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Last Updated: Mon Jan 27 11:18:09 UTC 2014






SAM System Mobility
Russian and PLA Air Defence System
Vehicles

Technical Report APA-TR-2008-0601


by Dr Carlo Kopp, AFAIAA, SMIEEE, PEng
June, 2008
Updated July, 2010
Updated May, 2011
Updated April, 2012
Text © 2008 - 2012 Carlo Kopp



New BAZ-6402 towed 5P85TM/TE2 TEL design common to S-400 and S-300PMU2 (© 2010, Yevgeniy Yerokhin, Missiles.ru).



Introduction



The subject of  Air Defence System Vehicles, examples being Transporter Erector Launcher and Radar (TELAR), Transporter Erector Launcher (TEL) and TransLoader (TL) vehicles, or radar vehicles, receives far less attention in contemporary Western defence analysis than it merits. This is particularly unfortunate given the rapid growth in the mobility of Russian and PLA IADS elements over the last decade, and the introduction of a new generation of wheeled and hardened vehicles. We are observing a deep transformation in the manner of IADS deployment with commensurate improvements in IADS survivability.

Perhaps the most famous quote by Generaloberst Heinz Wilhelm ‘Schnelle Heinz Guderian is: “Der Motor des Panzers ist ebenso seine Waffe wie die Kanone” i.e. “The engine of a tank is as much a weapon as the cannon”. The corollary of Guderian's saying is simply that “the mobility of a SAM, SPAAG or SPAAGM system is as important as the lethality of its missile or gun system.

Mobility matters for two reasons, the first being battlespace mobility or the ability of the system to “hide, shoot and scoot” evading defence suppression weapons, and the second being the system's deployability or ability to redeploy locally, across a theatre, or between theatres.

Unlike Integrated Air Defence Systems (IADS) of the past which relied heavily on fixed communications landlines, or fixed microwave repeater links, modern systems are linked by radiofrequency, typically microwave or VHF/UHF, datalinks or indeed networks. The principal determinant of the system's mobility and deployability is then the design of the vehicles carrying the system.

Broadly air defence weapons can be divided into fixed, semi-mobile, and mobile systems.

Fixed systems are typically installed on concrete pads or other hardened or semihardened structures. This strategy of air defence weapon deployment is largely extinct due to the lethality of anti-radiation missiles and other weapons deployed by SEAD/DEAD tasked combat aircraft.

Semi-mobile systems are typically moved by road, with launchers and other components carried by trailers, or built as trailers. Such systems will take between 30 minutes and several hours to deploy or stow, and are characteristic of 1960s technology Soviet PVO weapons. Like fixed systems, their survivability has proven to be poor, as evidenced by losses in Vietnam, the Middle East, Operation Desert Storm and Operation Allied Force. Nevertheless, the large number of legacy Soviet systems in use indicates that such weapons will still be encountered.

Fully mobile systems may be road mobile, or off-road mobile, the former using wheeled vehicles, the latter wheeled or tracked vehicles. In general tracked vehicles have better survivability than wheeled vehicles against the full range of air delivered weapons, and land force weapons.

In general tracked vehicles provide by far the best off road mobility, due to the low surface loading of tracks, the ability to perform pivot turns, and the ability to scale obstacles and cross ditches. The drawbacks of tracked vehicles are often considerably higher operating costs, longer time to repair a broken track compared to a punctured wheel, and usually lower roadspeed. Often tracked vehicles will be heavier than their wheeled counterparts, limiting options in airlift.

Where off road mobility is not regarded to be critical, military trucks and tow tractors in the 10 to 20 tonne class have been used most frequently for this purpose, often towing the air defence weapon in a semitrailer or trailer arrangement.

The compromise between tracked and standard truck based systems are specialised high off road mobility vehicles purposed designed for the carriage of missiles. The 8 x 8 and 6 x 6 vehicles produced by MAZ/MZKT over the last five decades, and the contemporary BZKT built replacements, represent the best examples.

