History of the creation of domestic radar systems. TV repair Sapphire Sapphire 21

Today it is difficult to imagine an airliner or combat aircraft without an airborne radar station (ARS). The capabilities of the currently existing stations seem fantastic. But the history of practical radar is relatively short - about 70 years.

During the war years

During World War II, radars appeared in the aviation arsenal of both our allies and our adversaries. Just before the start of the Great Patriotic War, they appeared here too. In the early 1940s, locators of the Gneiss family were created at NII-20 of the People's Commissariat of Electrical Industry.

The Gneiss-2 station had a mass of 122.5 kg. It could detect targets at a range of 3.5-4.5 km, and the maximum altitude for its combat use was from 3500 to 4500 m. An operator was required to work with it, since the pilot could not simultaneously control both the aircraft and the locator. Despite the shortcomings, experts noted that the creation of such equipment is a great achievement of Soviet radio technology, giving the country a new powerful weapon for the air defense system.

However, it was not enough to develop the equipment. It was still necessary to work out the tactics of its combat use. This problem had to be solved in combat conditions in 1942-1943. in the Moscow air defense zone, near Stalingrad and Leningrad on Pe-2 and Pe-3 aircraft. The results turned out to be very encouraging, and in June 1943, Gneiss-2 was put into service, and the hero of the occasion, NII-20, was obliged to begin serial production of these stations.

In addition to “Gneiss-2”, during the war years the PNB station was developed, which modestly stood for “Night Combat Device”. The radar showed a maximum detection range of 3-5 km. In general, its characteristics were similar to Gneiss-2, and in some respects it was superior to it.

At the end of the Great Patriotic War, a more advanced Gneiss-5 station appeared. It weighed 30 kg less and detected targets already at a distance of up to 7 km at an altitude of 8000 m. In addition, starting from a target range of 1.5 km, the pilot could independently launch an attack using a backup indicator installed in his cockpit (the operator had the main one) .

Jet era

After the war, the development of jet aviation began. For high-speed fighters of the new generation, fundamentally different radars were required, more reliable, with a greater target detection range. This task was entrusted to NII-17. Here, in the summer of 1947, they began to create the Thorium radar, and at the beginning of 1949, an even more advanced station, called Korshun.

Alas, “Thorium-A” did not live up to the hopes placed on it. The detection range of the Tu-4 at viewing angles other than 0°-10° averaged 5-6 km, and when the interceptor exited strictly in the direction of the target, it increased to 9 km. The sighting part of the locator did not provide the required aiming accuracy and synchronization, and also showed low accuracy in solving the aerial shooting problem.

State tests of the second station - "Korshun" - also did not bring the desired result. Unlike the Torii-A, the Korshun station had a smaller mass - 128 kg versus 205.3 kg, but its characteristics were also far from the required ones: the primary detection range of the Tu-4 at sighting angles from 0° to 5° was about 8.5 km, and the stable detection range is 6 km. The effectiveness of firing with the Korshun station in conditions of lack of visibility and at night was 6-7 times lower than firing with an ASP-ZN optical sight during the day at a visible target.

At the same time, during state tests, the Korshun radar showed better targeting data than that of the Thoriy-A station. Therefore, the state commission, despite a number of shortcomings, considered it advisable to order an experimental batch from industry for military testing.

The Izumrud station, developed at NII-17, was fundamentally different from Thorium-A and Korshun. It included not one, but two antennas - a surveillance and a sighting one. Its weight was 121.2 kg. The detection range of the Tu-4 bomber (tail) at night is 11 km, during the day - 7.7 km, and the Il-28 (tail) at night is 8.4 km, during the day - 5.6 km, while it is within the zone the view was practically independent of the angle.

“Izumrud” passed state tests. The simplicity and clarity of the display and the presence of an electronic attitude indicator line on the overview indicator made it possible for the first time to use radar on a single-seat jet fighter when piloting an aircraft using instruments. The efficiency of shooting with the Emerald was close to the efficiency of shooting with the ASP-ZN sight during the day at a visible target. Undoubtedly, this was a great achievement for the domestic industry.

We can say that “Emerald” opened the way for equipping air defense aviation with a qualitatively new means of combating enemy air - fighter-interceptors capable of operating regardless of visibility conditions, both day and night. In June 1953, the RP-1 Izumrud radar station was put into service.

