AWACS airships will be able to take control of the air border with Ukraine

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The ever-increasing frequency of successful attacks by Ukrainian aviation, manned and unmanned, on Russian territory makes many think about the real effectiveness of domestic air defense / missile defense systems and argue about what will better cover the borders, the Pantsir-S1 air defense missile system, the Tor air defense system, or the promising " Derivation-air defense "? In fact, all our air defense systems are good in their own way, the problem lies not in them, but in the "eyes and ears".

As we have detailed disassembled Earlier, one of the most serious shortcomings of the Russian army and navy, which, alas, fully affected the course of hostilities, was the lack of modern AWACS aircraft, as well as the complete absence of AWACS UAVs. It is not enough to have a huge strike power, the enemy must first be seen in a timely manner and promptly give him accurate target designation data. As a temporary solution to the problem, while the domestic military-industrial complex is mastering the production of the A-100 Premier aircraft, we even offered to purchase a batch of light carrier-based AWACS aircraft in China, which would really allow to “plug holes” in the intelligence of the Russian Aerospace Forces, the Russian Armed Forces and the Russian Navy. But there is at least one more option, not much worse, but in some ways even better.



Airship AWACS?


What are the key requirements for a "flying radar"? It must have a large radius of action and flight range, stay in the air for a long time and carry powerful radar equipment. An airplane seems to be the optimal solution, a UAV is a compromise, but how about adapting an airship or other balloon for this?

At first glance, in our age of high speeds and long-range missiles, an airship may seem like some kind of atavism: it is too slow, large and vulnerable. But this is only at first glance. Such an aircraft has a lot of advantages over an airplane or helicopter.

At first, the specific fuel consumption of an airship is 3-4 times less than that of an aircraft, and 14-15 times less than that of a helicopter. A very useful quality during active operation, and it is easier to repair it later.

Secondly, as a vehicle that does not need a long equipped runway, it has no price when delivering goods to remote regions with poorly developed infrastructure.

Thirdly, an airship or another balloon can be used as a communications repeater, including military communications.

Fourthly, airships have great potential as life-saving equipment, for example, at sea.

Fifthly, these aircraft can be very widely used in purely military applications. This should be discussed in more detail.

For example, an airship can be used as a mobile carrier for air-launched cruise missiles and even ICBMs. If you hang it somewhere in Siberia or Yakutia under the cover of an air defense / missile defense umbrella, then from its own airspace it will be able to deliver missile strikes and quickly relocate to another position. The airship can also accommodate a powerful electronic warfare system that will crush enemy electronics from long distances. And, what is especially interesting for us, airships are a very promising platform for turning into a mobile airborne AWACS system and even air defense.

There is nothing exotic in this idea; on the contrary, in the 70s, a special unit JAPO (Joint Aerostat Project Office) was created in the United States, which was engaged in the development of reconnaissance systems placed on balloons. For the needs of the North American air defense system NORAD, huge 30-meter unmanned AWACS airships were developed, which were supposed to hang for 24 days at an altitude of up to 740 kilometers and detect flying Russian missiles at a distance of up to 90 km. During the tests, it turned out that, despite the seeming archaic design, such devices are extremely tenacious and do not fall like a stone when they hit them. On the contrary, they smoothly descend due to the fact that they are divided into segments inside and filled not with hydrogen, but with helium. In the United States, the project did not come to fruition only because in the late XNUMXs Russia seemed to the Americans to have finally “pacified” and knelt down. Despite this, a huge AWACS airship can still be seen over the Utah desert.

Mark Rose, head of the Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System at Raytheon, talks about his brainchild:

The airship can be at an altitude of 10 feet. The airborne radar is capable of tracking aircraft, cruise missiles, boats up to 100 miles away, and the area around the mountain.

The aircraft is free in the air from 1 week to 1 month, held by cables, its radio-electronic equipment receives power from the ground through cables. The efficiency is much higher than that of an AWACS aircraft and, even more so, than that of an AWACS helicopter. How can this be useful to us?

The fact that on the basis of airships and other balloons it is possible to create a network of air reconnaissance complexes along the Ukrainian (and not only) border, which will continuously monitor the situation deep into the territory of Nezalezhnaya, controlling all flights of its Air Force and missile launches, issuing operational target designation data of the Russian Aerospace Forces, the Armed Forces Russian Federation and Russian Navy. With appropriate modernization, even anti-aircraft missiles can be placed in the gondola.

