Russia's "nuclear trains" are on their way. Combat railway missile system from Molodets to Barguzin What's new in the creation of the Barguzin bzhrk

20.06.2020

The BZHRK, or Barguzin combat railway missile system, is a new generation of trains armed with ballistic missiles. Developed in the Russian Federation. In 2020, it is planned to be adopted.

What is a nuclear train? What was the first generation of rocket trains in the USSR? Why did the US fail to create a ghost train? You will get answers to these and many other questions in this article.

What is "BZHRK"?

BZHRK (or ghost train) is a military railway strategic missile system. The complex is located on the basis of a railway train consisting of a diesel locomotive and freight cars. From the outside, it is no different from the ordinary freight trains that ply Russia by the thousands. However, it has a very difficult filling. Inside are placed intercontinental missiles, command posts, technical service systems, technological modules that ensure the functioning of the complex and the vital activity of personnel. At the same time, the train is autonomous.

The BZHRK was created primarily as the main strike power for delivering a retaliatory nuclear strike against a potential enemy, therefore it had the qualities of mobility and survivability. According to the plans of the command, he was supposed to survive after being hit by an intercontinental ballistic missile by a potential enemy.

BZHRK "Scalpel" - the previous generation of nuclear trains

For the first time, the development of nuclear trains began to be carried out in the 60s of the twentieth century. Work was carried out in the USSR and the USA approximately in parallel.

What does the idea of creation, according to legend, was thrown up, namely, by the Americans. After unsuccessful attempts by the United States to create a complex, it was decided to start disinformation that such trains were being actively created and would soon be on the rails. The purpose of false information was one - to force the Soviet Union to invest huge funds in an unrealizable idea. As a result, the result exceeded all expectations.

On January 13, 1969, the Order of the Commander-in-Chief "On the creation of a mobile combat railway missile system (BZHRK) with the RT-23 missile" was signed, in pursuance of which by the 1980s in the USSR for the first time in the world it was put into production and tested under conditions close to combat, a missile carrier on a railway platform, which had no analogues and does not exist in the whole world. As experts said, there is no more formidable and mobile weapon on the planet than a mobile railway combat train with a continental missile on board.

The team of the Russian Academy of Sciences, headed by the brothers Alexei and Vladimir Utkin, worked on the creation of the complex. During the creation, the designers faced several serious difficulties.

Firstly, the mass of the train - a huge weight could deform the railway track. The weight of the smallest ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile) was 100 tons.
Secondly, the direct flame at the launch of the rocket melted the train and the rails on which it stood.
Thirdly, the contact network above the car, of course, was an obstacle to launching a rocket. And this is not the whole list of problems faced by Soviet specialists.

The BZHRK used RT-23U missiles (according to NATO classification SS-24 "Scalpel"). For the composition, special rockets were made with a retractable nozzle and fairing. One missile carries a MIRV-type multiple reentry vehicle with 10 warheads with a yield of 500 kilotons each.

An original decision was made to distribute the load on the track. Three cars were connected by a rigid coupling, which ensured that the weight of the rocket was distributed over a longer section of the railway track. In a combat state, special hydraulic paws were put forward.

To divert the contact suspension of the network that interferes with the launch, a special device was invented that carefully removed the wires from the operating area of the complex. The network was de-energized before launch.

To launch a rocket, an ingenious solution was also invented - a mortar launch. The powder charge threw the rocket 20 meters above the ground, after which another charge corrected the inclination of the rocket nozzle away from the train, and after that the first stage engine was turned on. Thus, a column of flame of great temperature did not cause damage to the cars and tracks, but was directed in the right direction.

The autonomy of the rocket train was more than 20 days.

On October 20, 1987, after tests carried out at the Semipalatinsk test site, the RT-23UTTH Molodets missile regiment took up combat duty. And by 1989, 3 divisions of the BZHRK were deployed on the territory of the USSR, dispersed at a distance of many thousands of kilometers: in the Kostroma region, in the Perm and Krasnoyarsk regions.

The BZHRK device includes railway modules for various purposes, namely: 3 launch modules for RT-23UTTKh ICBMs, 7 cars as part of the command module, a module with fuel reserves in a railway tank, and 2 diesel locomotives of the DM-62 modification. Work on improving the equipment did not stop even after entering the troops, and its combat potential was steadily growing.

BZHRK "Molodets" were a nightmare for the Americans. Enormous funds were allocated for tracking ghost trains. Reconnaissance satellites searched for 12 ghost trains across the country and could not distinguish the combat complex from the train with refrigerators (refrigerator cars) carrying food.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, everything changed in Russia. On January 3, 1993, the START-2 treaty was signed in Moscow, according to which the Russian Federation must destroy part of its missile potential, including RT-23U missiles, therefore, by 2005, according to the official version, all BZHRKs are removed from combat duty and destroyed, and a few survivors are sent to storage for further disposal.

The complex was officially on combat duty in the Soviet Union for about 20 years, until 2005.

US attempts to create a ghost train

The United States also made attempts to create missile systems on a railway platform. Their development began in the 1960s, since around the same time, Pentagon scientists first created the Minuteman solid-fuel ballistic missile, which, due to its technical parameters, could be launched from small sites and in railway shaking conditions. The development was given the name "Minitman Rail Garrison".

It was originally planned that the ghost train filled with missiles would run at predetermined positions, for which work would be carried out at the indicated locations to create conditions in order to simplify the launch and adjust the missile's navigation system to the specified launch points.

