The system of anti-air defense (air defense) of the country is an integral component of its safety. But how important this component is and how strong it is in Russia today, you will learn from the article.
The importance of the country's air defense in the modern world
Over the past 30 years, quite a lot of conflicts have occurred in the world, during which the US Armed Forces and other NATO countries have repeatedly dealt with the sovereign countries unwanted. In all these conflicts, blows from the air played a decisive role. At the same time, free-feller and corrected air bombs were used, as well as high-precision winged rockets, launched from airplanes and warships.The objects of strikes were not only military and government objects, but also
- at home where families of state and military leaders of these countries lived;
- military and civil industrial enterprises, civil infrastructure facilities, such as bridges;
- power plants;
- etc.
The defeat of the country led to the change of her leadership and change policies to a more loyal United States. The cause of defeat in all cases was the weakness of air defense of the victims of the attack.
The principle of building air defense in the USSR
In recent decades, the existence of the USSR was built a single multi-sheltered (that is, a multi-stage) system of air defense (abbreviated air defense). A multi-layered anti-sophisticated "umbrella" closed the entire territory of the country, in any case, the places where people lived or were important objects.
Very brief and simplifying, consider the scheme for building the Soviet air defense.
Powerful radar stations found surface ships and air targets are still far beyond the horizon, thousands of kilometers from our borders. In the case of a dangerous approximation of foreign aircraft and ships, timely measures were taken to our borders. To meet potential uniform aircraft flew fighters-interceptors to meet them on distant approaches.
Violator airplanes, broken into the Soviet airspace, fell into the zone of action not only of fighter aviation, but also of anti-aircraft missile systems with a radius of action of about 200 km.
Enemy aircraft who were able to approach their goals a few kilometers, met the fire of anti-aircraft missile systems.
In addition, for the immediate protection of the most important objects near them, a cannon or rocket and cannon complexes "melee" were placed, capable of knocking down the attackers of low-tailed aircraft, helicopters and winged rockets.
Air defense in modern Russia
Soon after the collapse of the Soviet Armed Forces, most of all air defense facilities were liquidated: the number of fighter aviation, the number of military airfields, radar stations, anti-aircraft missile systems decreased many times.
Moral and physically outdated anti-aircraft missile systems C-75, C-200 and C-300PT were removed from duty.
Of the remaining several hundred fighters, most of them are unable to perform a combat task.
The single air defense system has ceased to exist. The territorial terrestrial air defense in the Russian Federation today is relatively few and has the appearance of individual spots on the map. And in most cases, these are only anti-aircraft missile systems of one echelon.
Only in the past few years a single field of radar observation was restored over the surroundings of our borders in all directions.
The number of degraded fighters at times exceeds the number of new arriving in the troops.
A significant part of the armament of the modest terrestrial air defense air defense of the Russian Federation today is still composed of complexes of the C-300PS, which were made from 1982 to the mid-1990s. But they are removed from operation much faster than replaced by more modern.
Approximately a quarter of all the existing forces of ground air defense guard is guarded by Moscow. Petersburg is protected by about five times less, but also quite well. Approximately also protected locations in the basic submarines in the North and Pacific Fleets, as well as the objects of the Black Sea Fleet.
At the same time, most even millpic cities, such as Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Chelyabinsk, Omsk, Ufa, Perm, are practically not protected by ground air defense. A huge number of places for storing poisonous substances, dams, nuclear power plants and locations of intercontinental ballistic missiles remain open to impact from the air.
The card presented below gives a general idea of the degree of protection of the territory of Russia expanded today by anti-aircraft missile complexes.
So, despite the exceptional importance of anti-heart defense in the modern war and the presence of the potential hazard of the air attack, currently Russia is not enough to be protected from air strikes on many major objects on its territory. This situation is definitely impedes the implementation of a fully independent state policy.
Author - Valery Kuznetsov
Source - Springzhizni.ru.