Russia's "nuclear trains" are setting off. Missile echelon of the BZHRK “well done” is returning Train with atomic missiles

In Russia, a new nuclear weapon is preparing for the final stage of testing - the Barguzin combat railway missile system (BZHRK), created on the basis of its predecessor, the Molodets BZHRK (SS-24 Scalpel), which was on combat duty from 1987 to 2005 and was withdrawn from service by agreement with the United States in 1993. What forced Russia to return to the creation of these weapons again? When once again in 2012 the Americans confirmed the deployment of their missile defense facilities in Europe, Russian President Vladimir Putin quite harshly formulated Russia’s response to this. He officially stated that the creation of an American missile defense system actually “nullifies our nuclear missile potential,” and announced that our answer would be “the development of strike nuclear missile systems.” One of such complexes was the Barguzin BZHRK, which the American military especially did not like , causing them serious concern, since its adoption makes the presence of a US missile defense system as such practically useless. Predecessor of "Bargruzin" "Well done" The BZHRK was already in service with the Strategic Missile Forces until 2005. Its main developer in the USSR was the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau (Ukraine). The only manufacturer of rockets is the Pavlograd Mechanical Plant. Tests of the BZHRK with the RT-23UTTKh "Molodets" missile (according to NATO classification - SS-24 Scalpel) in the railway version began in February 1985 and were completed by 1987. BZHRKs looked like ordinary railway trains made of refrigerated, mail-baggage and even passenger cars. Inside each train there were three launchers with Molodets solid propellant missiles, as well as the entire support system for them with a command post and combat crews. The first BZHRK was put on combat duty in 1987 in Kostroma. In 1988, five regiments were deployed (a total of 15 launchers), and by 1991, three missile divisions: near Kostroma, Perm and Krasnoyarsk - each consisted of four missile regiments (a total of 12 BZHRK trains). Each train consisted of several cars . One carriage is a command post, the other three – with an opening roof – are launchers with missiles. Moreover, the missiles could be launched both from planned stops and from any point along the route. To do this, the train was stopped, a special device was used to move the contact suspension of electrical wires to the sides, the launch container was placed in a vertical position, and the rocket was launched.
The complexes stood at a distance of about four kilometers from each other in permanent shelters. Within a radius of 1,500 kilometers from their bases, together with railway workers, work was carried out to strengthen the track: heavier rails were laid, wooden sleepers were replaced with reinforced concrete ones, embankments were filled with denser crushed stone. power only to professionals (launch modules with a rocket had eight wheel pairs, the rest of the support cars had four pairs each). The train could cover about 1,200 kilometers in one day. Its combat patrol time was 21 days (thanks to the reserves on board, it could operate autonomously for up to 28 days). Great importance was attached to the BZHRK, even the officers who served on these trains had ranks higher than their colleagues in similar positions in the mine complexes.
Soviet BZHRK– shock for Washington The rocket scientists tell either a legend or a true story that the Americans themselves allegedly pushed our designers to create the BZHRK. They say that one day our intelligence received information that the United States was working on creating a railway complex that would be able to move through underground tunnels and, if necessary, emerge from the ground at certain points in order to launch a strategic missile unexpectedly for the enemy. Photographs were even attached to the intelligence officers’ report this train. Apparently, these data made a strong impression on the Soviet leadership, since it was immediately decided to create something similar. But our engineers approached this issue more creatively. They decided: why drive trains underground? You can put them on regular railways, disguised as freight trains. It will be simpler, cheaper and more effective. Later, however, it turned out that the Americans conducted special studies that showed that in their conditions, BZHRKs would not be effective enough. They simply slipped us misinformation in order to once again shake up the Soviet budget, forcing us, as it seemed to them then, into useless spending, and the photo was taken from a small full-scale model.
But by the time all this became clear, it was too late for Soviet engineers to work back. They, and not only in the drawings, have already created a new nuclear weapon with an individually targeted missile, a range of ten thousand kilometers with ten warheads with a capacity of 0.43 Mt and a serious set of means to overcome missile defense. In Washington, this news caused a real shock. Still would! How do you determine which of the “freight trains” to destroy in the event of a nuclear strike? If you shoot at everyone at once, there won’t be enough nuclear warheads. Therefore, in order to track the movement of these trains, which easily escaped the field of view of tracking systems, the Americans had to almost constantly keep a constellation of 18 spy satellites over Russia, which was very costly for them. Especially considering that the US intelligence services never managed to identify the BZHRK along the patrol route. Therefore, as soon as the political situation allowed in the early 90s, the US immediately tried to get rid of this headache. At first, they persuaded the Russian authorities not to allow the BZHRKs to travel around the country, but to remain laid up. This allowed them to constantly keep only three or four spy satellites over Russia instead of 16–18. And then they persuaded our politicians to completely destroy the BZHRK. They officially agreed under the pretext of the alleged “expiration of the warranty period for their operation.”