In the future, military airships can become not only stationary, but also unmanned, remotely controlled. Such aircraft are capable of conducting long-term air patrols of the extremely long Russian borders. At the same time, there is nothing fantastic in such a technical solution, everything is quite realistic.
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  1. +1
    27 June 2022 18: 33
    It could be quite a solution. There is experience of successful operation of super-large airships. For the same Count Zeppelin, the only mistake was the use of hydrogen cylinders as a filler. In passenger vehicles, this had disastrous consequences, but in the military sphere on unmanned vehicles it could be quite acceptable, because. the lifting force of hydrogen is 4 times higher than that of helium. And the production of hydrogen is several times cheaper than helium. Moreover, hydrogen on Earth is like dirt, unlike helium. In addition, the airship itself, like an aircraft, is many times cheaper to build and operate.
    Z.Y. NORAD is still not air defense, but aerospace defense even in the shaggy 70s.
    1. -2
      27 June 2022 18: 53
      For the same Count Zeppelin, the only mistake was the use of hydrogen cylinders as a filler.

      It was not a mistake, but a forced decision. The United States imposed sanctions on the supply of helium, and he had to switch to hydrogen, which led to tragedy.
  2. 0
    27 June 2022 18: 36
    Here they cannot put a normal radar on an airplane, and even more so on an airship. As always, there is a cut and there are no analogues.
    1. +1
      27 June 2022 18: 43
      You can shove any equipment, even ground-based, on the dirigopel, due to its crazy carrying capacity. And it is possible to develop such an aircraft in weeks without much money. Up to the point of using the developments of the aforementioned Count Zeppelin.
      1. +1
        27 June 2022 21: 08
        And it is possible to develop such an aircraft in weeks without much money.

        - without much money you say? Our UAZ-Hunter (nee UAZ-469) costs more than a million rubles, although it has a red price of four hundred thousand .... Nanotechnology will be added to you here and there will be very little money ...
        1. 0
          27 June 2022 21: 48
          I do not argue. Everything is in strict accordance with the true Russian proverb "You can foolishly and (I apologize for my French from the ladies present here) break the horseradish!" But on the other hand, in the working drawings there is already a thermal plane (one of the varieties of the airship) with a carrying capacity of 2000 (two thousand, Karl!) tons. The issue of construction rested solely on funding. Those. Comrade was enough. Abramovich to ban the purchase of Chelsea, naturally, by making an offer that cannot be refused, and we would already have a fleet of such aircraft (Abramovich, of course, conditional. You can insert any name of the money bag you like).
          1. -2
            28 June 2022 08: 57
            Well, the Russian "Abramoviches" do not want to become Elon Musks. They don't have the brains for that. This is not to privatize for an inexpensive plant built in the USSR on the bones of prisoners.
      2. -4
        28 June 2022 16: 46
        Russian language lesson in a Jewish school. The teacher is children, if you don’t know how to write statosrat, or sratostat correctly, write dirigopol.
      3. 0
        2 July 2022 23: 58
        here is the key message for little money. and no one is looking for easy ways. it is unprofitable.
    2. -6
      28 June 2022 16: 43
      Do not worry, you ask - who prevented this from being done twenty years ago. Then ten years ago, and also the Vicomte de Bargelon. Everything is like Alexander Dumas father. Toko wrote to him blacks, and he corrected. Negroes also write here, without any control. Solid fantasy. After all, buttons for him will need to be bought abroad. He won't fly without pants.
  3. +1
    27 June 2022 18: 54
    There are points of contention
    - Well, they are very dependent on the weather; it will not work to permanently hang a network of AWACS airships
    - The high cost of AWACS equipment, due to the relatively high probability of accidents, no one will take such risks.
    - Any production in our country for some reason results in unrealistic money, we take the UAZ-Hunter as an example, in fact a design from the 40s now costs more than a million rubles, and the cheapest VAZs are more than 700 thousand. rubles ... After that, I don’t even want to imagine how much airships will cost ..
    But in general, the idea is interesting ...
    1. -1
      27 June 2022 19: 02
      - Well, they are very dependent on the weather; it will not work to permanently hang a network of AWACS airships

      Depending on what height ... You can also lower it temporarily in case of great bad weather.

