Kub-М3

The “Kub” air-defence system (MMAC index - 2K12, NATO classification - SA-6 Gainful) is a Soviet air Defence system. It was developed at the GKAT Design Bureau-15 (a branch of Research Institute-17) (now the Tikhomirov Instrumentation Research Institute).

The “Kub” self-propelled anti-aircraft missile system (2K12) is designed to protect the Army, mainly tank divisions, from air attack aircraft flying at medium and low altitudes.

The development of the "Kub" SAM system was ordered by Resolution № 817-839 of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union on July 18, 1958. The "Kub" system was designed to engage airborne targets flying at speeds of 420-600 m/s at altitudes ranging from 100-200 m to 5-7 km at ranges up to 20 km, with a probability of hitting the target with one missile not less than 0.7.

The main developer of the system was the Special Design Office -15 (SDO-15) of the State Committee of Aviation Technology. Previously, it was a branch of the main developer of aviation radars - Research and development institute - 17 (RDI-17) of the State Committee of Aviation Technology, located near the Zhukovsky flight test institute in the Moscow region. Soon, SDO-15was transferred to the State Committee of Radio Electronics, and its name was changed several times, finally becoming the V. Tikhomirov Scientific Research Institute of Instrument Design (SRIID) of the Ministry of Radio Industry.

The chief designer of the system was appointed the head of SDO-15, V. Tikhomirov, the creator of the first Soviet aviation radar “Gneiss-2” and a number of other stations. The same organization worked on the creation of a self-propelled reconnaissance and guidance installation (the chief designer of the installation was A. Rastov) and a semi-active radio homing missile warhead (the chief designer of the homing head was Y. Vekhov, from 1960 - I. Akopyan).

The self-propelled launcher was developed under the leadership of the chief designer A.I. Yaskin at Special Design Office (SDO-203) of the Sverdlovsk Rocket and Space Corporation, which previously worked on the development of technological equipment for technical units of missile units. Later it was transformed into the State Design Office of Compressor Machine Building (SDOCMB) of the Ministry of Aviation Industry and is now called the Scientific and Production Enterprise (SPE)“Start”.

The tracked chassis for the “Kub” system’s combat vehicles were developed at “DO Mitishchi Machine-Building Plant” (MMBP) of the Moscow Regional Rocket and Space Corporation, which later received the title of Academician V. Glushko Machine-Building Plant.The chief designer of the chassis, N.A. Astrov, developed a light tank before the Second World War, and in the postwar years he designed mainly armored personnel carriers and self-propelled artillery systems.

The anti-aircraft guided missile for the complex was commissioned to be developed by the Design Bureau of Plant No. 134, which initially specialized in aviation small arms and bombing weapons and had already gained some experience in developing the K-7 air-to-air missile. Subsequently, this organization was transformed into the Vympel State Design Bureau. The development of the “Kub” missile was started under the leadership of Chief Designer I. Toropov.

The work on the complex was supposed to ensure that the “Kub” missile system would be ready for joint testing in the second quarter of 1961. It was delayed and completed almost five years behind schedule, two years behind the work on the Krug complex that had begun almost simultaneously. The dramatic nature of the history of the “Kub” complex was evidenced by the dismissal of the chief designers of both the complex as a whole and the missile that is part of it at the most intense moment of the work.

The main difficulty of creating the complex was determined by the novelty and complexity of the technical solutions adopted in the development.

Unlike the “Krug” system, the “Kub” missile system used tracked chassis of a lighter weight category, similar to those used for the “Shilka” self-propelled artillery systems. At the same time, all radio equipment was placed not on two vehicles, as in the “Krug” SAM, but on one so-called “self-propelled vehicle A”. “Self-propelled vehicle B” – a self-propelled launcher – carried three missiles instead of two in the “Krug” system.

Very difficult tasks were also solved when creating an anti-aircraft missile. The supersonic direct-flow engine ran on solid fuel rather than liquid fuel. This excluded the possibility of adjusting fuel consumption according to the speed and altitude of the missile. In addition, the missile was designed without separable boosters – the charge of the launch engine was placed in the afterburner chamber of the straight-line engine. For the first time, a semi-active radar Doppler homing head replaced the command radio control equipment on a mobile air Defence missile.

In May 2018, military expert Serhiy Zgurets unveiled the plans of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine to restore six types of anti-aircraft missile systems and return them to service. These are three short-range air Defence systems - the self-propelled 2K12 “Kub” and 9K330 Tor – and the still transported S-125. The two medium-range systems are the S-300PT (a transportable, close relative of the “regular” self-propelled S-300PS) and the S-300V1 (SA-12 Gladiator), a mobile universal missile and air Defence system designed to cover the maneuverable combat operations of its troops. And finally, the “long-range” S-200V.

On February 21,2019, it became known that the practical firing tests of the Tor and “Kub” air Defence systems at the Yahorlyk State Test Site in Kherson Oblast were coming to an end. The modernized air Defence systems have replaced analog systems with digital ones, which significantly increases the efficiency and service life of the systems.

The modernization of the Tor and “Kub” air Defence systems was carried out by the Ukrainian enterprise “Aerotechnica”. The modernized systems have improved technical characteristics and enhanced functionality due to the implementation of new algorithms for processing and displaying information using digital signal processing on a modern element base. The ability of the system to detect and destroy small-sized targets, including targets made using “stealth” technology. Improving the system’s noise immunity from various types of active and passive radio interference, as well as from the underlying surface, through the use of new hardware technologies, anti-jamming methods and signal processing techniques.

The basic composition of the SAM includes:

• SURN 1S91-2L;
• SPU 2P25-2L - 4 units;
• TZM 2T7M1 - 2 units.

As an option, the division can be supplemented with “Kvadrat-2L” air Defence systems:

• A remote combat control center (RCC);
• External power supply (EPS);
• P-180U/P-190U RADARS.