In the 20 days of November 2014, the Western, and then our electronic edition spread quite unexpected news about the preparation between the Polish government and the U.S. Department of state, the December contract for purchase of 40 tactical cruise missiles, long-range AGM-158A JASSM to increase the combat potential of the Polish air force. Purchased high-precision weapons purchased directly from the manufacturer Lockheed Martin, is designed to equip the Polish multi-role fighters F-16C/D and currently undergoing the final stage of integration testing at one of the Polish “Falcon”, which was distilled on California Edwards air force base. According to the statements of the head of the division for logistics support and support services to customers, “Lockheed Martin Missile and Fire Control,” Joe Breen, the supply of the AGM-158A will be launched later this year and early 2017 JASSM will get the initial operational readiness. A landmark was the fact that the contract was prepared during the bloodiest phase of the punitive operation of Kiev against the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s Republics. Having accused our country in the aggression against “independence”, the conflict in the Donbass immediately used for the militarization of Eastern Europe directly at the borders of the CSTO.
A couple of years, in addition to the sale of JASSM, on the Polish redzikowo air base deployed an additional squadron of multi-role fighters F-16C U.S. air force, and in its vicinity erected position the second Eastern European regional missile defense based on Aegis Ashore complex, designed for parrying capabilities of the Russian strategic missile forces, after all, to reflect the impact of Iranian ballistic missiles “Sejil-2” would be quite enough complex “THAAD” high line intercept 150 km (the altitude of interception of ballistic targets “Ashora” with interceptor missiles RIM-161A/B reaches 500 km). In a similar manner and 40 JASSM is designed to “throw in our garden”. Now it is necessary to assess the level of threat coming from these missiles for our strategic targets in the European part of Russia.
For a start it is worth noting that the AGM-158A is the first production version of the JASSM missile family standard range of 370 km. When it runs from Polish air space, the radius will reach only of Minsk, but to attempt a missile strike on military targets in Leningrad and Pskov regions will require the use of air space of Lithuania and Latvia, but prompt him to enter into combat will not be easy, as the single most fast way — the area of airspace over the “Suvalki corridor. And it will be up to 15 meters in height closed with a range of several battalions of s-300PS and s-400 “Triumph”, some of which will be deployed in the Kaliningrad region, and part in the Grodno region of Belarus. The second option is circled in Kaliningrad region with her powerful turn-ABOUT from the Baltic sea and the island of Gotland, but it takes 2 times more time. And about the air defense of the Western military district do not need to forget: new su-27SM3 and su-35S will quickly resolve the issue with bespredelschiki in the airspace of the Baltic States, the Polish F-16C Block 52+.
But there is another way to Polish F-16C on the borders of the launch JASSM at Russian military targets — the use of air space of Ukraine. Crazy the leadership of this country, supported by military, political and financial support of the United States, Poland, Turkey, Bulgaria and the Baltic States continues to plan for intervention on the territory of the Republic of Crimea, and any escalation of the situation within Eastern Europe, will lead to automatic granting her VP and area under the prompt redeployment of allied. Lifting with the Polish air bases, F-16C, bearing hangers, 2 AGM-158A, can follow the terrain and radio silence to reach the Central regions of Ukraine, offering many options for targets on the territory of Crimea, Donbass and the border regions of Russia.
To expect a similar attack from the Polish air force is only before the active phase of hostilities in the Eastern theater of operations, since even a few hours later, the attack these missiles will be eliminated due to the closure of the airspace over Ukraine air defense Russian Air and space forces. Earlier it was reported that Warsaw is interested in purchasing long-range versions of these missiles, AGM-158B JASSM-ER.
This version has a range 980-1200 km, and is a threat to our country even when you run over the Eastern borders of Poland: in just 35 minutes missile JASSM-ER, after passing a short section of the Ukrainian-Belarusian border, get into our airspace, where only a few hundred kilometers, there are such strategically important objects, as JSC “SPC” engineering design Bureau in Kolomna or Tulamashzavod. To intercept these deadly small goals with RCS of 0.1 m2 and 430-pound warhead will need a very well-organized and fast operation of aircraft A-50U, fighter aircraft and ground-based air defense-PRO.
Even the destruction of a couple of dozen AGM-158A/B on the trajectory may become the same “three-Hundredth” a real challenge, because the flight of these missiles is at an altitude of 20-50 m, and the trajectory can be adjusted via the satellite a coded communication channel. Correction itself usually takes into account the trajectory of overflight of the ground anti-missile systems of the enemy, the coordinates of which with a little advance reconnaissance are determined by the sides of the type RC-135V/W “Rivet Joint” or E-8C J-STARS. A good solution is also a sharp increase in the number of modern air defense systems with radar and infrared methods of pointing directly at defending strategic facilities. In the 70-ies of XX century such a decision would be faced with significant problems in the distribution of fire means of air attack between different types of SAM because it did not exist advanced tools linkages system for air defense systems of different classes: there would be repeated shelling of the same goal, different SAM that would reduce overall efficiency of the entire air defense system. Modern videoconferencing have such automated control systems of anti-aircraft missile brigades as “Baikal-1МЭ” and “Polyana-Д4М1”, where a single bus for the exchange of tactical information on the air situation connected just about a dozen anti-aircraft missile battalions of mixed composition, so that in real time in accordance with the performance characteristics of the complexes for each seconds generated your list of aerial objects for interception. The destruction of high-precision weapons in this case becomes a simple task, even using only ground-based air defenses. But these questions may come later, but now we are dealing with a conventional version of the AGM-158A JASSM.