The MAZ-543 family of 8 x 8 heavy trucks has been used to carry ballistic missiles, ground launched strategic cruise missiles, antiship cruise missiles, air defence gun systems, air defence missile systems, as well as the Soviet High Energy Laser Directed Energy Weapon system. It has also been used to carry or tow a number of different radar systems, and associated mast systems.

These Technical Reports are intended to provide a basic reference covering the most widely used vehicles in this application.


Quantifying the Air Defence System Mobility Problem


Highly mobile SAM systems and supporting assets, such as radars, operated to a disciplined hide, shoot and scoot doctrine by well trained and proficient crews will present genuine challenges in SEAD and DEAD operations.

In a well designed hide, shoot and scoot scheme, missile batteries are dispersed and usually camouflaged, and follow a highly disciplined EMCON protocol. The battery engagement radar will only emit if a target enters its engagement envelope, and emissions will be constrained to the target alone, the intent being to minimise opportunities for detection by enemy ISR assets or SEAD/DEAD tasked aircraft. In this regime of operation, the engagement radar for the missile battery is cued by other assets to point at the target, missile TELs are put on standby ready to shoot by datalink commands, upon which the radar initiates search and track to prosecute the missile engagement. Time of flight for a modern hypersonic or fast supersonic SAM might be between tens of seconds or a small number of minutes, the latter for a very long range shot on a climb-cruise-dive or ballistic SAM trajectory.

Whether the missiles hit or miss the target, the battery has disclosed its location by emitting, so once the missile engagement has finished, the battery must “scoot to a new hide to prepare and then wait for the next engagement.

The time to stow all components of the battery and initiate a move varies, but in modern Russian systems the cited stow time, during which hydraulic actuators fold and stow the antennas, lower the TEL launch gantries, and retract the outriggers, is typically 5 minutes or less. Modern acquisition radars, especially longer ranging types, may take longer due to more complex stow operations with folding antenna systems, and some retrofitted SAM TELs may also take longer.

Once the battery components are stowed, the convoy departs the location as quickly as possible, to relocate.

Transit speeds between locations depend on the local terrain and road environment, and the type of vehicles employed by the battery.

Where terrain is heavily forested, and unsealed dirt tracks or open flat ground is used to transit, transit speeds may be low, as vehicles are mostly limited in movements to specific paths and vehicle speed itself may not exceed 30 to 50 km/h due to road condition.

In developed areas where sealed roads with good load bearing capability are near to the battery hides, transit speeds will be limited by the vehicles employed, and any other road traffic which be occupying the carriageway. Under these conditions, wheeled vehicles may sustain their full dash speed, which may be up to 80 km/h (~50 MPH).

With every minute elapsed from the point in time where the battery has initiated its move, the worst case area to be searched to find and attack the battery increases with the square of vehicle speed and elapsed time:


Where A is the search area, tstart is the time when the battery initiated its move, tstop is the time at which the search is performed, and v(t)transit is the time function of the radial component of the vehicle's transit velocity. The worst case is where the missile battery can choose an arbitrary direction to egress in, and do so along a linear radial path from the initial site.

This problem is analogous to that of searching for a submerged submarine following a broken initial contact - as time elapses, the area expands with the square of target velocity and time.

While in practice local geography, especially in complex terrain, and road availability will constrain the actual available paths the missile battery can use, the expression describing the worst case scenario illustrates the problem confronted by the SEAD/DEAD force. Fast transit speeds and suitable terrain could see large areas within which the missile battery may be hiding.

The following plots depict the worst case scenario where optimal transit conditions exist, for battery stow times of 45, 15 and 5 minutes, and vehicle transit speeds between 30 km/h and 80 km/h. A battery carried by vehicles capable of sustaining 70 - 80 km/h roadspeed could be anywhere within an area of 3,500 - 5,000 square nautical miles given a 5 minute battery stow time.



The widely held belief that battery mobility is not a major impediment to SEAD/DEAD operations is not supportable by any material evidence.

Table 1 illustrates transit speed performance for a range of Russian vehicle types employed to carry air defence systems.

