#时事热点头条说#
The Ukrainian air defense forces have made amazing achievements.
It not only shot down conventional fighters such as Su-35, Su-34, and Su-30, but also shot down the most advanced "Dagger" hypersonic missile of the Russian army. In the recent large-scale air strikes, the Ukrainian army claimed to have intercepted a "Dagger" hypersonic missile, and also demonstrated a warhead that did not explode in Kyiv. Today's Ukraine has been shrouded in NATO air defense, including the American "Patriot", Germany's "Erest", and France's "Aster". These are the most advanced air defense systems in NATO, representing the top level of air defense technology in the Western world. How did the air defense system develop? How big is the gap between Chinese and Western air defense technologies? Today, Yilin would like to talk to you about the history of research and development of air defense missiles.
The world's first anti-aircraft missile was developed in Germany under the name "Waterfall". It was developed from the V-2 missile, with the addition of four flying wings to improve its maneuverability. The "Waterfall" anti-aircraft missile was not used for anti-missile defense, and at that time few countries had missiles, and it was mainly used to fight aircraft. Its body structure is large, slow, and low-precision, and in order to shoot down the aircraft, the warhead is filled with a liquid gunpowder. When the warhead is detonated, it will form a large explosion area, which is very suitable for ambushing slower bomber formations.
At that time, Germany had not yet mastered fire control radar technology and could not make missiles automatically track bombers. The Germans came up with a very stupid way to lock on to the bomber with their eyes, using "radio remote control". Whether or not the ground operator can remotely control the "Waterfall" missile, fly to a predetermined position and explode, and whether or not it can hit depends entirely on the experience of the ground operator.
After the end of World War II, anti-aircraft missiles entered the era of "radar guidance". The Soviet Union developed the famous "Sam-2" anti-aircraft missile, which was known as the "Red Guardian under the Iron Curtain". "SAM-2" is a semi-radar active-guided air defense system. It can automatically track and lock on enemy aircraft, with a maximum interception altitude of 32 kilometers, a maximum range of 54 kilometers, and a speed of more than Mach 4. After the "SAM-2" was put into service, it slaughtered all sides and made great achievements.
On October 7, 1959, China's air defense forces used the "SAM-2" missile to shoot down a national reconnaissance plane, setting a world record. This is the first time that humans have used a surface-to-air missile to shoot down an aircraft. With Chinese proofing, on May 1, 1960, the Soviet air defense forces launched the "Sam-2" anti-aircraft missile and shot down a U-2 high-altitude high-speed reconnaissance plane of the United States. This left Americans in disbelief. The U-2 reconnaissance plane flew at an altitude of more than 20,000 meters, and was the world's strongest reconnaissance plane developed by the Loma company of the United States at that time, but it was defeated by the "Sam-2."
After the first experience of sniping the U-2, the "SAM-2" began to show its might. Following the Soviet Union, China launched the "SAM-2" anti-aircraft missile and shot down five U-2 reconnaissance planes of the Kuomintang army. On the battlefield in Vietnam, between 1964 and 1968, the U.S. military lost 915 aircraft, 95% of which were shot down by the SAM-2. By 1972, the US military had lost 30 B-52s, and the "Sam-2" had shot down 29.
"Sam-2" became the most powerful anti-aircraft missile of the socialist camp in that era,
The "SAM-2" also has a significant shortcoming, it relies on the continuous irradiation of radar, intercepting bombers and reconnaissance planes, but in the face of supersonic and extremely strong surprise fighters and ballistic missiles, it is easy to miss the target. In order to intercept fighters, ballistic missiles, the USSR further developed the "Sam-6" anti-aircraft missile. "Sam-6" in the fourth Middle East war, shining brightly, shot down 109 Israeli aircraft.
The key to Israel's long-term suppression of the Arab coalition is its absolute dominance. However, the appearance of the "Sam-6" caused heavy losses to the Israeli Air Force. Syria spent $2 billion to build 19 SAM-6 anti-aircraft missile brigades. Unexpectedly, Israel sacrificed drones to lure Syrian air defense systems into fire during the Battle of the Bekaa Valley. After the "Sam-6" finished firing the first round of anti-aircraft missiles, Israel dispatched F-16 fighters to completely annihilate the "Sam-6" air defense system in Syria.
Iraq also bought 100 sets of SAM-6 anti-aircraft launchers. However, by the time the Gulf War broke out, these "Sam-6" air defense missiles were too old and were completely destroyed by the US military without making any achievements. In the 80s, the American company Raytheon developed a new generation of "Patriot" surface-to-air missile system. It entered service in 1984 and became famous in the Gulf War.
When the US-led multinational coalition swooped down on Iraq, Saddam immediately launched 29 "Scud" missiles at Israel, and Israel could not stop them at all. At this time, the US military urgently airlifted the "Patriot" and deployed it to the territory of Israel. Since then, Iraq's "Scud" missiles have hit the impregnable wall. Except for a very small number of successful raids, most of them were intercepted by the "Patriots". Under the continuous blows of the United States, and Iraq was powerless, in the end, Saddam Hussein fell.
The S-300 long-range air defense system developed by the Soviet Union was originally mediocre, but it showed its skills in the Russian-Ukrainian war. The biggest success of the S-300 did not come from NATO, but from Russia. The Ukrainian army used S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to defeat the Russian Aerospace Forces. From beginning to end, the Russian army could not take the air supremacy of the battlefield in eastern Ukraine.
How did China's air defense system develop? It mainly relies on imitation. At the beginning, China copied the Soviet "Sam-2", and the domestic version was named "Hongqi-1". On the basis of the "Hongqi-1", the "Hongqi-2" and "Hongqi-3" were also improved. In essence, both missiles are the technical basis of the "SAM-2".
After the breakdown of Sino-Soviet relations, China turned to the West and successively copied the French "Sidewinder" and the Italian "Viper" and other shipborne anti-aircraft missiles. The former was named "Haihongqi-7", and the latter was named "Haihongqi-6A". Both missiles were exported to Pakistan. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the West re-imposed a blockade on China's military technology. But the newborn Russia was too poor to afford to eat, so it sold the S-300 anti-aircraft missile to China. As a result, China copied a domestic version of the Hongqi-15. The Hongqi-17 was copied by buying a full set of technology from the Russian "Daure" field air defense system. The Hongqi-18 is also a copy of another version of the S-300.
The Hongqi-9 long-range air defense missile system also borrows some of the S-300 technology, but its core radar system and electronic control system are completely independently developed by China. Almost all of the imitations have been localized in China, and their performance is more advanced than the original. Among them, China is ahead of the United States and Russia in anti-stealth radar technology. This gives China's anti-aircraft missiles a stronger tracking capability.
What really belongs to China's independent research and development is the mid-course air defense and anti-missile system. It is China's top bottom-of-the-box anti-missile technology, and it has surpassed the United States and Russia for the first time. China's anti-aircraft missiles have developed to this day, and they have entered a no-man's land and have no leader.
There is no shortcut except for independent research and development. For a late-developing country, imitation can quickly narrow the gap, but to lead the world, it ultimately depends on independent innovation.