How to cut "Scalpels" The last combat train was sent for melting down in 2005. Eyewitnesses said that when, in the twilight of the night, the wheels of the cars clattered on the rails and the nuclear “ghost train” with Scalpel missiles set off on its final journey, even the strongest men could not stand it: tears rolled from the eyes of both gray-haired designers and rocket officers . They said goodbye to a unique weapon, in many combat characteristics superior to everything that was available and even planned to be put into service in the near future. Everyone understood that this unique weapon in the mid-90s became hostage to the political agreements of the country's leadership with Washington. And not selfish. Apparently, therefore, each new stage of the destruction of the BZHRK strangely coincided with the next tranche of a loan from the International Monetary Fund. The refusal of the BZHRK had a number of objective reasons. In particular, when Moscow and Kyiv “fled up” in 1991, this immediately hit Russian nuclear power hard. Almost all of our nuclear missiles during the Soviet era were made in Ukraine under the leadership of academicians Yangel and Utkin. Of the 20 types then in service, 12 were designed in Dnepropetrovsk, at the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, and produced there, at the Yuzhmash plant. BZHRK was also made in the Ukrainian Pavlograd.
But each time it became more and more difficult to negotiate with the developers from Nezalezhnaya to extend their service life or modernize them. As a result of all these circumstances, our generals had to report with a sour face to the country’s leadership how “in accordance with the planned reduction of the Strategic Missile Forces, another BZHRK has been removed from combat duty.” But what to do: the politicians promised - the military was forced to fulfill it. At the same time, they understood perfectly well: if we cut and remove missiles from combat duty due to old age at the same pace as in the late 90s, then in just five years, instead of the existing 150 Voyevods, we will not have any of these heavy missiles left. And then no light Topols will make any difference - and at that time there were only about 40 of them. For the American missile defense system, this is nothing. For this reason, as soon as Yeltsin vacated the Kremlin office, a number of people from the country’s military leadership, at the request of the rocket scientists, began to prove to the new president the need to create a nuclear complex similar to the BZHRK. And when it became finally clear that the United States was not going to abandon its plans to create its own missile defense system under any circumstances, work on the creation of this complex really began. And now, in the very near future, the States will again receive their previous headache, now in the form of a new BZHRK generation called "Barguzin". Moreover, as the rocket scientists say, these will be ultra-modern rockets in which all the shortcomings of the Scalpel have been eliminated.
"Barguzin"– the main trump card against US missile defense The main disadvantage noted by opponents of the BZHRK was the accelerated wear and tear of the railway tracks along which it moved. They had to be repaired frequently, over which the military and railway workers had eternal disputes. The reason for this was the heavy missiles - weighing 105 tons. They did not fit in one car - they had to be placed in two, strengthening the wheel pairs on them. Today, when issues of profit and commerce have come to the fore, Russian Railways are certainly not ready, as it was before, to infringe on their interests for the sake of the country's defense, and also bear the costs of repairing the roadway in the event that a decision is made that BZHRKs should again operate on their roads. It was the commercial reason, according to some experts, that today could become an obstacle to the final decision to adopt them into service. However, this problem has now been removed. The fact is that the new BZHRKs will no longer have heavy missiles. The complexes are armed with lighter RS-24 missiles, which are used in the Yars complexes, and therefore the weight of the car is comparable to the usual one, which makes it possible to achieve ideal camouflage of the combat personnel. However, the RS-24s have only four warheads, and older missiles had them ten. But here we must take into account that the Barguzin itself does not carry three missiles, as it was before, but twice as many. This, of course, is the same - 24 versus 30. But we should not forget that Yars are practically the most modern development and their probability of overcoming missile defense is much higher than that of their predecessors. The navigation system has also been updated: now there is no need to set target coordinates in advance, everything can be changed quickly.
In a day, such a mobile complex can cover up to 1,000 kilometers, plying along any railway lines in the country, indistinguishable from a regular train with refrigerated cars. Autonomy time is a month. There is no doubt that the new group of BZHRK will be a much more effective response to the US missile defense system than even the deployment of our Iskander operational-tactical missiles near the borders of Europe, which are so feared in the West. There is also no doubt that the Americans are interested in the idea of ​​BZHRK obviously will not like it (although theoretically their creation will not violate the latest Russian-American agreements). BZHRK at one time formed the basis of the retaliatory strike force in the Strategic Missile Forces, since they had increased survivability and were very likely to survive after the enemy delivered the first strike. The United States feared it no less than the legendary “Satan,” since the BZHRK was a real factor in inevitable retribution. Until 2020, it is planned to put into service five regiments of the Barguzin BZHRK—that’s 120 warheads, respectively. Apparently, the BZHRK will become the strongest argument, in fact, our main trump card in the dispute with the Americans regarding the advisability of deploying a global missile defense system.

