Development of the 9K22 anti-aircraft system began on 8 June 1970. At the request of the Soviet Ministry of Defence, the KBP Instrument Design Bureau in Tula, under the guidance of the appointed Chief Designer AG Shipunov, started work on a 30–mm anti-aircraft system as a replacement for the 23–mm ZSU-23-4.
The project, code-named “Tunguska,” was undertaken to improve on observed shortcoming of the ZSU-23-4 (short range and no early warning) and a counter to new ground attack aircraft in development such as the A-10 Thunderbolt II which was designed to be highly resistant to 23 mm cannons. Studies were conducted and demonstrated that a 30 mm cannon would require two-to-three times fewer shells to destroy a given target than the 23 mm cannon of the ZSU-23-4, and that firing at a MiG-17 (or similarly at, in case of war, NATO’s Hawker Hunter or Fiat G.91) flying at 300 m/s, with an identical mass of 30 mm projectiles would result in a kill probability of 1.5 times greater than with 23 mm projectiles. An increase in the maximum engagement altitude from 2,000 to 4,000 m and increased effectiveness when engaging lightly armoured ground targets were also cited.
The initial requirements set for the system were to achieve twice the performance in terms of range, altitude and combat effectiveness than the ZSU-23-4, additionally the system should have a reaction time no greater than 10 seconds. Due to the similarities in fire control of artillery and missiles it was decided that Tunguska would be a combined gun and missile system.[5] By combining guns and missiles, the system is more effective than the ZSU-23-4, engaging targets at long-range with missiles, and shorter range targets with guns.
In addition to KBP as the primary contractor, other members of the Soviet military-industrial complex were involved in the project, the chassis was developed at the Minsk tractor factory, the radio equipment at the Ulyanovsk Mechanical Factory, central computer at NIEMI (‘Antey’), guidance and navigational systems by VNII “Signal” and optics were developed by the Leningrad Optical Mechanical Association LOMO.
However development was slowed between 1975 and 1977 after the introduction of the 9K33 Osa missile system, which seemed to fill the same requirement but with greater missile performance. After some considerable debate it was felt that a purely missile-based system would not be as effective at dealing with very low flying attack helicopters attacking at short range with no warning as had been proven so successful in the 1973 Arab-Israeli War. Since the reaction time of a gun system is around 8–10 seconds, compared to the reaction time of missile-based system, approximately 30 seconds, development was restarted.
The initial designs were completed in 1973 with pilot production completed in 1976 at the Ulyanovsk Mechanical Factory. System testing and trials were conducted between September 1980 and December 1981 on the Donguzskiy range. It was officially accepted into service on 8 September 1982 and the initial version designated 2K22/2S6, with four missiles in the ready to fire position (two on each side). The Tunguska entered into limited service from 1984 when the first batteries were delivered to the army.
After a limited production run of the original 9K22, an improved version designated 2K22M/2S6M entered service in 1990. The 2K22M featured several improvements with eight ready-to-fire missiles (four on each side) as well as modifications to the fire control programs, missiles and the general reliability of the system.
Tunguska underwent further improvement when in 2003 the Russian armed forces accepted the Tunguska-M1 or 2K22M1 into service. The M1 introduced the new 9M311-M1 missile which made a number of changes allowing the 2K22M1 to engage small targets like cruise missiles by replacing the eight-beam laser proximity fuze with a radio fuse. Additional modification afforded greater resistance to infrared countermeasures by replacing the missile tracking flare with a pulsed IR beacon. Other improvements included an increased missile range from 8 to 10 km, improved optical tracking and accuracy, improved fire control co-ordination between components of a battery and the command post. Overall the Tunguska-M1 has a combat efficiency 1.3–1.5 times greater than the Tunguska-M.
The Tunguska family was until recently a unique and highly competitive weapons system, though in 2007 the Pantsir gun and missile system entered production at KBP—a descendant of the Tunguska, the Pantsir system offers even greater performance than its predecessor.
SA-19 Firing engagement sequence.
- U) Overview. The SA-19 missile is a two-stage command-guided missile. The missile system is composed of the fire control unit, launcher, missile tracker, and the canistered missile, and is supported by the direct-view optics (DVO) and the HOT SHOT target tracking and acquisition radars onboard the 2S6M. Typical reaction time is 8-12 seconds.
(U) Fire-control system. The integrated fire-control system of the 2S6M incorporates the following components:
Target acquisition radar (TAR) (1RL144), operating in the E-band, with a max. range of 20 km.