      - The high cost of AWACS equipment, due to the relatively high probability of accidents, no one will take such risks.

      An airship is safer than an airplane and a helicopter

      - Any production in our country for some reason results in unrealistic money, we take the UAZ-Hunter as an example, in fact a design from the 40s now costs more than a million rubles, and the cheapest VAZs are more than 700 thousand. rubles ... After that, I don’t even want to imagine how much airships will cost ..

      it is yes ...
      1. +1
        27 June 2022 19: 05
        An airship is safer than an airplane and a helicopter

        - I assumed a crewless option
        1. -1
          27 June 2022 19: 12
          It's clear. It's just that the topic of airships has now become more active.
  4. -1
    27 June 2022 19: 19
    For example, an airship can be used as a mobile carrier for air-launched cruise missiles and even ICBMs. If you hang it somewhere in Siberia or Yakutia under the cover of an air defense / missile defense umbrella, then from its own airspace it will be able to deliver missile strikes and quickly relocate to another position.

    When an ICBM is launched from an airship, its weight will decrease sharply, which will require the removal of a significant amount of hydrogen. So, hydrogen should not be stupidly thrown into the atmosphere, but burned in a special engine, ensuring the rapid movement of the airship, and without any “carbon footprint”!
    1. -1
      27 June 2022 19: 22
      Nevertheless, it is optimal to use not explosive hydrogen, but helium ... Russia has it.
      And I really want to never have to launch ICBMs against anyone. I believe that after their launch there will be no time for a "carbon footprint" ....
    2. -5
      28 June 2022 16: 52
      Dirizablik will be able to launch cruise missiles, and for ICBMs it will be fuel. If the ICBM is scary, it can hide in a dirizablik.
      1. -1
        28 June 2022 18: 48
        Exactly! If you launch missile launchers and ICBMs from an airship, then you need to make mines in the airship, like those on strategic nuclear submarines
  5. 0
    27 June 2022 19: 29
    Quote: Avarron
    I don’t understand why it’s impossible to raise the radar on the stratospheric balloon so as not to drive the A-50s? Why is a stratostat worse? Hangs high in the sky and for a long time, sees far.

    What did you answer me then, dear author?

    Quote: Marzhetsky
    That's something our warriors themselves did not realize

    An amazing turn of events.
    1. +1
      27 June 2022 19: 34
      A similar situation was well shown in the immortal "Seventeen Moments of Spring", when Stirlitz threw the idea to Schellenberg.
    2. 0
      27 June 2022 19: 55
      What did you answer me then, dear author?
      Quote: Marzhetsky
      That's something our warriors themselves did not realize
      An amazing turn of events.

      What turn? Did they figure something out? I am writing this, and not the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, unfortunately.
      I use my position to try to draw attention to an actual problem and possible ways to solve it.
  6. +2
    27 June 2022 22: 11
    None ...
    Another unrealistic project for a series of articles ... sort of - to make a Russian unsinkable aircraft carrier out of the shallows near the US borders ...

    So the idea is worth it. But three "effective optimizations" cross out everything.

    1) for about 20 years they have already been writing in the media that airships are drop dead profitable, just about, just about the era of airships ...., but neither the Russian Federation, nor the resource-sucker oligarchs for Siberia, nor over the hill - something does not seek to build mass airships . So, something is not right here.
    2) and if they don’t build it, then there is no school for airship building and combining with Radars. In the meantime, they will "experiment" - we will already capture Ukraine.
    3) So before, the media and experts stated that we not only see Ukra, but also Europe see through, even with their stealth.
    If we see, and there are super-super-radar, why do we need airships? And if it’s a lie, then we won’t build airships with such lies, and we’ll “pro-optimize” the money for them ....

