Russian Aerospace Forces' S-400 Air Defence System. Russia's VKS tested a new control system
The Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) have tested for the first time an air defence automatic control system (ACS) fitted with elements of artificial intelligence (AI), the newspaper Izvestia reports
The new ACS makes it possible to integrate S-300 and S-400 air defence systems, Pantsir gun-and-missile anti-aircraft system and modern radars. The control system automatically analyses the aerial situation and issues recommendation on the use of arms. According to experts, this will significantly reduce the air defence units’ and formations’ response time. The Defence Ministry told the Izvestia that tests are already held using the new ACS. For instance, in the spring of this year the system has been tested on the basis of one air defence regiment of the 14th army of the Air Force and Air Defence. Its efficiency is valuated jointly with experts of the dedicated line in defence industry. The ACS is due to go into service with the troops this year.
Once the new control system is accepted for service, the air defence divisions and regiments will be able to promptly respond to the changing combat situation. At the moment, each AD system and radar has its own control system. The information from them is collected at a regiment’s or division’s command post, where control officers analyse it. Now this information will be processed in real time using the elements of AI.
The new air defence ACS will automatically present the complete picture of the aerial situation. The targets will be categorized as individual and collective, their type, threat level, speed, altitude and flight direction will be determined and conveyed. Thus the commander will get a complete picture of the enemy’s actions and recommendations for eliminating him. This makes it possible to take an accurate decision, and rationally distribute the available forces and means. The decision-taking time is reduced, and it becomes easier to distribute the targets for the attacking weapons. The regiment commander will have an opportunity to carry on fight in a wide range of altitudes, from hundreds of kilometers to several meters, and at a distance of up to hundreds of kilometers.
Thanks to the new ACS it will become possible to automatically rebuff a massive missile strike by simultaneous use of several types of air defence systems, e.g. S-400 anti-aircraft system and Pantsir-S air defence gun-and-missile system. This will make it possible to effectively destroy aircraft, and rebuff a massive strike of cruise and ballistic missiles, as well as small size unmanned aerial vehicles and multiple launch rockets.
The modern air defence concepts are based on the centralised control and automation, lieutenant-general Alexander Gorkov, former chief of the air defence missile troops said to the Izvestia. "The new ACS will reduce the mission performance time, enhance the target designation accuracy and integrate heterogeneous forces of short, medium and long range air defence. The automatically gathered information will be summarised as soon as possible and transferred to the command post. This is critically important, considering today’s aircraft speed and the high density of aerial threats," Gorkov said.