Information has appeared about the successful launch of a missile from the Barguzin combat railway complex. No official confirmation yet.

RT-23 UTTH "Well done".

Information has appeared about the successful launch of a missile from the Barguzin combat railway complex (BZHRK), which is being developed in Russia to replace the Molodets complex, created in the 1980s. However, there has not yet been confirmation of this information from the Ministry of Defense. It is quite possible that the talk (without specifying) was about the start of throw tests, which were scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2016.

For the first time after the 80s, Academician Yu.S. Solomonov carried out a successful launch of the Barguzin rocket, this is the so-called “wandering launch”. The Barguzin combat railway missile system is a promising mobile missile system for the strategic missile forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

Vladimir Putin and Yuri Solomonov

The Barguzin rocket takes off from the freight car of an ordinary train, i.e. the train itself is a spaceport. Such missiles - four BZHRKs - have been in service with our Strategic Missile Forces since the late 80s, but first Gorbachev, then Yeltsin destroyed all four complexes. The Americans feared such missiles more than anything else, because in one night such trains could go anywhere, to any point in the Soviet Union.

Vladimir Putin and the Moscow Institute of Thermal Engineering Research Institute, which is headed by Hero of Labor of the Russian Federation, Academician Yuri Semenovich Solomonov, recreated this great weapon practically from scratch. Until today, we were ahead of the Americans and Chinese in rocket science by about 10 to 15 years, and from now on we are already half a century ahead of them! All the country's leaders have already congratulated the great Russian rocket scientist Yuri Solomonov on his successful launch. We join in their congratulations.

In May 2016, information appeared about the completion of the process of developing documentation for the Barguzin BZHRK. It is assumed that the new complex will carry more modern and lighter missiles created on the basis of the RS-24 Yars. One train will include six missiles - each is located in a separate carriage, disguised as a standard refrigerator. For traction, one diesel locomotive will be used instead of three, as in the Molodets BZHRK.

This option for deploying ballistic missiles is very much criticized by NATO countries. The fact is that with such a placement it is very difficult to track the movement of such trains. From above, the cars are generally identical and can change direction at any time, which makes the destruction of the complex in the event of a launch very difficult. Although the START-3 international treaty does not prohibit the creation of such weapons, every news about the return of “ghost trains” is met with a wave of criticism in the Western press.

Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) / combat railway missile system (BZHRK). The R&D work on the creation of the BZHRK began in 2012 and is being carried out by the Moscow Institute of Thermal Engineering (MIT). Until December 2014, it was discussed that the creation of the complex was possible either on the basis of the RS-24 Yars ICBM, or on the basis of the RS-26 Rubezh ICBM, or using developments on the 3M30 Bulava intercontinental SLBM. But in December 2014, information appeared in the media that the complex would include ICBMs of the Yars or Yars-M type.
It is unlikely that the chief designer of the complex could be Yu.S. Solomonov because in his speeches in the media, he repeatedly spoke out against the BZHRK as a class of missile systems. By 2020, it is planned to complete R&D, create and test prototypes of BZHRK (according to 2012 plans). After 2020, the complexes will begin to enter service with the Strategic Missile Forces.

On April 23, 2013, Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia Yuri Borisov stated that the preliminary design of the BZHRK is currently underway, and work is underway on technical projects. On December 18, 2013, the commander of the Strategic Missile Forces, Colonel General Sergei Karakaev, announced that the preliminary design will be completed in the first half of 2014, but the final decision on the design of the BZHRK has not yet been made. As a result, the preliminary design of the complex was completed at the end of 2014. The media reported that as of mid-2015, the first stage of development work to create the complex was underway.

In December 2014, in the media, the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Strategic Missile Forces stated that the development of the BZHRK could soon begin, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Strategic Missile Forces stated a day later that the new complex is called “Barguzin”. The development of design documentation began in 2015 and is planned to be completed in mid-2016. Although later in December 2015, a source in the Russian defense industry told the media that due to the difficult financial situation, the deadline for the creation of Barguzin has been postponed by more than one year and will be completed no earlier than 2020. On May 12, 2016, information appeared in the media that “the design documentation has been worked out, individual elements of the complex are being created, but there are no exact dates for its creation and adoption into service,” clarity on the timing will come in 2018 G..

The start of deployment of the new BZHRK is expected no earlier than 2018, and most likely in 2019. At the end of 2015, the start date for deployment of the complex has been specified - 2020.

Illustrations for the TsKB Titan patent for a railway launcher.
The numbers in the diagram indicate: 1 - railway car or platform, 2 - fixed pinned beam, 3 - lifting boom, 4 - boom lifting mechanism, 5 - movable frame mounted on the boom with the possibility of longitudinal movement, 6 - TPK with a rocket , 7 - telescopic supports, 8 - support plates, 9 - rotary rods for “aiming” the supports on the rails of the railway track.

Launcher - BZHRK - combat railway missile system. The launch is carried out from a TPK, brought into the starting position at the starting point from a special railway car with a drop-down roof. Technically, the BZHRK may include several cars with ICBMs, as well as cars for combat duty support and, probably, maintenance of the complex.