Target tracking radar (TTR) (1RL144M), operating in the J-band, with a max. range of 18 km.
IFF system (1RL138), operating in C-and D-band.
Direct-view Optics (DVO).
Fire-control computer.
(U) The TAR antenna is mounted at the rear of the turret and is folded down when not in use. This radar provides primary search capability in addition to measurement of range and bearing. This radar can detect targets out to maximum range of approximately 20 km. It is a coherent system that has sufficient accuracy to permit its use as a range back up for fire-control purposes. The TAR emits a fan beam covering 4.50 in azimuth and 150 in elevation. The beam is pointed at a constant elevation of 7.50 to permit detection of low-altitude targets. The antenna rotates at approximately 1 r/s, which gives a rapid update of the airspace around the 2S6M. The choice of a frequency in the E-band for the TAR is an advantage since there is low attenuation in inclement weather (rain, snow, and fog) at this frequency and therefore the acquisition radar is not degraded in such conditions.
(U) The TTR antenna is mounted at the front section of the turret and has two fundamental functions that depend on whether the guns or missiles are selected. The tracking radar constantly relays target range, elevation and bearing to the fire-control computer, and on the basis if these data the computer generated the laying commands for the weapon system. A stabilized optical sight is used as a back up tracking channel, allowing target data to be relayed to the fire-control computer. This sight is also used to calculate the deviation of a missile’s flight path from the line-of-sight, these data being automatically relayed to the fire control computer and used to generate correction signals. During a gun engagement, the TTR functions as an automatic target tracker, feeding target position data to the fire-control computer. During missile engagement, the tracking radar locks onto the target and then lays the optical sight on the target. Subsequently the gunner assumes the target-tracking function with the electro-optic sight, and the radar is used for relaying guidance commands to the SA-19 missile. The tracking radar emits pulse-position-modulated codes for missile guidance. The TTR is a two-channel monopulse design featuring an MTI processor and a digital range-tracking system. The tracking radar is generally cued with coarse range and angle data from the TAR. Alternatively, the targeting information can be passed by means of the command and control network.
(U) Fire engagement sequence. During a missile action the radar first locks on the target, as in the case of gun employment, and then lays the slaved optical sight on the target. Subsequently the gunner assumes target tracking functions through his optical sight, and the radar is used for relaying the trajectory correction commands to the missile in flight. Immediately prior to the launch, the turret is turned slightly off-axis, so that the smoke caused by the launch will not obstruct the sight on the target. The 2S6M must be stationary during the launch sequence, in order to avoid damage to the missile while it leaves the launch tube. Immediately after launch, the weapon system is lowered again into the lock position (-60) in order to keep the line of sight free and because the turret is not moved during the target tracking. The missile is accelerated to around 900m/s (Mach 3) by a rocket booster. After the booster is jettisoned, a pulsed light source in the missile’s tail is activated, allowing automatic tracking of the missile in flight by the optical sight. During the entire flight time of the missile, the gunner must constantly maintain the crosshair of the optical sight on the target; the deviation of the missile’s flight path form the line-of-sight is automatically computed and used to generate course correction signals. These are then transmitted to the missile in flight through the tracking radar, which during a missile engagement sequence doubles as fire-control radar. Missile employment is only possible in daylight and fair visibility conditions, because the target needs to be tracking with the optical sight for the entire duration of the engagement sequence.
(U) Operating Modes. The radar and fire-control system of the 2S6M can be employed in five different operating modes:
Mode 1: Automated radar tracking. This is the main operating mode.
Mode 2: Manual electro-optical angle track with range data from either radar.
Mode 3: Inertial tracking.
Mode 4: Radar on manual electro-optic angle track with range estimation.
Mode 5: Ground target engagement.
In the main operating mode, after the tracking radar has locked-on to a target, tracking is automatic and most data are relayed directly to the computer. The optical sight can either be slaved to the line-of-sight to the target (in preparation for the missile launch) or used independently for further target acquisition. The weapons are laid automatically and the crew’s tasks are limited to selecting the weapons and pressing the fire key; when the missiles are used, as previously indicated the gunner must keep his sight on the target for the entire duration of the engagement sequence. The remaining three operation modes are intended for degraded conditions, bypassing a failed subsystem or replacing it with an alternate working mode. However, these modes produce lower accuracy and/or slower operation and the vehicle must be stationary. The fifth mode is applied during the engagement of ground targets. The radar system is shut off, and a reticle is inserted into the optical sight; the lead angle is automatically computed according to bearing and distance, and the laying speed is then proportional to the movements of the gunner’s control stick.
