On March 23, 1983, the US Social President Ronald Reagan stated the Americans about the start of creating a large-scale missile defense system, which is guaranteed to protect the country from the Soviet nuclear threat. "I gave an order to take comprehensive and intensive efforts to carry out a long-term research program and developments in order to achieve our ultimate goal - the elimination of the threat that strategic missiles with nuclear warheads represent," the American leader appeals. This date can be bolded by the Cold War apotheosis.
This project was called "Strategic Defense Initiative" (soy), but with a light hand of journalists, she became more known to the public as the "Star War Program". There is a legend that the idea of \u200b\u200bsuch a project came to Raigan after viewing the next series of the Space Opera George Lucas. Despite the fact that soybeans were never implemented, it became one of the most famous military programs in the history of mankind and had a significant impact on the outcome of the Cold War.
This program assumed the creation of a powerful anti-missile "umbrella", the main elements of which were located in an near-earth orbit. The main goal of the strategic defense initiative was the conquest of complete domination in outer space, which would allow to destroy Soviet ballistic missiles and combat blocks at all stages of their trajectory. "Who owns the space, he owns the world," they loved to repeat the defenders of this program.
Originally the "Star Wars" program was engaged exclusively for Americans, but a little later, the main allies of the United States on the NATO block was connected, primarily Britain.
To say that the strategic defense initiative was an ambitious project - it means not to say anything. By its complexity, it does not matter any comparison even with such famous programs as the Manhattan Project or Apollo. Only a small part of the components of soybeans had to use more or less well-known and proven military technologies (anti-missiles), the basis of the shock power of "Star Wars" should be a weapon developed on new physical principles.
The strategic defense initiative was not implemented in practice. The scale of the technical problems that have stuck in front of the developers, forced the American leadership to quietly minimize the program ten years after its spectacular presentation. At the same time, it did not give practically no real results. The amounts spent on the implementation of "Star Wars" are impressive: some experts believe that soybeans cost an American taxpayer in 100 billion dollars.
Naturally, in the course of work on the program, new technologies and design solutions were obtained and worked out, however, given the volume of investments and a wide PR campaign, it looks clearly not enough. Many developments were later used when creating an existing US system. The main thing is that American designers and military understood - at the present level of technology development, unconventional methods of interception of the ICBM are not effective. Therefore, the current missile defense is built on old proven anti-cancers. Lasers, rails, satellites-kamikaze and today are more expensive than real and efficient weapons.
However, despite the almost complete absence of technical results, soybeans had very important political consequences. First, the beginning of the development of the space system about even more worsened relations between the two superpowers - the United States and the USSR. Secondly, this program tightened the disputes around the rockets of ballistic medium-range, which at that moment actively unfolded both opposing parties. Well, the most important thing is the fact that the Soviet military and political leadership believed in the reality of the implementation of the strategic defense initiative and more desperately joined the arms race, which the USSR had no strength at that moment. The result was a cookie: the economy of a huge country could not withstand such overstrain, and in 1991 the USSR stopped existing.
Soviet scientists have repeatedly reported to the guidance on the impossibility of implementing the SOI program, but the Kremlin elders simply did not want to listen to them. So if we consider the strategic defense initiative, as a large-scale bluff of American special services (this is a favorite topic of domestic conspiracy), then this strategy really succeeded. However, it is likely that the truth is somewhat more complicated. It is unlikely that the United States would start such an expensive program, only to ruin the Soviet Union. She brought significant political bonuses to President Reagan and his team, as well as huge baryrs in his pocket crowded from the military-industrial complex. So, about the lack of real results of the strategic defense initiative, probably few people burned.
Finally, we can say that the United States has not abandoned the idea of \u200b\u200bcreating an anti-missile umbrella, able to protect their country from a possible nuclear strike (including massive). Currently, the deployment of a multi-level system of pro is in full swing, which is much more real than the "Star Wars" of the President Reagan. Such activity of Americans causes no less concern and irritation in the Kremlin than thirty years ago, and there is a high probability that now Russia will be forced to join the new arms race.
Below the main components of the soybean system will be given, the reasons why one or another component has not been implemented in practice, as well as as in the future, ideas and technologies laid down in the program.
History of SOI program
The development of missile defense systems began almost immediately after the end of World War II. The Soviet Union and the United States appreciated the effectiveness of the German "Weapons of Retribution" - FAu-1 and Fau-2 missiles, therefore, in the late 1940s, in both countries, it was engaged in creating protection against a new threat.
Initially, work was more theoretical character, since the first combat missiles did not possess an intercontinental range and could not affect the territory of a potential opponent.
However, soon the situation has changed dramatically: in the late 50s and the USSR, and the United States has intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), capable of conveying a nuclear charge to another hemisphere of the planet. From this point on, the rocket has become the main means of delivery of nuclear weapons.
In the United States, the first strategic system of MIM-14 Nike-Hercules was commissioned already in the late 50s. The defeat of the combat units of the ICBM took place at the expense of the anti-lamp with a nuclear combat. A more perfect Lim-49a Nike Zeus complex came to change "Hercules", which also destroyed enemy warheads with the help of thermonuclear charges.
Work on the creation of strategic missile defense was carried out in the Soviet Union. In the 70s, the system of A-35 was adopted, designed to protect Moscow from a rocket attack. Later, it was modernized, and until the very moment of the collapse of the USSR, the capital of the country was always covered with a powerful anti-missile shield. To destroy the enemy ICBM, the Soviet systems also used anticrafts with a nuclear combat part.
In the meantime, the extension of nuclear arsenals went unprecedented pace, and by the beginning of the 70s there was a paradoxical situation that contemporaries called "nuclear deadlock." Both opposing parties had so many warheads and rockets for their delivery, which could destroy their opponent several times. The way out of it was seen in the creation of a powerful missile defense, which could reliably protect one of the participants in the conflict during the full-scale exchange of rocket and nuclear strikes. A country with such a system would receive a significant strategic advantage over his opponent. However, the creation of such defense turned out to be an unprecedented complex and expensive task, superior to any military-technical problems of the twentieth century.
In 1972, the most important document was signed between the USSR and the United States - an agreement on the restriction of missile defense systems, which today is one of the foundations of international nuclear safety. According to this document, each of the parties could expand only two systems about (later the amount was reduced to one) with a maximum ammunition in a hundred anti-abslicas. The only Soviet system about defended the capital of the country, and the Americans covered the dislocation area of \u200b\u200btheir ICBMs by anti-cancers.
The meaning of this contract was that, without being able to create a powerful missile defense system, each of the parties was defenseless before a crushing response, and this was the best guarantee from rapid decisions. This is called the principle of mutual guaranteed destruction, and it is he who has been reliably protecting our planet from Nuclear Armageddon for many decades.