The first mobile Minuteman missiles on a railway platform were to enter the US Army by mid-1962. But the American administration did not allocate the necessary amount to prepare the infrastructure and launch the production of prototypes, and the program was shelved. And the created transport wagons were used to deliver the "Minitman" to the place of combat deployment - launch mines.

However, after the success of the Soviet Union in the development of similar projects, the United States remembered the technology that had been gathering dust since the 60s and in 1986 created a new project using old developments. For the prototype, the then-existing LGM-118A "Peacekeeper" missile was chosen. It was planned that its traction would be provided by four-axle diesel locomotives, and each train would be provided with two security cars. 2 wagons will be allocated to the launcher with an already loaded missile in the launch container, another will have a control center, and the rest of the wagons will take fuel and parts for current repairs.

But "Peacekeeper Rail Garrison" was never destined to get on the rails. After the official end of the Cold War, the US authorities abandoned the development of missile systems on a railway platform and redirected cash flows to other military industry projects.

In the United States, the rail-based missile system was never put into operation - its history ended after unsuccessful tests in 1989.

New railway missile complex of the Russian Federation

At present, for various reasons, not one of the armies of the world is armed with railway launchers. The Russian Federation is the only one that has been working on the creation of this type of weapon since 2012, and by now has developed preliminary projects for a railway launcher that meets all modern requirements for strategic weapons.

It is known that the design name of the new BZHRK is "Barguzin". The project documentation indicates that the Barguzin will be assembled from two main parts: a railway launcher and a combat missile.

The railway launcher will be located on a railway platform, to which a special beam with a lifting boom and a control mechanism is attached. A lifting frame is attached to the railway boom with the possibility of longitudinal movement. TPK (torpedo hull perforator) with a rocket will be supported by supports that are mounted on base plates and equipped with swivel rods.

The rocket is brought to the launch from the TPK, commands to which are given from a special car as part of the BZHRK with control systems brought to it. When the rocket is launched, the roof of the car opens (folds back), due to which the distance necessary for the launch is formed.

Comparative characteristics

Parameter	BZHRK "Barguzin"	BZHRK "Molodets"
Date of adoption	2009	1989
Rocket length, m	22,7	22,6
Starting weight, t	47,1	104,5
Maximum range, km	11000	10 100
Number and power of warheads, Mt	3-4 X 0.15; 3-4 X 0.3	10×0.55
Number of locomotives	1	3
Number of missiles	6	3
Autonomy, days	28	28

Advantages of the new BZHRK:

Less train weight
Modern navigation systems
Greater missile hit accuracy

rockets

At the stage of developing project documentation, the developers and the command had a choice - which of the modern missiles in service with the Russian army to use as a projectile on the BZHRK "Barguzin". After numerous discussions, the Yars and Yars-M missiles were chosen. This missile is a silo-based and mobile-based solid-propellant ballistic missile with a separable warhead, the maximum flight range of which is 11,000 kilometers, and the TNT equivalent charge capacity is from 150 to 300 kilograms. The specified ballistic missile proved to be excellent during preliminary tests.

Does BZHRK exist now?

After the signing of the START-2 international treaty in January 1993, Russia lost its combat railroad missile systems. Now most of them have been destroyed, and the rest have turned into exhibits standing on the sidings of the railway depots. Therefore, in fact, until 2006, our state was left without a strike force to strike back with colossal mobile capabilities. But in 2002, Russia refused to ratify the START-2 treaty, which meant the possibility of restoring the ballistic missile potential.

As mentioned above, not one of the world powers currently has a single BZHRK worker in combat service. The only country that is taking steps to create a BZHRK is Russia, and several stages have already passed in the process of creating the complex.

Current situation

In 2006, instead of the BZHRK, the troops began to receive Topol-M mobile ground-based missile systems armed with Yars missiles. Currently, the Russian army is armed with more than a hundred Topol-M combat complexes, which can partially fill the gap left after the decommissioning of the BZHRK.

The current situation gives reason for optimism - we all hope that by 2020 the BZHRK "Barguzin" will enter mass production, which will equip our army.

Experimental design work (R&D) on the Barguzin project was started by the Moscow Institute of Thermal Engineering in 2012. The completion of the R&D is planned for 2020, and funds for their implementation are already being allocated. In 2014, the preliminary design of the complex was completed, and by the beginning of 2015, the designers began the first stage of experimental design work to create a railway launcher. The development of design documentation has been in full swing since 2015. The timing of the creation of individual elements of the Barguzin, its collection and preliminary tests will be known by 2018. The start of the deployment of the complex and its entry into the army is planned for 2020.

There was information about the successful launch of a missile from the combat railway complex "Barguzin". So far, no official confirmation.

RT-23 UTTH "Well done".

There was information about the successful launch of a missile from the combat railway complex (BZHRK) "Barguzin", which is being developed in Russia to replace the "Molodets" complex, created in the 1980s. However, there has been no confirmation of this information from the Ministry of Defense yet. It is quite possible that we were talking (without clarification) about the beginning of the throw tests, which were scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2016.

For the first time after the 1980s, Academician Yu.S. Solomonov carried out a successful launch of the Barguzin rocket, this is the so-called "wandering start". The combat railway missile system "Barguzin" is a promising mobile missile system of the strategic missile forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

Vladimir Putin and Yuri Solomonov

Rocket "Barguzin" 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, anywhere in the Soviet Union.

