The Almaz-Antey/NNIIRT 55Zh6ME Nebo ME was displayed publicly for the
first time at the Ramenskoye Air Base centenary open day and air
show at Zhukovskiy, near Moscow, August 10 to 12th, 2012. Of the four
components comprising the Nebo M multiband radar system, only the
S/C-Band RLM-S component was not displayed. Russia media reports
suggest that the development of the RLM-S has been delayed, although
the system was listed on the placard at the Ramenskoye display as a
Nebo M component.
Captured high resolution imagery of the remaining components did not
reveal any significant departures from the previously disclosed
Powerpoint briefing slides, prototype imagery, or the most recent
Almaz-Antey promotional illustration. The imagery was shot by Vitaliy
V. Kuzmin using a Canon EOS 5D Mark II 21 Megapixel DSLR with a Canon
EF 24-105mm f/4L IS zoom lens, and is employed in this report with
permission.
All radar components are carried on variants of the 8 x 8 all terrain
BZKT BAZ-6909-015 24-tonne chassis.
What the display did validate was the inclusion of the NK Orientir
precision positioning system on all radar components. Unlike the
NK Orientir installations employed on S-300PMU2 TELs, the Nebo M
installation has the characteristic L-Band antenna package at the top
of the Nebo M component antennas. Rather than determining the position
and angular orientation of the vehicle, the Nebo M arrangement
determines same for the antenna phase centre, which is offset a fixed
distance below the NK Orientir antenna package.
The NK Orientir precision navigation system was developed by a
consortium comprising NVP Protek, NII Radiotekhniki KGTU, NPP
Radiosvyaz and FGUP TsNII Elektropribor. This design employs a FOG
inertial reference with corrections provided by a GPS and Glonass
satnav receivers, LORAN-C and Chaika radio navaids, and an
odometer. The system is also equipped with a moving map display and is
claimed to provide a geolocation accuracy of 15 metres, and angular
positioning accuracy of 6 minutes of arc, for “hide, shoot and scoot”
operations. Given the likelihood of carrier phase measurements being
used, the actual relative positioning and angular accuracy could be
considerably better.
The untidy ad hoc cabling for the NK Orientir system suggests the
displayed systems were prototypes or preproduction systems employed for
integration testing of NK Orientir. A production installation would
have cables properly protected by conduits, and robust weather
protected enclosures for the electronics modules.
Another interesting observation is that 100 kiloWatt diesel generator
powerplants are employed rather than the traditional gas turbine
generator plant favoured in earlier Russian designs. This will improve
on station persistence and reduce the thermal signature of the system.
All antenna components employ hydraulic stow/deploy and chassis
levelling mechanisms for rapid “hide, shoot and scoot” operations.
Cited stow and deploy times are 15 minutes, which is highly
competitive, and consistent with a number of other recent designs.
An S-400 55K6E Command Post with deployed antenna mast,
and installed Luch-M48 millimetre wave band narrow beam datalink. The
latter is installed on a small bracket at the upper left of the
equipment cabin, with a prominent white dielectric radome (image ©
Miroslav Gyűrösi).
What remains unstated at this time is the manner in which high speed
data transfers will be performed between the four components of the
Nebo M/ME system. Past Russian practice in Surface to Air Missile
batteries has been to provide cabled connections between radars, TELs
and command posts, for fixed site operations, and radio frequency
datalinks for dispersed “hide, shoot and scoot” operations. A recent
evolution has been the use of pencil beam microwave or millimetric wave
datalinks to provide both covert high data rate operation, and very
high jam resistance, good examples being the Luch-M48 millimetre wave
band narrow beam datalinks employed in the 54K6E2 Command Post for the
S-300PMU2 Favorit / SA-20B and 55K6E Command Post for the S-400 Triumf
/ SA-21.
Pencil beam datalink transceiver
enclosures on the KU-RLK Command Post vehicle. Each of these provides a
secure link to a radar head vehicle, both of which are equipped with a
single example of the same device. The most likely candidate is the
Luch M48 MMW link, common to the 54K6E2/55K6E SAM battery command posts.
The displayed systems are equipped with box shaped enclosures mounted
on the cabin roofs of the BAZ-6909-015 host vehicles, these appear
almost identical to the Luch-M48 transceiver enclosure on the
Almaz-Antey 54K6E2/55K6E CP vehicles. All of these enclosures lack the
circular antenna radome seen with the Luch-M48, a slot shaped hole
observable in that location, but all are mounted on turntables with
yokes, permitting the enclosure to be physically pointed in elevation
and azimuth. The knobs on the mounting suggest manual aiming in
elevation and azimuth. Not unlike the NK Orientir installation, the
cabling and support frame appear to be an ad hoc installation,
consistent with a prototype.
Until definitive disclosures are made by the Russian MoD or
manufacturers, the specific datalink will remain uncertain. At this
time it is a reasonable speculation that the Luch M48 or a closely
related MMW design will be used, providing a secure and highly jam
resistant interconnection with high data rate between the Nebo M
components.
The extant installation may only be intended for validation and
integration purposes. It is not optimally placed for range or terrain
clearance. An optimal installation for a “hide, shoot and scoot”
operational regime would see the KU-RLK Command Post datalink antennas
placed on an elevating mast, with a servo driven mounting to permit
automated aiming and link capture, using geolocation data transmitted
over an omnidirectional radio channel for coarse antenna aiming.
Optimal placement for the radar components would be at the top of the
radar antennas, on a space stabilised platform. Until a production
datalink installation is observed, uncertainty will remain in this area.