SU-17/22M4 KKR-1 pod

[qwerty123]

Hello, could the pilot in su17/22m4 have preview or use as under KKR-1 like other targeting pods?
Will someone describe how it works?

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

It's a reconnaissance pod containing various cameras and an ELINT system. Su-17 flies to the target and takes photos and captures electronic signals.

Did you mean, what is the cockpit controls for it?

 

[qwerty123]

I mean could the pilot have had a live view from this container? I know the commanders on the ground in real time could have, but could the pilot have too?

 

[datafuser]

This is from a declassified 1983 report withdrawn from the US State Department website.

4. [portion marking not declassified] In addition to the directed command and control changes the fighter-bomber divisions were also ordered to load out one squadron of aircraft in each regiment (if this order applied equally across GSFG the result would have been at least 108 fighter-bombers on alert). These aircraft were to be armed and placed at readiness 3 (30 minute alert) to “destroy first-line enemy targets.” The alert aircraft were to be equipped with a self-protection jamming pod. We knew from subsequent NSA reporting that a squadron at Neuruppin, East Germany sought and was apparently granted permission to configure its aircraft without the ECM pod because of an unexpected weight and balance problem. My air analysts opined that this message meant that at least this particular squadron was loading a munitions configuration that they had never actually loaded before, i.e., a warload.

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

I mean could the pilot have had a live view from this container? I know the commanders on the ground in real time could have, but could the pilot have too?

No.

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

Su-17M3R

At the end of the 70s, on the basis of the Su-17M3 serial fighter bomber, the development of its modification began - the Su-17M3R (S-52R) reconnaissance aircraft, designed to perform photographic, television, thermal and radio reconnaissance of ground and sea targets. Such an aircraft was intended to replace MiG-21R tactical level aircraft in reconnaissance regiments and squadrons. The Su-17M3R reconnaissance aircraft on the central ventral ventral suspension point was supposed to carry a specially designed integrated reconnaissance container (KKR) of one of the specialized types. The presence on the aircraft of various means of instrumental reconnaissance distinguished the machine from the previous tactical reconnaissance aircraft, making its use much more effective (in particular, the MiG-21R equipment provided only one type of reconnaissance, limiting the possibilities and making it necessary to plan several sorties of aircraft with different equipment to obtain comprehensive intelligence information).

The containers were created by the specialists of the design bureau itself, for which a corresponding department was organized in its composition. The need to solve many specific issues in the development of specialized equipment of the KKR brought a lot of problems, delaying the development in order. Work on testing the KKR began in 1975 with the use of the Su-20 (No. 68-33).

One of the test flights with a massive suspension almost ended in an accident: on August 15, 1976, during landing, test pilot A.N. Isakov missed the start of the runway and overshot, the plane rolled out onto the ground and bogged down in the ground, burrowing along the very axis of the racks. For some reason, at that time, work on the KKR was carried out "with an eye" on export opportunities, being tested primarily on commercial modifications of the aircraft.

Testing of the KKR in relation to the "m-troika" was carried out from January to August 1977 on the Su-22 (No. 31-01), and then in the first half of 1979 on the Su-17M3 (No. 26-16) and on the Su-22M (No. 29-01).

The containers of the main models consisted of two specialized modules - front and rear (the so-called "halves"), providing for this complexity of intelligence. The suspension of the KKR on a special unit retained the underwing points for the suspension of the PTB and various weapons, the composition of which practically did not differ from the strike vehicle. Thus, the aircraft could be used not only as a reconnaissance aircraft, but also as a strike aircraft. To control and monitor the operation of reconnaissance equipment, separate control panels for the KKR were installed in the cockpit.

The KKR-1T modification container carried “daytime” cameras — the long-range plan A-39 and the panoramic PA-1, as well as the AFA UA-47 for night shooting using the FP-100 lighting cartridges placed in the same place in the KDF-38 cassettes. A-39 could be rearranged before the flight according to the task: vertically for planned shooting or obliquely forward at an angle of up to 55 ° for perspective photography.

In the rear module of the container, the equipment for general electronic intelligence SRS-13 "Tangazh" was installed (on the first KKR-1, mainly intended for for export, an older SRS-9 Virazh station was mounted, which was distinguished by a different element base and lower throughput). The RTR equipment was designed to detect radio-emitting means deployed at enemy aviation and air defense control points. The equipment ensured the location of enemy stations, the operating range and their type, recording the received data. Data on the opened air traffic control, detection and guidance radars in the antiaircraft system could be used both for tactical planning of the actions of one's aircraft, and for organizing electronic suppression of enemy assets or delivering fire strikes against them.
In the KKR-1/2 modification, in addition to a similar module No. 1 with aerial cameras, in the second "half" (module No. 2), thermal reconnaissance equipment "Zima" was installed, which captured the image of the situation in the IR spectrum, and the I-429B television station “Chibis”, which “leaked” the obtained information to the ground in real time by means of the “Trassa” radio link (thermal equipment also had the same data transmission capability).

