Unveiling Top Secret Military Technologies

 

In the late 70's - early 80-ies of XX century the entire world "democratic" community dreamed under the euphoria of Hollywood's "Star Wars". At the same time behind the Iron Curtain secrecy under the canopy of the Soviet "evil empire" on the sly-polegonku implement the Hollywood dream a reality. Soviet astronauts flew in space, armed with laser guns, "blasters", designed battle stations and space fighters, and on Mother Earth crawled Soviet "laser tanks.

One of the organizations engaged in development of military laser systems, an NGO, "Astro." Director-General "Astrophysics" was Igor V. Ptitsyn, and Chief Designer - Nikolay Ustinov, the son of the almighty himself a member of the Politburo and, in combination, the Minister of Defence - Dmitri Ustinov. With such a powerful patron, "Astro" practically has no problems with resources: financial, material, personnel. This is not to affect - already in 1982, nearly four years after the reorganization of the CDB in the NGOs and the appointment of ND Ustinov's chief designer (before that he led in the direction of the CDB for laser ranging) was
SLK 1K11 "Stiletto".

Laser complex task was to provide anti-opto-electronic surveillance systems and weapon control the battlefield in the harshest climatic and operating conditions imposed on the armor. Co-executor of topics on the chassis acted Design Bureau URALTRANSMASH "from Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg) - the leading developer of almost all (with rare exceptions) Soviet self-propelled artillery.

 Under the leadership of General Designer "URALTRANSMASH Yury Vasilyevich Tomashova (factory director was then Gennady Andreyevich Studenik) laser system was mounted on a well-proven chassis GMZ - items 118, which maintains its" pedigree "from the chassis of the product 123 (ZRK" Terms ") and articles 105 (SU-100P). To "URALTRANSMASH" was produced two somewhat differing machines. Differences were due to the fact that, in order of use of experience and experimentation laser systems were not identical. Fighting characteristics of the complex were at the time outstanding, and they currently meet the requirements of military and tactical operations. For creating complex developers were awarded the Lenin and State prizes.

As mentioned above, the complex "Stiletto" was accepted for service, but for some reason is not produced commercially. Two prototypes have remained in single copies. Nevertheless, their appearance, even in terrible conditions, total Soviet secrecy has not gone unnoticed by American intelligence. In a series of drawings of the latest models of equipment of the Soviet Army, submitted to Congress for "knocking out" the additional funds the U.S. Defense Department and was very recognizable, "Stiletto".

 

Formally, this complex is in service to this day. However, the fate of experimental machines for a long time nothing was known. Upon completion of testing, they were virtually nobody wants. Whirlwind breakup of the USSR scattered them on the former Soviet Union and brought to the state of scrap metal. For example, one of the machines in the late 1990's - early 2000-ies was identified by amateur historians BBT on recycling in the sump a 61-BTRZ near St. Petersburg. Second, a decade later, as connoisseurs of the history of armored vehicles found on the tank repair factory in Kharkov (see http://photofile.ru/users/acselcombat/96472135/) . In both cases, the laser system machines have long since been dismantled. The "St. Petersburg" cars remained only the hull, "Kharkiv" "cart" is in the best condition. Currently, the efforts of enthusiasts, in coordination with the plant's management attempts to preserve it for subsequent "museification. Unfortunately, the "St. Petersburg's" car, apparently to date disposed: "What we have, do not store, and lost cry ...."

Best share fell another, without a doubt a unique device, a joint production of "Astrophysics" and "Uraltrasmasha. How to develop ideas Stiletto was designed and built the new SLK 1K17 "Compression". It was a complex of new generation with automatic search and guidance on glossy object multichannel laser radiation (solid-state laser on aluminum oxide Al2O3) in which a small portion of aluminum atoms substituted by trivalent chromium, or simply - in a ruby crystal. To create a population inversion using optical pumping, ie, lighting, crystal, ruby powerful flash of light. Rubin shaped into a cylindrical rod whose ends carefully polished, silver-plated, and serve as a mirror for the laser. To highlight the ruby rod used pulsed xenon discharge flash lamp, through which the discharged battery of high voltage capacitors. Flash lamp has the shape of a spiral tube, twine around the ruby rod. Under the action of powerful light pulse in a ruby rod creates a population inversion, and thanks to the mirrors, lasing is excited, the duration of which slightly less than the duration of the flash lamp pumping. Especially for the "compression" has been grown artificial crystal weighing about 30 kg - "laser gun" in this sense that flew "a lot of money." New installation required and large amounts of energy. For its power to use the powerful generators, battery-powered auxiliary power unit (APU).

  As a base for potyazhelevshego complex was used by the latest chassis at the time of self-propelled guns 2S19 "MSTA-S" (article 316). To accommodate the large amount of power and electro-optical equipment cabin "Msta was significantly increased in length. Her stern was placed MAT. Front, instead of the trunk was placed optical block, which includes 15 lenses. The system of precise lenses and mirrors in field conditions was covered with protective armor covers. This unit had the opportunity to pointing vertically. In the middle of the cuttings were placed operator workstations. For self-defense on the roof was installed anti-aircraft machine gun unit with 12.7-mm machine gun NSVT.

Body of the car was assembled to "URALTRANSMASH in December 1990. In 1991, the complex has received military index 1K17 went to trial and the next, 1992 was accepted for service. As before, the establishment of "compression" has been highly appreciated by the Government of the country: a group of employees "Astrophysics and coauthors were awarded the State Prize. In the field of lasers, we did ahead of the world, at least 10 years.

However, this "star" of Nikolai Dmitrievich Ustinov sunset. The collapse of the Soviet Union and the fall of the Communist Party overthrew the former authorities. With a collapsed economy underwent a major revision, many defense programs. Did not pass the fate of collective consensus and "Compression" - prohibitive cost of the complex, despite the cutting-edge, breakthrough technologies and a good result prompted officials of the Ministry of Defence to question its effectiveness. Supersekretnaya "laser gun" remained unfulfilled. The only instance of a long time hiding behind high fences, until all of a sudden in 2010 there was no truth in some miraculous way in the exhibition "The Military Technical Museum, which is located in the village of Ivanovo. We must pay tribute and thank the people who managed to get this priceless artifact from a neck perfect secrecy and make it a unique machine accessible to the public - a good example of advanced Soviet science and engineering, our witness to the forgotten victories.

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