Which were armed with special small-caliber anti-submarine bombs. History also records cases when discovered enemy submarines attacked aircraft of other branches of the Navy Air Force - fighters and bombers. However, all this was rather random in nature, not being a systematic fight against submarines. There were no search equipment on the planes, and the means of destruction remained far from perfect.
In the 1940-1960s. The construction of submarines experienced rapid growth. This was explained, first of all, by their serious military successes during the Second World War. In addition, submarines were much cheaper than surface ships. The submarines' armament was also constantly being improved, and with the advent of cruise and ballistic missiles on board, it became possible to covertly strike from under water many tens and hundreds of kilometers from targets.
In Western countries, measures to create anti-submarine aircraft were taken back in the early 1940s. At first, conventional coastal command aircraft armed with anti-submarine bombs were used for this purpose. They attacked visually detected submarines on the surface and, sometimes, under the periscope, with bombs and machine guns. Later, these aircraft began to be equipped with special radar and hydroacoustic systems for searching for submarines on the surface and underwater. By the end of World War II, all the main countries of the anti-Hitler coalition had full-fledged patrol and anti-submarine aviation units, equipped with the most modern aircraft at that time, search and destruction equipment.
In the Soviet Union, the understanding of the need to create a new type of force came to the leadership of the Navy only in the mid-1950s. But here, too, they took the path of least resistance - at first, naval reconnaissance regiments armed with Catalina and Be-6 flying boats were reorganized into anti-submarine units.
Creation of the first helicopters designed by Mil and Kamov in the mid-1950s. highlighted a new area of their application - as an anti-submarine weapon for the coastal and ship-based fleet. But many more years passed before anti-submarine aviation loudly declared itself as the most important component of Navy Aviation.
Naval anti-submarine aviation of the Baltic Fleet
Anti-submarine aviation in the Baltic appeared at the end of the Great Patriotic War, when in the summer of 1944 the 29th separate air defense squadron was formed. It was armed with the Be-4 and PBN-1 Nomad flying boats. This unit, although it was included in the 15th ORAP, was, in fact, completely independent. It was entrusted with a fairly wide range of tasks: aerial reconnaissance, searching for enemy submarines, anti-submarine defense of our ships and vessels, rescuing the crews of aircraft shot down over the sea. But, despite its “anti-submarine” name, it was no different from its colleagues from reconnaissance units.
In April 1945, the 29th UAE PLO was disbanded, and on its basis three new squadrons were formed: the 15th, 16th, 17th OSAE PLO. But already in May 1946, the first two of them were used to form the 69th OMRAP, and the 17th OSAE was renamed the 17th OMDRAE. From that time on, for the next 10 years, the anti-submarine aviation of the Baltic Fleet ceased to exist.
In mid-1955, the first helicopter units (507th and 509th UAEV) were formed in the Baltic. Mi-4 helicopters are being supplied to them. In September 1957, the 225th UAE naval Ka-15 helicopters were added to them. These squadrons began to solve ASW missions in the interests of the Baltic Fleet in the near zone.
In September 1958, on the basis of these squadrons, two helicopter regiments were formed: 413th I437-YOAPV. They existed until the end of 1961, when they were reorganized into one 745th separate short-range anti-submarine helicopter regiment, based at the aer. Donskoe. Since 1965, the regiment has been armed with Mi-4 and Ka-25 helicopters, in 1970 they were supplemented by Mi-6 and Mi-8 transport helicopters, and in 1975 - Mi-14.
Somewhat earlier - in August 1960, the 17th OMDRAE was reorganized into the 17th separate long-range anti-submarine aviation squadron, which was armed with Be-6 aircraft. In 1970, the squadron was rearmed with Be-12 anti-submarine amphibians. In 1971, the 17th ODPLEA, together with the 759th OMTAP, was reorganized into the 49th OPLAE DD based at the air. Scythe.
This state of affairs continued until 1972, when, on the basis of the 846th Guards. OMTAP Aviation BF was formed
846th Guards OPLAP, one of whose squadrons began re-equipping with new long-range anti-submarine aircraft Il-38. Since October 1975, this regiment was disbanded, and on its basis a new anti-submarine aviation unit was created - the 145th OPLAE DD, based at the air force. Skulte. Since that time, the Baltic anti-submarine aviation has entered the “ocean expanse”. In addition to the Baltic Sea, its aircraft carried out combat missions in the North, Mediterranean, Red Sea and Indian Ocean. Ship-based helicopters explored, in addition to the Baltic, the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
For almost the entire next 20 years, the composition of the anti-submarine aviation forces of the Baltic Fleet did not change: the 745th OPLAE, the 49th OPLAE and the 145th OPLAE. By this time, only the helicopter regiment had been re-equipped with modern Ka-27 and Ka-29tb helicopters.
After 1992, the 145th OPLAE was disbanded, and its Il-38 aircraft were transferred to the 77th OPLAE, the 317th OSAP of the Pacific Fleet Air Force and the 240th Guards. Naval Air Force OSAP.
Since September 1996, the 49th OTAE and the 397th OTAE of the Baltic Fleet Air Force formed the new 316th OSAP, based at the aer. Khrab-rovo (Kaliningrad). But two years later, the anti-submarine squadron was disbanded (the last surviving Be-12 aircraft could still be seen in a semi-disassembled state at the Khrabrovo airport in May 2011).
In 1994, the 745th OKPLVE was folded into the 396th OKPLVE and existed in this form until December 2009. As part of the transition of the RF Armed Forces to a “promising appearance”, the 396th OKPLVE at the air. Donskoye and 125th OVE at the aer. Chkalovsk, together with support units, were reorganized into 7054th Guards Novgorod-Klaipeda Red Banner Aviation Base named after. I.I.Borzova, having received honorary titles and awards from almost all disbanded aviation units of the Baltic Fleet Air Force and Air Defense. In fact, of the “old” anti-submarine units in the Baltic since 2010, only the helicopter squadron on the Ka-27pl and Ka-27ps has remained, which solves the problems of anti-submarine defense, transport transportation and search and rescue operations.
Anti-submarine aviation of the Black Sea Fleet
Even at the inception of Naval Aviation, the Black Sea Fleet command correctly assessed its prospects in the fight against submarines. So, at the beginning of 1914, realizing the inevitability of the impending war, Admiral A.A. Ebergard, among the tasks assigned to the Fleet Aviation, named the following: “discovering enemy submarines, indicating their place to our fleet and attacking them by throwing bombs.”
Already at the height of the First World War, in July 1916, near Sevastopol, successful tests of an anti-submarine bomb designed by naval pilot Art. Lieutenant L.I. Boshnyak. Thus, the Black Sea can, to a certain extent, be considered the cradle of anti-submarine aviation.
But, as in the Baltic, for over 40 subsequent years, the search and destruction of enemy submarines was mainly carried out by reconnaissance aircraft units. In fact, from the first days of the Great Patriotic War, MBR-2, GST and MTB-1 aircraft of the 119th MRAP, 60th, 80th, 82nd and 83rd OMREA, to which the 18th was added in the fall of 1941 OMRAE, relocated from the Baltic, began searching for Romanian, Turkish, German and Italian submarines, which the Black Sea Fleet command imagined were off the Soviet coast.
In March 1952, the 220th separate detachment of Ka-10 helicopters was formed in Sevastopol. Few could have imagined then that such aircraft would soon become a threat to submarines. Two years later, on the basis of the detachment, the 1222nd separate aviation squadron of basic helicopters was formed, re-equipped in 1955 with the Ka-15. At the beginning of 1958, it was supplemented by the 307th separate aviation squadron of naval helicopters, and already in April of the same year, on the basis of these aviation units, the 872nd separate aviation regiment of helicopters was formed. Donuzlav.