Vladimir Putin and the Research Institute "Moscow Institute of Thermal Engineering", headed by the Hero of Labor of the Russian Federation, Academician Yuri Semenovich Solomonov, have recreated this great weapon almost from scratch. Until today, we have been ahead of the Americans and the Chinese in rocket science by about 10-15 years, and from this moment we are already half a century ahead of them! All leaders of the country have already congratulated the great Russian rocket scientist Yuri Solomonov on the successful start. We join in their congratulations.

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

This option for deploying ballistic missiles is very strongly 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 international treaty START-3 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) / military railway missile system (BZHRK). R&D for the creation of the BZHRK began in 2012 and is being conducted by the Moscow Institute of Thermal Engineering (MIT). Until December 2014, it was discussed that the creation of the complex is 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 Yu.S. Solomonov could be the chief designer of the complex. in his speeches to the media, he repeatedly spoke out against the BZHRK as a class of missile systems. Until 2020, it is planned to complete the development work, create and test prototypes of the BZHRK (according to plans for 2012). 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 said that the preliminary design of the BZHRK is currently underway, 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 would be completed in the first half of 2014, but the final decision on the design of the BZHRK had 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 R & D was underway to create the complex.

In December 2014, the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Strategic Missile Forces stated in the media that the development of the BZHRK could soon begin, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Strategic Missile Forces a day later announced that the new complex was called Barguzin. The development of design documentation began in 2015 and is scheduled 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 timeline for the creation of the Barguzin was postponed by more than one year and will end no earlier than 2020. On May 12, 2016, the media reported that "the design documentation has been worked out, individual elements of the complex are being created, but there is no exact time frame for its creation and adoption into service," the timing will become clear in 2018 G..

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

Illustrations for the patent of the Central Design Bureau Titan for a railway launcher.
The numbers on the diagram indicate: 1 - railway wagon or platform, 2 - fixed trunnion 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 - base plates, 9 - swivel rods for "aiming" supports on the rails of the railway bed.

Launcher - BZHRK - combat railway missile system. The launch is carried out from the TPK, which is brought to the starting position at the starting point from a special railway car with a drop-down roof. The composition of the BZHRK technically may include several wagons with ICBMs, as well as wagons for combat duty 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 "A launcher for transporting and launching a missile from a transport and launch container placed 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 carried out the development of a draft design of the units of the systems and the complex as a whole, the cooperation of co-executing enterprises was formed, and technical specifications for contractors were developed.

In addition, on the subject of "Barguzin-RV" in 2013, draft designs of special railway formations were developed at the Central Design Bureau of Transport Engineering.

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

Rocket - probably the use of a rocket similar to previously created intercontinental missile systems with a minimum time of the active part of the trajectory and with MIRV. As options, ICBMs of the RS-24 "Yars" type and ICBMs of the RS-26 "Rubezh" type and SLBM 3M30 "Bulava" can be considered as basic ones. With a high probability, the degree of unification for missiles will be high, but less than 100%.

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

The design of the rocket 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 of overcoming missile defense (KSP PRO).

The control and guidance system is 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 started the development work on the creation of the BZHRK.

2013 - development of draft designs for the components of the complex.

Not so long ago, trains with nuclear missiles were a formidable weapon of the Land of the Soviets and an atomic nightmare for a potential adversary. The ghost trains were tracked without much success by a special constellation of 12 American satellites. But after the collapse of the USSR, this unique weapon was hastily and carefully destroyed.

In recent years, the rearmament of the army has turned from a dream into a reality. The Ministry of Defense regularly adopts the latest models of military equipment and equipment.

Connoisseurs of the Soviet heritage are clearly intrigued by the reports of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation about the resumption of production of Combat Railway Missile Systems (BZHRK) at a new technological level.

The project was named "Barguzin", and the new BZHRK will be armed with missiles similar in design to the missiles of the Yars complexes. Earlier it was reported that the new rocket train will be created before 2018-2020.

Such a BZHRK was already in service with the Soviet Union in the 80s, but in accordance with the START-2 treaty missiles 15Zh61, which formed the basis of the Molodets complex, were dismantled and destroyed, and the trains themselves were scrapped.

To report that the BZHRK suddenly became relevant again is at least incorrect. The relevance was, has not gone away and will be in the future. But now the leadership of the state has enough political will to return to the railways a unique weapon that they tried, but could not create in the United States.

The history of the creation of the BZHRK

The very creation of the BZHRK was a forced measure. Nuclear trains were created as a weapon of retaliation, they were supposed to keep a potential enemy from the temptation to press the red button, and if this happened, then strike back.

In the early 70s, our intelligence obtained American plans for the creation of the BZHRK and its photographs. For the military and political leadership of the country, it was a shock: it was almost impossible to track the train moving around the country, which means it was impossible to aim your rocket at it.

It turned out that the United States was creating a strategic system against which the USSR had no antidote. But if we cannot intercept, then at least we will create a similar threat, the Central Committee of the CPSU reasoned and set such a task for the designer Vladimir Utkin, who headed the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau in Dnepropetrovsk.

It took Utkin only 3 years to show the military his rocket train project.

But then it turned out that the Americans themselves do not create anything of the kind. They only planted technical misinformation by photographing a mock-up of a "rocket train" against the backdrop of nature.

The United States at first was going to make the BZHRK, but quickly changed their minds. The country's railway network is not sufficiently developed, which fettered the movement of the missile train, and a significant part of it is privately owned, which made the passage of such a train commercially unprofitable.

The Americans had an idea to make this train underground. To lay a ring highway underground and drive a train along it: no one needs to pay, and it would be impossible to find this road from a satellite.

