In uniform

Aerospace absurdity

July 25, 2011 Alexander Golts

It is unlikely that you, dear readers, remember that three years ago I opened one of the most important laws of the existence of domestic bureaucracy. The principle of the lifter is: the more absurd the idea, the more likely it will be approved by Russian officials. After all, the impossibility of implementation allows you to milk the state budget for an infinitely long time. Last years brought a lot of evidence of this principle. Remember at least GLONASS or a heavy liquid fuel rocket.

Then, in 2008, I proved my theory on an example of an idea of ​​a single aerospace defense. Military bureaucrats argued that on the airborne attack of a potential aggressor (that is, the United States, the only country capable of carrying out such operations), only by creating a single aerospace defense. Little things, like those that physical bodies in space and airspace move according to different laws (in one, obeying the laws of ballistics, in the other - aerodynamics) did not interest anyone. How no one was interested in the question, and why, in fact, to combine radar stations with completely different ranges and interception tools working on different principles. The main thing is that giant administrative perturbation was planned, on which you can warm your hands well.

And the other day, Lieutenant General Valery Ivanov, who heads the operational and strategic command of the aerospace defense, said that the above defense has already been created and in accordance with the order of President Medvedev will stand on combat duty in December. The general also said that at present his command (and this is the former District of Moscow Air Defense) takes under his leadership of the components of the space forces.

As you can see, the laws of physics are nothing compared to the desire of bureaucrats to put something under their control. Over the past four years, a meaningless idea has taken root in the brains of the authorities and flashed new faces. Firstly, a miracle-arrangement appeared: the S-500 system, capable, as they say, intercept both in airspace and in the near space. According to General Ivanov, the S-500 will begin to enter service in 2015. In his place, I would not be so optimistic. The predecessor of the S-500 S-400 air defense system was adopted in 2007. In four years, it was possible to produce missile installations as much as two regiments, that is, 32 installations. Valery Ivanov expects that by the end of the year he will receive the third regiment, that is, another 16 installations. If so, then it is completely incomprehensible what it is based on when it states that the aerospace defense today is already capable of covering two-thirds of the country. In addition, the dynamics of the deployment of the S-400 shows that the fate of the S-500 will be no better. The NGO “Almaz-Antei”, which makes the S-400 and intends to do the S-500, is in no way to start serial production.

However, now the general can lie as much as you like. After all, the unified aerospace defense that does not exist in fact has become an important argument of Russia in a dispute with NATO about Europrop. Like, if the NATOs abandon our proposals about sector pro (what they have already done), then we will create our own missile defense in the peak. One God knows how one defensive system can be a response to another. However, we can assume that this is behind a very wild logic. Threatening the deployment of East Kazakhstan region, Moscow believes that in this way it poses a threat to the nuclear potential of the United States. According to this logic, it can be assumed that Moscow plans to apply a nuclear strike, and VKO needs it to weaken a response blow. Thus, Russia, projecting its phobias and fears into the United States, brings the situation to the absurdity.