Since January 1951, NII-17 has been developing a more powerful Sokol locator for two-seat fighter-interceptors. It had a mass of 512.4 kg and was supposed to detect Tu-4 class bombers at a range of up to 30 km. The Falcon differed favorably from the Izumrud in its ability to intercept air targets at low altitudes and a greater detection range. The sighting part of the radar was also more advanced, making it possible to conduct both accompanying and defensive fire at large heading angles. In 1955, the Sokol radar was put into service.

Thus, in the second half of the 1950s, it was possible to achieve reliable protection of the USSR airspace by cannon fighter-interceptors.

Increase application height

But at this time, new weapons systems began to enter the arena - guided missiles (UR), which made it possible to significantly expand the capabilities of fighter aircraft to intercept enemy air in conditions of increasing flight speeds and altitudes. To work with SD, new radar stations were required.

The first attempt under the working code K-5 was a system developed at KB-1 of the Ministry of Armaments. It included the Izumrud-2 radar station, coupled with the ASP-ZN sight, and K-5 missiles. The missiles were aimed at the target using the “three-point” method along an equal-signal line formed by the radar beam.

Testing of the K-5 system took place in 1953-1956. They showed high efficiency of firing missiles at single bombers at altitudes from 5000 to 10000 m at ranges of 2-3 km in the rear hemisphere at an angle of 0/4 at a carrier speed of 850-1000 km/h. Experts recommended it for adoption by the Air Force and Air Defense Fighter Aviation as a combat weapon.

In those years, aviation progressed very quickly, and it soon became obvious that it was necessary to increase the combat altitude to 15,000 m and the targeted firing range to 2.5-3.5 km. In 1956, two MiG-19PM interceptor fighters were built at the Gorky Aviation Plant to test the modernized K-5M. The aircraft were equipped with the Izumrud-2 radar, coupled with the ASP-5N sight, and four launchers for K-5M missiles.

At the end of the 1950s, in KB-1 under the leadership of chief designer A.A. Kolosov developed the TsD-30 radar for promising interceptor fighters. The station was made in the form of a compact monoblock and was intended to be placed in the central body of the air intake. The radar antenna was covered with a radio-transparent cone. The weight of the TsD-30 was 163 kg. The new station was intended to work with the K-51 guided weapon system, the maximum combat altitude of which was 18,000-20,000 m.

The locator turned out to be so successful that it was possible to “fit” it into the new AI aircraft. Mikoyan - E-7, which later became widely known as the MiG-21PF. The radar made it possible to detect Tu-16 bombers at a range of 17-20 km, and Il-28 - 14-17 km and provided semi-automatic target acquisition and automatic tracking. The altitude of combat use was in the range of 4000-20000 m.

The more advanced S-21 weapon system made it possible to expand the combat capabilities of the MiG-21 family of fighter-interceptors. Its basis was the Sapphire-21 radar, created at NII-339 (now the Phazotron-NIIR Corporation). The station had greater weight and dimensions than the RP-21, but was also structurally designed in the form of a container, due to which the aerodynamic qualities of the aircraft were not compromised.

Equipped with the Sapphire-21 radar, the MiG-21S fighter-interceptor successfully passed tests and was put into service in September 1967. The new station was named RP-22S. It had a mass of 220 kg, but showed significantly better parameters in terms of target detection and acquisition range, and better immunity to active and passive interference. Its detection range was 6-9 km, and its capture range was 4-6 km. The altitude of combat use was in the range of 500-25000 m.

Further development

A significant step forward was the creation of the S-23 weapons control system for the third-generation MiG-23 front-line fighter-interceptor with a variable geometry wing. “Sapphire-23” provided detection and tracking of air targets not only on oncoming and intersecting courses and in the rear hemisphere, but also against the background of the ground.

The next step was Sapphire-2ZL. They introduced lettering and a beam mark on the indicator and ensured stable operation in the SDC mode. The minimum altitude for combat use was 500 m.