By the mid-1950s. To search and destroy submarines, Be-6 aircraft of the 977th OMDRAP (formerly 18th OMDRAP), as well as Mi-4m and Ka-15 helicopters of the 872nd OAPV, were used.
But truly anti-submarine aviation units appeared only at the end of 1960 - beginning of 1961. Thus, the 270th OMDRAE of the Black Sea Fleet Air Force, formed in Donuzlav on the basis of the 2nd AE of the 977th OMDRAP and armed with Be-10 jet boats, was in November 1960, it was reorganized into the 270th ODPLEA. At the same time, the 853rd OVP was reorganized into the 303rd OVE PLO.
In September 1961, the 872nd OAPV was renamed the 872nd OPLVP DB, with a relocation to the air. Kacha, and the 303rd OVE PLO is turning to its staffing. At the same time, the 270th OPLAE AD was reorganized into the 318th separate long-range anti-submarine aviation regiment.
In 1965, anti-submarine aviation units received new Be-12 amphibious aircraft and Ka-25 helicopters, which significantly expanded their search and strike capabilities.
In September 1969, on the basis of the 872nd OKPLVP, another helicopter regiment was formed in the Black Sea Fleet Aviation - the 78th OKPLVP. This was due to the expansion of the range of tasks of the USSR Navy regarding its presence in the ocean zone and the commissioning of new anti-submarine cruisers “Moscow” and “Leningrad”, on which entire helicopter units could be based.
Almost until the collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1991, the composition of the anti-submarine aviation forces of the Black Sea Fleet did not change (318th OPLAP, 78th OPLVP and 872nd OPLVP). Since 1973, it received the Ka-27pl and Ka-27ps helicopters, whose search and strike capabilities were superior to the aging Ka-25. In 1978, shore-based helicopters Mi-14pl, Mi-14ps and Mi-14bt were added to them.
Considering the size of the Black Sea theater of operations, the Navy Air Force command did not equip the Black Sea Fleet Aviation with Il-38 anti-submarine aircraft, not to mention the Tu-142. Therefore, the composition of its aircraft fleet until the early 2000s. almost unchanged: Be-12, Ka-27, Ka-25 and Mi-14.
In June 1991, the Black Sea Fleet Air Force was replenished with another anti-submarine unit, and in a very unusual way. Then the 841st Guards Naval Aviation Regiment of fighter-bombers, on the MiG-23m, based at the aer. Meria in Georgia, was reorganized in the 841st Guards. OPLVP on Mi-14pl, Mi-14ps helicopters.
The confrontation between Ukraine and Russia regarding the division of property of the former USSR Black Sea Fleet could not but affect the composition and condition of the Black Sea Aviation, in general, and its anti-submarine units, in particular. According to the agreement between the governments of the two countries dated May 27, 1998, the following anti-submarine aircraft and helicopters were transferred to the Ukrainian side, among many other assets of the USSR Black Sea Fleet: 10 Be-12pl, 18 Ka-25pl and 20 Mi-14pl.
As a result of this transfer of aircraft, since mid-1995, anti-submarine aviation has undergone significant changes: the 78th OKPLVP in Donuzlav was disbanded, the 841st Guards. OPLVP - reorganized into the 863rd OPLVE, which was relocated from Meriya to Anapa, and instead of the 318th OPLAP, the 327th OPLEV was formed in Kach. In September 1996, the 327th OPLAE and the 917th OTAP of the Black Sea Fleet Air Force were reorganized into a new mixed aviation regiment, which received the number and awards of the previously disbanded 318th OPLAE (Konstantsky, Krasnoznamenny). The new regiment, in which one squadron was armed with Be-12 aircraft, and the second with An-26 transport aircraft, was based at the air force. Kacha and performed a variety of anti-submarine support tasks for the fleet, as well as transporting personnel and cargo.
In September 1997, the 872nd OKPLVP in Kutch was reorganized into the 61st OKPLVE, but already in May 1998, this squadron, together with the 863rd ORPLVE, was turned to form the new 25th OKPLVP. His squadrons were based at the airfields of Kacha and Anapa.
Over the next 10 years, there was a lull in the organizational structure of the Black Sea Fleet Air Force and its anti-submarine forces. This is explained by the strict framework of the Russian-Ukrainian agreement on the status of the Russian Black Sea Fleet (the Russian side cannot unilaterally change the composition and location of its units).
In mid-2009, during the ongoing campaign for the transition of the RF Armed Forces to a new “promising look”, the 318th OSAP and the 25th OKPLVP were turned to the formation of the 7059th Konstanz Red Banner Aviation Base of the MAChF. But in the near future, Be-12 aircraft will be forced to retire (in other fleets they have long been written off and disposed of), and the tasks of searching and destroying submarines will be carried out only by Ka-27 helicopters.
Anti-submarine aviation of the Northern Fleet
From the first days of the Great Patriotic War, North Sea aviation had to solve the problem of searching and destroying enemy submarines. Since there were no specialized anti-submarine units in its composition, aircraft MBR-2, GST and the 118th MRAP and 49th OMRAE were widely used for this purpose. Unlike the Baltic and Black Sea, in the North the underwater threat to Soviet shipping was more than real. According to the Northern Fleet command, there were six submarines in the German Navy in the Northern Theater of Operations (1). As of July 1, 1942, their number was estimated at 14-16 units (17). Enemy submarines operated in the Barents, White and Kara Seas. Their victims were transport vessels and ships, as well as coastal facilities on the coast. This situation forced the command of the Northern Fleet Air Force to take measures to build up the group of anti-submarine aviation forces. Thus, in the fall of 1942, the 22nd MRAP was transferred from the Caspian Sea to the White Sea, using MBR-2 aircraft, and in the spring of 1944, on its basis, as well as a number of other aviation units of the Northern Fleet Air Force and BelVF, the 44th, 53rd 1st and 54th mixed aviation regiments. They included one squadron of MBR-2 flying boats, and in the summer of 1944, in addition to them, American PBN-1 Nomad aircraft began to arrive. These units bore the brunt of anti-submarine warfare.
By the end of 1944, the front had rolled far to the West, and the underwater threat gradually faded away. In this regard, by the fall of 1945, the 44th and 54th SAPS were disbanded, and the 53rd SAPS was reorganized into a naval long-range reconnaissance regiment.
The revival of anti-submarine aviation as a branch of the Navy in the North began in the mid-1950s, when the 403rd OMDRAP (formerly the 118th OMDRAP) received Be-6 aircraft with the Baku radiohydroacoustic system. At the same time, the first helicopter unit was formed - the 2053rd UAEV, armed with the Mi-4m.
By 1958, the 309th UAE KB was formed, using Ka-15 helicopters, and in the same year it, together with the 2053rd UAE KB, was transformed into the 830th separate aviation regiment of helicopters.
At the end of 1960, the 403rd OMDRAP was reorganized into the 403rd separate long-range anti-submarine aviation regiment, and the 830th OAPV became known as the 830th OPLVP BD.
In 1967, the 830th Helicopter Regiment began mastering the new Ka-25 shipborne helicopters. In the same year, new long-range anti-submarine aircraft Il-38 entered service with the Northern Fleet Air Force, from which they formed a new aviation unit - the 24th OPLAP DD. This regiment became the first in the Naval Aviation armed with this aircraft equipment. With the entry into service of the Il-38, the search and strike capabilities of the North Sea anti-submarine aviation have expanded significantly.
