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When in November 2011 the Kamov
Ka-52 co-axial attack helicopterpassed its final state acceptance
trials and was commissioned by the
Russian Air Force (RuAF) for squadron
service, this eagerly-awaited event
has also marked the introduction of
the first-ever Russian-made helicopter
integrated defensive aids suite (DAS).
Known under the name Vitebsk-52,
the sophisticated system has been
integrated by Samara-based FGUP NII
Ekran company.
ALEXANDER MLADENOV LOOKS AT
THE PROGRESS IN THE DEVELOPMENT
AND FIELDING OF SELF-DEFENCE
EQUIPMENT IN RUSSIA AND UKRAINE
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VITEBSK
In its generic form, the Vitebsk system is
purposely designed for self-protection of attack,
assault transport and VIP helicopters as well as
fixed-wing attack aircraft, facing a wide variety
of battlefield infrared-guided (heat-seeking)
missile treats plus radar and laser-guided anti-
aircraft weapons. In its full-scale form, the Vitebsk
integrates the L150 Pastel radar warning receiver(RWR), the L140 Otklik laser warning receiver
(LWR), L370-2-01 ultraviolet (UV) missile approach
warning system, L370-5 directional infrared
(IR) jammer and six UV-26 32-round chaff-flare
dispenser units. The Ka-52’s Vitebsk-52 suite,
however, lacks the RWR, but still has the provision
for its installation at a later stage.
In addition to the Ka-52, in 2012 and 2013
the Russian MoD received three Mi-8AMTSh-
1s outfitted for VIP transport in high-threat
environments. These helicopters were ordered by
the previous defense minister, Anatoly Serdyukov,
and feature luxury cabins, EO sensors for better
aircrew situational awareness during night flying,
extensive armor protection for the cockpit and
passenger cabin, a sophisticated communications
suite and a derivative of the Vitebsk self-protection
suite using with three jammer heads. One of
these is installed on the tail and two and the tips
of outrigger pylons, plus the associated missile
approach warning sensors.
DIRECTIONAL IR JAMMINGTECHNOLOGY
This state-of-the art DAS, at least by Russian
standards, features new jamming technology
that was little-known in Russia until 2010. In
contrast, most of the remaining components used
in the Vitebsk date back to the early/mid 1990s.
The brand-new technology to be employed for
countering both surface-to-air (SAM) and air-to-
air (AA) missiles is used in the L370-5 directional
IR jammer system, kept in the classified world
until June 2010. It is used in conjunction with newgeneration UV missile approach warning sensors.
An export version of the jammer known as the
L370E8 was unveiled for the first time during the
Eurosatory exhibition in 2010 by Rosoboronexport,
Russia’s defense export agency. The L370E-8 IR
jammer version was promoted at the exhibition as
one of the main components of the President-S
integrated DAS (a simplified derivative of Vitebsk),
proposed for a wide variety of attack and transport
helicopters.
The L370 family of directional jammers was
developed by Zelenograd-based Zenith Special
Design Bureau. The system was seen in prototype
form for the first time installed onboard a Ka-50
helicopter in August 2004 and its testing and
evaluation effort was eventually completed in
2009. The concluding phase of the effort included
a number of firings of live Igla (SA-16) shoulder-
launched, heat-seeking SAMs against targets
emulating the thermal signature of a medium-sized
helicopter, protected by the L370E-8. The final live
firing test of the system was performed against
a real Mi-8 helicopter outfitted with the L370E8,
tethered on a hill at a shooting range, with its
engines working at maximum power setting androtors turning. The Igla SAM was launched from a
distance of 3,300ft (1,000m), and from sidewards/
rearwards aspect which is advantageous for the
SAM employment (i.e. providing the best guidance
conditions). The video footage released of this
particular test clearly showed that the missile’s
guidance was considerably affected by the
combined use of the IR jammer and a salvo of
26mm PPI-26 IR flares. As a result, the Igla missile
missed the target by some distance.
The new directional IR jammers of the L370
family are based on a sapphire lamp mated to
an optical system for firing a narrow beam of IR
energy at incoming heat-seeking missiles. The IR
beam is modulated by using a pattern of smart
algorithms, also developed in-house by Zenith.
The system is advertised as having a digital control
unit that is reprogrammable in the field in order to
be able to face a wider spectrum of threats.
The L370-5 version of the directional IR jammer
used on the Ka-52 has two jamming modules
(heads), installed in turrets located side by-side
beneath the fuselage. The L370E-8, designedfor the Mi-8 family of VIP and assault transport
helicopters, tested in 2009 and 2010, uses three
modules – two ball turrets on the fuselage sides
(installed on the tips of the outrigger pylons) and
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another one housed under the tail boom.There is also version of the active IR jammer
developed for the Mi-26 designated as the L370E-
126L, which was installed and tested on the
ground for the first time in 2009. In addition to
these three existing rotorcraft versions, two more
Vitebsk derivatives are currently in development
for the Mi-28NM and Mi-35M attack helicopters
but there no details have been released yet.