From the practical implementation of this project was kept only by the fact that in order to launch ballistic missiles from the subway, it was necessary to make hatches in certain places. And they, as it is easy to assume, had clear coordinates, which makes the existence of an underground missile carrier meaningless. If the Russian missiles do not hit the train itself, then it will definitely not be difficult for them to tightly clog the missile vents.

The United States abandoned the construction of the BZHRK due to the high cost and technical complexity of the project, taking nuclear submarines as the basis of strategic nuclear forces. The USSR could no longer respond symmetrically.

The West managed to cover the entire world's oceans with a network of acoustic stations and track the movements of our missile-carrying submarines. Of course, Soviet submariners resorted to various tricks, and sometimes our nuclear submarines with nuclear missiles suddenly appeared where they were not expected at all. But this did not solve the problem of global secrecy.

Therefore, mine launchers remained the basis of our Strategic Missile Forces. Then mobile ground complexes appeared - "Pioneers" and "Topol". But due to their size and characteristic outlines, they could still be called secretive.

The idea that it would be nice to install an intercontinental missile on a railway platform arose immediately after the appearance of long-range solid-propellant missiles.

The first liquid-propellant ICBMs were very capricious in operation, required long maintenance before launch and were refueled with highly toxic fuel. Everything changed when solid-propellant rockets appeared in the ranks.

The long shelf life of such missiles made it possible to arm them with submarines, mobile soil complexes and load them into mines. Naturally, there was a temptation to create trains armed with missiles.

The Americans didn't care much. They figured that railroad-tethered missile systems would be very easy to track from space. And they miscalculated.

Outwardly, especially from above, the BZHRK practically did not differ from refrigerator cars.

True, the strategic trains were pulled by two or three diesel locomotives. So many trains are pulled by two locomotives. And the huge in length and branching of the railway network of the USSR allowed trains to get lost so that no most advanced satellite reconnaissance recorded them. The railroad BZHRK got the name "train number zero".

It was possible to launch rockets from absolutely anywhere in the railway network or from three at once, and by one train!

To do this, there were three diesel locomotives in the train, which, if necessary, could take three launch cars to three different points. After launch, the train could be quickly sheltered in one of the tunnels.

About three minutes pass from the moment the launch command is received to the launch of the rocket. Everything is done automatically, and the personnel do not even need to leave the cars.

The control came from the command module, which had increased resistance to electromagnetic pulse. Special communications antennas were also created specifically for the control car, which ensured stable reception of signals through the radio-transparent roofs of the cars.

The advantages of the Combat Railway Missile System (BZHRK) are obvious.

The train can cover considerable distances, avoiding strikes on previously known coordinates. In a day, the BZHRK train could cover a distance of over 1000 km.

Outwardly, even an experienced railway worker from 50 meters could not distinguish these cars from ordinary ones, and none of the civilians could get closer.

The rocket train passed through the busy cities only at night, at the station it was met only by a few KGB officers, who also did not know where the train was going.

Detecting such a train from a satellite is an almost impossible task.

Therefore, such trains were called "ghosts" and the BZHRK became an adequate response to the US deployment of Pershing nuclear missiles in Germany.

Each train carried three special versions of the RT-23 rocket, which received the index 15ZH61 or RT-23 UTTH Molodets. The dimensions of the rocket were amazing: a diameter of 2.4 meters, a height of 22.6 meters, and a weight of more than 100 tons. The firing range was 10,100 km, in addition to 10 individually targetable nuclear warheads, each missile carried a complex to overcome the enemy's anti-missile defense.

The total power of a volley of one train was 900 times higher than that of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Not surprisingly, the rocket train became the number one threat to NATO, where it received the designation SS-24 Scalpel (Scalpel).

Although the scalpel is an accurate surgical instrument, and the Molodets deviation from the target was about half a kilometer, with its power it was not so important.

Even falling 500 meters from the target, the scalpel warhead was capable of destroying such a protected target as a silo launcher, it’s not worth talking about the rest.

But the BZHRK, whatever one may say, has its weak points.

Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) has a very solid mass. The weight of the carriage of the Soviet BZHRK "Molodets" equipped with a rocket reached 150 tons. This imposed additional requirements on the quality of the railways and led to their premature wear.

Therefore, in order to distribute the weight evenly, a special three-car coupler was created. It also helped keep the rails from being destroyed during rocket launch, when the load increased sharply.

The second problem was the launch of the rocket itself - it was impossible to launch directly from the car, so a simple but effective solution was applied.

The rocket was launched on a mortar at 20-30 m, then, while in the air, the rocket was deflected using a powder accelerator, and only then the main engine was turned on.

The need for such complex maneuvers, which the military called the “dance”, is dictated not only by concern for the carrier car, but also the railway track: without such a launch, the rocket will easily sweep away all the rubble for a good hundred meters around.

The third problem was the need to fit the rocket in size into a refrigerated car. It was also solved simply by making a variable geometry fairing. At the moment the rocket left the transport and launch container, pressurization took place: a metal corrugated fairing took a certain shape under the action of a powder charge (it is also called a “powder pressure accumulator”).

In addition, the old inertial navigation systems required predetermined launch coordinates, so special points had to be organized along the route of the train to launch missiles, the coordinates of which, of course, could fall into the hands of a potential enemy.

Theory, tactics and practice of using BZHRK

In theory, Soviet missile trains were supposed to disperse throughout the country during the threatened period, merging with ordinary freight and passenger trains. It is impossible to distinguish one from the other from space.

