Beriev A-60

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Beriev A-60
Beriev A-60 1A2
Type: Testbed for flying laser - energy weapon system
Design country:

Soviet Union 1955Soviet Union Soviet Union / Russia
RussiaRussia 

Manufacturer:

First flight:

19th August 1981

Number of pieces:

2

The Beriev A-60 ( Russian Бериев А-60 ) is a Soviet-Russian airborne laser laboratory aircraft based on the Ilyushin Il-76MD transport aircraft .

In the 1970s, the Soviets built a special aviation complex at the Taganrog machine factory to develop airborne laser technology for the Soviet military.

development

In 1977 OKB -49 Beriev began designing a flight laboratory called "1A". The purpose was to solve the complex scientific and technical problems surrounding the creation of an airborne laser and also to facilitate the study of the distribution of rays in the upper layers of an atmosphere. Work on this topic took place with wide cooperation between the companies and the scientific organizations of the USSR, but the basic partner of the OKB was the ZKB Almas under the direction of Boris W. Bunkin .

construction

The Il-76MD was selected as the base aircraft for the flying laboratory. To accommodate the laser, many changes were made to the aircraft design that significantly changed the appearance of the aircraft.

  • Up front, instead of the radar and navigator windows , a steerable beam director turret was fitted for targeting / targeting of lidar (years later, Boeing used a similar concept in the YAL-1 test platform, although this for the main laser was not for targeting was).
  • A large retractable stern turret was installed for the main laser firing as the engineers did not consider it possible to fit the main laser aiming optics into the nose contour.
  • Two large nacelles were installed along the lower edge of the fuselage: one with turbo generators that powered the laser, and one on the “chin” with the APU of the targeting lidar.
  • The rear cargo doors were removed and the ramp retained as it was a structural element.
  • The rear gunner's position has been removed.

The problem of incorporating the laser system was thus solved and the aerodynamics of the base aircraft were not impaired. The laser system had 1 MW of power, created by one of the branches of the Kurchatov Institute for Atomic Energy . This CO 2 laser was developed for installation on the IL-76.

The flight laboratory "1A" first flew on August 19, 1981 under E. A. Lachmostow.

On August 29, 1991 the second flying laboratory, which was named '1А2' (СССР-86879), flew. A new variant of a laser system was installed as a result of tests on '1А'.

Apparently, the project was reactivated more than 15 years ago (May 2009), according to eyewitness reports about an A-60 in the Rostov-on-Don and Taganrog regions . It is now parked at Taganrog Airport. 47 ° 11'53.92 "N 38 ° 51'46.05" E.

Russia is developing a military airborne laser system mounted in an A-60 called the 1LK222 Sokol-Eschelon. The second A-60 laboratory can be seen under this reference.

In February 2018 it was announced that Russia was considering a new version of the A-60.

Users

See also

Web links

Commons : Beriev A-60  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Picture of A-60 flying
  2. http://www.royfc.com/acft_news_old_aug3.html#20aug
  3. http://www.en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20100922/160685196.html
  4. La Russie relance son projet de laser embarqué!