There is a possibility that the development of the BZHRK launcher is being carried out by the Federal State Unitary Enterprise Central Design Bureau "Titan" (Volgograd) - this company has registered a patent for "Launcher for transporting and launching a missile from a transport-launch container located in a railway car or on a platform" (RU 2392573). Designers (authors of the patent) - V.A. Shurygin, B.M. Abramovich, D.N. Biryukov and I.V. Shapkin.

The development of launch equipment is most likely being carried out by KBSM within the framework of the Barguzin theme. In 2013, KBSM developed a preliminary design of system units and the complex as a whole, formed cooperation between co-executing enterprises, and developed technical specifications for contractors.

In addition, on the topic "Barguzin-RV" in 2013, the development of preliminary designs for special railway formations was carried out at the Central Design Bureau of Transport Engineering.

According to media reports, as of 2014, a variant of the Barguzin BZHRK train with 6 launchers is being considered - which is equal to a regiment of the Strategic Missile Forces. The missile division will include 5 regiments of the Barguzin BZHRK.

Missile - it is likely to use a missile similar to previously created intercontinental missile systems with a minimum time of the active part of the trajectory and with a MIRV. RS-24 Yars ICBMs, RS-26 Rubezh ICBMs, and 3M30 Bulava SLBMs can be considered as basic options. With a high probability, the degree of unification among missiles will be high, but less than 100%.

According to media reports, as of 2014, the option of a railway composition of the Barguzin BZHRK with 6 launchers with Yars or Yars-M missiles is being considered.

The rocket design is a three-stage rocket of a classical layout with a sequential arrangement of stages. With a high probability, the missile will be equipped with a complex of means for overcoming missile defense (KSP ABM).

Control and guidance system - inertial autonomous.

Engines - solid propellant rocket engines at all stages.

Warhead types - MIRV IN. It is possible to use advanced maneuvering combat equipment.

Status: Russia
- 2012 - The Moscow Institute of Thermal Engineering began R&D to create a BZHRK.

2013 - development of preliminary designs for the complex components.

In connection with the destruction of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces, the structure of strategic weapons is being adjusted both here and in the United States. With a high degree of probability, it can be assumed that the Americans will begin to deploy medium-range missiles in Europe and Asia in the foreseeable future. Their creation has already begun, work is in full swing. This is evidenced, for example, by the testing of prototypes of two such missiles this year, which should become ground-based modifications of the “good old” Tomahawk sea-based cruise missiles.

The editor-in-chief of the National Defense magazine, Igor Korotchenko, believes that one of the answers to these processes could be the revival of the Barguzin combat railway missile system (BZHRK) project. Its implementation was stopped in 2017. But, in fact, the project was close to completion. In the spring of 2016, the production of a prototype BZHRK began, or more precisely, its individual elements. And in the fall of the same year, throw tests of the rocket took place. Flight tests were expected to begin in 2019.

The reason for stopping the project is a correction in the defense budget due to insufficient funds. All efforts and, naturally, finances in terms of creating new weapons for the Strategic Missile Forces were directed toward the Sarmat heavy silo-based missile.

The main advantage of the Barguzin is its secrecy, the impossibility of determining the location of the complex even with the help of the most advanced space- and air-based reconnaissance equipment. Because the BZHRK is no different in appearance from ordinary freight trains, many thousands of which move around the Russian railway network around the clock.

That is, “Barguzin” is ideal in that part of the requirements for strategic missile weapons that relate to its protection from destruction by the enemy. This is necessary in order to preserve the nuclear missile potential for a retaliatory strike.

The idea of ​​Barguzin is not new. It was already implemented in the Soviet Union in 1987, when the RT-23 UTTH “Molodets” BZHRK (SS-24 “Scalpel” according to NATO classification) was put into service. The lead developer of the complex was the Dnepropetrovsk Yuzhnoye Design Bureau.

“Molodets” was equipped with three-stage solid-fuel 15Zh61 ICBMs with ten individually targeted warheads with a capacity of 550 kt each. The difficulty in creating the complex was that the rocket weighed 105 tons, while standard railway cars are designed for a maximum load of 60 tons. And this, in turn, led to the fact that, firstly, it was necessary to create cars that were outwardly indistinguishable from standard ones, but with increased strength characteristics. Secondly, it was necessary to distribute the load on the rails in such a way that the specific pressure on them did not exceed permissible standards.

Of course, there were many other problems that Soviet developers encountered for the first time. Therefore, the creation of “Well done” lasted a decade and a half.

The first Soviet and only BZHRK in the world with three 15Zh61 ICBMs was a train that outwardly did not differ from an ordinary technical train that served railway networks. Three cars were disguised as passenger cars, 14 as refrigerators. There was also a tank with fuel for diesel engines. Due to the excess weight of the train, three diesel locomotives of increased power were used. That is, “Molodets” could also move along non-electrified tracks. The combat crew of the complex consisted of 70 military personnel. Autonomy reached a month.