This means that the BZHRK could painlessly get away from the "disarming strike" of American ballistic missiles, and deliver its own missile salvo from any point along the route.

But that's in theory. Since taking up combat duty in 1985, the BZHRK left the territory of their bases only 18 times. Passed only 400 thousand kilometers.

Veterans of the Strategic Missile Forces recall that the main "enemies" of the BZHRK were not the Americans, who insisted on their disposal under the START-2 treaty, but their own railway authorities.

BZHRK with the inscription on the sides "For the transport of light cargo", after the first passage along the railway tracks, forced the railroad leadership, which could not stand the vandalism of the military, to immediately petition: "They say war is war, but who will pay for the repair of the road"?

There were no people willing to pay, and trains with missiles were not driven around the country, and the training of officer-drivers of rocket carriers began to be carried out on civilian trains following the proposed routes of the BZHRK.

This turned out to be not only more humane in relation to the railway workers, but also much cheaper and safer. The servicemen received the necessary skills to control the train and visual representation of the route. What was actually required, because missiles from the BZHRK can be launched from any point along the route.

The inability to use the entire territory of the country for combat patrols was also not the only problem in the operation of the BZHRK.

With the declared possibility of launching missiles from any point on the route, the rocket train still needed an accurate topographic location. To do this, along the entire route of combat patrols, the military built special "sumps", where a train arrived at the "X" hour, tied to a point and could fire a salvo of missiles.

It must be understood that these were far from “blind staging stations”, but well-guarded “strategic facilities” with an infrastructure betraying their purpose.

In addition, by the time START-2 was signed, the USSR ceased to exist. Design Bureau Yuzhnoye, where the missiles were created, ended up in Ukraine, as was the Pavlograd plant, where they made “rent cars”.

“It is impossible to extend the service life of any type of weapon indefinitely,” Viktor Yesin, the former chief of staff of the Strategic Missile Forces, expressed his opinion to the ZVEZDA TV channel. “This also applies to the BZHRK, especially considering that this unique complex was created in Ukraine.”

However, the main reasons for abandoning the complex turned out to be the unresolved problem of deployment and the possibility of firing missiles from any point on the route, which in total made the BZHRK not as invulnerable as one would like. So, not so effective weapon.

Destroy by any means!

Since the advent of the BZHRD, the Americans and their allies have been trying to find a way to ensure their destruction.

If everything is simple with a mine installation: a rocket launch is detected from a satellite, then a stationary target is easily destroyed, then everything is complicated with nuclear trains.

Such a composition, if guided by electromagnetic radiation, moves along a certain radius, covering an area of the order of 1-1.5 thousand km. To guarantee the destruction of the train, you need to cover the entire area with nuclear missiles, which is physically very difficult.

An experiment conducted by Soviet designers code-named "Shift" showed the excellent resistance of the BZHRK to the effects of an air shock wave.

For this, several railway trains with TM-57 anti-tank mines (100,000 pieces) were blown up. After the explosion, a funnel with a diameter of 80 and a depth of 10 m was formed.

A nuclear train located at some distance was covered by a shock wave, in the habitable compartments the level of acoustic pressure reached a pain threshold of 150 dB. Nevertheless, the locomotive was not seriously damaged, and after certain measures to put it on alert, a rocket launch was successfully simulated.

Missile trains "Molodets" with three intercontinental ballistic missiles RT-23 UTTH were put into service in 1987. Each carried 10 warheads. By 1991, 3 missile divisions were deployed, 4 trains each. They were stationed in the Kostroma region, Krasnoyarsk and Perm regions.

Of course, the Americans did not sit idly by. Here is a documented fact of one of the secret operations to identify Soviet missile trains. To do this, under the guise of commercial cargo from Vladivostok, containers were sent to one of the Scandinavian countries, one of which was stuffed with reconnaissance equipment. But nothing happened - the Soviet counterintelligence opened the container immediately after the train left Vladivostok.

However, after the collapse of the USSR, the situation changed radically and the Americans were able to put an end to the Soviet threat.

Boris Yeltsin, who came to power, on instructions from Washington, banned the Scalpels from going on duty, and also undertook to cut all 12 missile trains into metal.

So, under the supervision of the Americans, the "Scalpels" were destroyed.

In addition, at the direction of Yeltsin, all work on the creation of such systems was banned.

For the cutting of "rocket trains" at the Bryansk repair plant of the Strategic Missile Forces, a special "cutting" line was installed. Under vigilant American supervision, all trains and launchers were disposed of, except for two demilitarized and installed as exhibits in the museum of railway equipment at the Varshavsky railway station in St. Petersburg and in the AvtoVAZ Technical Museum.

By the way, at the same time, most of the launch silos for the most powerful R-36M missiles at that time, which in NATO received the designation SS-18 Mod.1,2,3 Satan. (Satan) were liquidated (filled with concrete).

Naturally, the destruction of complexes that had no analogues in the world did not cause delight either among the military or among experts.

But there is no evil without good! Overseas, initially they did not even imagine that they were in a hurry ...

After all, Molodets missiles were designed and produced in Ukraine, in Dnepropetrovsk, mostly at the Yuzhmash plant, which is now slowly but surely being destroyed by the Ukrainian authorities.

And if, under pressure from the United States, Russia had not liquidated its BZHRK, they would have hung on us as a heavy burden, because. maintenance and life extension in the current conditions would become impossible.

What is the current situation?