The KKR-1T/2 kit included a photomodule No. 1 and a module No. 3 with Tangazh radio reconnaissance and Shpil-2M laser reconnaissance stations. Laser reconnaissance equipment made it possible to detect objects at night by illuminating the area with a laser beam, providing better resolution compared to IR and TV systems. The photodetector in the laser station set was also sensitive to natural light, allowing reconnaissance during the day and without illumination. The later developed KKR-1M carried photographic equipment (A-39 and long-focus AFA-42/100), as well as the stations "Zima", "Chibis" and "Trassa". Borrowed from Long-Range Aviation aircraft, the AFA-42/100 with a meter focal length provided perspective shooting from high altitudes and distances, however, with its significant dimensions and installation at an angle, it occupied a decent volume of almost the entire front module.

For export deliveries, “commercial” versions of the modules were developed, of which the KKR-1TE / 2MK container was made, equipped with aerial cameras and the Tangazh station (in export version), and a number of others. They, in particular, completed some of the Su-20 Iraqi and Polish orders (74th and 76th series), Peruvian Su-22 and Su-22M, Vietnamese Su-22M and Hungarian Su-22M3.
In production, for reasons of unification, they went for the uniformity of the configuration of the assembled machines: all produced aircraft, whether intended for fighter-bomber or reconnaissance aircraft, carried electrical fittings for controlling reconnaissance equipment of a hanging container, laid the corresponding electrical harnesses and connectors, which made it possible, having decided on its purpose , without any additional modifications to equip the machine for use as a reconnaissance aircraft for which it was enough to mount special consoles in the cockpit at the factory or directly in the unit and hang the KKR. Accordingly, in the production series of the Su-17M3, reconnaissance and attack vehicles usually went ahead of the bag. The new reconnaissance aircraft began to enter service with the Air Force units in 1977.

SU-17M4R

Some of the production Su-17M4 was also used in reconnaissance aviation, where it had the designation Su-17M4R. Like the reconnaissance Su-17M3R, the vehicles could, if necessary, carry the entire set of standard weapons.

Removable control panels KKR were placed in the cockpit instead of the IT-23M display. Like the "threes", all the necessary electrical wiring with connectors for controlling reconnaissance equipment was laid during assembly on all aircraft, allowing the machine to be equipped as a reconnaissance or conventional fighter-bomber, according to the order, or to equip the appropriate version directly in the ranks (during operation, the possibility of converting made it possible, if necessary, even transferring machines from fighter-bomber reconnaissance units).

For reconnaissance, both containers that have already found application on the Su-17M3R, and new ones, of several modifications with different sets of target equipment, were used. KKR-2A combined photographic equipment from the A-39 and AP-402 long-range aerial camera with the Aist-M television reconnaissance and Zima infrared reconnaissance stations, the recording from which could be transmitted to the command post using the ShRK-1 Trassa radio link. The KKR-2T container carried specialized electronic intelligence equipment with the SRS-13 "Tangazh" station.

Subsequently, several more specialized reconnaissance containers appeared. KKR-2Sh served for conducting radar reconnaissance, for which it was equipped with a side-looking radar "Shtyk-2M", which ensured the opening of radio-contrast objects on the ground. The virtue of radar reconnaissance had the ability to detect even camouflaged targets, day and night, regardless of weather conditions, which was critical for other systems (fog, cloudiness, rain or snow made the effectiveness of other systems, not to mention visual reconnaissance, practically zero) . The information received in a visual record could be transmitted to the ground in flight. The KKR-2E included Efir-1M radiation reconnaissance equipment, which served to monitor the contamination of the area and the state of the atmosphere in the combat zone. The KKR-2P container was equipped with the Shpil-2M laser reconnaissance station.

From:

Su-17 Fighter-bomber by Markovsky & Prikhodchenko (Eksmo, 2013)

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

It is clear that

1) only the Zima IR and Chibis TV systems can transmit their data to a ground station, not other systems.
2 ) there was no way for the pilot to see the imagery. The KKR control panel replaced the IT-23M CRT display on the Su-17M4. On the Su-17M3, the KKR control panel was fixed to the cockpit sidewall - it didn't have a CRT display.