Sokol-Eshelon (russian: Сокол-Эшелон, lit=Falcon-Echelon) is a Soviet/Russian
laser weapon
A laser weapon is a directed-energy weapon based on lasers. After decades of R&D, directed-energy weapons including lasers are still at the experimental stage and it remains to be seen if or when they will be deployed as practical, high-perf ...
–based
anti-satellite system. It is an airborne laser based on a
Beriev A-60
The Beriev A-60 is a Soviet/Russian airborne laser laboratory aircraft based on the Ilyushin Il-76MD transport.
In the 1970s a special aviation complex was established by the Soviets at Taganrog machine-building factory to develop airborne lase ...
aircraft. In 2012 it was reported that the project is back under development and is intended for the
Russian Aerospace Defence Forces
The Russian Aerospace Defence Forces (VVKO) ( rus, Войска воздушно-космической обороны (ВВКО), Voyska vozdushno-kosmicheskoy oborony (VVKO)) was a branch of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation respons ...
and later the
Russian Aerospace Forces once completed.
A-60
The Beriev A-60 aircraft is a laser research plane produced by
Beriev
The PJSC Beriev Aircraft Company (russian: Таганрогский авиационный научно-технический комплекс им. Г. М. Бериева, , Beriev Taganrog Aviation Scientific Technical Complex), formerly Beriev ...
based on their
Il-76
The Ilyushin Il-76 (russian: Илью́шин Ил-76; NATO reporting name: Candid) is a multi-purpose, fixed-wing, four-engine turbofan strategic airlifter designed by the Soviet Union's Ilyushin design bureau. It was first planned as a comme ...
transport. Development seems to have started in 1981 with the laser installed in 1983. A second plane was built in 1991. The plane contains a special nose cone with a laser targeting system.
Sokol-Eshelon
The Sokol Eshelon project started in 2003 and was first made public in the annual report of contractor Khimpromavtomatika in 2005. Other mentions include
Almaz-Antey's annual report in 2006 and in a report by
Radiofizika in 2009 where they mentioned their development of radar for the plane. Details also emerged due to a court case between Almaz-Antey and Beriev over payments to a subcontractor. The contract between the two parties was connected to a contract no. 5933 Almaz-Antey holds with military unit 21055. This contract is supervised by the Ministry of Defence's 27th Military Representative Office. The project seems to be known under the codename Duelyant (russian: Дуэлянт, lit=Duelist, links=no).
In 2009 the plane was involved in a test to illuminate
Japanese satellite
AJISAI which was at an orbital height of 1,500 km. The test involved seeing if a reflection of the laser off the satellite could be picked up, and wasn't intended to damage the satellite.
The laser has been given the codename 1LK222. The purpose of the laser is to blind the sensors of enemy satellites rather than destroy them.
See also
Related development:
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Beriev A-60
The Beriev A-60 is a Soviet/Russian airborne laser laboratory aircraft based on the Ilyushin Il-76MD transport.
In the 1970s a special aviation complex was established by the Soviets at Taganrog machine-building factory to develop airborne lase ...
*
Ilyushin Il-76
Comparable systems:
*
Boeing NC-135
The Boeing NC-135 and NKC-135 are special versions of the Boeing C-135 Stratolifter and Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker modified to operate on several different programs.
Operational history
Readiness Program
In support of the U.S. Test Readiness P ...
*
Boeing YAL-1
References
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017
2010s Russian military aircraft
Space weapons
Military lasers