In 1968, the 403rd OPLAP DD received new Be-12 amphibious aircraft to replace the Be-6.
In the second half of 1969 at the air. In Kipelovo, a new anti-submarine air regiment is being formed - the 76th OPLAP DD. This was the first unit of the Tu-142 strategic anti-submarine aircraft in the Navy Aviation. Thus, the Northern Fleet became a kind of testing ground where new aviation equipment was tested and new tactical techniques for searching and destroying submarines were developed.
In 1970-1977 Il-38 aircraft of the 24th OPLAP DD carried out flights to the BS in the Mediterranean, Red Sea and the Indian Ocean from airfields in Egypt and Somalia, and in 1981 -1988. - from airfields in Libya and Ethiopia.
In November 1982 at the air. In Kipelovo, another aviation unit was formed using Tu-142-277 OPLAE aircraft.
In 1976, the basic Mi-4m helicopters entered service with the helicopter regiment to replace the Mi-4m. 14.
In 1979, the Ka-25 helicopter began to be replaced by new ship-based anti-submarine helicopters, the Ka-27.
At the end of 1980, the 830th OKPLVP was divided into two regiments - the 830th OKPLVP itself and the new 38th OKPLVP. This was due, on the one hand, to the receipt of significant quantities of new helicopters from industry, and on the other hand, to the introduction of new single- and group-based aircraft-carrying ships into the Northern Fleet.
Since 1983, Tu-142 aircraft of the Northern Fleet Air Force began regular flights to Cuba. This made it possible to expand the search area for potential enemy submarines to the equatorial part of the Atlantic Ocean.
At the end of 1983, the 35th Anti-Submarine Aviation Division was formed as part of the Northern Fleet Air Force, which included the 76th OPLAP and the 277th OPLAP (soon deployed into the 135th APLAP). The division became the first and only anti-submarine unit of the Navy Air Force. Subsequent plans of the Navy Air Force command included the formation of two helicopter regiments in the North and two helicopter regiments in the Pacific Ocean into a helicopter division, but these plans were not destined to come true.
In March 1991, a new type of aviation formation was formed in the North - the 57th mixed naval aviation division, which, in addition to the 38th and 830th OKIAP, included the 279th OKIAP flying Su-27k aircraft. The division's regiments were intended to be based on board the heavy aircraft-carrying cruisers Admiral Kuznetsov and Admiral Gorshkov. This was, perhaps, the last creative step by the leadership of the Navy in the field of military development of Naval Aviation. December 1991 was coming...
For almost two more years, the anti-submarine aviation of the Northern Fleet was able to maintain its position in the Navy system, but in 1993, irreversible processes began.
At the end of 1993, the 38th OKPLVP and the 830th OKPLVP were again folded into one regiment - the 830th OKPLVP. Two aircraft anti-submarine regiments also underwent “reformation”: the 24th OPLAP and the 403rd OPLAP were reorganized into the new 403rd OPLAP, flying Il-38 aircraft (in fact, the “young” regiment was given an honorary name and order from the “old” one) regiment, and the Be-12 aircraft were written off and scrapped).
At the end of 1994, the management of the 35th SSBN and the 135th SSBN were disbanded. On air. Only the 76th OPLAP remained in Kipelovo (the 392nd ODRAP, based there, on Tu-95rts aircraft, was relocated to the Veretye airport in the Pskov region at the end of 1989).
In 1998, the 57th SCAD was disbanded, and the 830th regiment again became separate, and the 403rd OPLAP was reorganized, together with the 912th OTAP of the Northern Fleet Air Force, into the 403rd separate mixed aviation regiment, in which one AE was anti-submarine, and the other was transport.
For some time, the composition of the Northern Fleet anti-submarine aviation forces remained unchanged: a squadron of Il-38 aircraft, as part of the 403rd OSAP, was at the air force. Severomorsk-1, a regiment of Tu-142mk aircraft - at the airport. Kipelovo, and a regiment of shipborne Ka-27 helicopters - at the air. Severomorsk-1. Although the tasks for it have not decreased, the intensity of flights to the BS has decreased significantly compared to the early 1980s...
In June 2002, the 76th OPLAP was folded into the 73rd OPLAP at the air. Kipelovo. This event only stated the fact that the Northern Fleet Aviation was no longer able to maintain an entire regiment of Tu-142 aircraft, which were expensive to operate and maintain. All the standard aircraft remaining from the two regiments were slowly written off and cut up for metal.
The next “reform” of Naval Aviation (and anti-submarine aviation, including) began after a meeting of the Military Board of the RF Ministry of Defense, which took place in October 2008. As part of it, it was envisaged to reorganize the flight and rear units at one airfield into aviation bases. In the MA Northern Fleet (as the Northern Fleet Air Force began to be called in April 2009), the 7050th AvB was formed at the air force. Severomorsk-1, for the formation of which the 403rd and 830th air regiments, and the 7051st AvB were called upon to form. Olenya and Kipelovo, the formation of which was directed by the 924th Guards. OMRAP and 73rd OPLAE. At that time, the 279th OKIAP was not included in the air bases. They existed in this form until mid-2011, when the MRA was transferred to the Long-Range Aviation of the Russian Air Force and Air Defense, and the remaining units of the Northern Fleet MA began to be reorganized into one aviation base.
Currently, anti-submarine missions in the North are carried out by units consisting of air bases of Tu-142Mk anti-submarine aircraft in the far zone, Il-38 aircraft in the middle zone, and Ka-27pl helicopters in the near zone and from single- and group-based aircraft carriers.
Anti-submarine aviation of the Pacific Fleet
Until the mid-1950s, as in other navies, anti-submarine missions in the Pacific Ocean were carried out by reconnaissance aviation units. During the Great Patriotic War and during the war with Japan, the 16th, 115th and 117th reconnaissance regiments of the Pacific Fleet Air Force, STOF and AmVF, as well as a number of individual squadrons and units, were involved in this. They were armed with MBR-2 and PBN-1 Nomad aircraft. Most of these units were disbanded in 1945-1948, and those that survived ceased to exist in 1960.
The emergence of specialized anti-submarine units within the Pacific Fleet Air Force was associated with the adoption in the mid-1950s. for the naval aviation's arsenal of ship-based and shore-based helicopters Ka-15 and Mi-4.
In August 1955 at the air. South Angular, the first helicopter unit is being formed - the 505th UAE BV, which was armed with the Mi-4M.
In September 1957, the 264th UAE KB was added to it, using Ka-15 helicopters, which was also stationed at the air station. South Corner. In April 1958, both of these helicopter units were turned to form the first helicopter regiment in the Pacific Ocean - the 710th Airborne Regiment.
In September 1957, the 175th UAE BV was formed in Kamchatka, using the Mi-4. This helicopter part is formed
was based on the 175th separate fighter squadron of the Pacific Fleet Air Force and was intended to solve anti-submarine missions on the approaches to Avacha Bay.
In 1958, the 167th separate rescue aviation squadron of the Pacific Fleet Air Force (formerly the 48th OMDRAP), flying Be-6 aircraft and Mi-4 helicopters, was reorganized into the 720th Air Force, based at the air force. Znamenskoye in the Sovetskaya Gavan area.
In January 1960, the 317th OSAP was formed in Kamchatka, which included the 122nd OMDRAE and the 175th OVE PLO. The regiment's location since 1961 has been air. Elizovo. In the same year, the 720th OVP was folded into the 301st OPLVE, which was based on the air. Korsakov (Southern Sakhalin).
