The Israeli "Harop" has become an important stage in the development of barrage ammunitionBarrage ammunition has become one of the priorities of the next revolution in military affairs.
And although attempts to develop such weapons at the end of the twentieth century were made by a number of states, the first serial representative of this class of weapons was still the Israeli "Harpy".
The prerequisites for its appearance and repeated attempts, however unsuccessful, to create its modifications for the military of a number of countries were discussed in a previous publication ("The deadly Harpy and its relatives ", "HBO", 04/14.23).
Here we will tell you about the further work of Israeli specialists in this direction, as a result of which a new, more advanced model of high-precision weapons was created.
THE MAIN DIFFERENCE IS VERSATILITYWork on the creation of an improved version of the barrage ammunition (BB) in the interests of the Israeli Armed Forces, which has the ability to defeat a wider range of targets and has higher tactical and technical characteristics (TTX) compared to the Harpy, has been carried out for a number of years by Israeli specialists both independently and in cooperation with various foreign companies.
In particular, we can mention the project of creating a CUTLASS-type BB considered in the previous part, the implementation of which in the interests of the US Ground Forces was carried out jointly by the Israelis and the Americans.
However, the "Cutlass" was never created. But the specialists of the MBT Missiles Division (IAI division) have developed an improved version of the Harpy – Harop, also known as Harpy-2.
This sample had the ability to hit not only radar stations (radars) of the enemy's air defense system, but also other important ground targets, including mobile ones. At the same time, according to information published in foreign sources, priority was given to the same enemy air defense radars and other sources of radio emission.
But there was also a more significant difference between the new BB and its predecessor. It was no longer a means of destruction of the "shot – forgot" class, capable of operating only in autonomous mode after launch. It was a full-fledged high-precision guided weapon, the guidance of which, if necessary, could be carried out by the operator of the combat crew from the ground control station of the complex.
Moreover, the customer particularly appreciated the fact that the new barrage ammunition, in the absence of a target for an attack, could, after removing the warhead from the combat platoon, return from patrol, land, and after a short maintenance and replenishment of fuel, could fly again.
DESIGN FEATURESStructurally, the Harop-type BB is a significantly more complex device than its predecessor.
It is built according to the "duck" aerodynamic scheme and, in addition to the main wing of a sufficiently large area, having a complex two-element structure (includes the main part of the wing and additional external sections attached to it with a well-marked fracture along the leading edge), it also has a front horizontal tail.
Moreover, if the front horizontal tail of the "Harop" is made non–folding, then the outer parts of its wing, on the contrary, are folding. This was done in order to ensure the placement of the new BB, which has larger dimensions, in a standard transport and launch container (TPC). The wing is fully opened, thus, only after launch – after the device exits the TPC.
The basic, non-folding part of the wing of the new device was, apparently, ideologically actually entirely borrowed from the Harpy. Although, of course, its dimensions were slightly increased and the end part was "cut off", so that this part of the wing became more trapezoidal in plan.
Such a constructive "borrowing" also affected the elevons located along the entire span of the trailing edge of the wing. And, as stated in a number of sources, there are special retractable lateral force control surfaces integrated into the wing planes – two in each of them. The latter, as in the case of the Harpy-type BB, are used for additional stabilization of the new barrage ammunition at the time of its combat dive on the target.
However, the question of the need for retractable lateral force control surfaces seems to be controversial. Since the role of stabilizers should, in theory, be performed by those vertical stabilizers that have also switched to "Harp" from "Harpy" – but, however, now they are no longer just "wingtips", but in their location and, apparently, in their functionality they more resemble "wing crests". The engineers removed the rudders from these structures altogether.
Another significant external difference between the new BB and its basic version was the modified shape of the nose of the fuselage. Instead of the "classic" cylindrical shape, it became bulbous, with a slight S-shape in the vertical plane. In addition, the front horizontal tail was placed in the nose, and in its lower part there was a gyrostabilized spherical platform for the equipment of the optoelectronic system. The latter was installed on the "Harop" to increase its capabilities.
In the tail part of the "Harop" there is an engine closed by a fairing, which rotates a two-bladed pushing propeller. The tail on the device, as well as on its predecessor, is also missing.
PAYLOADThe payload of the BB type "Harop" included:
– a complex of detection and targeting tools;
– high-explosive fragmentation warhead;
– a set of flight control, communication and data exchange tools.