Vehicle Type
Max Road Speed [km/h]
Cruise Road Speed [km/h]
Systems
Notes
BAZ-6402
70.0
-
SA-21
SA-20B Gargoyle
64N6 Gamma SE

BAZ-6909
80.0
-
SA-21
SA-20B Gargoyle
SA-22 Greyhound
55Zh6M Nebo M

BAZ-69096
50.0
-
SA-23 / S-300VMK

MAZ-543/7910
60.0
45.0
SA-10B Grumble
SA-20A Gargoyle
SA-20B Gargoyle

MAZ-537
55.0
-
40V6M/MD Masts
SA-10, 20, 21
KrAZ-260
80.0
-
SA-10B Grumble
SA-20A Gargoyle
SA-20B Gargoyle

Ural-375
75.0
-
9T33 Transporter
P-15M Squat Eye
P-15/19 Flat Face
1L119 Nebo SVU

MZKT-6922
80.0
-
SA-15 Gauntlet
SA-17 Grizzly
SA-8 Gecko (Osa-T)
T38 Stilet

MZKT-8022
60.0
-
SA-3 Goa Upgrade

KAMAZ 6560
70.0
-
SA-22 Greyhound
MT-T
65.0
-
SA-12B Giant
SA-12A Gladiator
SA-23

GM5955
65.0
-
SA-15 Gauntlet
SA-19 Grison

GM352M1E
65.0
-
SA-22 Greyhound
BAZ-5937
80.0
-
SA-8 Gecko

While many Cold War era systems were limited in sustained transit speeds to 45.0 km/h, more recent wheeled designs are mostly built for much faster sustained road speeds.

The systematic design of all Russian built IADS components for a hide, shoot and scoot regime of operations is resulting in pervasive changes to the character of future IADS, producing significant long term pressure to engage a SAM battery on initial contact. This in turn requires SEAD/DEAD aircraft with the survivability to loiter in contested airspace, or ISR assets with equal survivability. Platforms with lower survivability will suffer unsustainable loss rates in battle with high mobility modern IADS.


Russian and PLA Air Defence System Mobility Summary


Mobility Category: Highly Mobile
Mobile
Semi-Mobile
Static
Stow/Deploy Time:
 2-10 min
10-60 min
60-120 min
120+ min


  Surface to Air Missile System TEL / Radar Mobility









SAM System
Config
TEL/TELAR
TS/D [min] Engagement Radar
TS/D [min]
Acquisition Radars TS/D [min]








SA-2 Guideline/S-75/V-75 / HQ-2A
Warpac
Export
SM-90
300
SNR-75 Fan Song
300 P-12/18 Spoon Rest 45
HQ-2B Guideline
PLA
Export
Type 63
~5 SNR-75 Gin Sling
300 P-12/18 Spoon Rest 45
SA-3 Goa / S-125
Warpac
Export
5P73 120
SNR-125 Low Blow
120
P-15 Flat Face
20
SA-3 Goa / S-125
Warpac
Export
5P73 120
SNR-125 Low Blow 120
P-12/18 Spoon Rest 45
SA-3 Goa / Pechora M Export 5P73 80 SNR-125 Low Blow 80 Kasta 2E1 Flat Face 20
SA-3 Goa / Pechora 2M/2TM
Export MZKT-8022
25
SNR-125/UNV-2T Low Blow/MZKT-8022 20
Kasta 2E1 Flat Face 20
SA-4 Ganef / 2K11
Warpac
~5
1S32 Pat Hand
~5 P-40/1S12  Long Track ~5
SA-5 Gammon / S-200
Warpac
Export
5P72
24 hr 5N62 Square Pair
~24 hr 5N84 Tall King 24 hr
SA-6 Gainful / 2K12
Warpac
Export
2P25
5 1S91 Straight Flush
5 P-15 Flat Face
20
SA-6 Gainful / 2K12
Warpac
2P25 5 1S91 Straight Flush 5 P-40/1S12 Long Track ~5
SA-8A/B Gecko / 9K33
Warpac
Export
9А33Б
<5
Land Roll