In 1961, aircraft anti-submarine units were added to the helicopter anti-submarine units, which were formed on the basis of reconnaissance boat regiments and squadrons. At the same time, the 289th OMDRAP in b. Sukhodol was reorganized into an anti-submarine regiment, and the 122nd OMDRAE was reorganized into b. Yagodnaya in Kamchatka - in the 122nd ODPLEA. These units were armed with Be-6 aircraft equipped with the Baku radiohydroacoustic system.
In mid-1969, the 289th OPLAP DD was rearmed with Be-6 flying boats on the Be-12 amphibian, and at the end of the same year in the Pacific Ocean, soon after the Northern Fleet, the 77th OPLAP DD was formed, using Il-38 aircraft . This made it possible to extend the search zone for foreign submarines to the Sea of Okhotsk and approaches to the Kuril Straits from the ocean side. Both regiments began to be based at the air. Nikolaevka.
In October 1976 at the air. Khorol, the 310th OPLAP DD was formed, which received Tu-142 aircraft. It became the second unit of the Navy Aviation armed with these aircraft, after the 76th OPLAP DD Aviation of the Northern Fleet. Two years later, the regiment was relocated to the airfield. Stone Brook. This location for the regiment was not chosen by chance. From here, Tu-142 aircraft could fly to the Pacific Ocean in the shortest possible time (in 1.5 hours) and search for foreign submarines there all the way to the Gulf of Alaska and the Hawaiian Islands. In the middle sea zone and on the approaches to Kamchatka, the search for IPL was carried out by Il-38 and Be-12 aircraft of the 77th OPLAP DD. 289th OPLAP DD and 122nd OPLAP DD. In the near sea zone, anti-submarine helicopters Ka-25 (then Ka-27) and Mi-14 of the 710th OKPLVP operated, with aer. Novonezhino, and the 175th OKPLVE, with aer. Elizovo.
In October 1977, the 301st OPLVE at the air. Korsakov was disbanded, but two years later the 568th aviation group of coastal-based helicopters was created in its place.
In July 1979, the Minsk aircraft carrier arrived at the Pacific Fleet, on which, in addition to the Yak-38 attack aircraft, up to 18 Ka-27pl and Ka-27ps helicopters could be based. The entry of this ship into the fleet significantly expanded the capabilities of anti-submarine aircraft in solving specific tasks.
In December 1982 at the air. Cam Ranh (Vietnam) the formation of the 169th Guards was completed. OSAP, which included 4 Tu-142m aircraft from the 310th OPLAP. This allowed for underwater exploration in the East China, South China and Philippine Seas. The regiment also included a helicopter detachment of 2 Mi-14pl and 1 Mi-14ps.
In October 1983 at the air. Novonezhino and air. Korsakov, on the basis of existing helicopter units, two more are formed: the 51st OPLVE and the 55th OPLVE, armed with Mi-14, Mi-8 and Mi-6.
In February 1984, the second heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser, Novorossiysk, became part of the Pacific Fleet. Since that time, the fleet has had two group-based aircraft-carrying ships.
The next five years can be called the period of greatest prosperity for the anti-submarine aviation of the Pacific Fleet. PLA aircraft monitored the situation in the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean - from the Bering Strait, in the north, to the Luzon Strait, in the south.
In 1991, on the basis of the 51st OPLVE squadron, the 207th OKPLVP was formed, which, in addition to shore-based helicopters, also included Ka-27pl and Ka-27ps helicopters, but this was the last creative reorganization in the anti-submarine aviation of the Pacific Fleet. For another two years it continued to remain in the same composition, but interruptions in the supply of fuel and spare parts had already begun to affect it. Soon a landslide reduction began in all fleets, which could not but affect anti-submarine aircraft.
In December 1993, simultaneously with the Northern Fleet, in the Pacific Ocean the 289th OPLAP, on the Be-12, and the 77th OPLAP, on the Il-38, were reorganized into one 289th OPLAP on the air. Nikolaevka, armed with Il-38 aircraft. And here, as in the North, the honorary name “Port Arthur” and the Order of the Red Banner were transferred to the “younger” regiment. At the same time, the 207th OKPLVP at the air force was disbanded. Novonezhino.
In September 1994, the 55th OPLVE was disbanded, and from that time the basing of the Pacific Fleet Aviation on Sakhalin ended.
In 1998, the Be-12 aircraft of the 317th OSAP were written off, and they were replaced by Il-38 aircraft, which were collected from all over Naval Aviation. The process of mastering them by the crews of the regiment was quite lengthy - this was affected by the lack of the required amount of fuel and instructors in the fleet. In the same year, two anti-submarine regiments - the 289th OPLAP at the air. Nikolaevka and the 710th OKPLVP at the air. Novonezhino - were reorganized into one regiment, which, in fact, was already mixed, but by name remained anti-submarine - the 289th OPLAP at the air. Nikolaevka.
In June 2002, the 310th OPLAP and the 568th Guards. OMRAP of the Pacific Fleet Air Force was reorganized into one 568th Guards. OSAP, which was armed with two squadrons of Tu-22MZ missile carriers and one squadron of Tu-142MZ and Tu-142Mr aircraft.
Until the end of 2009, anti-submarine aviation at the Pacific Fleet was represented by a squadron of Il-38 aircraft and a squadron of Ka-27 helicopters, as part of the 317th SAP OKVS, a squadron of Tu-142mz and Tu-142mr aircraft, as part of the 568th Guards. OSAP, a squadron of Il-38 aircraft and a squadron of Ka-27 helicopters, as part of the 289th OPLAP. Subsequently, all these aviation units and subunits were reorganized into MATOF aviation bases. The process of reorganization in the fleet was not completed by mid-2011 and, after the transfer of MRA and IA to the Air Force and Air Defense of the Navy, it is planned to reduce the number of air bases from three to one, but with aviation units based at four airfields. In fact, only coastal and ship-based anti-submarine aircraft will have to remain within the MA Pacific Fleet.
MOSCOW, December 18 - RIA Novosti, Andrey Kots. A trio of Il-38 anti-submarine aircraft, accompanied by the roar of turboprop engines, takes off from the runway of the Nikolaevka airfield and goes towards the sea. The goal is to track down and destroy a mock enemy submarine, according to the legend of the exercises, hidden not far from the coastline. "Ilyushins" fan out over the water surface and scatter sonar buoys. Not even half an hour passes before one of them “hears” the noise of the propellers. The planes turn around, take a combat course and prepare more serious “arguments” - bombs and homing torpedoes. Over the weekend, anti-submarine aviation forces held exercises in Primorye. The Il-38 crews successfully detected and destroyed a hypothetical underwater target. At the same time, Tu-142 aircraft, MiG-31 fighter-interceptors and Ka-27 carrier-based helicopters were involved in the maneuvers. Read about how to track a submarine from the air in the RIA Novosti article.
Sea frontier
It is almost impossible to accidentally detect a submarine moving at low speed at great depths. It's easier to stumble upon a needle in a haystack or a cat in a dark room. The main weapon of submarines is stealth. Therefore, an impressive and diverse force is involved in tracking them down, which painstakingly comb the search area, mile after mile. Anti-submarine aviation is just one of the “cells” of a dense “network” that sailors place on the submarine cruisers of a potential enemy.