    In profit there will be only "media experts" and contractors with laundered money ....
    1. -1
      28 June 2022 07: 40
      Serge, you are in your repertoire.
  7. 0
    27 June 2022 23: 34
    Raise the AWACS airship to a height of 12 km on the border with Poland and all of Europe in the palm of your hand. Power supply and remove information by cable-cable. The positioning system is worked out by electric motors with propellers. At 12 km, the weather is stable, once every 6 months it is lowered for prevention. You can hang 10 tons of equipment on it. An organization with experience that can quickly make an airship is the most difficult bundle of equipment on the ground and on an airship. There will be a decision from the authorities will make quickly.
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  9. WIS
    +1
    28 June 2022 03: 45
    First, ... than an airplane, ... than a helicopter.

    First and finally: absurdity, pairwise comparison of the incomparable, like a horse and a cow, and an attempt to create an AVERAGE, between them, universal - stupidity.
    In the Second World War, they, "airships", did not compete with either airplanes or helicopters ... but actually built a "minefield" in the sky for bombers, protecting cities and being the "dominant leader" in this application.
    An IDEA should not "learn skills from two brothers", but develop its own independent concept for the implementation of any demand.
    My opinion, The role of the observer for them..., together..., is always reserved.
    1. -2
      28 June 2022 07: 37
      First and finally: absurdity, pairwise comparison of the incomparable, like a horse and a cow, and an attempt to create an AVERAGE, between them, universal - stupidity.
      In the Second World War, they, "airships", did not compete with either airplanes or helicopters ... but actually built a "minefield" in the sky for bombers, protecting cities and being the "dominant leader" in this application.

      Stupidity is pulling a thesis out of context and commenting on it with a smart look. The comparison was about operating costs.

      An IDEA should not "learn skills from two brothers", but develop its own independent concept for the implementation of any demand.
      My opinion, The role of the observer for them..., together..., is always reserved.

      That's what the article is all about.
  10. -1
    28 June 2022 08: 18
    but how about adapting an airship or other balloon for this?

    And what, so it was possible? And why didn’t our MO think of this before? No wonder I point to education every time. Bad guys rule!!
  11. 0
    28 June 2022 08: 20
    It's time to switch to flying saucers...
    1. -2
      28 June 2022 16: 54
      Still, progress began in Ukraine, they started not with plates, but with pots, and they succeeded. Their heads are now clean, completely and absolutely.
  12. +1
    28 June 2022 11: 06
    They have been engaged in airships for a century and projects and products have always come to naught for many reasons, from native diseases of airships to operation - the high cost of manufacturing and operating, like diri tongs, boathouses, etc. ... Some do not understand the size of airships and the problems associated with this ... It’s quite possible to use on this occasion (air defense) not transport airships, but improved specialized balloons, such balloons obviously came up in many positive aspects. We need specialized balloons in the form of a wing with overcoming wind currents ("kite effect"). To create such new generation balloons for air defense and other applications, work from scratch (R&D) is needed, but the expected benefits are significant from the introduction ...
  13. +2
    29 June 2022 00: 11
    A balloon is an unguided air vehicle, and an airship is a controlled balloon. For example, at an altitude of 15 km, an AWACS airship hangs, el. Power is supplied to it via a cable-cable and information is taken from it. The positioning system keeps the airship at a given point by electric motors with propellers. The cable-rope is not power, it only holds itself. The problem is where to find a light and strong cable-rope. You may ask why the US and Europe do not do this. They don't need him, they have an attack doctrine. Russia is surrounded around the perimeter by NATO bases and NATO AWACS hang around the clock. AWACS airship is the cheapest aircraft. You can hang a bunch of different frequency antennas on it. Two dozen AWACS airships in the west and east will make the sky open. Lower for maintenance once every 6 months, maintenance personnel on the ground, cheap operation. For Japan, you can hang an airship on Kunashir Island. Negative sides let critics write.
    1. -4
      1 July 2022 15: 12
      Yes, you can’t imagine how much everything can fly away from a single airship-strategic chattering at the top. If you do a few, then you can create yourself a ship the size of an aircraft carrier, if it comes to his mind, and not to the state. Imagine an airship builder with an underwater aircraft carrier, the dream of everyone who reads about Captain Nemo.
  14. 1_2
    0
    29 June 2022 00: 41
    most likely the border of Poland will be controlled by Russian airships-radar or heavy UAVs
  15. 0
    29 June 2022 13: 45
    Quote: vlad127490
    The cable-cable is not power, it only holds itself. The problem is where to find a light and strong cable-rope.