SA-8A/B Gecko / 9K33
Warpac 9А33БМ2
<5
Land Roll


SA-10A Grumble /S-300P/PT
Warpac 5P85
>5
5N63 Flap Lid A / 40V6M
120 ST-68U Tin Shield
5N66 Clam Shell / 40V6M
60
120
SA-10B  Grumble / S-300PS
Warpac 5P85S/D
5 5N63S Flap Lid B
5
ST-68U Tin Shield
5N66 Clam Shell / 40V6M
60
120
SA-10C Grumble / S-300PMU
Export 5P85SU/DU 5 30N6E Flap Lid C
5
ST-68U Tin Shield
5N66 Clam Shell / 40V6M
60
120
SA-11 Gadfly / 9K37
Warpac
Export
9A38/310
5
9S35 Fire Dome
5 9S18 Tube Arm 5
SA-12 Gladiator/Giant/ 9K81/S-300V Warpac 9A82
9A83
5
5
9S32 Grill Pan
5
9S15 Bill Board
9S19 High Screen
5
5
SA-15 Gauntlet/ Tor M/M1
Warpac
Export
9A330/331
0.25
Scrum Half
0.25

SA-15 Gauntlet / Tor M2E
Export MZKT-6922 0.25 PESA
0.25

SA-17 Grizzly /Buk M1-2/M2 Export 9A38/310 5
9S35M Fire Dome
5 9S18M1 Snow Drift 5
SA-19 Grison / 2S6M
Warpac
Export
GM352 0
1RL144 Hot Shot
0


SA-20 Gargoyle /S-300PM/PMU1 Warpac
Export
5P85SE
5P85TE
5
5
30N6E/E1 Tomb Stone
5
64N6E Big Bird
ST-68U Tin Shield
76N6 Clam Shell / 40V6M
5
60
120
SA-20 Gargoyle / S-300PMU1 Export 5P85SE
5P85TE
5
5
30N6E1 Tomb Stone 5
64N6E Big Bird
96L6E Cheese Board
5
5
SA-20 Gargoyle / S-300PMU1 Export 5P85SE
5P85TE
5
5
30N6E1 Tomb Stone 5
64N6E Big Bird
67N6 Gamma DE
5
5
SA-20 Gargoyle / S-300PMU1 Export 5P85SE
5P85TE
5
5
30N6E1 Tomb Stone 5 64N6E Big Bird
59N6 Protivnik GE
5
15
SA-20 Gargoyle / S-300PMU2
Export 5P85SE
5P85TE
5
5
30N6E2 Tomb Stone 5
64N6E Big Bird
ST-68U Tin Shield
76N6 Clam Shell
5
60
120
SA-20 Gargoyle / S-300PMU2 Export 5P85SE
5P85TE
5
5
30N6E2 Tomb Stone 5
64N6E Big Bird
96L6E Cheese Board
5
5
SA-20 Gargoyle / S-300PMU2 PVO
Export
5P85SE
5P85TE
5
5
30N6E2 Tomb Stone 5
64N6E Big Bird
67N6 Gamma DE
5
5
SA-20 Gargoyle / S-300PMU2 PVO
Export
5P85SE
5P85TE
5
5
30N6E2 Tomb Stone 5 64N6E Big Bird
59N6 Protivnik GE
5
15
SA-21 / S-400
PVO
Export
5P85SE2
5P85TE2
5
5
92N6E Grave Stone
5
91N6E Big Bird
96L6E Cheese Board
5
5
SA-21 / S-400 PVO
Export
5P85SE2
5P85TE2
5
5
92N6E Grave Stone 5 91N6E Big Bird
96L6E Cheese Board
67N6 Gamma DE
5
5
5
SA-21 / S-400 PVO
Export
5P85SE2
5P85TE2
5
5
92N6E Grave Stone 5 91N6E Big Bird
96L6E Cheese Board
59N6 Protivnik GE
5
5
15
SA-22 / Pantsir S1
PVO
Export
KAMAZ-6560
GM352
0-5
Phazotron PESA
0-5