In 1972, Sapphire-23D appeared, which was better than its predecessor in 11 more parameters. The Sapphire-23D-Sh radar had a mass of 550 kg and provided detection of a Tu-16 bomber at a range of 46 km, and its capture at a range of 35 km. The altitude range for combat use was from 50 m to 22,000 m. In terms of its tactical and technical parameters, the radar reached the level of world systems for similar purposes, and surpassed them in a number of parameters.

Since 1977, MiG-2ZM/1A front-line fighter-interceptors have been produced with the improved Sapphire-2ZMLA station (N003), coupled with the ASP-17ML sight. Also, on the basis of this radar, a variant was developed for the MiG-23P (23-14) air defense interceptor fighter, whose station (I006) was interfaced with the ASP-23DCMP sight and on-board equipment of the Raduga-Bort-MB guidance system.

The latest version of the station was the Sapphire-2ZMLA-2 radar (N008), which was installed on the modified MiG-23MLD.

In conclusion, it is worth noting that the Sapphire-23MLA radar turned out to be so successful that on its basis the more advanced Sapphire-25 radar (N005) was later developed for the MiG-25PD high-altitude fighter-interceptor.

In addition, at the first stage of creating the MiG-29 light front-line fighter, it was also planned to use the Sapphire radar. But for the aircraft, they still considered it more expedient to develop a new locator.

The main stages of the enterprise's activity.

The history of "Phazotron" goes back to the years of the Great Patriotic War. After successfully repelling the first massive raid on Moscow on July 21, 1941 with the help of the Pegmatit radar (chief designer A. Slepushkin, his deputy V. Tikhomirov), the interest of the country's military command in radar increased sharply. It was decided to organize serial production of the Pegmatit radar at Moscow plant No. 339 (then called Phazotron) starting in 1943. At the same time, the plant began to produce the radar transponder SCh-3 (chief designer E. Genishta), and by the end of the war the aircraft radar "Gneiss-5S" (chief designer G. Sonnenstrahl), created on the basis of the first domestic aircraft radar "Gneiss-2" (chief designer V. Tikhomirov). V. Tikhomirov laid the foundations of the national scientific school of aviation radar. Since 1955, chief designer G. Kunyavsky began working at the plant, who created a number of radars (Sokol, Orel, Sapphire-23), and since 1958, chief designer F. Volkov (radar Smerch, " Smerch-A", "Sapphire-21"). All this allowed in 1962, on the basis of the plant and its design bureau, to create the Scientific Research Institute of Equipment Engineering (since 1969 - Scientific Research Institute of Radio Engineering).

In 1963, the institute established a direction to create an air-to-air radio station, headed by the chief designer, laureate of the State and Lenin Prize E. Genishta. The work of the three-time State Prize laureate V. Tikhomirov was continued and developed by his students, who became the chief designers of the radar: F. Volkov, V. Grishin, A. Rastov, Yu. Kirpichev, G. Gribov. The whole direction of work was headed by I. Akopyan. A leading participant in the development of a number of radars (as their deputy chief designer), Yu. Guskov became the chief designer of the SUV-29M radar, in which many solutions used today in new radars were tested. Under the leadership of General Designer A. Kanashchenkov, the development of the first radar based on its own specifications - “Spear” (chief designer Yu. Guskov) began. All general and chief designers listed here were awarded the title of laureate of Lenin and State Prizes and high government awards for the development of new radars.

In the last 20 years, a new phasotron school of development and production of radar systems has actually been established under the leadership of general designer A. Kanashchenkov (Yu. Guskov, V. Frantsev, I. Ryzhak, I. Tsivlin, O. Samarin, V. Babichev, A. Matyushin, V. Ratner, V. Kustov, V. Kurilkin, N. Gorkin, P. Kolodin, S. Loginov, S. Zaikin). A feature of the development of modern radars at Phazotron was the creation of unified basic radars and unified series of their components. Instead of creating radars according to the principle “for each type of aircraft - its own type of radar,” only one or two basic radars are now being developed, which are adapted to each new aircraft (helicopter) (the antenna diameter corresponds to its midsection, the transmitter power corresponds to the available energy resources of the aircraft), the radar has open architecture and uses standard interfaces, which allows for subsequent modernization by replacing individual blocks.