As mentioned in the beginning of the article, JASSM with a range of 370 km can reach the Central regions of Belarus, including Minsk. Being the first NATO government of the CSTO on the Eastern operational direction, RB, with its air bases, communication centers and explored the areas of deployment of SAM, could be for the Polish JASSM first goal to weaken the defensive capacity of the secondary cooling zone of Russia. It is about Belarus there are special concerns about a likely break air space of the Union state with precision weapons of the enemy. Saturation of the air force and air defense of Belarus is antiaircraft-rocket complexes s-300PS (over 10 divisions), the s-400 “Triumph” (at least 2 division), as well as military “Tori”, “Wasps” and “Stilettos” is quite high, but it does not solve the issue of protection of air space against the penetration of stealth cruise missiles. Standard radio horizon for the radar illumination and guidance 30Н6Е or 92Н6Е universal rig 40В6М does not exceed 35-38 km, and this means that to create an effective “barrier”, the low-EP phase, these radars (with divisions) should be placed at a distance of about 30 km from each other. This will result in absent neobstrelyannye “gaps” between systems, and each of the deployed front defense battalion s-300/400 will be supported by the neighboring division in the enemy’s attempt to break the defensive chain the suppression of one of them. The scheme of construction of such area air and missile defense is very simple and does not require military-technological frills, but enough to take a map and a ruler, and then measure the length of the “wedge” along the border of Belarus with Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine: get 850 km. For full protection from missile-States on the lines of this “wedge” you need to have up to 35 SAM system s-300PS, and each of them should be covered with a couple of “Tori”.
This situation is observed in the air defense of Belarus today is not necessary, therefore, to talk about full security of Belarus is still very early. In addition, for successful operations on protection of air borders of the Union state of Belarus air force you must have at least a couple of AEW aircraft A-50U, remember how smartly if you need state of the air force may transfer to Poland any number of “Raptor”, there certainly is no laughing matter becomes. There are other unpleasant moments, which should be recalled, and that it is necessary to try to eliminate.
The use of anti-radar missiles AGM-88 HARM — the main one. Armed with Air defense forces of Poland is a 36 single F-16C and 12 double F-16D. Strike wing can represent the “backbone” of 20 F-16C — media JASSM for MRU(40 missiles., 2 for each fighter), 10 F-16C — carriers the AGM-88 HARM for the suppression of air defense (40 missiles., 4 on each machine), and the remaining 18 F-16C/D as the fighter cover and escort. The probable conducting massive missile and air strike on the Belarusian air defense and strategic targets on its territory, the main “backbone” “of the Falcon” with the AGM-158A on Board will operate in conjunction with a squadron of air defense suppression. A little earlier would be running subsonic JASSM-ER, and before the moment of their entry into the 38-kilometer low-altitude line intercept “Tracheotomy” will run all 40 “HARMов”. This is done in order to overload the firing OBC of combat control 54К6Е and multifunction radar 30Н6Е. As the target for 40 “Härmä” is selected 1 or maximum 2 divisions of s-300PS. About 15 AGM-88 will be intercepted by anti-aircraft guided missiles 5В55Р, with a dozen finished covering the tor-M2E, the rest will have to complex protection “Paperboy”, but the rest can get to the “Shovels” (as in the army sometimes called major, the radar illumination 30Н6Е), especially considering that a couple of JASSM can also be aimed at SAM. Get overwhelmed by the turn of the defense through which you can quickly skip about 150 Tomahawks fired from SSGN Ohio, who came to the North sea.
Even more complicated if you consider the American support in the form of dozens of suspensions dropped from B-52H missile baits ADM-160C “MALD-J”, against which to quickly identify the real tactical cruise missiles will be even harder. In this article, we described the specific version of the regional non-nuclear conflict between NATO and CSTO with the participation of Poland, supported by the United States. This is done not in order best to pump the atmosphere in the observed predestinational real world context, and to point out the existing weaknesses and shortcomings in the defense of the CSTO, and in particular, of the Republic of Belarus. Thus, the existing air defense system of Belarus is based largely on the s-300PS and do not have a modern fighter aircraft and aircraft AEW & C (not able to reflect sudden and powerful strikes, NATO and more multi-channel and advanced anti-aircraft missile systems s-400, s-350E “Vityaz” and “Buk-M3”. At this stage, before the modernization of the air force of Belarus, the question can be solved temporary transfer to Republic aviation regiment su-35S and additional crews of s-400 “Triumph”.
Sources of information:
http://forum.militaryparitet.com/viewtopic.php?pid=162566#p162566
http://rbase.new-factoria.ru/missile/wobb/agm158/agm158.shtml
http://rbase.new-factoria.ru/missile/wobb/c300pmu1/c300pmu1.shtml
http://rbase.new-factoria.ru/missile/wobb/s400/s400.shtml
Author: Eugene Tamancev