The L370 family of directional IR jammers
works in close cooperation with the new-
generation L370-2-01 UV missile approach
warning sensors developed by Moscow-based
Reagent Scientific-Technical Centre – four units for
providing a 360° coverage in azimuth.
The IR jammer is also complemented
by PPI-series of IR flares, fired from UV-26
countermeasures dispenser units. Management of
the system’s operation is provided by a dedicated
control unit in the cockpit, controlling and firing
mode – singe shots, series of single shots at pre-
set intervals or series of salvoes.
PASTEL RWRProtection against radio-frequency (RF)
threats is provided by the L150 Pastel’ RWR,
developed by TzKBA design bureau in Omsk.
This early 1990s-vinatege digital system can
provide scan across the 1.2-18GHz wavelengthrange (covering the D, E, F, G, H, I and J bands),
with an angular coverage of 3600x600 (azimuth
x elevation), and has an accuracy of between
3-40 degrees with ‘pinpoint location’ antenna,
and some 10 degrees when ‘rough location’
antenna is used. The claimed detection range is
120% of the treat radar’s range and it was made
capable of detecting pulse, pulse-Doppler and
continuous-wave (CW) mode radars in search,
track and target illumination modes. The L150 can
classify multiple targets by their priority (in order
of greatest danger to the host platform). It features
a pre-programmable library with up to 128 treats.
The RWR can also control the optional RF jammer
onboard the helicopter and is also thought to
be capable of providing automatic operation of
the DAS, triggering the UV-26 countermeasures
dispensers upon detection of radar-guided
missiles fired against the host platform.
The L140 Otklik LWR covers a 3600x900 sector
by the use of four receiver units and operates
within 0.4-11 micron wavebands, with a claimed
accuracy of within 100.The other new attack helicopter type in RuAF
service, the Mi-28N, still has no integrated DAS
(it uses only UV-26 chaff/flare dispensers, while
the export-standard aircraft are also equipped
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with UV missile approach warning sensors) and
development of such suite was reported to had
been initiated as late as in 2009 ort 2010. It is
expected in its production version the Mi-28N’s
Vitebsk DAS to be approximately similar in
capabilities and content to that already integrated
onto the Ka-52.
The third new attack helicopter type of the
Russian Air Force is the Mi-35M fielded in 2011
while its export derivative has already been
sold to Venezuela, Brazil, Iraq, Azerbaijan and
Nigeria. The Mi-35M, however, still retains a
legacy DAS inherited from its predecessor
Mi-24P/V, composed by a several ‘federated’
systems: the 1970s-vintage SPO-15 RWR, UV-26
countermeasures dispensers, EVU exhaust-mixer
boxes over the exhaust ducts (used to reduce
the acquisition range of heat-seeking missiles)
and the stand-alone L166V11E Lipa (also known
as SOEP-V1A) omni-directional ‘disco-light’ IR jammer. This systems is considered useful against
older-generation shoulder-launched SAMs but ill-
suited to counter newer-generation heat-seeking
SAMs endowed with comprehensive counter-
countermeasures capability such as the various
Stinger and Igla derivatives.
UKRAINIAN AFFORDABLE WAY
A small R&D company in Kiev, Ukraine,
NPF Adron, offers a range of innovative and
notably affordable solutions for helicopter
protection against IR-guided missiles, both
surface- and air-launched. Its best-known
product is the KT-01AVE Adros omnidirectional
‘disco light’ IR jammer, designed as a direct
replacement of the 1980s-vintage L166V11E Lipa,
widely used on the Mi-8/17 and Mi-24/35 family of
helicopters. The system is housed in a ‘flower pot’
container above the forward end of the tailboom.
According to information revealed by Nikolay
Arhipov, Adron’s director general, by mid-2010 the
company sold some 100 systems in five years, and
until 2015 no less than 100 more were delivered to
international Mi-8/17 and Mi-24/35 operators.“Adron was established by former officers
from the Soviet Air Force who used to work in
the Kiev-based Aviation-Engineering Higher
School. There is a good IR technology base and
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experience in Ukraine dating from Soviet times
and after dissolution of the Soviet Union we have
decided to joint our efforts into a small R&D
enterprise to do what we had knew the best.
As a company, we are closely cooperating with
TzKB Arsenal, an established R&D company in
Ukraine with a rich experience in the development
of IR seekers for shoulder-launched SAMs. This
cooperation helps us to test our countermeasures
products and prove appropriate deception
methods”, explained Alexander Alyoshin,
Adron’s deputy director general.
According to him, the KT-01AVE is an omni-
directional stand-alone jammer, identical by shapeand weight to the well-known L166V11E Lipa, but
boasting a brand-new smart modulation of the IR
energy. This modulation is intended to disrupt the
capability of the missile to calculate the true rate
of line of sight and as a consequence to generate
false commands to point itself at the target.