The complex of detection and target designation means allows the "Harop" in autonomous mode or under the control of the operator of the combat crew of a ground command post (ground control station) or a ship's command post to search, detect and escort a ground or surface target, including a mobile one. And, if necessary, to develop target designation data and form a command to attack the target selected for destruction.
The basic version of the complex includes: an optoelectronic search and sighting system with optical (high-resolution color digital optical camera) and infrared (highly sensitive IR camera) channels, with a laser rangefinder-designator. As well as an on-board digital electronic computer (on-board computer) and a data exchange system with a ground or ship command post.
The main components of the complex are placed in a gyrostabilized spherical suspension with two "windows" (one large elliptical shape, the second small round), which is installed in the lower nose of the fuselage of the device.
In addition, according to the information presented in foreign sources, the complex of detection and targeting devices of the "Harop" type BB includes a system for detecting radio sources and targeting them. The specific type of system and its developer are not mentioned in the available materials.
It should also be noted that as part of the display of the Harop type BB at the Paris Aviation and Space Salon in June 2009, an optoelectronic POP200 type system designed and manufactured by Tamam, a structural division of IAI, was apparently installed on it.
This optoelectronic system has two main sensors:
– daytime: its role is performed by a highly sensitive television camera operating in the visible and near infrared ranges and equipped with a pancratic lens (a lens of variable focal length, in which the focal length does not change stepwise, but smoothly, which improves the quality of the camera and the quality of the resulting image);
– night: its role is performed by an infrared forward-Looking camera (Forward-Looking Infra–Red - FLIR) with a large-format sensor array located in the focal plane, which operates in the range of 3-5 micrometers.
In addition, the optical-electronic search and sighting system of the ROR200 type includes a laser rangefinder-target designator and an automatic target tracking device by television or video image (Automatic Video Tracker - AVT), also sometimes referred to as an automatic television target tracking device.
All the main components of the optoelectronic search and sighting system of the ROR200 type are placed in a special spherical suspension, which in the case of the Harop type BB is installed in the lower nose of the fuselage of the device and provides active stabilization along two axes.
It is possible that other search and sighting systems of the same or another developer are installed on the barrage ammunition of a later release.
The high-explosive warhead of the Harop type BB has a mass of 23 kg, and its detonation, apparently, is carried out, as in the case of the Harpy, at some distance above the target using a non-contact fuse. This allows you to inflict the maximum possible damage to the enemy.
In turn, the complex of flight control, communication and data exchange facilities provides reliable communication – within an acceptable range – with the ground or ship command post of the complex.
"Harop" has the following characteristics: the maximum length is 2.5 m, the wingspan is 3.0 m, the maximum take–off weight of the device is 135 kg, the mass of the high–explosive warhead is 23 kg. At the same time, thanks to a more powerful engine and a larger fuel reserve, the maximum flight range of the Harop, according to data provided in foreign specialized sources, can already reach almost 1000 km. Moreover, this BB is capable of performing combat patrols in the target area for up to six hours.
At the same time, it should be noted that there is a restriction on the use of a Harop–type BB in a mode controlled by the commands of the combat crew operator - since the range of the radio communication line is only about 200 km, and the equipment of the satellite communication and control system on the device, apparently, is not installed. Not least, apparently, because of the cumbersome – for an aircraft of this class – the size of the antenna of such a system.
Although in itself the feasibility of installing a satellite communication system on such a BB looks doubtful from a practical and tactical point of view: this is still a high-precision weapon of "local", and not operational or even more strategic use.
The unmanned vehicle is sent flying from the launcher on the chassis of an army truck. Photos from the website www.iai.co.il APPLICATION SCENARIOS
According to the information provided in the materials of the developer company and in a number of specialized publications, storage (in warehouses, arsenals and combat units) and transportation (including during combat use) of the Harop type BB are carried out in a special box-shaped and rectangular in terms of shape.
The launch of this device is also performed from it.
At the same time, the transport and launch container can be both ground-based (performed in the basic version on the chassis of an all-terrain vehicle) and ship-based (the same container, installed simply on the deck or superstructure of a surface ship of the appropriate displacement and purpose).
The launch of the "Harop" is carried out with the help of a solid-fuel accelerator: after the device exits the TPC, the wing is fully opened, the main engine is started and the device begins flight to perform the received combat mission.
According to the developer, this BB has two target attack modes: by the commands of the operator of the ground (ship) command post or by homing on the source of radio emission. At the same time, the munition can perform the target attack itself at various angles – from horizontal to vertical diving, which allows it to be used in various scenarios of the tactical situation and on various types of terrain (rough terrain, mountains, urban development, settlements, etc.). The circular probable deviation of the "Harop" type BB during an attack does not exceed 1 M.