SA-23 / 9K81M/ S-300VM
PVO-SV
9A82M
9A83M
5
5
9S32M Grill Pan 5 9S15M Bill Board
9S19M High Screen
5
5
SA-23 / 9K81MK/ S-300VMK PVO-SV
Export
9A82MK
9A83MK
5
5
9S32MK Grill Pan 5 9S15MK Bill Board
9S19MK High Screen
5
5








SA-3 Goa / Pechora 2M Export



Vostok E 8
SA-3 Goa / Pechora 2M Export



1L13 Nebo SV 40
SA-20 Gargoyle / S-300PMU2
SA-21 / S-400
Export



1L119 Nebo SVU 40
SA-20 Gargoyle / S-300PMU2
SA-21 / S-400
Export



55Zh6 Nebo UE Tall Rack ~24 hr


9S32 Grill Pan deployed on MT-T series tracked vehicle (NIEMI image).


Russian and PLA Air Defence System Vehicle Technical Reports


Technical Report APA-TR-2008-0601-A S-300P [SA-10/20]/S-400 [SA-21] Air Defence System Vehicles

Technical Report APA-TR-2008-0601-B S-300V [SA-12]/S-300VM [SA-23] Air Defence System Vehicles

Technical Report APA-TR-2008-0601-C Legacy Strategic and Area Defence System Vehicles

Technical Report APA-TR-2008-0601-D Russian and PLA Point Defence and C-PGM System Vehicles




S-400 Triumf / SA-21 battery 92N6 Grave Stone and 96L6 radars deployed on  high mobility MZKT-7930 vehicles, evolved from the MAZ-543 Uragan Scud TEL chassis. The LEMZ 96L6E is common to the late production S-300PMU2 Favorit / SA-20B Gargoyle exported to the PRC (© 2010, Yevgeniy Yerokhin, Missiles.ru).



9K317E Buk M2E / MZKT-6922 / SA-17 Grizzly battery component models at Zhuhai 2010 (© 2010 Air Power Australia via Zhenguan Studio).



Kupol 9K332 Tor M2E / SA-15 Gauntlet point defence and Counter-PGM system at MAKS 2007. This new variant is hosted on the new MZKT-6922 6 x 6 TLAR/TELAR chassis, common the new 9K317 Buk M2/M2E / SA-17 Grizzly (NIEMI image).



Fully deployed 72V6 SPAAGM prototype on BAZ-6909 chassis. This variant incorporates a new VNIIRT designed 1RS2-1E agile beam phased array engagement radar. The primary design aim for this system was the interception of PGMs, especially the AGM-88 HARM and GBUs (Sergei Kuznetsov via Strizhi.ru).