It seemed that this problem was solved for many years and the established status quo arranges both parties. So it was until the beginning of the next decade.
In 1980, the US presidential elections won the Ronald Reagan policies, which became one of the most fundamental and irreconcilable opponents of the communist system. In those years, the Soviet newspapers wrote that "the most reactionary forces of American imperialism led by Reagan came to power in the United States.
A few words should be said about the international situation of that time. 1983 can be called a real peak of the Cold War. Soviet troops have already fought in Afghanistan for four years, and other countries of the West weapons and money supported the Mujahideen, the number of NATO armed forces and the Warsaw contract reached its maximum, the nuclear arsenals of the two superpowers were literally broken from the warheads and ballistic missiles, the deployment of "Permshots continued " The arrows of the clock of the vessel showed three minutes before midnight.
For a few weeks (March 3, 1983), before the announcement of the beginning of the soybean Reagan called the Soviet Union of the Evrius Evil.
The strategic defense initiative almost immediately attracted vast public attention, and not only in the United States, but also in the rest of the world. In the same America lasted a wide PR campaign of a new government initiative. In the cinema and on television, rollers were spinning, which described the principles of operation of the new system. The average man has the impression that the implementation of the strategic defense initiative is a matter of several years, after which the advice will have to be completely tight.
Very soon, not only American firms and scientific centers, but also companies from the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Israel and other United States Allied countries began to be brought to developing the program. By 1986, the management of soybeans has entered into more than 1.5 thousand contracts with 260 contractors in different countries of the world. The Germans have developed a system for the guidance and stabilization of lasers and rails, recognition systems and radar stations. Britain was engaged in creating new supercomputers, software development and power units. In Italy, new composite materials were developed, control system elements and kinetic weapons.
Initially, many experts (Soviet including) indicated that the draft strategic defense initiative is a big American bluff that cannot be implemented. Despite this, the USSR leadership seriously adopted American plans and began to look for an adequate answer to them. In 1987, it became known that the Soviet Union was developing a similar program. Modern historians still argue about whether Ronald Reagan himself believed in the reality of his plans or frankly bluffing.
However, in 1991, the USSR collapsed, the cold war was completed, and spending huge funds to war in space no longer had any point. In 1993, US Defense Minister officially announced the termination of the strategic defense initiative. Today, the US missile defense Agency (Missile Defense Agency) is engaged in developing pro, including Euro. Few people know that it was originally called the office of the strategic defense initiative. Missile Defense Agency leaders, as thirty years ago, explain the inhabitants that they decide the most difficult technical task: they learn to knock down another bullet.
Components of soy
The strategic defense initiative thought, as a complex deep-elapted system of missile defense, the bulk of which was located in space. Moreover, the fixed assets of the system defeat were to work on the so-called new physical principles. They had to shoot down the enemy rockets at all four stages of their trajectory: at the initial (immediately after takeoff), at the time of the division of the combat units, ballistic and at the entry stage of the warheads into the atmosphere.
Lasers with nuclear pumping. X-ray lasers with pumping from the nuclear explosion were offered by Soy developers almost as a panacea from a possible Soviet missile attack. A similar laser is a nuclear charge with special rods installed on its surface. After the explosion, most of the energy is sewn through these guides and turns into a directional stream of powerful rigid radiation. The X-ray laser with pumping from the laser explosion and today is the most powerful laser device, although, for obvious reasons, is a disposable device.
The author of this idea was a physicist Edward Teller, who previously led the creation of an American thermonuclear bomb. The estimated power of such weapons was so great that they wanted to destroy even terrestrial objects across the entiremost atmosphere.
Nuclear charges were planned to be launched into orbit using ordinary ICBMs immediately after the start of the enemy's rocket attack. Each of them had to have several rods to simultaneously hit a whole group of ballistic goals.
In the mid-1980s, the tests of this weapon began in the USA, but they raised so many complex technical problems that it was decided to refuse from the practical implementation of the project.
Work on the creation of X-ray lasers continues in our time, and not only in the West, but also in Russia. However, this problem is so difficult that in the next decade we will definitely not see the practical results in this area.
Chemical lasers. Another "non-traditional" component of soybeans should have become the chemical pumping lasers located at the near-earth orbit, in the air (on airplanes) or on Earth. The most noteworthy were "Stars of Death" - orbital stations with laser settings with a capacity of 5 to 20 MW. They had to destroy ballistic rockets in the early and middle sections of their trajectory.
The idea was very good - at the initial stages of the flight, the rockets are very noticeable and vulnerable. The cost of one laser shot is relatively small and the station can produce their set. However, there was one problem (it is not solved today): the absence of sufficiently powerful and light energy plants for such weapons. In the mid-80s, the Miracl laser was created, even his trials were drawn quite successful, but the main problem was not solved.
Air bazing lasers planned to install on transport aircraft and destroying the ICBM immediately after takeoff.
The project was a curious of another component of the strategic defense initiative - ground-based lasers. To solve the problem of low energy transport of laser combat complexes, they were offered to be placed on Earth, and the beam to transmit into orbit using a complex system of mirrors, which would guide it for taking off rockets or combat blocks.
Thus, a whole range of problems was solved: with pumping energy, heat sink, security. However, the location of the laser on the earth's surface led to the huge losses during the passage of the beam through the atmosphere. It was estimated that to reflect a massive rocket attack, it is necessary to use at least 1 thousand gigavats of electricity collected at one point literally in a few seconds. The US energy system simply would not "pull" such a load.
Beam weapons. Under this means of the lesion understood the systems destroying the ICBM by the flow of elementary particles overclocked to the near-light velocities. Such complexes had to disable the electronic systems of rockets and warheads. With sufficient stream power, the beam weapon can not only disable the opponent's automation, but also to physically destroy the combat blocks and rockets.
In the mid-80s, several tests of subborital stations were held equipped with beam installations, but due to their considerable complexity, as well as inept power consumption, experiments were discontinued.
Railotrons. This is a type of weapon that accelerates shell due to the strength of Lawrence, its speed can reach a few kilometers per second. Railotrons were also planned to be placed on orbital platforms or in ground complexes. Within the framework of the SOE, there was a separate program on rails - Checmate. In the course of its implementation, developers managed to achieve noticeable success, but it did not work out on the basis of electromagnetic guns.
Research in the field of creating rails continued after the closure of the soybean program, but only a few years ago, the Americans received more or less acceptable results. In the near future, electromagnetic cannons will be placed on warships and ground systems. Create orbital rails will not work in our day - too much energy is necessary for its work.
Interceptor satellites. Another element that was planned to be included in the soybean system. Dealing the complexity of creating laser interception systems of missile weapons, in 1986 the designers proposed to make the main component of the soybean system miniature interceptor satellites that would hit the goals by direct collision.