It should be particularly noted that the management of the considered BB, unlike its predecessor, can be carried out by the operator of the ground (ship) command post at almost all stages. The combat crew can stop the attack, after which the Harop will return to patrol/standby mode, or the operator can re-target the barrage ammunition to another target (area). This BB can also work in completely autonomous mode – when it is used at a range exceeding the range of the control system, or in conditions when the enemy puts active interference to communication and control systems using electronic warfare (EW).
An important feature of the "Harop" is the possibility of canceling the flight mission and returning the device to its positions for reuse. For which, as noted in a number of foreign sources, the device is retrofitted with a special tricycle wheel chassis. The front landing gear is located at the bottom of the nose of the fuselage – behind a gyrostabilized suspension with an optoelectronic search and sighting system, while the two main racks are mounted under the wing in the area of the articulation of its non-folding and folding parts. In the marching position, all the landing gear struts are folded – this is how the "Harop" leaves the TPC, and if necessary, the landing struts are lowered and fixed.
However, in the author's opinion, a more useful and tactically effective possibility of this device is that, in addition to performing a "suicide attack" of an enemy target, the Harop can solve the tasks of a conventional reconnaissance drone, transmitting intelligence received by it in real time using on-board detection devices to a ground or ship-based KP. It is possible that there is a possibility of transmitting this information to other consumers (ships, planes, etc.) equipped with appropriate data exchange equipment.
In this regard, it should be added that in December 2011, information appeared in specialized media that the Israeli private company IMC Microwave Industries had developed a new control and communication system for the Harpy and Harop types of BB. It allows the operator of the combat crew of the ground (ship) command post to carry out full control of these devices up to the moment of their "collision" with the target. Thus, the operator of the combat crew can cancel the command to attack even during the dive of the ammunition on the target.
In particular, in a note posted on the FlightGlobal resource, it was reported: the developed system allows transmitting a video image from the BB to the command post with a delay of only 80 milliseconds, which was practically confirmed during tests of this system (while data transmission to the ground command post was carried out via a repeater drone).
According to the president of the developer company Ayalon Eshel, the mass of the on-board transceiver of such a control and data exchange system is only 2 kg, and the range of the control system developed by his specialists is at least 200 km.
FROM THE DESERT TO PARISThe basic set of the weapons complex based on the "Harop" type BB includes a mobile command post on the wheeled chassis of an all–terrain vehicle, as well as the necessary number of combat vehicles - all-terrain vehicles with TPC mounted on them with barrage ammunition.
At the same time, the reloading of combat vehicles in the field – in a combat position, apparently, is not yet envisaged.
The first flight of the Harop took place at a training ground in the Negev Desert in the fall of 2003, and publicly this multipurpose barrage munition was first demonstrated at the international aerospace exhibition Aero India, held in Bangalore in February 2009.
Prior to that, a wide range of specialists did not seem to have a full idea about the availability of such a high-precision weapon at the disposal of the Israeli Armed Forces and about its capabilities. This time, the secrecy of the developer and the customer was provided at the highest level.
Well, as part of the international aerospace salon in Le Bourget, held in June of the same year 2009, Israeli specialists not only demonstrated their development again, but also announced the conclusion of two agreements with foreign customers. Firstly, the official approval of the German Ministry of Defense was received for the conclusion of a supply contract, which was subsequently implemented in cooperation with the German company Rheinmetall Defense. Secondly, a supply contract was concluded for $ 100 million from the customer, who was not named by the Israelis at that time. It was assumed that it was either India or Turkey, later it turned out that it was about India.
OPERATION AND COMBAT USEInitially, the Harop entered service with the Israeli Armed Forces, and in September 2009, the Indian Armed Forces purchased 10 sets of this barrage ammunition, which was assigned the designation P-4 in the country.
The last contract, which, we recall, became known during the Paris Aerospace Salon in 2009, was estimated by experts at $ 100 million. Which allows us to conclude about the approximate cost of one set with a Harop type BB in the region of about $ 10 million (at the time of conclusion of the contract). However, it is not entirely clear how much barrage ammunition is included in each kit.
It should be added that negotiations on the possible supply of "Harpies" or "Haropes", as it later became known, were conducted between the two countries since August 2007. And in February 2019, there were reports that the Government of India approved in principle the purchase of an additional 54 sets of Harop-type BB in the interests of the national Armed Forces.