The BZHRK was supposed to remain combat ready even in the event of exposure to a shock wave arising from a nuclear explosion. This requirement was tested at the test site in Plesetsk, when in 1991, not far from Molodets, a 20-meter-high pyramid made of anti-tank mines taken from East Germany was blown up. The power of the explosion was 1000 tons of TNT. A crater with a diameter of 80 meters and a depth of 10 meters was formed. Immediately after the explosion, the launcher of the complex worked normally.

The train stopped to launch the rocket. A special device diverted the contact wire to the side. The roofs of three cars were successively moved, and the launchers took a vertical position. The missiles were launched from the launch containers with the help of powder accelerators, raising the ICBMs to a height of 20 meters and moving them some distance from the train so that the torch of the ignited rocket engine did not damage the train.

The control system was inertial, providing a probable circular deviation from the target of about 400 meters. In this case, the launch could be made from any point on the route. The maximum flight range is 10,100 km. The length of the rocket in the launch container is 23.3 m, diameter is 2.4 m.

The time parameters were extremely strict. From receiving a command from the General Staff to launching the first missile should have taken no more than three minutes.

In 1989, 12 “missile trains” armed with a total of 36 ICBMs were already running along the railway networks of the Soviet Union. Nothing was known about the position of each of them in the Pentagon, which greatly worried the American command. Therefore, even during perestroika, Washington began to insist that “in the name of reducing the nuclear threat” to deprive the BZHRK of their main advantage - secrecy. And in 1991, half of the complexes were prohibited from leaving the depot, the coordinates of which were well known. The second half was allowed to move no further than 20 kilometers from their permanent bases.

And in 1993, when the START-2 treaty was signed, the complexes were banned. 10 “rocket trains” were disposed of at the Bryansk Mechanical Repair Plant. 2 - disarmed and sent to museums - to the Museum of Railway Equipment at the Baltic Station in St. Petersburg and to the AvtoVAZ Technical Museum.

Barguzin uses the same principle of placing missiles and necessary equipment in railway cars. However, the designers did not have to solve the problem of compensating for the excess mass of the rocket. This complex uses a ready-made Yars rocket. The weight of the rocket does not exceed 50 tons.

Lightening the composition also provides another advantage - reducing the required traction. And, therefore, Barguzin will no longer require 3 diesel locomotives, but fewer. Still, three diesel locomotives carrying a train of 17 cars is excessive for an ordinary train. Therefore, the BZHRK “Molodets” cannot be considered completely camouflaged.

The lead developer of the project is the Moscow Institute of Thermal Engineering, which created the Topol and Yars ICBMs, as well as the Bulava missile for strategic submarines. But, of course, a special modification of the Yars will be used. The total power of individually targeted warheads and their number will be less than that of the Molodets BZHRK missile - 4x500 kt or 6x150 kt. However, the launch range will increase to 12 thousand km. At the same time, Yars has an increased ability to overcome enemy missile defenses due to a short active section when the rocket engine is running, an electronic warfare system and a decoy ejection system. Firing accuracy will also increase.

It is also stated that the Barguzin train will be equipped with not three, but six missiles. At the same time, the number of diesel locomotives will be reduced to two or even one.

Another advantage of the BZHRK is its ability to quickly relocate - the train can travel up to 1000 km per day.

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There was a time when unique trains ran across our country. Outwardly, they resembled familiar trains. But they differed from them in that they never stopped at stations, they preferred remote stops, and the busy stations of cities, if fate (or an order!) brought them there, tried to pass at dawn, when there were fewer people there.

Just a few years ago, secret trains ran along the Russian railway network. Outwardly, they were almost no different from the passenger trains familiar to the eye. But the dispatchers tried to schedule their movement in such a way that they passed the busy and crowded stations of large cities at night or at dawn. They should not have caught the eye of ordinary people. Ghost trains, or BZHRK - combat railway missile systems - kept combat watch in the Siberian taiga, in the North and Far East with nuclear weapons. And along with nuclear-powered ships, aviation and the Missile Forces, they maintained and maintain the strategic balance in the world.

The main designers of the BZHRK were academicians brothers Vladimir and Alexey Utkin. The eldest, Vladimir Fedorovich, has already passed away. Vladimir Fedorovich’s right hand in the work on creating a rocket train was his brother Alexey.
How did the idea of ​​creating rocket trains come about? According to one version, the Americans planted it on us. Soviet intelligence officers obtained information: the American military-industrial complex is preparing to create a train capable of launching ballistic missiles. Allegedly, his photograph even fell into the hands of the intelligence services.

It was as if the photograph had skillfully captured a small model of a rocket train that did not exist in nature. They say that the overseas “hawks” at first really intended to build a nuclear train, but then abandoned this idea. Why? Their railway network is not so extensive, and the cost of the project was fabulous. In order to direct our scientists along a road that leads to a dead end, they made and planted a “linden tree” with the Russians. Let them rack their brains! And the political leadership fell for it and made a strong-willed decision: to “catch up and overtake” the overseas strategists.