Over the years, the situation with the BZHRK has changed markedly. Today, against the backdrop of the aggravation of Russian-American relations, Moscow is ready to once again take out its "trump card" that can seriously complicate the life of Washington - to revive the program for the creation of combat railway missile systems (BZHRK).

In response to the US withdrawal from the ABM treaty, Russia withdrew from START II in 2002. Now the restrictions on multiple warheads no longer apply and there are no formal bans on the use of BZHRK.

The element base has been seriously improved. Modern navigation systems have gone far ahead and the preliminary introduction of launch coordinates is no longer required.

In fact, from the old "Molodets" there will be only the System for the emergency removal of wires of the contact network and the mortar launch of the rocket, which allows minimizing damage to the train and tracks when starting the main engine.

Each Barguzin missile train will be armed with 6 RS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missiles. This is a land version of the naval Bulava. Although these missiles carry only 4 warheads, compared to a dozen on 15Zh61, they are distinguished by significantly greater hit accuracy, and most importantly, half the weight.

When its creation began, no one could have imagined that a single missile system was being developed for the Navy and the Strategic Missile Forces. "Mace" - for the fleet, and "Yars" can be based on wheeled chassis and railway platforms.

We must thank the former chief of armaments of the Armed Forces, Colonel-General Anatoly Sitnov. It was he who insisted that not just a new missile for submarines be created, but a multi-purpose unified complex capable of operating both at sea and on land.

When the Americans did find out about it, it was already too late - it was not possible to close the project. But still, probably, some external forces constantly interfered with the designers, since the work on the Bulava was very difficult. Today it is not a secret.

Nevertheless, the team of the Moscow Institute of Thermal Engineering under the leadership of the then general designer and general director Yuri Solomonov managed the almost impossible. Apparently, it was no coincidence that in the spring Yuri Semenovich was awarded the title of Hero of Labor.

What will the new Russian BZHRK look like?

In some ways, it is very similar to a strategic nuclear submarine. Only more comfortable. All train cars are airtight and very durable - even an explosion of a nuclear warhead a few hundred meters from the train should not disable the complex.

Autonomy - a month. During this time, the crew may not leave the train - there will be enough water and food. During the day, "Barguzin" will be able to pass up to 1000 km. Or he can stop on an “abandoned” branch in a dense forest or hide in an unexploited tunnel.

By the way, the tactics of the combat use of the new BZHRK, most likely, will be different from the one followed by the "Well done".

The missiles are brought into combat position within a few minutes. Firing range - 10 thousand km, hit accuracy - within a radius of 100 meters from the target. The warheads are maneuverable, capable of overcoming any of the existing missile defense systems.

It is almost impossible for technical reconnaissance equipment to determine the location of a missile train during its combat duty. For the BZHRK, the most modern means of camouflage, powerful electronic warfare systems and the latest methods of protection against terrorists have been developed.

The new BZHRK promises to be even more inconspicuous than the previous one. Instead of three old diesel locomotives, the train will pull one modern one. Thus, it will become even more difficult to distinguish combat personnel from ordinary commodity ones.

Also, due to the lower weight of the rockets, the requirements for the tracks are changing.

The Yars rocket weighs only about 50 tons, which is almost the same as the weight of an ordinary freight car. This reduces track wear and allows a significant part of the railway network to be used for movement.

In addition, there is no need for various tricks typical of the Soviet complex, such as unloading devices that redistribute part of the weight to neighboring cars.

But the number of missiles in one train will grow from three to six. Given the smaller number of warheads on each missile, the total charge is less. But thanks to the increased hit accuracy, the modern complex promises to be more effective.

Conclusion

Throwing tests of a missile for the new Russian military railway missile system (BZHRK) "Barguzin" will take place this year.

And perhaps, at the beginning of the fourth quarter, based on the results of the launch in early 2017, a decision will be made to deploy full-scale work on the BZHRK project, Yury Solomonov, general designer of the Moscow Institute of Thermal Engineering, told reporters.

“According to the BZHRK, as reported, the so-called throw tests are planned this year. They are carried out in order to verify the correctness of the adopted design decisions in terms of the impact of the rocket on the units of ground-based launch equipment. This launch is guaranteed to be carried out - it will probably be the beginning of the fourth quarter of this year. And the state of affairs today is such that it inspires absolute optimism that this will be done,” Solomonov said.

The new Russian BZHRK "Barguzin" will be exclusively of domestic production. This complex will be a cheaper and faster response to the deployment of a missile defense system by the Americans in Europe, in contrast to hypersonic missiles and fighters, work on which by 2019 will only enter the experimental stage.

The question arises, why not create an extra regiment of Yars soil complexes instead of the rather expensive BZHRK? Still, the Russian economy is not in the best condition, why overload it.

It would seem, yes, but the most complex and expensive device in the BZHRK is missiles, and they will have to be produced regardless of the type of deployment chosen.

In addition, the soil complex, although mobile, has a range of tens of kilometers from the place of permanent deployment, and the BZHRK can cover up to 1000 km per day, which, with an autonomy of 28 days, allows you to reliably get lost in the vastness of our country.

Well, the most important thing is the course towards import substitution.

If the production of missiles has long moved from Ukraine to Russia, then even by the name of the wheel tractors for the Yars: MZKT-79221, it is clear that they are produced at the Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant.

There are no quality claims against Belarus, but Russia's domestic policy is aimed at full import substitution in the military sphere. And from this point of view, the BZHRK looks preferable.

