the army. With the technical maturity of modification, many developing countries are following suit. Experts pointed out that air-to-air missile modified air defense missile will have broad development space in the future as a fast and efficient development way. (People’s Liberation Army Daily/Zhuang Shen)
Editor: Cao Jin