The signal emitted by the jammer, as Aloyshin
explains, is modulated in a three-dimensional way
(in contrast to the L166V11E which uses a single-
dimension modulation) and can fool all known
IR seekers used in both old and new-generation
shoulder-launched SAMs. The three-dimensional
signal modulation includes amplitude-phase,
frequency-phase and time-pulse modulation,
so the signal constantly changes three of its
parameters - frequency, phase and amplitude
- in order to cause significant errors within the
missile’s guidance process, resulting in a miss.In an effort to enhance the jamming effect,
the KT-01AVE should operate in conjunction to
the original EVU exhaust suppressor or specially
developed, also by Adron, IR emission suppressor
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device (exhaust-mixer), installed on the exhaust
ducts of the TV3-117-series engines powering both
the Mi-8/17 and Mi-24/35.
Aloyshin says that the KT-01AVE has
undergone a rigorous test and evaluation
programme, where it performed as expected, even
in the worst-case scenario where the helicopter
is in hover and there is no forward movement
to incur an additional difficulty for the missile’s
guidance system.
The new IR jammer was introduced in
operational service in 2005 and in addition
to Ukrainian Army helicopters it was sold for
installation on Mi-8/17s and Mi-24/35s belongingto the militaries of Georgia, Azerbaijan, Poland
and the Czech Republic, as well as to some
undisclosed head-of-state helicopters. In addition,
KT-01AVE is used in the PZL-Swidnik W-3PL
Głuszec attack and assault transport program.
A small number of jammers sold out to US
customers for installation on Mi-8/17s operated on
behalf of US government agencies in ‘hot spots’
around the world but Aloyshin declined to provide
further details.
Polish Army Aviation Mi-17-1Vs and Mi-24Vs,
plus Czech Air Force Mi-171Shs fitted with the
Adros KT-01AVE, have been involved in combat
operations in Afghanistan between 2008 and 2013.
COMPLETE SELFDEFENCE SUITE
‘We are offering a complete helicopter self-
defence suite including the KT-01AVE as its coreelement, combined with newly-developed flare
dispensers and IR suppressor’, Aloyshin noted.
He added that Adron has also developed an
improved flare dispensing system integrating
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two different types of dispenses – a large-calibre
one firing 50mm flares and a small-calibre one
firing 26mm flares. The use of a pre-programmed
sequence of large- and small-calibre flares is seen
as another simple yet effective way of fooling IR
seeking systems using flare rejection capability.
Alyoshin shared that as a rule, flares have a much
higher temperature than engine exhaust gases and
can be easily eliminated as valid targets by the
seeker’s flare rejection algorithms (which sense
the significant difference between the thermal
signature of the target and the flare).
In order to fool such algorithms, the newcountermeasures dispenser system developed
by Adron first fires a large flare, which will be
immediately rejected by the missile’s seeker,
followed by a small-calibre flare with a much
smaller IR signature. This smaller and therefore
‘cooler’ flare could be accepted by the missile’s
seeker as a valid target because of the significant
difference in the strength of the signals emitted
by the two flares, which are set to fully replicate
the difference between the signals emitted by the
small flare and the target itself.
Adron claims that this deception method is also
effective against two-colour seekers, working in
both IR and UV spectrums, and featuring primary
and secondary signal processing circuits working
in separate frequency bands. Deception of such
seekers is becoming possible thanks to the useof large-calibre flares with an increased emissivity
in the UV spectrum. The dual-calibre dispenser
system was tested by Adron for the first time on
a proving range in May 2010, and all the test and
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evaluation activities to be completed until the
end of the year. The dual-calibre dispensers are
now being offered as a direct replacement of the
1980s-vintage ASO-2V 26mm countermeasures
dispenser units widely used on both the Mi-8/17
and Mi-24/25.
Adron is also busy with developing new-
generation low-temperature flares to better
replicate a helicopter’s signature. The currently
used 50mm flares are too hot, developing a
temperature of between 1,500 and 2,000 0C, but
this is significantly higher than engine exhaust
gases which range 400-600 0C (this is valid for theTV3-117-series), reduced to about 300 0C when IR
suppressors are used. The low-temperature flares
are intended to develop temperatures of between
600 and 900 0C.
The AP-1V is a new-generation IR suppressor
(exhaust-mixer box) installed onto the exhaust
ducts of the TV3-117 turboshafts used to
power both the Mi-8/17 and Mi-24/25 family
of helicopters. This exhaust-mixer device, also
developed by Adron in Ukraine, is used to shield
the hottest points of the helicopters in order to
reduce the heat-seeking missile’s acquisition
range. As Alyoshin claimed, the main goals when
designing the AP-1V included a good shielding
capability as well as reducing to the minimum
possible extent the consumed engine power. ‘Our
IR suppressor reduces the engine’s output powerby a mere 1.5% on the ground compared to up to
13% of the original EVU IR suppressor boxes that
have been used on the Mi-8/17 and Mi-24/35 since
the mid-1980s.” Alyoshin revealed. v