How was it real? After the Americans deployed their Pershing missiles in Germany, it was necessary to adequately respond to new threats to the security of our state. So we returned to the idea of ​​rocket trains. Domestic scientists thought about this project even earlier, but until now they did not take on its solution due to the high cost and labor intensity. In addition, the existing defensive potential was quite enough to adequately respond to the Americans. By the way, it was initially considered as a weapon of retaliation. What is its advantage?

In elusiveness. Unlike silo-based missiles, where the coordinates of targets are known in advance. With the BZHRK, our opponents had a lot of questions to which they could not find answers. To track them, in the early nineties, the Americans even created a constellation of military satellites. But even from space it was not so easy to detect their traces. Therefore, even the most modern technology often lost sight of them. They were elusive thanks to the well-developed railway network of the Soviet Union. Many years later, the American General Powell admitted to the academician: “Looking for your missile trains is like finding a needle in a haystack.”

The Americans even came up with a special carriage that was equipped with the latest equipment. It did not last long......

30 ministries and departments and over 130 defense enterprises worked on the creation of combat missile trains. At first glance, the simple idea proposed by the designers - to lift the mine out of the ground and put it on wheels - included a huge number of organizational and technical problems.

What was one of the main problems? Take shooting. When it is launched from a missile silo, the azimuth, altitude, and starting point are known. Determining your location is one of the most difficult problems. In addition, it is imperative to know the load on the rails in a specific location. And, as you know, soils are different. Identical conditions do not exist in nature. So, to prevent the cars from falling next to the railway, they came up with a special “mortar launch”. Without going into details, the essence of it is that the rocket is first thrown to a height, and only then takes off.

How to aim? Before doing this, you need to stop the train, launch the gyroscopes, determine north and south and where to shoot. Do not forget that you still need to accept orders and commands from above. To let in

missile at exactly the appointed time and obey your commander in any, even the most unfavorable circumstances of modern combat, in the conditions of the use of high-precision weapons, you must receive this command. So a rocket train is a very complex complex. And when the Americans were working on this idea, they encountered a number of technical difficulties, and therefore, most likely, abandoned the science-intensive project.

What if there are high-voltage wires located directly above your head? - A special wire outlet was invented, and in addition to this, the power supply to the substation was automatically removed. As for the axle load, it should not be more than 25 tons. And the rocket with the launch container weighs over 100 tons, plus the carriage itself, so it turns out to be about 200 tons. They came up with the idea of ​​unloading the launch complex using other cars.

It is also necessary to take into account the fact that when moving the train is subject to strong vibration. This means that it is necessary not only to stop the train, but also to “turn off” the springs - do not wait until they calm down!

Don't forget that there are officers and soldiers on the train. They need bedrooms, toilets, a dining room, rest rooms... And supplies of food, fuel, and water are also necessary! So the complex is very complex...
- At first glance, it might seem that our country is large and full of “bear corners” where missile systems could be safely hidden.

Our potential enemies' missiles were becoming more and more accurate, and they could "cover" silos with relative ease. Therefore, it was necessary to take measures to ensure the reliability of the preventive strike. Of course, the Pershings were good missiles. Although some experts somewhat exaggerated their capabilities. They even said that they could hit a stake driven into the ground a thousand kilometers away.

The answer was the Scalpel missile. It “fit” within the framework of the agreement with the Americans. It was made in two versions: mine and for deployment on the railway. It is difficult to imagine how many Pershings would have to be fired to destroy the missile train.

This is not a one-on-one fight, as in the mine version, here the balance of forces is completely different... And therefore, such a combat complex, of course, is unique. And yet, the main idea of ​​​​the development of combat missile systems is to increase the possibility of deterrence, so that no one even thinks that they can press a button with impunity!

History shows that we were not the initiators of the arms race. We were constantly forced to catch up and did it in such a way that no one had the illusion that there was an advantage. The deterrence effect has constantly determined the state of affairs in our defense industry, and as long as we can remain at the proper level, there will be no nuclear war.

We were preparing four complexes at once. If problems arise with one car, a commission is created to find out the causes of the accident. The task of the general designer is to convince the customer and prove that all the necessary tests have been carried out. You need to move the “car” from its place, and then it will go on its own... And at this time, the first launch from the rocket train is in Plesetsk, and naturally, you go there. The test deputy can also go to the second or third launch, but, as a rule, he sits there almost constantly...

The first train left the factory in 1987, and the last - the twelfth - in 1991. The warranty period is ten years. But usually it was then extended, everything depended on the ideas included in the complex. They have stood the test of time.

In 1991, rocket trains were laid up. The former President of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, took the position of the Americans and came to the conclusion that in order to strengthen mutual understanding between the two countries, it is better not to release the BZHRK into the vastness of Russia. Otherwise, American taxpayers would have to shell out a tidy sum for the Pentagon to deploy an additional constellation of reconnaissance satellites. After all, each rocket train travels more than 1,000 kilometers per day, and in order to identify only one BZHRK among hundreds of trains plying throughout Russia, and then track the route of its movement, it would be necessary to increase the constellation of tracking satellites tenfold. It turned out to be impossible to implement such a project even in such a rich and technically developed country as the United States.