This project was called "Diamond Pebbles". They were planned to launch a huge amount - up to 4 thousand pieces. These "kamikadze" could attack ballistic missiles on take-off or at the stage of separation of warheads from the ICBM.
Compared to the rest of the strategic defense initiative projects, the "diamond pebbles" was technically implemented and had an acceptable cost, so soon it began to be considered as one of the main element of the system. In addition, unlike orbital stations, tiny interceptor satellites were minuses for impact from the ground. This project was based on proven technologies and did not require serious scientific research. However, due to the end of the Cold War, he was never implemented.
Anticrafts. The most "classic" element of the SOI program, originally planned to be used as the last border of missile defense. Even at the beginning of the program, it was decided to abandon traditional nuclear combat units for this time. The Americans considered that to blow up megaton charges over their territory is not the best idea and engaged in the development of kinetic interceptors.
However, they demanded an accurate aiming and target definition. In order to facilitate the task of Lockheed, a special folding structure was created, which, outside the atmosphere, was detained like an umbrella and increased the likelihood of targeting target. Later, the same company was created by the ERIS anti-cancellation, which as a interceptor had an inflatable construction of an octagonal form with cargo at the ends.
The creation projects were closed in the early 1990s, but thanks to the SOI program, the Americans received a huge practical material that was used already when implementing projects of the Pro.
But what about the Soviet Union reacted to the deployment of the soybean system, which, according to its creators, was supposed to deprive his ability to apply a crushing nuclear strike in his main enemy?
Naturally, the activity of the Americans was immediately seen by the highest Soviet leadership and perceived by him, to put it mildly, nervously. The USSR began to prepare an "asymmetric response" to a new American threat. And, I must say that the best forces of the country were thrown on it. The main role in his preparation was played by a group of Soviet scientists under the leadership of Vice-President of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR E. P. Velichova.
Within the framework of the "asymmetric response" of the USSR, the Deployment of the SOO program was primarily planned to increase the security of the ICBM launchers and strategic nuclear rocket mines, as well as the overall reliability of the Soviet Strategic Force Management System. The second direction of neutralization of the overseas threat was the increase in the ability of Soviet Syas to overcome a multi-sheltered missile defense system.
All means of tactical, operational and military-strategic order were collected into a single fist, which made it possible to apply a sufficient blow even with a proactive attack from the enemy. A "Dead Hand" system was created, which provided the launch of Soviet ICBMs even when destroying the country's senior leadership.
In addition to all of the above, work was carried out on the creation of special tools to combat American pro. Some elements of the system were recognized as vulnerable to radio-electronic suppression, and various types of anti-censors with kinetic and nuclear combat parts were developed for the destruction of elements of SOC-based bases.
High-energy terrestrial lasers, as well as spacecraft with a powerful nuclear charge on board, which could not only physically destroy the enemy orbital stations can be physically destroyed, but also to blind its radar.
Also against the orbital stations, the Velikov group offered to use a metal shrapnel, launched into orbit, and to combat lasers - aerosol clouds absorbing radiation.
However, the main thing was: at the time of the announcement by the President of the Reagan on the creation of the SOW program at the Soviet Union and the United States were 10-12 thousand nuclear warheads only on strategic carriers, which even theoretically cannot stop no missile defense even in our days. Therefore, despite the wide advertising campaign of the new initiative, the Americans did not come out of the contract on the pro, and the "Star Wars" quaed in the summer in the early 90s.
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What was planned to pushed in the dust of the Red Empire ...
The current generation remembers little (and most likely just does not know) the Strategic Defense Initiative existing in the 1980s. In English, it sounded like Strategic Defense Initiative or Abbreviated SDI. In the Soviet Union, another name was attached - soy.
So, with March 23, 1983 This soybean scared both Soviet and American citizens. But if in the first case it meant a violation of parity in missile defense, then in the second "Soviet nuclear threat" published a new quality level.
For people unfamiliar with soybeans, I will spend a brief library. The meaning of the program initiated by the USA and the administration of President R. Raigan was to deploy the entire army of satellites in the orbit, whose appointment was the destruction of Soviet ballistic missiles. The fact that the Soviet rockets will immediately go to the United States of Americans have already convinced for a long time, but it is "Reaganov" convinced everyone that it was inevitable. Films like "Red Dawn" (1984), as if unobtrusively, warned the inhabitants, which can not be relaxed.
Several options for defensive systems were worked out, including landframes of terrestrial and space based, but the most odious project was of course combat lasers (!) Part of these developments was implemented in the form of prototypes, but not all of them came to the level of full tests in outer space. I remember, in the late 1980s. The program "Time" showed a report on an accident in orbit - the American combat satellite mistakenly shot down a communication satellite. Even computer animation was present with the fact of the defeat of the unfortunate "communications" rocket.
But the most important thing - detailed schemes were compiled and hundreds of drawings were drawn, colorfully portrayed the destruction of ballistic missiles by combat satellites. From the tribune of the Congress and the Senate, it has repeatedly declared that only with the help of soybeans can be stopped by the aggression of the Soviets. The development was spent billions of dollars and ...
As it turned out, all this was done only in order to undermine the economy of the USSR, which simply could not stand the new race. How to implement all the development on soybeans at the technical level American designers engineers were not very clear, although this was not particularly required of them.
In 1984-1986 The Soviet government prevailed the opinion that the soybeans need to adequately reply. Despite the fact that the agent warned about the insolvency of the "Star Wars" program, huge material means were allocated and what was interesting, a certain success was achieved. In some aspects, Soviet specialists even overtook the Americans, as they did everything seriously and for a long time. And here there was a new blow - Gorbachevskaya Perestroika ...
However, we will tell about soybeans in detail below, but for now, as they say, slides.
This project was called "Strategic Defense Initiative" (soy), but with a light hand of journalists, she became more known to the public as the "Star War Program". There is a legend that the idea of \u200b\u200bsuch a project came to Raigan after viewing the next series of the Space Opera George Lucas. Despite the fact that soybeans were never implemented, it became one of the most famous military programs in the history of mankind and had a significant impact on the outcome of the Cold War.
This program assumed the creation of a powerful anti-missile "umbrella", the main elements of which were located in an near-earth orbit. The main goal of the strategic defense initiative was the conquest of complete domination in outer space, which would allow to destroy Soviet ballistic missiles and combat blocks at all stages of their trajectory. "Who owns the space, he owns the world," they loved to repeat the defenders of this program.
Originally the "Star Wars" program was engaged exclusively for Americans, but a little later, the main allies of the United States on the NATO block was connected, primarily Britain.