Of course, when reviving the BZHRK, all the latest developments in the field of combat missiles will be taken into account. The Barguzin complex will significantly surpass its predecessor in accuracy, missile range and other characteristics, which will allow for many years, at least until 2040, this complex to be in the combat composition of the Strategic Missile Forces, ”says S. N. Karakaev, commander of the Strategic Missile Forces.

Thus, in the Strategic Missile Forces a grouping will be recreated based on three types of missile systems - mine, mobile ground and railway, the commander of the Strategic Missile Forces concluded.

Well, God bless!

Boris Skupov

Russia, "Bit of Life!" - Dmitry Zherebtsov.

History of creation

This story goes back to the 60s. During this period, two powerful powers hostile to each other, the USA and the USSR, drove each other into the abyss of an arms race. The Americans tried, violating parity, to create a weapon capable of bringing the USSR to its knees. The Soviet leadership did not want to put up with this and thought about how this could be avoided and guarantee their country the possibility of a guaranteed missile strike with a nuclear arsenal against the country of a potential enemy.

The first and most obvious option for providing a retaliatory strike was associated with strengthening the security of nuclear launchers, which made it possible to strike back in the event of a nuclear attack by the aggressive NATO bloc, as it was then called (and, admittedly, this was its most accurate description, containing essence of this organization).

But it soon became clear that the coordinates of our launchers were well known to the United States. In 1961, the USSR in its message shocked the whole world that a new superweapon, the Hydrogen bomb, was tested on Novaya Zemlya, with a power of 50 million tons spent. The Soviet leadership was well aware that such a superweapon would soon appear in the United States. One blow of such a bomb at the location of the launch mines of the Strategic Missile Forces (Strategic Missile Forces) did not leave a single chance for a retaliatory strike.

In addition, the United States was armed with Trident-2 missiles, capable of penetrating deep into the ground and destroying the infrastructure of a grounded missile complex. And, missile systems deployed in Europe, equipped with Pershing-2 missiles, when launched, flew to us in 6-8 minutes. This time was enough to deploy the launcher and open the mine hatch. But, no more.

Thus, the Soviet Union was deprived of the opportunity to deliver a guaranteed retaliatory nuclear missile strike against the aggressor countries. It became clear to everyone that parity needed to be restored and as soon as possible. But, if it is impossible to reliably cover the launchers, then they can be made elusive. So the idea was born to make them mobile.

On January 13, 1969, an order "On the creation of a mobile combat railway missile system (BZHRK) with the RT-23 missile" was signed. Yuzhnoye Design Bureau was appointed as the lead developer. As conceived by the developers, the BZHRK was supposed to form the basis of a retaliatory strike grouping, since it had increased survivability and, with a high probability, could survive after the first strike was delivered by the enemy.

It should be noted that this complex was an integral part of the guaranteed retaliatory strike of the Soviet Union, along with the 15P696 mobile missile system with the RT-15 missile, also known as object 815 from 1965. And, the R-11FM SLBM, created on the basis of the R-11 ground-based operational-tactical missile.

Thus gave life to one of the powerful and elusive military nuclear launchers on the railway platform.

It was created by teams led by brothers Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vladimir Fedorovich Utkin and Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexei Fedorovich Utkin.

The Kremlin understood that fundamentally new technical solutions were needed. In 1979, the Minister of General Engineering of the USSR, Sergei Alexandrovich Afanasiev, set a fantastic task for the Utkin designers. Here is what Vladimir Fedorovich Utkin said shortly before his death: “The task that the Soviet government set before us was striking in its grandeur. In domestic and world practice, no one has ever faced so many problems. We had to place an intercontinental ballistic missile in a railroad car, and after all, a missile with a launcher weighs more than 150 tons. How to do it? After all, a train with such a huge load should go along the nationwide tracks of the Ministry of Railways. How to transport a strategic missile with a nuclear warhead in general, how to ensure absolute safety on the way, because we were given an estimated train speed of up to 120 km/h. Will the bridges withstand, will the track not collapse, and the start itself, how to transfer the load to the railway track during the launch of the rocket, will the train stand on the rails during the start, how to raise the rocket to a vertical position as quickly as possible after the train stops?

Yes, there were many questions, but it was necessary to solve them. Aleksey Utkin took over the launch train, and the elder Utkin took over the rocket itself and the missile system as a whole. Returning to Dnepropetrovsk, he painfully thought: “Is this task feasible? Weight up to 150 tons, almost instantaneous launch, 10 nuclear charges in the warhead, a system for overcoming anti-missile defense, how to fit in the dimensions of an ordinary car, and there are three missiles in each train ?! But as often happens, complex tasks always find brilliant performers. So in the late 70s, Vladimir and Alexei Utkin found themselves in the very epicenter of the Cold War, and not only ended up, but became its commanders-in-chief. In Dnepropetrovsk, in the Yuzhnoye design bureau, Vladimir Utkin forced himself to forget about doubts: such a rocket can and should be built!

Device BZHRK "Molodets"

The BZHRK includes: three diesel locomotives DM62, a command post consisting of 7 cars, a tank car with reserves of fuels and lubricants and three launchers (PU) with missiles. The rolling stock for the BZHRK was assembled at the Kalinin Carriage Works.

The BZHRK looks like a regular train of refrigerated, mail-luggage and passenger cars. Fourteen wagons have eight wheelsets, and three have four. Three carriages are disguised as passenger fleet carriages, the rest, eight-axle, are "refrigerators". Thanks to the available reserves on board, the complex could operate autonomously for up to 28 days.