Over time, the place of radar in aircraft equipment has changed: from modest RP - radio sights - (50s - 60s) they turned first into a radar sighting system (RLPC, 60s - 70s), then into a weapons control system (SUV, 70s - 80s) and, finally, into the weapons and defense control system (SUVO, this term was born and put into circulation by Phazotron in the 90s). In addition to the SUV, which ensures an attack on targets by an aircraft, the air defense system also includes means of defense against an attack on it. In fact, the onboard radar system is now the intellectual center of the combat vehicle, organizing the operation of its onboard radio-electronic complex (ERC). Today, the radar remains the only onboard radio-electronic system that makes contact with one or more targets at long ranges, day and night, in all weather conditions. Having received flight and navigation information from other on-board systems, it is capable of solving the most complex intellectual problems of choosing the most dangerous target and the type of weapon necessary to destroy it. The first single-frequency pulse radar "Falcon" was intended to control the fire of small arms and cannon weapons of a fighter aircraft against air targets.

Later, additional control tasks appeared, as well as noise protection (radars "Orel", "Orel-D", "Smerch", "Sapphire-21"). Later, such radars became two-channel in frequency, which significantly increased their noise immunity (“Smerch-A2”). Next, the developers were given the difficult task of hitting targets against the background of the earth. Its solution proceeded in two directions: the development of pulsed coherent radars with moving target selection (MTS) - (“Sapphire-23” and “Sapphire-25”); development of radar with a quasi-continuous signal, digital filtering and information processing using an on-board digital computer; the use of antennas that allow you to operate simultaneously on several targets (SUV-29 radar with a Cassegrain antenna for the MiG-29, SUV-27 radar for the Su-27 and SUV-31 radar with a passive phased array antenna).

Modern Phazotron radars are multifunctional, coherent, pulse-Doppler, multi-mode stations capable of controlling all types of aircraft weapons (or giving them target designation), striking air, as well as ground and sea targets. They also provide information support for low-altitude flights with obstacle avoidance.

based on museum materials.

Self-repair of black and white TV Sapphire 23TB-307. I recently got such a TV - it sat in the garage for 10 years without turning on at all, because it was broken, as the owner of this device said. And I decided to repair it and use it as a personal 3rd TV in the house. , studied and began restoration. First of all, I untwisted the TV and inspected it - the boards were covered in a layer of dust, so I moistened a cloth and cotton wool with solvent and began to clean and scrub everything.

When the dust was removed, I also began to clean the lowercase, from the solder side, since some smart guy had filled it with varnish mixed with glue. Turned it on: there is sound, but the screen does not light up. I started looking for faults more carefully. The first was that the kinescope socket had oxidized. I cleaned it and connected it - the kinescope appeared to glow. By the way, this model has 12 volts. It’s not usual that this TV warms up for about a minute - okay, let’s wait :) Then I began to tinker with the horizontal scan and the blanking cascade, since at the 1st pin of the kinescope foot the voltages indicated on the diagram turned out to be 0.

Soon a non-working KT940B transistor was found and replaced, since I have hundreds of them. You can find it on color boards, for example in Soviet TVs, and in general, such TVs are easier to repair because they are transistor and all the parts are available. You can also check everything with a regular multimeter.

Let's move on. In horizontal scanning, 2 diodes burned out - this is KD522B. APChF. The duty cycle regulator's motor had become loose and oxidized - I also cleaned it. In the vertical scan, the kd522b diode, which supplied a signal to the base of the transistor in the multivbrator, behaved strangely - apparently it was broken, and passed current in both directions. Replaced that too.

Capacitor C40 - 1 uF, lost half of its capacity, replaced it with a new one. Oddly enough, this capacitor was the only one that lost capacity. Although it is known that Soviet electrolytes often dry out. Here they were all alive :)

All trimmers were wiped with solvent and twisted to restore contact. I checked it again and turned it on... the picture on the screen is terrible, I started adjusting it with trimmers and external regulators on the back and front, the task is not easy, since you turn 1 regulator, you need to adjust the second one, and so on a little at a time.

After 20 minutes of work, I set up the unit. The kinescope has lost a little brightness over the years, probably 70% of it is already out, but sometimes it’s just the thing to watch something! Perhaps some will consider restoring the functionality of such old devices unjustified, but for training this is what is needed. It is on such devices that you need to gain experience, because you shouldn’t immediately take on plasma? The repair was carried out by Comrade. redmoon with the support of the website and the help of radio amateurs ear, bvz, Bor.