To say that the strategic defense initiative was an ambitious project - it means not to say anything. By its complexity, it does not matter any comparison even with such famous programs as the Manhattan Project or Apollo. Only a small part of the components of soybeans had to use more or less well-known and proven military technologies (anti-missiles), the basis of the shock power of "Star Wars" should be a weapon developed on new physical principles.
The strategic defense initiative was not implemented in practice. The scale of the technical problems that have stuck in front of the developers, forced the American leadership to quietly minimize the program ten years after its spectacular presentation. At the same time, it did not give practically no real results. Amounts spent on the implementation of "Star Wars" are impressive: some experts believe that soy cost an American taxpayer in 100 billion dollars.
Naturally, in the course of work on the program, new technologies and design solutions were obtained and worked out, however, given the volume of investments and a wide PR campaign, it looks clearly not enough. Many developments were later used when creating an existing US system. The main thing is that American designers and military understood - at the present level of technology development, unconventional methods of interception of the ICBM are not effective. Therefore, the current missile defense is built on old proven anti-cancers. Lasers, rails, satellites-kamikaze and today are more expensive than real and efficient weapons.
However, despite the almost complete absence of technical results, soybeans had very important political consequences. First, the beginning of the development of the space system about even more worsened relations between the two superpowers - the United States and the USSR. Secondly, this program tightened the disputes around the rockets of ballistic medium-range, which at that moment actively unfolded both opposing parties. Well, the most important thing is the fact that the Soviet military and political leadership believed in the reality of the implementation of the strategic defense initiative and more desperately joined the arms race, which the USSR had no strength at that moment. The result was a cookie: the economy of a huge country could not withstand such overstrain, and in 1991 the USSR stopped existing.
Soviet scientists have repeatedly reported guidance on the impossibility of implementing soyBut the Kremlin elders simply did not want to listen to them. So if we consider the strategic defense initiative, as a large-scale bluff of American special services (this is a favorite topic of domestic conspiracy), then this strategy really succeeded. However, it is likely that the truth is somewhat more complicated. It is unlikely that the United States would start such an expensive program, only to ruin the Soviet Union. She brought significant political bonuses to President Reagan and his team, as well as huge baryrs in his pocket crowded from the military-industrial complex. So, about the lack of real results of the strategic defense initiative, probably few people burned.
Finally, we can say that the United States has not abandoned the idea of \u200b\u200bcreating an anti-missile umbrella, able to protect their country from a possible nuclear strike (including massive). Currently, the deployment of a multi-level system of pro is in full swing, which is much more real than the "Star Wars" of the President Reagan. Such activity of Americans causes no less concern and irritation in the Kremlin than thirty years ago, and there is a high probability that now Russia will be forced to join the new arms race.
Below the main components of the soybean system will be given, the reasons why one or another component has not been implemented in practice, as well as as in the future, ideas and technologies laid down in the program.
History of SOI program
The development of missile defense systems began almost immediately after the end of World War II. The Soviet Union and the United States appreciated the effectiveness of the German "Retribution Weapons" - missiles "and" ", therefore, in the late 40s, in both countries, it was engaged in creating protection against a new threat.
Initially, work was more theoretical character, since the first combat missiles did not possess an intercontinental range and could not affect the territory of a potential opponent.
However, soon the situation has changed dramatically: in the late 50s and the USSR, and the United States has intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), capable of conveying a nuclear charge to another hemisphere of the planet. From this point on, the rocket has become the main means of delivery of nuclear weapons.
In the United States, the first strategic system of MIM-14 Nike-Hercules was commissioned already in the late 50s. The defeat of the combat units of the ICBM took place at the expense of the anti-lamp with a nuclear combat. A more perfect Lim-49a Nike Zeus complex came to change "Hercules", which also destroyed enemy warheads with the help of thermonuclear charges.
Work on the creation of strategic missile defense was carried out in the Soviet Union. In the 70s, the system of A-35 was adopted, designed to protect Moscow from a rocket attack. Later, it was modernized, and until the very moment of the collapse of the USSR, the capital of the country was always covered with a powerful anti-missile shield. To destroy the enemy ICBM, the Soviet systems also used anticrafts with a nuclear combat part.
In the meantime, the extension of nuclear arsenals went unprecedented pace, and by the beginning of the 70s there was a paradoxical situation that contemporaries called "nuclear deadlock." Both opposing parties had so many warheads and rockets for their delivery, which could destroy their opponent several times. The way out of it was seen in the creation of a powerful missile defense, which could reliably protect one of the participants in the conflict during the full-scale exchange of rocket and nuclear strikes. A country with such a system would receive a significant strategic advantage over his opponent. However, the creation of such defense turned out to be an unprecedented complex and expensive task, superior to any military-technical problems of the twentieth century.
In 1972, the most important document was signed between the USSR and the United States - an agreement on the restriction of missile defense systems, which today is one of the foundations of international nuclear safety. According to this document, each of the parties could expand only two systems about (later the amount was reduced to one) with a maximum ammunition in a hundred anti-abslicas. The only Soviet system about defended the capital of the country, and the Americans covered the dislocation area of \u200b\u200btheir ICBMs by anti-cancers.
The meaning of this contract was that, without being able to create a powerful missile defense system, each of the parties was defenseless before a crushing response, and this was the best guarantee from rapid decisions. It is called the principle of mutual guaranteed destruction, And it is he who has been reliably protecting our planet from nuclear armageddon for many decades.
It seemed that this problem was solved for many years and the established status quo arranges both parties. So it was until the beginning of the next decade.
In 1980, the US presidential elections won the Ronald Reagan policies, which became one of the most fundamental and irreconcilable opponents of the communist system. In those years, the Soviet newspapers wrote that "the most reactionary forces of American imperialism led by Reagan came to power in the United States.
Chemical lasers. Another "non-traditional" component of soybeans should have become the chemical pumping lasers located at the near-earth orbit, in the air (on airplanes) or on Earth. The most noteworthy were "Stars of Death" - orbital stations with laser settings with a capacity of 5 to 20 MW. They had to destroy ballistic rockets in the early and middle sections of their trajectory.
The idea was very good - at the initial stages of the flight, the rockets are very noticeable and vulnerable. The cost of one laser shot is relatively small and the station can produce their set. However, there was one problem (it is not solved today): the absence of sufficiently powerful and light energy plants for such weapons. In the mid-80s, the Miracl laser was created, even his trials were drawn quite successful, but the main problem was not solved.
Air bazing lasers planned to install on transport aircraft and destroying the ICBM immediately after takeoff.
The project was a curious of another component of the strategic defense initiative - ground-based lasers. To solve the problem of low energy transport of laser combat complexes, they were offered to be placed on Earth, and the beam to transmit into orbit using a complex system of mirrors, which would guide it for taking off rockets or combat blocks.