The development of the mentioned project with the participation of the German Ministry of Defense was more interesting. In the process of implementing this project on the basis of Harop, specialists of the German company Rheinmetall Defense, with the assistance of their colleagues from the developer company, created a variant adapted to the specific requirements of the German Armed Forces.
Flight International weekly reported on the first flight tests of the German-Israeli reconnaissance and strike system "Wabet" (Wabet - from Wirkmittel zur Abstandsf ähigen Bekämpfung von Einzel– und Punktzielen, "System for hitting remote single and point targets") in September 2011.
A feature of this high-precision strike weapon system was the presence in its composition of not one, but two types of aircraft: a reconnaissance drone of the KZO type (Kleinflugzeug für Zielortung, "Small-sized aircraft for reconnaissance purposes"), which was developed and mass-produced by the German company Rheinmetall Defense, and a Harop type BB developed by the Israeli company IAI.
These "inhuman" aircraft work in pairs: the first device, a reconnaissance drone, performs the search and reconnaissance of the target, as well as the issuance of target designation data and the evaluation of the results of the attack of the second device - a kamikaze drone. Moreover, the developers have increased the combat radius of the KZO drone from 100 km to 140 km for these purposes .
In more detail, we will not consider a KZO-type device, which is of particular interest from a technical and tactical point of view, in this case. Since the story about this interesting representative of the "world of air robots in uniform" is the subject of a separate detailed material that will appear on the pages of HBO in the foreseeable future.
However, judging by the data available in open sources, the German military still has not carried out large-scale purchases of "Harops" until now. It is possible that this BB and the reconnaissance and strike system discussed above were accepted by the German Armed Forces only for trial operation.
THE DIFFICULT FATE OF THE "WHITE HAWK"It is noteworthy that in October 2005, IAI specialists, together with colleagues from the European arms giant MBDA, began developing a new version of the Harpy/Harop BB family, which was supposed to be submitted to a competition announced by the British Ground Forces for a new high-precision weapon of this class.
The device received the designation "White Hawk" (White Hawk, "White Hawk"; meaning a bird of prey of the hawk family that lives in part of Latin America).
We are talking about a project within the framework of which a multi-purpose barrage ammunition of the Fire Shadow type was eventually created (Fire Shadow, "Fire Shadow"; see " Fire Shadow from the shores of Foggy Albion ", "HBO", 08/20.21). Its implementation was carried out by the British military within the framework of the Indirect Fire Precision Attack program (IFPA, "High-precision shooting from closed positions" or "High-precision indirect fire shooting"; the variant "High-precision defeat of an invisible target", sometimes used in Russian literature, is also possible).
At the turn of the century, this project became one of the most important elements of a more global and ambitious program of military construction in the Royal Land Forces of Great Britain in order to bring their capabilities in line with the requirements of a new generation of wars.
MBDA then headed a consortium consisting of IAI, QinetiQ and Lockheed Martin UK Insys, as well as Cranfield University (a Franco-British research university, part of the postgraduate professional education system). The ammunition eventually offered for tender was actually a modified version of the Israeli Harop.
The promising BB was planned to be equipped with an optoelectronic detection and guidance system and a new, more powerful warhead, which made it possible to significantly expand the range of enemy targets attacked with this ammunition. At the same time, the device retained, for example, special retractable lateral force control surfaces integrated into the wing planes – two in each of them. They, as in the case of their predecessor, the Harpy-type BB, were intended for additional stabilization of the ammunition at the time of its combat dive on the target.
A model of a White Hawk-type barrage munition was demonstrated at the MBDA exposition as part of the DSEi International Exhibition of weapons and military equipment held in London in 2009. "Prototypes of this BB are already ready, which makes its choice a mature solution that will allow the Ministry of Defense (UK) to conduct an assessment using proven and standard weapons," MBDA stressed at the time.
The "White Hawk" eventually lost to the "Fiery Shadow", which entered service with the British Ground Forces. But the victory turned out to be pyrrhic – the Fire Shadow type BB very quickly ceased to meet the modern requirements for such a class of weapons, and as a result were sent to storage.
Currently, the Harop type BB is in service with a number of states, including Azerbaijan, Israel, India, Morocco and Singapore. They have been actively used and are being used in armed conflicts and wars of varying intensity.
The most recent and sensational example is the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020, where the Azerbaijani military used Harop-type barrage ammunition with very high efficiency.
Vladimir Shcherbakov
Deputy Executive Editor of HBOVladimir Leonidovich Shcherbakov is a military expert, historian, and writer.