Modern warfare is characterized by a necessity
to engage a wide variety of targets. The most common targets
for the land and air forces are: armoured vehicles (tanks),
lightly armoured vehicles (IFV, APC and assault landing vehicles),
artillery (including rocket artillery), AD systems and tactical
missiles launching sites, fortifications (pillboxes, earth-and-timber
strongpoints, bunkers), infrastructure elements (bridges,
depots, airports), aerial targets (helicopters and airplanes),
surface targets (ships and boats). Besides that, the typical
target list for the Navy also includes the coast defense elements.
Moreover, all the listed targets possess specific
features, e.g. armor protection, size, maneuverability. The
engagement of such targets require application of special
munitions, which in its turn leads to a necessity of using
multiple weapon types on the carrier. As a result, a considerable
portion of the ammunition load might become a dead weight
in course of combat operation.
Thus, the development of high-precision weapon
systems capable of defeating a wide variety of targets with
versatile munitions is becoming more and more relevant.
KBP Instrument Design Bureau develops airborne
(Hermes-A), land based (Hermes) and naval (Hermes-K) multipurpose
systems meeting the above mentioned requirements. Each of
these systems incorporate the following principles:
- increased firing range due to employment of two-stage
bi-caliber guided missile with high-power booster;
- versatility of application against various types of targets
due to employment of guided missile with powerful HEF warhead;
- high combat potential due considerable ammunition load
on the carrier;
- high target handling capacity due to supersonic speed
of the missile and salvo firing capability;
- automated guidance process due to employment of “fire-and-forget”
principle;
- modular design, allowing for allocation of the system
on various types of carriers.
The implementation of the said principles makes
"Hermes" family the most advanced high precision
weapon systems both in Russia and in the world.
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