Thus, a whole range of problems was solved: with pumping energy, heat sink, security. However, the location of the laser on the earth's surface led to the huge losses during the passage of the beam through the atmosphere. It was estimated that to reflect a massive rocket attack, it is necessary to use at least 1 thousand gigavats of electricity collected at one point literally in a few seconds. The US energy system simply would not "pull" such a load.
Beam weapons. Under this means of the lesion understood the systems destroying the ICBM by the flow of elementary particles overclocked to the near-light velocities. Such complexes had to disable the electronic systems of rockets and warheads. With sufficient stream power, the beam weapon can not only disable the opponent's automation, but also to physically destroy the combat blocks and rockets.
In the mid-80s, several tests of subborital stations were held equipped with beam installations, but due to their considerable complexity, as well as inept power consumption, experiments were discontinued.
Railotrons. This is a type of weapon that accelerates shell due to the strength of Lawrence, its speed can reach a few kilometers per second. Railotrons were also planned to be placed on orbital platforms or in ground complexes. Within the framework of the SOE, there was a separate program on rails - Checmate. In the course of its implementation, developers managed to achieve noticeable success, but it did not work out on the basis of electromagnetic guns.
Research in the field of creating rails continued after the closure of the soybean program, but only a few years ago, the Americans received more or less acceptable results. In the near future, electromagnetic cannons will be placed on warships and ground systems. Create orbital rails will not work in our day - too much energy is necessary for its work.
Interceptor satellites. Another element that was planned to be included in the soybean system. Dealing the complexity of creating laser interception systems of missile weapons, in 1986 the designers proposed to make the main component of the soybean system miniature interceptor satellites that would hit the goals by direct collision.
This project was called "Diamond Pebbles". They were planned to launch a huge amount - up to 4 thousand pieces. These "kamikadze" could attack ballistic missiles on take-off or at the stage of separation of warheads from the ICBM.
Compared to the rest of the strategic defense initiative projects, the "diamond pebbles" was technically implemented and had an acceptable cost, so soon it began to be considered as one of the main element of the system. In addition, unlike orbital stations, tiny interceptor satellites were minuses for impact from the ground. This project was based on proven technologies and did not require serious scientific research. However, due to the end of the Cold War, he was never implemented.
Anticrafts. The most "classic" element of the SOI program, originally planned to be used as the last border of missile defense. Even at the beginning of the program, it was decided to abandon traditional nuclear combat units for this time. The Americans considered that to blow up megaton charges over their territory is not the best idea and engaged in the development of kinetic interceptors.
However, they demanded an accurate aiming and target definition. In order to facilitate the task of Lockheed, a special folding structure was created, which, outside the atmosphere, was detained like an umbrella and increased the likelihood of targeting target. Later, the same company was created by the ERIS anti-cancellation, which as a interceptor had an inflatable construction of an octagonal form with cargo at the ends.
The creation projects were closed in the early 1990s, but thanks to the SOI program, the Americans received a huge practical material that was used already when implementing projects of the Pro.
Soviet response "Star Wars"
But what about the Soviet Union reacted to the deployment of the soybean system, which, according to its creators, was supposed to deprive his ability to apply a crushing nuclear strike in his main enemy?
Naturally, the activity of the Americans was immediately seen by the highest Soviet leadership and perceived by him, to put it mildly, nervously. The USSR began to prepare an "asymmetric response" to a new American threat. And, I must say that the best forces of the country were thrown on it. The main role in his preparation was played by a group of Soviet scientists under the leadership of Vice-President of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR E. P. Velichova.
Within the framework of the "asymmetric response" of the USSR, the Deployment of the SOO program was primarily planned to increase the security of the ICBM launchers and strategic nuclear rocket mines, as well as the overall reliability of the Soviet Strategic Force Management System. The second direction of neutralization of the overseas threat was the increase in the ability of Soviet Syas to overcome a multi-sheltered missile defense system.
All means of tactical, operational and military-strategic order were collected into a single fist, which made it possible to apply a sufficient blow even with a proactive attack from the enemy. A "Dead Hand" system was created, which provided the launch of Soviet ICBMs even when destroying the country's senior leadership.
In addition to all of the above, work was carried out on the creation of special tools to combat American pro. Some elements of the system were recognized as vulnerable to radio-electronic suppression, and various types of anti-censors with kinetic and nuclear combat parts were developed for the destruction of elements of SOC-based bases.
High-energy terrestrial lasers, as well as spacecraft with a powerful nuclear charge on board, which could not only physically destroy the enemy orbital stations can be physically destroyed, but also to blind its radar.
Also against the orbital stations, the Velikov group offered to use a metal shrapnel, launched into orbit, and to combat lasers - aerosol clouds absorbing radiation.
but the main thing was Other: At the time of the announcement by the President of the Reagan on the establishment of the SOW program, the Soviet Union and the United States had 10-12 thousand nuclear warheads only on strategic carriers, which even theoretically cannot be stopped by any missile defense even in our days. Therefore, despite the wide advertising campaign of the new initiative, the Americans did not come out of the contract on the pro, and the "Star Wars" quaed in the summer in the early 90s.
Copy of other people's materials
March 23, 1983 President R. Steagan made a television to the countryfrom his office in the White House, in which the Space Protection Plan of the United States from nuclear strikes from nuclear strikes from nuclear strikes outlined his fantasticity is at that time of the Soviet Union. The next day, the New York Post newspaper has stated by Reagan in the article under the title: "Star Wars will destroy red rockets", and since then the announced program of strategic defense initiative (soy) has become known in the world as well as "Star Wars" - By the name of the popular film, the 3rd film which was released on the screens in May 1983.
The essence of Reagan's speech was reduced to the fact that it was necessary to abandon mutual guaranteed destruction and move to a new format for the provision of national and world security - to place defense systems in space.
Reagan's performance was a surprise for everyone - For Americans, for American allies, for Moscow, yes in general for the whole world. Moreover, it became a surprise even for his own Reagan's office, including Secretary of State Schulta and the leadership of the Ministry of Defense. Previously, the whole topic of cosmic defense in the US government and its departments was not worked out. Not military and diplomats imposed Reagan this topic, but on the contrary - he imposed them.
According to his closest employees, Reagan over the years, even before becoming a president, saw the threat of US national security at the very presence of nuclear weapons and was looking for options to reduce dependence on it and even its complete liquidation. A great impression on him, in particular, made a visit to 1979 in the framework of the election campaign to the Center for the Joint Command of North America North American Space Defense in Colorado Springs. During the study tour, Reagan asked what would be with Mount Scheyenn, in which this center was located, in case of a severe Soviet missile, which accompanied him, which accompanied him answered: "demolished to hell." Reagan then struck the inconsistency of the scale and the level of perfection of military technologies to the level of protection of the country from nuclear destruction - it was not protected, everything was kept on the estimated agreement of both Parties - the United States and the USSR - as to which they both refrain from a nuclear strike, fear of response. But it was only a concept, no more - nobody formally not approved and never discussed at any negotiations.