It is unknown with what arguments the overseas friends managed to convince Mikhail Gorbachev. Another thing is known: not so long ago, the granddaughter of the former President of the Union, Ksenia Virganskaya, showed off at the ball of the richest people on the planet in Paris in a dress from Dior, which costs 22 thousand dollars.

But the formidable missile carriers on rails cannot go beyond the technical territory of the unit. No money.
True, one missile train left the security perimeter - it was necessary to carry out repair work in the factory. All other movements of the BZHRK crews have to be carried out within the boundaries of the unit’s territory. But, as it turned out, “local maneuvers” in no way reduce the overall combat readiness of the BZHRK crews.

To train officer-drivers of rolling stock, training is regularly conducted on the BZHRK routes. It is important for them to visually imagine the landscape along the railway track, to know all the turns and forks of the road, and almost every telegraph pole along the route. All this ultimately allows you to competently manage your combat personnel.

This problem can be solved thanks to the disposition towards the rocket scientists on the part of the management of the Russian railways, their state approach and understanding that this is being done in the name of the country’s defense. In principle, military personnel could use their own training train for training, simulating a BZHRK, but a lack of funds affects it. Today it is more important to spend money on maintaining in working condition those locomotives that are in constant combat readiness.
Now the BZHRK is not aimed anywhere. In the language of rocket scientists, this is called a “zero flight mission.” The difficulty is that since 1991, missile units have never fired from their systems. Recently, they had to practice the tasks of combat use of weapons only on simulators. True, in 1998 there was one exception. The combat crew of the BZHRK launched the standard Scalpel, removed from the train, using a launcher at the Plesetsk training ground.

Under the leadership of V.F. Utkin and with his direct participation, most of the missiles on which the country’s missile defense shield is based were created.

From 1970 to 1990, V.F. Utkin headed the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, first as chief and then general designer. During this time, four strategic missile systems were developed and put into service, and several launch vehicles were created. These include the highly efficient, environmentally friendly Zenit launch vehicle; SS-24 solid propellant missile; the unparalleled highly effective strategic missile SS-18.

In the field of space research, various satellites for defense and scientific purposes have been implemented. In total, more than three hundred spacecraft of the Cosmos family developed by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau were launched into orbit, constituting a significant part of the total number of satellites in this series.

The characteristic principle of V.F. Utkin’s work is the use of defense scientific and technical developments in the interests of science and the national economy. Thus, a conversion launch vehicle was created on the basis of the SS-9 combat vehicle

"Cyclone", designed to launch medium payloads into orbit. The Cosmos-1500 satellite was used to remove convoys of ships covered in ice in the East Siberian Sea. Kosmos-1500 also became the founder of the well-known Ocean series of satellites, which provide significant improvements in the safety and efficiency of navigation.

Since 1990, V.F. Utkin has been the director of the Central Research Institute of Mechanical Engineering (TSNIIMASH) of the Russian Aviation and Space Agency (Rosaviakosmos). With the direct participation of Vladimir Fedorovich, the Russian federal space program was developed.

Under his leadership as the general designer, R&D was carried out with the aim of creating experimental special-purpose devices, and scientific and technical “support” was provided for key problems related to the International Space Station (ISS). Vladimir Fedorovich headed the coordinating scientific and technical council of Rosaviakosmos and the Russian Academy of Sciences for research and experiments on the manned station "Mir" and the Russian segment of the ISS. V.F. Utkin is the author of over 200 scientific works and a large number of inventions, holder of 11 orders and 14 medals.

The first production train went on combat duty in 1987. He was placed on a special platform. Americans recorded from space
location of the combat unit. This was done specifically so that they could take this train into account. This procedure was spelled out in detail in the bilateral agreement. And then his trace was lost. We tested the train in Plesetsk. It had three combat modules, a “living area”, and its own command post.

The main carriages of the BZHRK are those in which the PC-22 missile system (according to the Western classification "Scalpel") and the command post of the combat crew are located. “Scalpel” weighs more than a hundred tons and “reaches” a range of 10 thousand kilometers. The missiles are solid fuel, three-stage, with ten half-megaton individually targetable nuclear units on each. The Kostroma division has several such trains, and each of them has three launchers: twelve missiles, one hundred and twenty nuclear warheads. One can imagine the destructive power of these seemingly harmless-looking echelons! In addition to Kostroma, BZHRK are deployed in two more places.

And such trains roamed the expanses of the country, which could only be seen by chance, kept a combat watch in the North and the Far East, among the taiga and in the mountains... And they were closely monitored by the ocean, sending special satellites to detect them, and hourly, every minute trying to determine where they are. But it was not always possible to do this, despite all the perfection of modern technology - rocket trains were “hidden” under ordinary ones, and try to determine where this missile complex is going, and where is the fast Novosibirsk-Moscow train.”...