Discuss the article SAPPHIRE TV REPAIR

This word is understandable without translation anywhere in the world - just like “sputnik” or “Kalashnikov”. These legendary fighters have always lived up to their swift name, having distinguished themselves in all wars of the USSR. The high-altitude high-speed MiG-3, which supported our air defense at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, reliably protected Moscow from German raids. The magnificent MiG-15 cleared the Korean skies of “Flying Fortresses”, burying US hopes of victory in a nuclear war. The famous MiG-21 shot down American Phantoms over Vietnam and Israeli Mirages over the Golan Heights. The whole history of the OKB im. A.I. Mikoyan is a chronicle of records, achievements and victories: the first domestic jet aircraft Mig-9; the world's first serial supersonic MiG-19; revolutionary for its time, the MiG-23 with variable wing geometry; the fast-moving MiG-25, the first among production vehicles to reach a speed of 3000 km/h; the super-maneuverable MiG-29, rightfully considered one of the best fourth-generation fighters, “the dream of any pilot”... Less known is Mikoyan’s contribution to the space victories of the USSR, but it was under his leadership that artificial Earth satellites and the top-secret manned aerospace aircraft “Spiral” were created , unparalleled.

Clearing the classification of secrecy, this book restores the true history of the MiG over three quarters of a century. This is the best creative biography of the great aircraft designer and his legendary design bureau, which has become the pride of the domestic aircraft industry.

As stated in the previous book, in 1963, the MiG-21PF was equipped with the experimental Sapphire-21 radar sight, created at NPO Fazatron and received the designation RP-22S in mass production.

The Sapphire-21 station had significant advantages compared to its predecessor. The monopulse direction finding method, logarithmic reception in combination with the side lobe compensation channel ensured its high protection from active and passive interference. It was possible to significantly reduce the altitude of combat use and simplify the conditions for the pilot to detect and capture targets.

While maintaining the same scanning angles as the TsD-30 (RP-21), the detection range of bomber-type targets increased by one and a half times and reached 30 km. At the same time, the target tracking range increased from 10 to 15 km.

If the pilot of an interceptor aircraft equipped with a TsD-30 station, having launched an RS-2-US missile, was forced to accompany it until it hit the target, then the Sapphire-21 radar only “highlighted” the enemy, providing the R-3R missile with a semi-active radar The seeker itself determines the trajectory of movement. At the same time, the accuracy of shooting at ground targets has increased.

The new radar provided search and detection of air targets in the forward hemisphere in any weather conditions, identification of nationality, target selection, capture and tracking, placing the aircraft on the aiming curve, calculation and indication of zones of possible launches of R-3S and R-3R missiles, dangerous zones approach and formation of the “launch allowed” and “turn away” commands. In addition, the radar, in cooperation with the ASP-PF-21 optical sight, made it possible to conduct targeted shooting at air and ground targets from cannons and unguided aircraft missiles (UAR). By and large, the Sapphire-21 radar has turned into a weapons radio control system.

Front-line fighter MiG-21S with Sapphire radar

The government decree on the creation of a new weapons system was signed in the spring of 1962 and a little more than three years were allotted for this work. At the same time, the Vympel design bureau was instructed to develop the K-13M air-to-air missile with a thermal seeker and an increased firing range.

Structurally, the RP-22S equipment is made in the form of a container that does not extend beyond the contours of the fighter’s airframe.

Factory flight tests of a prototype aircraft, designated MiG-21S, began at the end of 1963. Testing of both the Sapphire and guided missiles dragged on and ended when the fire of the Vietnam War was burning. Perhaps this circumstance was the main reason for launching the interceptor into mass production, without waiting for the end of its state tests.

Unlike the MiG-21PF, in addition to the Sapphire-21 radar, the MiG-21S was equipped with an overhead fuel tank of a larger capacity, and two more weapons suspension units were added under the wing, borrowing them from the MiG-21R. Now the fighter could simultaneously carry two R-3S and R-3R missiles. In addition, the suspension of unguided rockets and bombs in various combinations was allowed, depending on the task. Two additional fuel tanks (not counting the ventral one) could also be suspended from the same units. Like the MiG-21PFM, under the fuselage there was a GP-9 gondola with a GSh-23 double-barreled cannon, intended for close maneuver combat and destruction of ground targets.