Already becoming president, Reagan since January 1982.he began to stimulate his questions and its interest to stimulate a discussion of previously scattered military-technical ideas and options. He began to discuss with the military and scientific and technical experts of the idea of \u200b\u200bdefeating ballistic missiles after their launch from the starting positions almost on any site of the trajectory of their flight. Reagan asked the question: if the launch of the rocket can be spent from the satellite, then it is impossible to destroy it in a short time during a short time the field of this start? The response was to accommodate the anti-collamp systems in space and supplement them also with terrestrial and air systems. Many of these systems were based on the use of fundamentally new technical solutions, such as electromagnetic and laser guns. It was also assumed to place in space a lot of new satellites, optical reflectors, interceptors.
In the fall of 1982. The leaders of the United Committee of the headquarters of the headquarters (analogue of the Soviet General Staff) submitted to the President of the Panoramic Report on Cosmic Defense, in which the ideas and suggestions made ordered earlier. But in the Committee, and it could not be assumed that soon the president publicly declares the cosmic defense to the military-political priority of his administration.
The emergence of such weapons systems broke the logic of the concept of guaranteed mutual destruction, on which the post-war world was based. Reagan himself considered soybeans as a defensive program for his character and, moreover, was ready to later attract the Soviet Union to participate in it, making him the liquidation of its nuclear potential.
However, theoretically, it was possible to strike on the enemy and then reflect his retaliatory strike, which broke the security system of the world. By the way, that is why, starting in 1971, negotiations on the restriction of US strategic weapons and the USSR (ASSR) simultaneously limited the missile defense systems - Pro - which could reflect or soften the response nuclear strike.
To work on the program within the US Department of Defense, the organization of strategic defense initiative was created.
Despite the entire authority of Reagan, his soybean program from the very beginning met a strong resistance in Washington itselfwhich eventually buried this program. The progressors from the number of democrats (in particular, Senators T.Cennedi and J. Kerry, who became the Secretary of Obama) indicated the danger of undermining the concept of mutual guaranteed destruction, which, according to them, only increased the threat of nuclear conflict. The State Department and the US Department of Defense believed that this program was technically unrealized, and in addition, violated the pro agreement with the USSR and the Open Space Treaty. The US allies feared that in the case of its implementation of soybeans "disconnect" the joint system of US and Western European defense system.
The Soviet Union immediately accused Washington In attempts to create a strategic advantage for themselves and achieve military superiority over the USSR. Initially, the reaction of Moscow was mainly propaganda - everything that came from Washington was condemned. In Moscow, considered that the Soybean program was designed to intimidate the Soviet Union and put pressure on it on disarmament negotiations, which by that time came to a dead end. It is also important that the announcement of the start of the Soy Reagan program did just 2 weeks after the USSR called the USSR in a conversation with American evangelical preachers "Empire evil".
However, after a while, as the Americans began to work methodically on soybeans, the Soviet estimates of this program were becoming more and more Alarmist - in the USSR they understood that America had a scientific and technical, industrial and financial potential in order to implement everything What was stated. Equally, in the USSR, they understood that nothing like the United States could not oppose the United States, although certain development on the placement of weapons in space were conducted. In Moscow, soybeans generally began to represent in an even more fantastic form, rather than its authors themselves, "they say, the Americans plan to expand in space a combat stations like those depicted in the" Star Wars "for shocks in the USSR.
The total expenses for deploying soybeans were estimated at about $ 150 billion ($ 400 billion at prices 2017).
With the departure of Reagan from the post of President at the beginning of 1989, the SOI program gradually went on noAnd in May 1993, B. Cindon was actually closed, although individual promising scientific and technical works continued. The United States spent on her from 1984 to 1993 about $ 40 billion ($ 100 billion 2017).
It is quite difficult to state the soybean program as a holistic military-technical system.
- rather, it is a sketch of possible solutions. There were various versions of soybeans, depending on the degree of eroad of various components of its systems.
The impact of this program on Soviet-American relations should not be underestimated, nor, at the same time, to overestimate. Soo convinced the Soviet military political leadership in the hopelessness of the arms race - the USSR (even to Gorbacheva) returned at the table interrupted by Andropov disarmament negotiations, began to discuss the option of real reduction, and not limitations, as before, nuclear weapons. Having come to power in March 1985, Gorbachev did not hide that he did not believe in the realism of soybeans, and called on the Soviet military not to scare himself with this program. He considered it necessary to normalize Soviet-American relations and reduce weapons and without soyHowever, in the subsequent at the negotiations, he tied up reductions with US refusal from soy.
The Cold War was not only the largest geopolitical event of the 20th century, but also became the strongest catalyst for the scientific breakthrough in the field of military technologies. The rivalry of two superpowers gave rise to a turn of the arms race, which resulted in a mass of breakthrough technologies and concepts.
A bright military concept was the program nominated by the then President of the United States by Ronald Reagan "Strategic Defense Initiatives". Also, such a program received a bright name in the press - the "Star War Program" of soy.
Strategic defense initiative
The US Strategic Defense Initiative Program provided for the active use of weapons in outer space. The near-earth orbit of the Earth was not actively involved for military purposes (except for the use of spy satellites).
The United States was the first to think about the withdrawal of the arms system into orbit.
To work out an attack or protection against attack from the USSR. In addition, the program "Star Wars" pinned high hopes not only the military, but also private companies related to space, as it promised multi-billion dollar contracts.
The essence of the program was to destroy nuclear enemy warheads in an near-earth orbit, thereby creating a reliable system of anti-missile defense around the perimeter of the entire territory.
The US nuclear doctrine is designed and implies a nuclear strike of both limited and complete power, in the event of a threat to national interests, even outside its own territory.
Soviet doctrine assumed a massive retaliatory strike.
The desire to completely secure the territory of the whole country also had a lot of political benefits for the presidential administration. First of all, the program of "Star Wars" is related to the fact that the presence of such a defense system would allow the United States to confidently dictate his will not only to the Soviet Union, but also to the whole world, which would mean world hegemony.
After the discharge between the USSR and the United States in the 70 years, the next round of hostile confrontation and even greater weapons of both countries occurred. Americans, developing shocking plans on the territory of the USSR, were afraid of only response actions, since the retaliatory blow of nuclear weapons from the USSR with 100% probability would completely destroy the United States as a state. That is why in the United States and began to take steps to create a guaranteed means of protection.
The project assumed the presence of a variety of means of defeating the warhead.