The car-launcher is equipped with an opening roof and a device for the removal of the contact network. The weight of the rocket was about 104 tons, with the launch container - 126 tons. the wagon used special unloading devices that redistribute part of the weight to neighboring wagons.

The rocket has an original folding nose fairing. This solution was used to reduce the length of the rocket and its placement in the car. The length of the rocket is 22.6 meters.

Missiles could be launched from any point along the route. The launch algorithm is as follows: the train stops, a special device takes aside and shorts the contact network to the ground, the launch container takes a vertical position. After that, a mortar launch of a rocket can be carried out. Already in the air, the rocket is deflected with the help of a powder accelerator, and only after that the main engine is started. The deflection of the rocket made it possible to divert the main engine jet from the launch complex and the railway track, avoiding their damage. The time for all these operations from receiving a command from the General Staff to launching a rocket was up to three minutes.

The cost of one rocket RT-23 UTTH "Molodets" in 1985 prices was about 22 million rubles. In total, about 100 products were produced at the Pavlograd Mechanical Plant.

The complex was adopted on November 28, 1989. In total, 56 missiles of this type were deployed in position areas on the territory of the Ukrainian SSR and the RSFSR. However, due to a change in the defense doctrine of the USSR and political and economic difficulties, the further deployment of missiles was stopped. After the collapse of the USSR, the missiles that were on the territory of Ukraine were removed from combat duty and disposed of (including a backlog of at least 8 missiles) in the period 1993-2002. The launchers were blown up. In Russia, the missiles were taken off duty and sent for disposal after the warranty period of storage expired in 2001. The launchers were upgraded for the use of RT-2PM2 Topol-M missiles.

The 15Zh61 missile is on display at the branch of the Central Museum of the Strategic Missile Forces at the Training Center of the Military Academy of the Strategic Missile Forces named after V.I. Peter the Great in Balabanovo, Kaluga region.

New ghost train

The Russian military-political leadership also did not remain indifferent to the idea of a rocket train. Discussing the need to create a replacement for the disposed of and sent to museums "Molodets" began almost from the day the last BZHRK was removed from combat duty.

The development of a new complex, called "Barguzin", was launched in Russia in 2012, although back in June 2010 a patent was issued by the Federal State Unitary Enterprise Central Design Bureau "Titan" for an invention designated as "Launcher for transporting and launching a rocket from a transport and launch container located in a railway car or on a platform. The lead executor of the new BZHRK was the Moscow Institute of Thermal Engineering - the creator of Topol, Yars and Bulava.

In December 2015, the commander of the Strategic Missile Forces, Colonel General Sergei Karakaev, said that "the preliminary design has now been completed, and working design documentation for the units and systems of the complex is being developed." “Of course, when reviving the BZHRK, all the latest developments in the field of combat missiles will be taken into account,” Sergey Karakaev emphasized. “The Barguzin complex will significantly surpass its predecessor in terms of accuracy, missile range and other characteristics, which will allow this complex to be in the combat composition of the Strategic Missile Forces for many years, at least until 2040.”

“Thus, the Strategic Missile Forces will recreate a grouping based on three types of missile systems: mine, mobile soil and railway, which in the Soviet years proved to be highly effective,” the Interfax agency quoted the commander of the Strategic Missile Forces at the time.

In November of the next year, 2016, the first ICBM drop tests for a promising missile train were successfully completed. “The first throw tests took place at the Plesetsk cosmodrome two weeks ago. They were recognized as fully successful, which paves the way for the start of flight design tests, ”Interfax quoted the interlocutor as saying. Representatives of the Ministry of Defense and the military-industrial complex of the Russian Federation were very optimistic, they reported that a report was planned for 2017 to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the prospects for the deployment of the Barguzin complex and the start of flight design tests of the missile intended for it.

Myth or reality?

Not so long ago, information appeared about the suspension of further tests of the Barguzin BZHRK. What's the matter? In a banal lack of funds or in something else? Let's figure it out.

Initially, when creating the "Molodets", the emphasis was on the elusiveness and increased survivability of the object. According to the plan, it should be indistinguishable from the compositions of general economic purpose. But, was he not noticeable? The composition of the BZHRK, standing on the sidings, could not be distinguished from the general economic trains, except by an inhabitant. Any specialist could easily establish his belonging to the Strategic Missile Forces. This is an increased number of wheelsets, and a built-in locomotive, used only in mountainous areas or when transporting BZHRK. In general, there were enough differences, and any specialist could easily notice them.

The new "Barguzin", despite its maximum disguise, also had its own distinctive features. Therefore, it is very difficult to talk about the elusiveness of these compositions. At the moment, information has appeared about the latest developments of the military-industrial complex, capable of overcoming enemy air defense and missile defense and guaranteeing the delivery of the warhead to its destination. And their speed does not give the enemy a chance to intercept them. Russia's modern military doctrine is based on qualitatively different principles. Such developments, which are faster than the enemy’s air defense and missile defense interceptor missiles and their relative independence in overcoming air defense and missile defense, provide qualitatively new opportunities not only for delivering a retaliatory strike, but also for permanently suppressing the possibility of a potential enemy’s primary strike.

Maybe in the future the Russian military-industrial complex will return to this issue, having behind it a lot of the most modern military developments. And, the issue of the revival of the Barguzin project will be resolved at a qualitatively different scientific and technical level.

At the moment, modern military developments are able to cool even the hottest heads of the aggressive NATO bloc. They will have to think many times before getting involved in a new military adventure against our country. Modern military developments in Russia are capable of neutralizing any aggression against our country and guarantee our calm and sweet sleep.