References


  1. С-125 (SA-3, Goa), зенитная ракетная система, ОРУЖИЕ РОССИИ, Федеральный электронный справочник вооружения и военной техники  / Вооружение и военная техника ПВО, URL: http://www.arms-expo.ru/site.xp/049051051056124052048051048.html
  2. Зенитный ракетный комплекс С-125 «Печора-2А», ГСКБ "Алмаз-Антей", URL: http://www.raspletin.ru/produce/adms/s125pechora2a/
  3. «Оса», (9К33, SA-8, SA-8A, Gecko) зенитный ракетный комплекс
  4. The OSA anti-aircraft missile system, JSC "Izhevsk Electromechanical Plant "Kupol".
  5. The TOR-M1 anti-aircraft missile system, JSC "Izhevsk Electromechanical Plant "Kupol".
  6. The TOR-M2E anti-aircraft missile system, JSC "Izhevsk Electromechanical Plant "Kupol".
  7. Miroslav Gyürösi, Russian companies team to develop wheeled Tor-M2E , Jane's Missiles & Rockets, October 01, 2007.
  8. Pantsir-S1 Air Defense Missile/Gun System, KBP Instrument Design Bureau, 59 Shcheglovskaya Zaseka St., 300001 Tula, Russia.
  9. Tunguska-M1 Air Defense Missile/Gun System, KBP Instrument Design Bureau, 59 Shcheglovskaya Zaseka St., 300001 Tula, Russia.
  10. 30 mm 2A38M Automatic Anti-Aircraft Gun, KBP Instrument Design Bureau, 59 Shcheglovskaya Zaseka St., 300001 Tula, Russia.
  11. Phazotron Shlem air defence radar system, Phazotron NIIR.
  12. Martin Rosenkranz, MAKS 2007 Spezial: Pantsir-S1 (SA-22), Russlands neuestes Flugabwehrsystem.
  13. PGZ95 Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Artillery, Chinese Defence Today.
  14. HQ-7 (FM-80) Surface-to-Air Missile System, Chinese Defence Today.
  15. HQ-61A Surface-to-Air Missile, Chinese Defence Today.
  16. Schamiloglu E, High Power Electromagnetic Threats to the Civilian Infrastructure -  A New Concern for a New Age, IFIS Briefing, November, 2004, URL: http://www.ece.unm.edu/ifis/papers/CyberSecurity.ppt .
  17. Air Power Australia  - May 2008 - High Energy Laser Directed Energy Weapons
  18. ГСКБ "Алмаз-Антей", Лазерные технологии, 125190, Российская Федерация, г. Москва, Ленинградский проспект,  д. 80, корпус 16.
  19. Kopp C., Australian Aviation  - October 1995 - 76N6 Clam Shell Acquisition Radar Revealed (S-300PMU/SA-10)
  20. Kopp C., Australian Aviation  - October 2003 -Asia's New SAMs Pt.1 (S-300PMU/SA-10)
  21. Kopp C., Australian Aviation  - November 2003 -Asia's New SAMs Pt.2 (S-400/SA-20, S-300V/SA-12)
  22. The International Assessment and Strategy Center -  February 25th,  2006 -  Almaz S-300 – China's “Offensive” Air Defense
  23. RusArmy.com - Видео ПВО России  [Video of Russian PVO] S-300PMU footage (Highly Recommended)
  24. OAO Koncern PVO Almaz-Antey [Manufacturer's site in Russian] ГСКБ "Алмаз-Антей", 125190, Российская Федерация, г. Москва, Ленинградский проспект, д. 80, корпус 16.
  25. S-200 / SA-5 Gammon - http://www.s-200.de/
  26. ЗЕНИТНАЯ РАКЕТНАЯ СИСТЕМА С-200 - http://pvo.guns.ru/s200/index.htm
  27. Modernizacje zestawu przeciwlotniczego S-125 "Newa" - http://darek64.neostrada.pl/newa.htm
  28. JSC Defence Systems - http://www.defensys.ru/proizvodstvo21_eng.html
  29. Мытищинский машиностроительный завод (Metrovagonmash), Тунгуска-М1 на шасси ГМ-5975 - http://www.metrowagonmash.ru/gm5975t.htm
  30. Мытищинский машиностроительный завод (Metrovagonmash), Бук-М1-2 на шасси ГM-569 - http://www.metrowagonmash.ru/gm569t.htm
  31. Мытищинский машиностроительный завод (Metrovagonmash),  Top-М1 на шасси ГМ-5955 - http://www.metrowagonmash.ru/gm5955t.htm
  32. Система ПВО "Фаворит", ГСКБ "Алмаз-Антей", URL: http://www.raspletin.ru/produce/adms/s300pmu2/



A VHF-band high mobility Vostok E demonstrator deployed. The folding, elevating and telescoping antenna can stow or deploy in less than 10 minutes  (KB Radar).



The L-band JY-29/Type 120 (depicted), YLC-18, JYL-1 and YL-11B are typical of the new generation of PLA self-propelled tactical 3D acquisition radars, designed to support a range of SAM systems. Mostly they are carried on licence built Mercedes-Benz chassis, and often employ complex elevating mast systems (© 2009, Bradley Huang).


HQ-9 TEL using the Taian TAS-5380 chassis (via Chinese Internet).



Early TAS5380 TEL on display at Datangshan. The design is modelled on the MAZ-543/7910 series (Zhenguan Studio, © 2010 Air Power Australia).


New design HQ-7B/FM-90 TELAR on parade in 2009 (via Chinese Internet).


Technical Report APA-TR-2008-0601





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