For the Pacific Fleet, which defends the long coastline of the Russian Far East, such “fishing” is commonplace. Somewhere here, 10 of the 18 Ohio-class strategic nuclear-powered ships of the US Navy plow the depths, carrying about a third of the entire American nuclear arsenal in their missile silos. Control over their movements is one of the most important tasks of the Pacific Fleet (as well as other fleets). In addition, anti-submarine forces “drive away” enemy submarines from their “strategists”.
“The main striking force of the Pacific Fleet is underwater strategic missile carriers, which are an important part of our nuclear triad,” military expert, editor-in-chief of Arsenal of the Fatherland magazine Viktor Murakhovsky told RIA Novosti. “The fleet includes three Project 667BDR Kalmars and two new ones.” Borea" project 955. They are part of the 25th submarine division. The main task of the Pacific Fleet is to give submarine cruisers the opportunity to reach combat deployment areas if necessary. And for this you need to unconditionally dominate the Sea of Okhotsk region."
General labor
Today, all Russian fleets have 46 Il-38 anti-submarine aircraft and eight improved Il-38N. By 2020, 28 basic vehicles must undergo modernization. These aircraft are designed to independently or jointly with anti-submarine ships search and destroy enemy submarines, for maritime reconnaissance, search and rescue operations, and laying minefields. In addition, the Northern and Pacific fleets each have a squadron of Tu-142 long-range "anti-submarine" aircraft - the naval version of the Tu-95 strategic bombers. Each "submarine hunter" carries on board an entire arsenal that allows it to track down and destroy a target.
“All these aircraft are very mobile, they can reach high speeds and cover long distances in a short time,” Admiral Vladimir Komoyedov, former commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, told RIA Novosti. “In principle, the crew can notice a boat moving at shallow depths visually. In addition, ", special buoys are used for various purposes - infrared, hydroacoustic, passive, active, autonomous, for working at different depths, etc. That is, the aircraft crew is prepared to meet any purpose."
According to Vladimir Komoyedov, anti-submarine aircraft do not work “on call.” There are no situations where random fishermen call the fleet headquarters and say: “We just saw a periscope. Send someone to check.” All work on anti-submarine defense is planned and carried out regularly. Marine aircraft are given squares, which they “seed” with buoys at certain intervals.
“Imagine that you are sitting at a table. The table is a patrol area. And anti-submarine aircraft methodically scatter buoys over it,” explains Komoyedov. “There may or may not be enemy boats in this area. But you definitely need to check. patrols involve not only aircraft, but also surface forces of a naval search and strike group, helicopters with sonars and even satellites. We have devices capable of viewing the water column to a certain depth from orbit. Thus, the underwater threat is countered by disparate forces, but under a single command. The group commander has his own headquarters, which "conducts" searches on the map. He has contact with ships and aircraft. Patrols take place regularly. We call this work maintaining a favorable operational regime in the fleet's areas of responsibility."
"Eyes" of the fleet
The algorithm of action of anti-submarine aircraft is quite simple. Having dropped buoys in its area, the board begins to walk in circles, taking readings from the equipment. As soon as the "beacon" is activated, indicating the presence of an unidentified submarine, the crew transmits data about its location to an anti-submarine ship or its submarine. At the same time, he continues to monitor other buoys in order to calculate the approximate course of the submarine as they go off. This process is reminiscent of the game “Battleship”: if you managed to “wound” the enemy, then it is already approximately clear where to “shoot” in order to “finish him off”.
In addition, an anti-submarine aircraft can itself attack an underwater target. Il-38 and Tu-142 carry a wide range of weapons on board: AT-1 and AT-2 anti-submarine torpedoes, APR-1, APR-2 and APR-3 missiles, anti-submarine bombs, sea mines and much more. The modernized Il-38N is equipped with a new sighting and navigation system, which significantly increases the accuracy of weapons. The first anti-submarine aircraft dropped bombs literally by sight.
“Still, the main task of anti-submarine aviation is to detect a target and let others know about it,” explains Vladimir Komoyedov. “No one can cope with a submarine better than another submarine. This is also understood in the United States. They have in the North Atlantic and the Pacific The SOSUS stationary hydroacoustic submarine detection system has been deployed in the ocean. The Americans can “hear” our submarine without leaving their office. However, this method is not the most reliable. That’s why they continue to walk close to our shores the old fashioned way. And while they are doing this, our anti-submarine aviation will not be left without work."
The birth of aviation in Russia became possible thanks to the initiative of military sailors. It was the sailors who were the first to see in aircraft an important means of increasing the power of the navy and put a lot of effort and money into training aviation personnel, acquiring aircraft and organizing domestic aircraft production.
The world's first proposal, in which the interaction of a ship and an aircraft was predetermined, was also born in the Russian Navy. Its author was the captain of the corps of naval engineers, Lev Makarovich Matsievich. Back on October 23, 1909, in his first memo to the Main Naval Headquarters, he predicted the future of naval aviation and proposed starting the construction of an aircraft carrier, a seaplane and a catapult for launching it from the deck of a ship. It is no coincidence that in Russia the process of movement of aircraft is called aeronautics, aviation is called the air fleet, the sky is called the fifth ocean, and heavy aircraft are called ships.
Hydroaviation in Russia began to emerge in 1911. At first, seaplanes were purchased abroad, but soon Russian engineers V.A. Lebedev and D.P. Grigorovich created several models of flying boats, which allowed the Russian Military Department in 1912-1914. on the basis of domestic seaplanes to form the first aviation units in the Baltic and Black Sea fleets. At the same time, the flying boat designed by Grigorovich M-5 was superior in its flight characteristics to foreign models of similar types.
At first, naval aviation was used mainly for reconnaissance purposes, that is, as a means of supporting the combat activities of the fleet. However, the experience of using aviation in the very first months of the outbreak of the First World War showed that the combat capabilities of aircraft went far beyond reconnaissance. They began to be used for bombing and shelling from the air of objects at fleet bases and ports, enemy ships and vessels at sea.
In the Russian Navy, the first aircraft-carrying ship "Orlitsa" was based on Grigorovich's M-9 seaplanes, which had machine guns and were capable of carrying bombs. On July 4, 1916, four aircraft from the Orlitsa conducted an air battle over the Baltic Sea with four German aircraft, which ended in victory for the Russian naval pilots. Two of the Kaiser's airplanes were shot down, and the other two fled. Our pilots returned to their aircraft without losses.
This day - July 4, 1916 - the day of the first victory in an air battle over the sea by naval pilots on domestic seaplanes based on the first domestic aircraft carrier, is rightfully considered the Birthday of naval aviation.
By the middle of 1917, a turning point for Russia, the prerequisites appeared in the Russian Navy for the transformation of aviation into one of the main forces of the fleet, which served as the basis for the establishment of a special body in the Maritime Department - the Directorate of Naval Aviation and Aeronautics.
After the October Revolution, the Soviet military leadership, during the armed struggle against the interventionists and White Guards on the fronts adjacent to the sea, in regions with lakes and along large rivers, could not do without hydroaviation. The creation of new naval aviation formations began.
April 27, 1918 became the birthday of the Baltic Fleet aviation. Then the Special Purpose Air Brigade was formed within it.
March 3, 1921 is considered the birthday of the aviation of the USSR Black Sea Fleet. On this day, the formation of the Headquarters of the Air Fleet of the Black and Azov Seas was completed. On April 4, 1932, the Pacific Fleet aviation was born, and on August 18, 1936, the Northern Fleet aviation.
