Background
One of the valuable byproducts of the disintegration of the Soviet
regime has been the release into the open source domain of a large
volume of declassified technical material covering Soviet systems used
through the Cold War period. These include a range of radar systems and
SAM systems, especially those operated by Warsaw Pact nations. Numerous
websites have appeared in Eastern Europe and Germany, which detail
these weapon systems in a manner which a Cold War era Western technical
intelligence analyst could only dream of.
An even more valuable contribution has recently appeared in Hungary, a
high quality simulator program hosted on Windows, which provides
faithful emulations of a range of Soviet SAM system engagement radar
consoles. APA sought advice from several contributors with operational
experience on these systems, and all confirmed that the simulator
provides a high quality representation of the SNR-75 Fan Song E, and
SNR-125 Low Blow. The author of this program intends to produce over
time accurate simulators for a number of the Soviet SAM systems
operated by
the Warsaw Pact.
While most of these SAM systems
are no longer operational, and those which are, are typically no
longer in the legacy configuration depicted, the simulator is valuable
as it illustrates the high level of proficiency and high training
standards required for these systems to be used effectively in combat.
This clearly explains the enormous disparities in combat effect
observed between operations by the Warpac advisor led PAVN pre-1973, by
Soviet PVO troops along the Suez during the War of Attrition, and
Serbian forces during OAF, in comparison with the woeful performance of
the Syrians in 1982, and the Iraqis in 1991. The latter have become
completely unrealistic yet widely accepted benchmarks of IADS combat
effect and performance.
APA strongly recommends that
visitors with a professional interest in Soviet SAMs invest the time to
visit the site, play the recorded tutorials, and download the simulator
for a test run.
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