The development of soybeans in the United States was carried out at the end of the 70s, naturally, in strict secrecy mode. Reagan, announced in his famous speech about the Evil Empire and the Star Wars program, did only advertising move - the concept of neither then nor now can be implemented at the current level of technology development.
Development also took place in high secrecy throughout the 80s and demanded funding in several tens of billions of dollars.
The political leadership represented by Reagan rushed scientists and work under the Star Wars program was immediately in several alternative directions. There were tests of electromagnetic, laser and weapons on other physical principles.
All defense enterprises worked on American soybeans.
The ultimate goal of the project was the full coverage of the territory of North America and the maximum minimization of damage.
It was planned to complete the manufacture and introduction of the complex until the end of the 1990s, at this time the pro cover covers most of the country. However, the developers of the SOI program in 1983 faced a mass of problems that did not eventually implement the project.
These problems were worn both financial character and purely applied - the impossibility of implementing some stages of soybean in the United States in the level of technological development. The result was the full fiasco program "Star Wars".
The development of the program ended in the late 80s. According to some data, about 100 billion dollars was spent on it. However, despite the failure of the introduction of this system, the developments were successfully applied in other defense regions. The current system of pro posted in Europe is only a small part of the unrealized plans of the Americans.
Components of soy
The "Star Wars" Soybean Program Reagan represented a combination of several components in which:
- The ground part was the framework of the system.
With the Earth, automated processes of guidance and destruction of warheads are managed. Managing these processes is carried out by the US missile defense complex systems - NORAD. This control center coordinates the actions of space objects, track the threat in the form of single or massive launches of enemy rockets and make the final decision on the response and use of the pro.
After receiving a signal from space or ground radar on the beginning of the mass start, the anti-missile defense system activates ground-based launch mines with nuclear warheads using a signal and prepare missiles to the start.
The signal about the threat was sent to all organs and military units.
In addition, the signal was obtained and satellites in orbit, which were to relay the signal to the orbital elements of the system about the destruction of the fatigue rockets. Orbital elements must in a certain way (electromagnetic, laser, wave, or rockets by interceptors located on orbital combat platforms).
- Ground interception system was supposed to become the second and last echelon destruction of enemy rockets, after their passing of cosmic pro.
The system under the contract between the United States and the USSR covers the operational districts - Washington and the base on Mount Chayenne (NORAD). In fact, only the second system is functioning.
The part is launchers with specialized missiles, which are able to intercept the carriers at low height. Such ammunitions themselves are equipped with a nuclear charge (since the accuracy of the interception at a huge speed of the warhead is low and for confident interception requires coating on the squares).
- The main component was to group the spacecraft of various principles of operation.
The devices were supposed to divide into two main types: satellites that signal the beginning of a nuclear attack and devices that should output the arriving warheads in an near-earth orbit with a certain type of radiation.
The type of destruction of nuclear ammunition remained open on the agenda - various experiments with laser weapons were carried out, radiation of electromagnetic waves and other. As a result, none of the species guaranteed 100% of the destruction of warheads, which served as the main reason for the cancellation of all programs.
None of the species guaranteed 100% of the destruction of warheads.
Satellites must shoot down the rockets on the nettle, without causing substantial damage to the United States.
Soo is a system for the destruction of targets by combat spacecraft After the destruction of the warhead was assumed to destroy the strategic objects on the territory of the USSR or in the case of strikes the first and reflection of the residual impact of the Soviet army. Also, these devices were due to the Soviet Space orbital group, thereby blinding the enemy.
After the Reagan statement in 1983, the Soviet leadership was very concerned about the threat of neutralization of the response nuclear strike, and decided to develop response. The famous defense CB of the country participated in the creation of this system.
The changes concerned the development of a new type of intercontinental missiles capable of overcome most of the components of the pro. Also, improvements touched the control systems in the case of the withdrawal of basic control units.
this year, a new rocket was adopted under the index of the R-36M "Voevoda" index
Such works were crowned with complete success. By 1985, a new rocket was adopted under the index of the P-36m "Voevoda" index, which in the West, the name "Satan" was modernized since its introduction in 1970. Nuclear ammunition is endowed with high speed characteristics.
The rocket is based in the mine and during the start has a mortar type of emission, which allows you to develop a starting speed of 230 km / h (thanks to the design of the rocket engines, it starts even in a nuclear cloud environment).
After overclocking the rocket goes to the near-earth orbit and shoots thermal traps (the problem of struggle with false goals Americans could not solve). Going down in orbit, the warhead is divided into 10 combat parts, each of which carries the charge of a power of 1 megaton (the equivalent of TNTIL is enough to destroy the city of millionth).
A strategic armament management system was also developed, the name "perimeter", and in the West "Dead Hand". The principle of its action was as follows: in orbit in constant monitoring mode, there are two rockets with a hardware, which signals the launch of missiles from the territory of the enemy.
In rockets, sensors are installed, which conduct constant monitoring of the situation on changes in atmospheric pressure, weather conditions, changing the magnetic field and other parameters that indicate the beginning of a massive nuclear attack. Information is transmitted to the control center.
Also, in the absence of an answer from the center (in the destruction of command items, the enemy) elements of the complex themselves send the starting codes of warheads on the mines, strategic bombers and atomic submarines, where the launch is made either using crews or automatically.
The principle of operation consists in the inevitability of the response even without the participation of a person, therefore, after the end of the Cold War insisted at the abolition of the Perimeter complex.
As the story shows, the adoption of the Soybean program actually turned out to be an operation on the disinformation of the enemy in order to involve the USSR into the arms race. Cold War inflicted a mighty powder crushing defeat, destroying the economy and the country.
Agency for US missile defense "Not against" the development of space means of interception of ballistic missiles, previously proposed by American legislators ..
"We are working on the options in case the state decides that such funds are necessary," the director of the agency General Samuel Grivz said the other day, noting that now legal grounds for doing such work were created by Congress.
Indeed, the bills about the military budget for 2018 and 2019, an article was included that the agency is "permitted" (depending on the internal priority system and needs problems) to launch the development of a space-based interception system acting on ballistic missiles on the active site trajectories. Presumably, by 2022, the first prototype of such a system can be demonstrated in practice, if there will be no problems with scientific and technical bastard or financial constraints.
The system, as noted, should wear a "regional" character, which, in aggregate with the discussions, the US political and expert circles in 2016-2017, indicates primarily on the problem of outstanding progress, which has recently demonstrate the North Korean rackets. However, the creation of funds about a fundamentally new type of basing creates and global problems.
Pebbles in orbit
The space impact echelon about immediately causes memories of the "strategic defense initiative" Ronald Reagan - soy. At that time, the United States, at least on paper, set the task of creating a multilayer dense defense system from an equal opponent. This caused a rather nervous response to the USSR and forced to spend a lot of billion on symmetrical (creating their own pro) and asymmetric (generating measures of opposition) steps.
