 |
| PHÎÒÎ: PHL |
Our peace-loving country was known for its weapons from the earliest times. When warriors were fighting fairly face to face with cold steel, Ukrainian blacksmiths were hammering famous kharalug swords and spears (the name is derived from the Turkic word “kara lyg” meaning “black flower”, those cold steel weapons were made of special ancient combat steel and were covered with special floral ornaments). Kharalug swords were even mentioned in the ancient Tale of Igor´s Campaign. Nowadays, when air strikes are widely used, Ukrainians developed the Kolchuga passive sensor ESM system based on the traditions of our ancestors. The system was called Kolchuga (chain mail) in honor of the ancient Slav worriers
Invisible but all-seeing
It seems the international scandal with the Kolchuga is now water under the bridge. But when Americans were brewing up the Iraq war they were afraid that besides Saddam Hussein’s guard they would confront Ukrainian ESM systems in the desert.
Kolchuga is the implementation of the dearest dream of all high-ranking servicemen – detect and identify practically all known active radio devices mounted on the ground, airborne or marine objects and stay invisible at the same time. The system’s detection range is limited by line-of-sight, but may be up to 800 km (500 miles) at very high altitudes and for very powerful emitters. Kolchuga is an ESM system comprised of three or four receivers, deployed tens of kilometers apart, which detect and track aircraft by triangulation and multi-lateration of their RF emissions. Being line-of-sight limited, the system is an effective early warning air defense system against high power emitters.
The U.S. and other countries invested huge sums of money in stealth technologies and achieved significant progress. Their aircraft and ships are masked with the help of radar absorbent materials. The traditional paradigm of radiolocation envisages stations sending electromagnetic waves reflected from objects and caught on their way back to the stations. Such radiolocation is called active.
Kolchuga has a passive operation mode. It generates no impulses, for this reason it remains invisible for the enemies, and it catches signals from objects. The station detects electromagnetic noise produced by any system streamed with electric current. Moreover, Kolchuga is able to detect and identify practically all known active radio devices mounted on ground, airborne or marine objects. “Invisible” stealth aircrafts do not fly on navigation systems, radio communications or recognition systems turned off, as well as any other defense machinery including cruise missiles. Such signals are caught by the Kolchuga which is invisible at the same time.
The Kolchuga is able to identify enemy’s machinery at a range of 800 km and it is also able to detect up to 200 targets at the same time and transmit their trajectories to display binding them with the digital map. Ukrainian designers make claims that the Kolchuga is far more advanced than all American, Russian, French, Czech or Brazilian developments in this field.
This was the reason why the Topaz bureau got embroiled into the scandal that began with accusations and ended with apologies. The accusations of the U.S. State Department against Ukraine of selling the Kolchuga to Iraq never found confirmation. At the same time, the scandal gave the rest of the world an opportunity to learn about unique Ukrainian technologies.
Another interesting fact is that prior to the Kolchuga row, the Topaz on a regular basis participated in a number of exhibitions and got no special prominence. After the scandal, the Kolchuga got its moment under the sun!
Kolchuga blacksmiths
Initially, the system was developed in the 1980s by Ukrainian scientists at the to this day classified Kursk Military Institute under the Main Intelligence Directorate. In 1987, documentation for the Kolchuga was transferred to Topaz Holding in Donetsk upon the decision of the Military and Industrial Committee of the Council of Ministers of the USSR. The Kolchuga was developed by the Special Radio Device Design Bureau public holding, Topaz holding, the Donetsk National Technical University, the Ukrspetsexport state-run company and the Investment and Technologies company. It took these companies eight years (1993-2000) to conduct research, develop algorithms, test solutions on experimental specimens and launch serial production.
As a result, the modern-day Kolchuga is totally different from the initial design developed by the Kursk bureau. Only the basic principles remained the same: passive sensors and parallel detection of signals across an entire spectrum of frequencies. One station consists of five antennae operating in different frequency ranges and a whole bunch of high-accuracy electronic devices, which are adjusted to those communication systems used by customers.
The Ukrainian system is not only used to detect objects but also to transmit signals to anti-aircraft rocket systems. A user can even receive text messages on detection and capture of targets from the system. Moreover, the Kolchuga can work in totally automatic and manual operation modes. “It is reminiscent of a radio receiver in a car – either you choose a frequency or the system finds it for you,” said one defense engineer.
Human ear can hear certain sounds on the backdrop of general noise. Likewise, the Kolchuga detects certain signals from a huge flow of radio magnetic noise in a broad frequency range. The task is utterly difficult and would be impossible without the software algorithms, which was also designed by Ukrainian scientists.
Tests were completed in 2000 and the same year can be considered the date of the release of the totally Ukrainian-made high-end electronic technology on the international market.
Ukraine has shown that it can boast not only its proverbially melodic language and songs, but also unique scientific developments. It is clear that marketing of the goods did not go easy, especially considering the sharp dissatisfaction of those who heavily invested in the Stealth technology. But the very fact that we can do things that nobody else is able to do offer a measure of consolation.
Besides Kolchuga, there are plenty of other developments involving the availability of decent academic professionals. For example, another Donetsk company – the Research Institute for Complex Automation – specializes in electronic jamming stations. They can turn off everything from radio-fire mines to mobile signals. It can basically suppress all signals over a vast range of territory and protect talks in closed premises from eavesdropping, etc. The main customers for this product are the U.S. and China although they prefer to keep mom about this fact.
All these developments should be pursued and strengthened. The state should invest money not only in new military developments in order to conquer world markets and protect its own interests. And perhaps then not only Japan and South Korea, but Ukraine will also become globally renowned as a quality electronic producer.
Printable version