    Yes, the problem will be only in a cable of such length that it does not tear under its own weight. It seems that there are some developments based on carbon tubes ...
  16. 0
    29 June 2022 16: 50
    At one time, airships were abandoned due to problems with their operation ... Suffice it to recall the disasters of the airships Hindenburg, R-111 and others ... Yes, combustible hydrogen today can be replaced with inert non-combustible gases, but problems with controlling airships will remain, and combat the survivability of these units is close to zero ..
    1. -4
      1 July 2022 17: 13
      The epic with airships reminds of one boy. He ran to his grandmother and boasted - our grandmother is at home, everything is already there! How so - asked the grandmother. Dad came home from work and put a bottle of vodka on the table. And my mother said - to us, only this was not enough!
  17. 0
    29 June 2022 19: 13
    on the basis of airships and other balloons, it is possible to create a network of air reconnaissance complexes along the Ukrainian (and not only) border, which will continuously monitor the situation deep into the territory of Nezalezhnaya, controlling all flights of its Air Force and missile launches, issuing operational target designation data of the Russian Aerospace Forces, the Russian Armed Forces and the Navy RF.

    The Manilovs in our country will never seem to be transferred. For some reason, these people return to this utopian and obsessive idea with constant frequency. It was proposed to use them for large-scale cargo transportation to the north, Siberia, the Far East, then for the transport of passengers, then for military purposes, then for traveling around the world. How did it all end? But nothing. Fixed idea. And using them as AWACS, also from the same series. Let me remind you that the main problem of the extreme insufficiency of AWACS in Russia is not the lack of carriers, but the equipment and apparatus for them. In our country, there is simply nothing to collect it from. There is no modern element base (chips, processors, etc.). The sanctions have exacerbated this situation. Why haven't we finished the A-100 project yet and put it into production? That's precisely for this reason. After all, its first prototype was assembled just on imported components, like the first MS-21 aircraft and serial super jets. Therefore, now we do not need to build airships and balloons (they will crash under adverse weather conditions with their huge windage and poor controllability), but our own electronic industry. When we have it, then AWACS equipment will appear, which can be installed on both aircraft and UAVs and assemble very necessary remote sensing satellites for the army, modern secure communications, as well as high-precision and guided weapons.
    1. 0
      1 July 2022 23: 35
      The A-100 project began 20 years ago, when there were no problems with imported r / e, so separate the flies from the cutlets. The radio-electronic industry is needed, but that's another story.
  18. -4
    1 July 2022 15: 07
    Thus, if the grapes could not be eaten, then it is not yet ripe. Very ancient. The fox saw that a ram was grazing at the top of the hill and it had big ones, said I’ll tear it off and eat it. She climbed up the mountain. The ram saw her, and when she approached, he hit her with his horns. She rolled down the mountain. I lay down, caught my breath and said they didn’t come off, and it’s not necessary, I didn’t really want to. Read this, how a blacksmith made a zilch from a large piece of metal.
  19. 0
    16 July 2022 01: 39
    Space can be controlled not only by airships, but also by dragons that are not subject to magic. Aftor did not say this, but may cover it in his next article.
  20. 0
    31 July 2022 19: 15
    There are additives to hydrogen that significantly reduce its explosiveness. And it is probably more reasonable to place airships in the stratosphere for these purposes. DC electric motors powered by internal combustion engine to use for its movement, in the hovering mode, use the energy of the rotation of the blades to generate electricity for the placed equipment.
  21. 0
    5 February 2023 06: 45
    Well, what are we waiting for?...
  22. 0
    12 February 2023 07: 31
    An article on the topic "When Rostec will create and use a modern balloon on the battlefield" was published on Yandex Zen on December 20.12.2022, 29.12.2023 and read by someone from the Chinese on December 13.01, XNUMX at XNUMX Moscow time. Well done, the Chinese heeded their reason, unlike Chemezov, they did, launched and received another confirmation of their power in their piggy bank. When the President of the Russian Federation Putin V.V. will give Russian inventors a green light? When the inventor will receive from the state, for even non-introduced inventions, monetary rewards at least compensating for posting the application and maintaining the patent in force. Only after that it will be possible to talk about some kind of innovation in our country. Instead, commercial inventions flourish, designed only to increase the price of goods and do not carry novelty.