In this scientific and technical nestling, by the way, the rocket building industry since the 1990s was well laid: modern rocket complexes carry the press of that time, and their technical tasks took into account the "promising funds about the likely opponent".
In addition to fantastic structures such as X-ray orbital lasers from a nuclear explosion (that is, direct violation of the Cosmos Treaty), in the late 1980s, in the United States, seriously began to consider the concept of mass deployment of orbital platforms with small self-controlling interceptors, which were to attack Soviet ballistic missiles, Exiting from under the atmosphere shield. The project received the name Brilliant Pebbles ("Brilliant pebbles").
He was criticized, defended, redid the architecture, recalculated a feasibility study. As a result, he drove in 1991, when soybeans as a tight proceedings system completely lost the relevance of a massive rocket attack. The GPALS project came to her place ("Global protection against limited blows"), whose effective bufferity was calculated on the basis of about 200 warheads attacking the continental territory of the United States. Brilliant Pebbles should have become a GPALS key element.
But he also stayed on paper. By 1999, the United States moved to the deployment of the National Pro project, which to this day provides only extremely limited protection of the United States territory from single starts. The European (third) position area was to be a copy of two American, but Barack Obama canceled plans, setting the SM-3 anti-collaborators, which are currently actual (deployed and passing tests) of which are not able to withstand intercontinental missiles at all, but only medium-range missiles. Space strikes in these plans were not there.
However, the ideas of the Space Echelon interception remained on the agenda and periodically (whenever Iran or the DPRK demonstrated the next rocket-friendly success) flooded in the press and reports of initiative projects. It concerned both orbital interceptors and very recent conversations about space laser systems.
Opponents are ready?
Many American experts criticized and criticize the idea of \u200b\u200bthe cosmic echelon of firing products, and from different points of view. The economic utopianness of the project, and the immaturity of technologies, and is clearly destabilizing the nature of the system.
The latter should be noted particularly. Space echelon, deployed for confident defeat of Iran's missiles and the DPRK, as specialists note, will cover the significant areas of Eurasia, including China. This immediately creates tensions in relations with Beijing. Recall that one of the areas of combat patrols of Russian underwater rocket mines in the Far East, according to the US military, is in the Sea of \u200b\u200bOkhotsk, and in this case the space products can potentially threaten him.
As we have already written, space impacts about as an idea are not at all new and solutions for domestic rocket complexes of the fifth generation ("Topol-M", "Bulava", "Yar", "Sarmat") the possibility of deploying an opponent of such systems is provided. In particular, we are talking about adaptive overclocking modes with maneuvering and floor paths, in which the rocket does not go beyond the atmosphere as long as possible in comparison with optimal flight profiles. This increases the requirements for the energy of the rocket, reduces the payload, but increases the likelihood of its delivery.
But not so long ago, we were also shown a means of fundamentally (on current and promising technologies) excluding the impact of the impact cosmic echelon pro. These are rocket-planning systems with hypersonic gladers - for example, the Russian "Avangard".
The glader after overclocking does not move along the ballistic trajectory in the airless space (as in the case of ballistic missiles, whose load in suitoe may come up to 1200-1500 km of height), and dives back and plans in an atmosphere at an altitude of only 50-60 km. This eliminates the use of orbital interceptor missiles as they thought to counteract ballistic goals.
For a system of type "Kameshkov", another platform is already needed, which includes the "returned part" with heat shield and other requirements for mechanical strength. This increases and complicates the final product (which needed a lot) and increases the cost of the entire orbital defensive complex. Difficulties arise and when used against the atmospheric purposes of orbital bazing lasers (power requirements increase, the defocus increases).
The system is built
Nevertheless, if the drum echelon means is still hypothetically looks like (as in previous goals), then the decision on the fundamental update of the Space Echelon of Information Tools in the United States is considered irrevocable.
The US military indicate that the architecture of the current orbital means of observation is based on its formed several decades ago and in modern conditions it already looks archaic, especially with a likely deployment of hypersonic combat.
Recall that the classic warning circuit of a missile attack looks like fixation by space means of starting missiles from the territory of the enemy with a refinement of the situation using ground echelon of radar stations at the time when rockets rise above the radarizant to a large height, that is, 10-15 minutes before entering target.
However, as we have shown above, in the case of hypersonic gladers, this algorithm does not work: fixing the start of the accelerator of the rocket-planning system by satellites is possible, but the radar available now will not see anything while the glader is not suitable for a skidden distance of 3-5 minutes. At the same time, the head has the ability to swallowfully maneuvering at the rate in contrast to ballistic means, which fully confuses the definition of not only its ultimate goal in the territory of the defendant, but also the very fact of attacks on it.
Therefore, space detection is becoming a key element in the defense system from the enemy armed with glader. The situation looks similar to the detection of purely atmospheric winged rockets with hypersonic speed: the cosmic echelon is also extremely important here, as such products are already quite noticeable (unlike modern "stealth objects", low-gold and subsonic).
This creates a confusion not only with the hypothetical shock echelon about, but also with the means of opposition. In recent years, many countries (in particular, Russia and China) are actively developing antisipate systems, the effectiveness of which in counteracting the space means of pro (not important, information or shock) is difficult to overestimate. At the same time, this, in turn, additionally destabilizes the situation: the party that has received a blow to the critical components of the satellite infrastructure should make a difficult choice of further escalation of the conflict (in this case, it is not excluded that already in nuclear form).
Context of Organizing Events
It should be noted that all this is happening under conditions of the frontal statement by Donald Trump decisions on the creation of a separate type of armed forces in the United States - the Space Forces. Moving at first the friendly resistance of military and congressmen, the idea gradually embedded in the workflow of the Washington bureaucracy.
Thus, on August 7, one of the main tramp opponents along this line has radically changed its position - Minister of Defense James Mattis. "Mild dog", skeptically commented by the topic of space troops, suddenly spoke in support of their creation.
"It is necessary to continue to consider the outer space as one of the theaters of hostilities, and the creation of a combat command is one of the steps in this direction that can be done now. We are completely solidarized with presidential concerns about the protection of our space infrastructure, and we are engaged in this issue in conditions when other countries create combat attacks on it, "he said.
At the same time, Mattis deftly avoided the question of whether he was about creating a new type of armed forces (following the president) or to strengthen the existing organizational structures.
Thus, it is very likely that the 11th (cosmic) combat command in the structure of the Armed Forces will be transformed into the sixth branch of the forces, along with the US Army (Ground Forces), the Fleet, Air Force, Marine Corps and the Coast Guard. Fortunately, as we see, the front of work for him is already sliced \u200b\u200bserious.
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