History shows that in the 20s and 30s, when naval aviation was organizationally part of the Red Army Air Force, the country's top leadership and the leadership of the People's Commissariat of Defense assigned aviation tasks to support ground forces, cover troops and rear facilities from attacks from the air, as well as to combat enemy aerial reconnaissance. In accordance with this, the development and construction of aircraft and their weapons was carried out, and pilot training programs were drawn up in aviation educational institutions. The operational-tactical training of leading military personnel and all combat training of military aviation were aimed at this. In this case, naval aviation was assigned a secondary role, so the fleet of naval aviation in these years was replenished only with seaplanes, intended mainly for conducting aerial reconnaissance at sea. Flight personnel for it were trained only at the Yeisk school of naval pilots and flight instructors.
Grigorovich's M-9 flying boat
The 1930s saw the triumph of aviation, design ideas and, above all, naval pilots who showed outstanding examples of flying skill, courage, bravery and heroism.
They were repeatedly involved in special and government tasks. Polar aviation was staffed by naval pilots, which played a huge role in the development of the Northern Sea Route, the importance of which for our country can hardly be overestimated.
The pilots especially showed themselves when rescuing the Chelyuskinites in 1934. Their courage and heroism, their willingness to take risks in the name of saving the lives of people in trouble, became a convincing basis for the establishment in our country of the highest degree of state distinction - the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The gold star of Hero number one was awarded to naval pilot Anatoly Vasilyevich Lyapidevsky. At the same time, naval pilots I. Doronin, S. Levanevsky and V. Molokov were awarded this title.
The country was full of great construction projects. The state took measures to strengthen the country's defense capability. The Navy received new warships, including those capable of carrying seaplanes. But this was far from enough.
The situation changed dramatically for the better with the formation of the People's Commissariat of the Navy, when naval aviation became part of it organizationally. By this time, the views on naval aviation as one of the main branches of the fleet forces were finally established. The first to be appointed to the position of Chief of Aviation of the USSR Navy was Corporal Semyon Fedorovich Zhavoronkov, who received the profession of a military pilot at a relatively mature age (34 years old) and successfully commanded Navy aviation until 1947. In 1944, he was promoted to air marshal.
The Aviation Flight Test Institute played a positive role in the further development of naval aviation. Its specialists developed tactical and technical requirements for equipment and weapons of naval aviation, tested prototypes and modernized models of aviation equipment, and also provided retraining for management flight personnel.
Fleets began to receive heavy aircraft of the same type as those in service with the Red Army Air Force on a large scale, such as TB-1, TB-3 and DB-3, specially converted for the use of mine-torpedo weapons - a traditional naval weapon for destroying the underwater part of ships and vessels at sea. .
Soon, mine-torpedo aviation emerged from bomber aviation and was organized into an independent branch of naval aviation.
With the transfer of aviation educational institutions to the fleet, the system of training naval aviation personnel became more advanced and focused. The School of Naval Pilots and Flying Officers in Yeysk and the School of Naval Pilots of the Polar Aviation Directorate of the Main Northern Sea Route in Nikolaev were transformed into Naval Aviation Schools, and the Military School of Aviation Technicians in Perm into the Naval Aviation Technical School. Over the first three years, the number of cadets in these educational institutions increased several times.
To train naval aviation command personnel, a command and aviation department was established at the Naval Academy, and year-long advanced training courses for fleet aviation management personnel were opened.
Aviation design bureaus and enterprises focused on the production of equipment and weapons for naval aviation also began to work purposefully. All this could not help but contribute to the fact that by the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, naval aviation had grown significantly in quantitative and qualitative terms; this subsequently affected the effectiveness of its use in combat operations.
At the same time, the uncertainty of the organizational structure affected the nature of the views on its operational and tactical application. For a long time it was believed that air combat at sea would be carried out primarily by operational formations (air corps) of the Red Army Air Force. In accordance with this, the interaction of fleets and air corps was worked out in operational training, and naval aviation was entrusted with providing the fleet with aerial reconnaissance and air defense for the basing of the fleet and ships at sea.
In practice this did not happen. Neither front-line aviation nor long-range aviation, formed in 1942, took a significant part in any fleet operation, and naval aviation became one of the main striking forces of the fleet.
From the first days of the war, due to the current situation on the coastal fronts, naval aviation was used to strike the battle formations of the advancing enemy. And this task became the main one for a long time, although naval aviation was not prepared for its solution in the pre-war years.
Apparently, this history lesson should be fully taken into account in the combat training of naval aviation in our peacetime.
The book convincingly shows that the combat operations of naval aviation against enemy ships and vessels at sea were especially effective, which is fully consistent with its main combat purpose.
The sections of the book devoted to the combat operations of naval aviation during the Great Patriotic War are filled with facts about the exploits of naval aviators. The first among naval pilots in this war to achieve success was the fighter squadron of the Black Sea Fleet Air Force, attached to the Danube Flotilla, under the command of Captain A.I. Korobitsyn.
In the Baltic, the account of downed enemy aircraft was opened by the deputy squadron commander, Captain A.K. Antonenko, and in the Northern Fleet, by the air squadron commander, Senior Lieutenant B.F. Safonov.
The Baltic pilots under the command of Colonel E.N. Preobrazhensky, who carried out the first strike on Berlin on the night of August 7-8, 1941, gained worldwide fame.
During the Great Patriotic War, naval aviation carried out more than 350 thousand combat sorties and destroyed more than 5.5 thousand enemy aircraft in the air and at airfields. As a result of the actions of naval aviation, Nazi Germany and its satellites lost 407 warships and 371 transports with troops and cargo, which constitutes two-thirds of the total enemy losses from the impact of naval forces.
The Motherland highly appreciated the combat activities of naval aviation. 57 state awards adorned the banners of regiments and divisions, 260 naval aviators were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and five of them - B.F. Safonov, A.E. Mazurenko, V.I. Rakov, N.G. Stepanyan and N.V. Chelnokov - twice.
Among the naval pilots there are heroes who repeated the feat of Alexei Maresyev. In the Baltic it is L. G. Belousov, in the Black Sea - I. S. Lyubimov, in the Northern Fleet - 3. A. Sorokin.
The combat experience gained during the war formed the basis for developing plans and directions for the further development of naval aviation, improving the principles and methods of its use in war at sea. This work also talks about this. The post-war development of naval aviation was characterized by the specialization of the aircraft and weapons systems being created, and the transition to jet technology with greater capabilities in terms of speed and impact range. Airplanes and helicopters were equipped with effective search and destruction equipment and electronic equipment; Most flight control processes and weapons use are automated.
It should be borne in mind that this work was led by the most experienced aviation military leaders, who personally experienced the bitterness of failures and the joy of victories during the war years, and who deeply knew the needs and capabilities of the fleets. Among them were the famous aviation military leaders E. N. Preobrazhensky, I. I. Borzov, M. I. Samokhin, N. A. Naumov, A. A. Mironenko, G. A. Kuznetsov, S. A. Gulyaev, V. I. Voronov and others. Their ideas, plans and undertakings in the development of naval aviation found understanding and full support among the top leadership of the navy, headed by N. G. Kuznetsov and then S. G. Gorshkov.
In the fleets, the problems of countering the forces of a potential enemy operating secretly from under water came to the fore. Therefore, already in the 50s, the Be-6 long-range seaplane designed by G. M. Beriev was created and delivered to the unit. To combat submarines, the aircraft had radio sonar buoys and magnetometers as means of searching for an underwater enemy, and depth charges and torpedoes for destruction. The basic Mi-4 helicopters and the first-born of naval helicopter aviation, the Ka-15 naval helicopter designed by N. I. Kamov, were equipped with anti-submarine weapons.