Start

Two three-meter telescopic “paws” came out from under the bottom of the car and rested on special reinforced concrete pedestals, rigidly fixing the starting car. The car itself also had an aiming platform, which, when the car was fixed, rested tightly against the railway track, reading the coordinates of the module’s location. Thus, at each point of combat duty, each missile received a clear program and a given flight path to the real target of a potential enemy. When the launch car is already fixed at a certain point on the railway, at the operator’s command, hydraulic pinning jacks release its roof. Then the end hydraulic jacks operate synchronously, and the car opens like a chest, only in two halves. At the same seconds, the main hydraulic pump of the main hydraulic jack begins to work actively, and the huge “cigar” of the TPK smoothly becomes vertical and is fixed with side brackets. All! The rocket is ready for launch!

The missile carries a MIRV-type multiple warhead with 10 warheads with a yield of 500 kt each. (An atomic bomb with a yield of 10 kilotons was dropped on Hiroshima.) Flight range is 10 thousand kilometers.
Mariupol machine builders equipped these trains with very reliable TVR (temperature and humidity) systems and fire extinguishing systems. Flight tests of the rocket were carried out from February 27, 1985 to December 22, 1987. A total of 32 launches were made.
By the way, for the successful testing of the “Scalpel” in Plesetsk, a group of leading Ukrainian designers and machine builders were presented with high government awards. They were mainly awarded the medal “For Labor Valour,” but soon they were to be awarded the honorary title “Honored Worker of Transport of the USSR.” Although, according to the regulations in force at that time, the “distance” from award to award was at least three years. It took a special petition from the industry minister for the early assignment of “deserved” ones.
In 1991, the list was placed on the table of Mikhail Gorbachev, who in a week or two was to part with the presidency of the head of the superpower. What Mikhail Sergeevich thought then, only he knows. But he dealt with the candidates for “merit” in his characteristic spirit of making unpredictable decisions. Gorbachev decided: the last citizen of the Soviet Union, which was bursting at the seams, to whom he would assign this high title of “honored” would be... Alla Borisovna Pugacheva. Signed - President of the USSR...

June 16, 2005, the penultimate of the railway-based missile systems "Scalpel" was sent from the Kostroma missile force formation to a storage base for subsequent liquidation. The last of them is scheduled to be destroyed in September 2005. The official reason why “Scalpels” removal from service is called expiration of service life, although if we take into account that they were put into service in 91-94, this period should expire only by 2018, provided that regular maintenance is carried out by the manufacturer. But the plant in Pavlovgrad (Ukraine) now makes trolleybuses instead of rockets. And Ukraine, having become a nuclear-free power, under the terms of the agreement cannot have, produce or maintain nuclear weapons, especially now that the new Ukrainian authorities have set a course to the west. And the equipment for the production of missiles in service with Russia is being melted down.

Wikipedia BZHRK "Molodets"

Military expert and editor-in-chief of the National Defense magazine Igor Korotchenko told RIA Novosti about these plans. According to him, a logical step against the backdrop of cooling relations between the United States and Russia would be the implementation of two programs: the creation of an updated BZHRK, as well as a new medium-range ground launch complex. Korotchenko noted that these are extreme response measures, but preparation for them is necessary in advance. In addition to them, the most likely option for strengthening the country’s defense capability would be to modernize and strengthen aerospace defense on its western borders.

Missile-carrying trains were already in service with the USSR and Russia from 1987 to 2005. The complex, codenamed “Molodets” (“Scalpel” according to NATO classification), was armed with three launchers for intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) RT-23. At a distance of 11 thousand kilometers, it was capable of throwing ten warheads with a capacity of up to 550 kilotons of TNT. The train consisted of three diesel locomotives and at least eleven cars, three of which (launchers) were eight-axle. The large weight of the rocket in the launch container (more than 126 tons) forced the designers to use special devices to partially transfer the load to adjacent cars. Despite this, the train still required strengthening of the railway track along the entire route. The launch took place after stopping and releasing the supports; preparation took no more than three minutes. After the end of the missiles' service life, all built complexes were either sent to a museum or cut into scrap metal. The developer and manufacturer of both the RT-32 missile and the launch complex equipment is the Ukrainian Yuzhnoye Design Bureau.

Peacekeeper Rail Garrison as imagined by an artist

A similar system was developed in the USA and was called Peacekeeper Rail Garrison. Its development was curtailed along with the end of the Cold War as unnecessary. In a number of parameters and according to test results, it was superior to the Soviet design: it did not require prepared railway tracks, the cars were completely identical to civilian ones (4 axles, standard length), the launch crew was smaller - 42 people including security versus 70 in Molodets. The previously closed Russian Barguzin project will be closer to US developments in its concept than to its Soviet predecessor. It is supposed to launch RS-24 Yars missiles - a modernized Topol-M, or RS-26, or 3M30 Bulava missiles. Their weight fits into the carrying capacity of a standard railway car, which means that camouflage and development of the entire launch complex becomes easier.