Although, compared to its predecessor, the MiG-21S was noticeably heavier, it was still equipped with a . True, they envisaged replacing the turbofan engine with a more powerful two-shaft R13-300 with a one and a half times greater gas-dynamic stability margin. The R13-300 was distinguished not only by increased reliability, but also by ease of maintenance, a wide stepless range of afterburner modes with a smooth change in thrust.

Not only flight and navigation equipment was updated, but also special equipment. For example, instead of a roll autopilot, they installed a full-fledged AP-155, which made it possible not only to maintain the position of the machine relative to three axes, but also to bring it to horizontal flight from any position with subsequent stabilization of altitude and heading. The SPO-10 station warned of enemy radar exposure, and the mirrors in the cockpit improved visibility of the rear hemisphere.

The KM-1 ejection seat ensured the rescue of the pilot in the entire range of speeds and altitudes of combat use, including takeoff and landing. A reinforced front strut and an enlarged sealing base for the shock absorber rod of the main landing gear, protection of a number of components and connections from contamination, as well as external sealing of the fuselage hatches ensured the mass operation of aircraft from poorly prepared unpaved airfields. The introduction of more advanced means of ground support for the aircraft has significantly reduced its preparation for re-flight.

In 1965, the Gorky Aviation Plant produced the first 25 production aircraft. Following the MiG-21S, the MiG-21SM appeared with an R13-300 engine and a built-in GSh-23L cannon (similar to the MiG-21M export aircraft) with a gas compensator to reduce the diving moment when firing.

In addition, multi-lock beam holders for 100 kg bombs and UB-32 blocks with S-5 shells were allowed to be mounted on internal suspensions.

In connection with the installation of the GSh-23L, the configuration of the second fuel tank was changed, and an 800-liter tank was allowed to be suspended under the fuselage, and the distance from it to the ground remained the same. The side-view mirrors were preserved in the cockpit, and on the wingtips there were antenna fairings for the SPO-10 station, which notified and warned about radar exposure of other aircraft.

Flight tests of the MiG-21SM began in 1967, and the next year Plant No. 21 produced the first 30 production vehicles.

The only known case of the MiG-21SM being used in air combat dates back to November 28, 1973. On that day, deputy squadron commander Captain G.N. Eliseev, who flew out on alert, destroyed a Turkish military aircraft. The circumstances were such that the intruder plane was heading towards the border, and there was no time to use weapons. There was only one Russian method of stopping the flight of a foreigner, tested back in the First World War - a ram. On December 14, Captain G.N. Eliseev was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, but the country learned details about this feat almost twenty years later.

In 1975, the wing profile of one MiG-21SM was modified, replacing the rounded leading edge with a sharp one. Research has shown a noticeable improvement in flight characteristics, but it was not possible to introduce this innovation into mass production for a number of reasons.

The black-and-white television receiver "Sapphire-23TB-307/D" has been produced by the Ryazan Television Plant since 1991. "Sapphire 23TB-307/D" is a small-sized portable transistor TV with integrated circuits. The TV with the index "D" was produced with an installed UHF channel selector for the SK-D-24 range. A TV without an index was produced without a selector, but with the possibility of installing one. The TV uses a 23LK13B-2 kinescope with a screen diagonal of 23 cm and a beam deflection angle of 90°. The TV provides reception of television programs on any of the 12 channels in the MB range and on any of the channels from 21 to 60 in the UHF range; Listening to sound on headphones with the speaker off. AGC provides a stable image. The influence of interference is minimal with the help of AFC and F. Image size 140x183 mm. The sensitivity of the image channel in the MB range is 40 μV, UHF - 70 μV. Horizontal resolution 350 lines. The nominal output power of the audio channel is 0.2 W. Reproducible frequency range 400...3550 Hz. Supply voltage at which the TV operates: from the network 198...242 V, from an autonomous source 12.5...15.8 V. Power consumption from the network 30 W, from an autonomous source 20 W. Dimensions of the TV are 250x350x230 mm. Weight 5.5 kg.

Photos by Alexey Lifanov, Moscow.

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