During their flight operation, extensive research was carried out and the foundations were laid for the tactics and combat use of anti-submarine aircraft, which soon switched to more advanced anti-submarine systems such as Be-12, Ka-25, Ka-27, Mi-14, Il-38 and Tu-142 of various types. modifications.
The development of missile systems with aircraft cruise missiles has significantly increased the combat capabilities of strike aircraft of fleets in the fight against naval groups of a potential enemy at sea.
In the early 60s, anti-submarine and naval missile-carrying aviation took shape organizationally into independent branches of naval aviation. At the same time, the transformation of reconnaissance aviation of the fleets was also taking place.
The high seas fleets - the Northern and Pacific - received long-range reconnaissance aircraft Tu-95rts with an automated target designation system for missile weapons of the fleet's strike forces, including missile submarines that carried out combat service at sea. This also allowed naval aviation to reach remote areas of the World Ocean to monitor the naval forces of a potential enemy and provide timely warning of the threat of their impact on our forces and facilities.
In the Baltic and Black Sea, reconnaissance began to be carried out by supersonic reconnaissance aircraft Tu-22r.
The combat capabilities of the USSR naval aviation expanded significantly due to the inclusion of the anti-submarine cruisers "Moscow" and "Leningrad" into the navy. It was from this time that naval aviation was officially established as a new branch of aviation in the navy.
The anti-submarine cruiser "Moscow" with Ka-25 helicopters on board made its first trip to combat service in the Mediterranean Sea from September 19 to November 5, 1968. In subsequent years, the anti-submarine cruisers "Moscow" and "Leningrad" repeatedly carried out combat service in various areas of the World Ocean.
According to the conclusion of the then Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union S.G. Gorshkov, helicopters became an integral part of modern surface ships for various purposes, they gave them a completely new combat quality. A fundamentally new direction in the development of naval aviation was opened by the creation of vertical take-off and landing aircraft and the construction of aircraft-carrying cruisers of the Kyiv type.
The first aviation regiment of Yak-38 naval attack aircraft was formed in the Black Sea Fleet. Its first commander was F. G. Matkovsky. He was the first to lead an aviation group and trained pilots to fly from a ship on a long voyage of the aircraft-carrying cruiser "Kyiv".
In the Northern Fleet, V.N. Ratnenko became the first commander of the air regiment of naval attack aircraft. V. M. Svitochev was the first to command a regiment of naval attack aircraft in the Pacific Fleet.
The aircraft-carrying cruisers "Kyiv", "Minsk" and "Novorossiysk" repeatedly carried out combat service in various areas of the World Ocean, and the ship's aviators - pilots, engineers and technicians - showed courage, skill and high moral and psychological qualities.
Particular attention in the book is paid to the naval fighter aviation of the fleet. Such aviation was created on the basis of fourth-generation fighters such as the Su-27 and MiG-29, recognized today as the best modern fighters in the world. The first aircraft carrier ship created in our country is capable of supporting the deployment and combat operations of ski-jump takeoff and arresting landing fighters.
The birth and development of naval fighter aviation is largely due to one of the leading test pilots, Viktor Georgievich Pugachev. One of the first enthusiasts in the development of a new type of naval aviation was Timur Avtandilovich Apakidze. His courage and professional skill is evidenced by the fact that back in 1991 he was awarded an Honorary Diploma and an International Aviation Safety Foundation Award for decisive and competent actions in an in-flight emergency. While rescuing the experimental aircraft, T. A. Apakidze left the uncontrollable falling vehicle at the last second. Soon after the accident, he took a new risk and was the first of the pilots of combat aviation units in our country to land on the deck of the cruiser “Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov” on the first Russian naval fighter Su-27k without transportation on a twin. It was September 29, 1991 in the Black Sea Fleet.
During the flight design tests of the Su-27k aircraft, the first leading group of pilots of the Northern Fleet Air Force was successfully prepared for flights and combat operations from the deck of the ship. Thus, in 1994, a new elite of military pilots was born in Russian naval aviation - the elite of deck pilots.
In Great Britain, Moscow did not inform the world “day after day” about this event - the flight of Russian anti-submarine aircraft through the North Pole to North America. And the United States pretended that nothing supernatural had happened. Meanwhile, an event occurred that was, one might say, historical. The day before, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said at a meeting of the military department that “for the first time since Soviet times, anti-submarine aircraft have flown across the North Pole to the North American continent.”
This route is considered the most “painful” for the Americans, since it is both the shortest for our aviation and the most “unexpected” for Washington - the US air defense has long forgotten that after the fall of the USSR, Russian planes could appear from this direction. But times are changing: in 2018, naval aviation of the Northern Fleet is expanding the geography of flights in the Arctic, including using the Temp polar airfield on the New Siberian Islands. The flight to the shores (or rather, to international US waters) during the March exercises took place last week: two Russian anti-submarine aircraft flew over the North Pole, accompanied by fighter jets and a tanker aircraft. Moreover, the Russian military previously stated that flights in the Arctic regions are taking place as planned and in strict accordance with international rules for the use of airspace.
Experts point out that flights over the Arctic Ocean have their own characteristics: the proximity of the Earth’s magnetic pole and, as a consequence, a large magnetic declination, and the presence of magnetic anomalies and magnetic storms, during which the propagation of radio waves becomes unstable, which worsens radio communications and limits the use of on-board radio equipment. In addition, unstable meteorological conditions and monotonous terrain with a small number of visual and radio technical references significantly complicate flights in high Arctic latitudes. It was under these conditions that our pilots learned to operate.
At the same time, exercises of units of the Arctic brigade were also taking place. They practiced landing from landing ships on an unequipped coast and conducting raids on the islands of the Arctic archipelagos.
At the moment, a gigantic infrastructure is being created in the north that meets Arctic conditions. Bases and airfields are being built, and new types of equipment are being developed for use in subzero temperatures. The Russian army is increasingly protecting our “piece” of the Arctic. All this is being done for a reason: several states are showing “increased” interest in the Arctic zone, including Canada and the USA (and even Australia!).
The Russian armed forces have a specific task to ensure security in this region, and it is for this purpose that a large number of exercises are held there.
UAC continues to fulfill the contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense for the modernization of Il-38 anti-submarine aircraft. They are in service with the naval aviation of our country's Navy. In the course of the work, the IL company is extending the service life of the vehicles remaining in service by re-equipping them with more modern on-board systems. These "silts" are used for both defense and rescue purposes. Meanwhile, the Russian Navy plans to order a new generation of anti-submarine patrol aircraft. Work on its creation for naval aviation of the Russian Navy at the UAC is nearing completion.
On November 15, 2017, the Argentine Navy submarine San Juan stopped communicating. Argentine Navy spokesman Enrique Balbi said there was information about a single explosion that could be linked to the disappearance of the San Juan. According to him, the cause of the accident on the submarine could have been damage to the batteries. There were 44 people on board the submarine, including the first female submariner in Argentina's history, Eliana Maria Krawczyk. The search for the submarine dragged on. Several countries sent their technical equipment to help find the missing San Juan. The Russian Ministry of Defense also sent equipment requested by Argentina - the Panther Plus underwater vehicle, as well as deep-sea divers.
However, the search for a submarine could be significantly accelerated with the help of naval aviation of the Russian Navy. Former commander of the Baltic Fleet of the Russian Navy (2001–2006), Admiral Vladimir Valuev, said that “it would be advisable to send Il-38 anti-submarine aircraft with magnetic detectors to the operation area.”
The search and rescue forces of the Russian fleet regularly conduct exercises to rescue the crew of a submarine that is supposedly in distress. For example, such training was carried out in July 2017 at the Pacific Fleet in Peter the Great Bay. According to the press service of the Eastern Military District, during the exercise, an Il-38 aircraft was used to search for an “emergency” submarine that had sunk to the ground at a depth of about 50 meters. The submarine was successfully found and its crew was “saved.”
In October 2017, during the regular exercises of crews from the naval aviation of the Pacific Fleet at the Nikolaevka airfield, located 37 km northeast of Nakhodka, anti-submarine Il-38 of the Pacific Fleet took off. The purpose of the flight is a submarine in coastal waters. Data about the submarine was received from a satellite, but the aircraft received the exact coordinates using a sonar system. After discovering the submarine, the “silts” attacked the target with depth charges and torpedoes. The target was destroyed. Of course, the strike was not aimed at a specific submarine, but at a “submarine of a conditional enemy.”
IL-38 has already celebrated its 55th anniversary since its first flight. However, the head of naval aviation of the Russian Navy, Hero of Russia, Major General Igor Kozhin, told the Zvezda TV channel that the Il-38 of its original appearance “has so far adequately carried out the tasks of searching and detecting underwater targets, ensuring the protection of the sea borders of the state, our interests in the underwater environment." In his opinion, “the aerodynamics of the aircraft are so polished that it is hardly possible to come up with something fundamentally new.”
Currently, the Ilyushin company is working to modernize these machines. “The newest Novella complex, installed on modernized Il-38 naval aviation aircraft, will increase the efficiency of searching and detecting submarines fourfold,” said Admiral Vladimir Korolev, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, in February 2017. He noted that naval aviation is developing synchronously with other components of the fleet.
Impressionable Americans nicknamed the Il-38N “Killer submarines” - “Submarine Killer”, and they were not far from the truth. However, its potential is much broader. Talking about the new capabilities of the aircraft, Admiral Vladimir Korolev said: “As a result of modernization, the anti-submarine aircraft received the Novella radio-electronic complex, which makes it possible to increase the efficiency of searching and detecting submarines. And plus it has the capabilities of conducting reconnaissance and issuing target designation. The same aircraft, with the help of a new search and targeting system, can confidently find submarines and destroy them, and using an expanded range of weapons compared to the basic Il-38.”
A little earlier, in January 2017, Igor Kozhin said: “The Russian Navy aviation will receive about 30 modernized Il-38N aircraft. Delivery of all modernized aircraft should be completed no later than 2025.”
“We say today that aircraft that are morally obsolete become completely modern in the process of modernization. They allow us to solve the tasks that the President of Russia set for us, namely to reach the 70 percent mark of new naval aircraft,” said Igor Kozhin. - Despite the rather serious age of the Il-38, a new modernization has been made to it, which will raise the aircraft’s capabilities to a qualitatively new level. Our “partners” will be very surprised by the capabilities that the modernized complexes will demonstrate in the near future.”
These capabilities were obviously appreciated by our current partners: in the 1970s, India acquired six Il-38s.
February 13, 2017. Arabian Sea. Exercises of the Indian Navy TROPEX 2017. The Indian Navy's Il-38SD maritime patrol aircraft launched a Russian air-to-ship anti-ship missile Kh-35E with radar control at the target ship. The SD designation comes from the Sea Dragon complex, which is an export version of the Russian Novella complex. Like the Il-38 aircraft of the Russian Navy, the Il-38SD is armed with torpedoes and bombs, but at the request of the Indian Navy, the arsenal of weapons was expanded by adding Kh-35E missiles.
According to the manufacturer of the X-35E, the Tactical Missile Arms Corporation, this is an anti-ship missile designed to destroy missile, torpedo, artillery boats, surface ships with a displacement of up to 5 thousand tons and sea transport. Kh‑35E can be used in simple and adverse weather conditions, day and night, in conditions of enemy fire and electronic countermeasures. The low level of visibility of the missile is ensured by its small dimensions, extreme low-altitude flight path, as well as a special guidance algorithm that ensures maximum secrecy of the missile's use of an active radar homing head.
Target designation can come both from the carrier’s on-board equipment and from external sources, which, apparently, was the Il-38SD in the Arabian Sea. It is worth adding that the Kh‑35E has high tactical and technical characteristics: a launch range of up to 130 km, a flight altitude in the main phase of 10–15 m, and in the final phase only 4 m at a flight speed of about 980 km/h.
According to the representative of the Indian Navy press service, Captain D. K. Sharma, during the TROPEX 2017 exercise, the X-35E’s ability to destroy targets at long range was successfully demonstrated. These were the first such firings since the Il‑38SD, which underwent modernization and mid-term repairs.
“The aircraft has demonstrated its ability to fire powerful anti-submarine missiles,” the Indian navy said in a statement. “This development confirms the ability of the Indian Navy to provide defense to the far sea borders of the Indian subcontinent.” According to Captain Sharma, the Il-38SD belonged to the 315 Naval Squadron based in Goa, which has five such aircraft. The Indian press noted that the delivery of the modernized Il-38SD began in 2006, the last aircraft was delivered in February 2010. In addition, it was reported that the Indian Navy is planning to carry out repairs to extend the service life of these vehicles for another 15 years.
In February 2017, during the Aero India 2017 aerospace exhibition in the suburbs of Bangalore (Karnataka), the Indian Navy confirmed that it intends to extend the service life of all five existing Il-38SD.
“We liked the attitude of Indian military leaders, their interest in the topic of anti-submarine aviation,” Nikolai Talikov, general designer of the Ilyushin aviation complex, told the Russian TV channel Zvezda. “They asked their Russian interlocutors whether it was possible to create a more modern aircraft with increased anti-submarine warfare capabilities.”
It was also reported there that to replace the Il-38, the twin-engine turboprop Il-114-300 is being considered as a platform for the development of a new generation of anti-submarine aircraft. According to reports at Aero India 2017, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) announced its intention to produce both civilian and military versions of the Il-114 as part of its “Make in India” program. The parties discussed how HAL and other Indian companies could supply components and parts to complete the construction of new Il-114s in Russia.
“The naval aviation of the Navy is entering its second century, actively updating its composition and combat training. Naval pilots today are capable of performing the most complex tasks in all latitudes of the world’s oceans,” Igor Kozhin said in July 2017. In the meantime, a new aircraft is already being developed, which in the future will have to replace the Il-38, which is currently undergoing deep modernization. “Work on the creation of a new generation of anti-submarine patrol aircraft for the naval aviation of the Russian Navy is nearing completion,” added the head of naval aviation of the Russian fleet.
Earlier, Igor Kozhin reported that we are talking about the creation and commissioning of a new unified platform. This is a modern machine that will be superior to foreign analogues in many respects. The new development will replace all patrol vehicles currently in the naval aviation fleet.
It is assumed that the Il-114 will be a good replacement for the Il-18 family of aircraft, which continue to be used by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The maritime patrol version of the Il-114 can be equipped with the same Novella complex, which will not require much effort in retraining the flight and technical personnel. And its flight performance characteristics, similar and even slightly superior in some respects to the Il-38, will allow the use of new tactical techniques developed by the Il-38N crews to search for and destroy enemy submarines.
Il-114 of the St. Petersburg Scientific and Production Enterprise "Radar" In general, it is worth noting that the Russian military department has high hopes for the Il-114-300 light passenger turboprop aircraft. "Aviation of Russia" has already
