“The mighty Soviet Union failed, Russia will”

“There is construction in the south, there is construction in the north. At the same time, two new directions are being developed with the installation of radar facilities and complexes – these are the Far East and the North-West, ”said Sergey Boev, general designer of the early warning system and general manager of the Vympel company, without giving details.

How Wrote “Gazeta.ru”, with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the state’s unified missile attack warning system (SPRN) disappeared. A significant part of the radio engineering units of the early warning system remained on the territory of the newly independent states. They managed to agree with some of them later on the use of early warning radars. For the most part, however, the radars were either decommissioned or simply blown up, as in Latvia.

Even in the years of the existence of the USSR, the missile attack warning system suffered from very significant shortcomings. Especially the northeastern part is not included in the scope of the warning. So, the early warning system in the USSR was not an all-encompassing system.

Construction of an early-warning radar station was started in the city of Yeniseisk (Krasnoyarsk Territory) in the 1970-1980s to close the northeastern sector. However, at the request of the American side (under the pretext of violating the 1972 ABM Treaty) the radar was completely destroyed.

Thus, Russia inherited from the USSR a warning system with loopholes, which did not fully ensure the national security of the state.

The 1990s is the darkest period in SPRN history. Almost no money was allocated for its development.

And only in the second half of the 2000s, a turning point occurred – the construction of new early warning systems based on radars of the Voronezh type began.

Radar 77YA6 “Voronezh” is a stationary over-the-horizon radar station with the so-called high factory readiness (VZG radar). There are versions of the locator that operate in both the meter and decimeter/centimeter range of radio waves. Both have their own advantages and disadvantages.

The Voronezh radar station consists of a transceiver unit with an active phased antenna array, a prefabricated building for personnel and several containers with electronic equipment.

The high degree of factory readiness and the modular principle of building the Voronezh radar made it possible to abandon multi-storey capital buildings and build the radar in just 12-18 months. Previous generation radars such as “Daryal” and “Dnepr” took between 5 and 9 years to build.

Now all Voronezh equipment in a container version is delivered from manufacturers for subsequent assembly on pre-concrete sites.

Voronezh’s power consumption is only 0.7 MW. For example, a Daryal-type radar station stationed in the Azerbaijani village of Kutkashen during the Soviet era consumed 50 MW – a significant part of the capacities of the neighboring Mingachevir hydroelectric power station worked to feed this plant.

Currently, there are several modifications of the Voronezh type radar, almost all of which were developed with the participation of specialists from the Radio Engineering Institute. AL Mints (part of RTI Systems).

radar “Voronezh-M” It works in the meter range of radio waves. The target detection range is up to 6 thousand km.

“Voronezh-DM” It works in the decimeter range of radio waves, the target detection range is up to 6,000 km horizontally and up to 8,000 km vertically. Radar is capable of simultaneously detecting and tracking up to 500 objects.

High Potential Radar “Voronezh-VP” It is a further development of the Voronezh-M VHF station. The power consumption in this case is up to 10 MW.

Finally, the positioner “Voronezh-SM” It operates in the centimeter range of radio waves and “Voronezh-MSM” in two intervals at once – meters and centimeters.

Radar “Voronezh-DM” is currently deployed in Armavir, Krasnodar Territory, Pionersky village, Kaliningrad Region, Yeniseisk (Ust-Kem village), Barnaul (Konyuhi village) of the Altai Territory and the city of Zeya, Amur Region.

Radars “Voronezh-M” are currently deployed in the village of Lekhtusi, Leningrad Region, Orsk, Orenburg Region, Usolye-Sibirskoye (Mishelevka), Irkutsk Region and Vorkuta (Vorgashor) of the Komi Republic.

In Sevastopol, on Cape Hersones, the construction of the 116Zh6 radar complex (“Voronezh-MM-SM-M-DM”) continues. This promising station will operate on four bands simultaneously.

In Olenegorsk, Murmansk region (Protoki settlement), the construction of the 113Zh6 radar station (Voronezh-DM-VP) continues. This locator is designed to replace the old Dnepr early warning radar deployed at this location during Soviet times.

There is reason to believe that these are the last two early warning radars General Designer Sergey Boev referred to when he said “construction is underway in the south, construction is underway in the north”.

The deployment and commissioning of the Voronezh radar range will make it possible to completely close the missile-prone directions to the northwest, southwest, south and southeast.

In this case, the Russian missile attack warning system will have all perspective, and all previously existing loopholes will completely disappear.

In other words, the formation of a closed missile warning radar field at a new technological level with significantly improved features and capabilities, which even the mighty Soviet Union could not achieve in time, will be completed.

It should also include a space stage in addition to over-horizon radars, in accordance with the missile attack warning system project. It allows you to significantly expand the capabilities of the system due to the ability to detect ballistic missiles immediately after launch.

Providing the solution of the problems of detecting the launch of ballistic missiles and bringing the combat control commands of the strategic nuclear forces (strategic nuclear forces) on the basis of the former Soviet systems Oko and Oko-1, the Unified Space System (ESS), Kupol was deployed in Russia.

In May 2020, the fourth new generation spacecraft 14F142 Tundra, designed for early detection of ICBM launches, was launched in Russia. This type of spacecraft, flying in highly elliptical orbits, constantly monitors areas where potentially nuclear missile strikes against the territory of the Russian Federation can be launched. The Tundra spacecraft is part of the Kupol Unified Space System, which will also include several satellites in geostatic orbit. After the launch of the fourth Tundra spacecraft, the CEN reached the minimum basic configuration.

Restoration of the space stage of early warning systems is an important event in the field of strengthening the national security of the country. Based on the data obtained from the space and ground echelon of the early warning missile system, the Supreme Commander makes a decision about a major retaliatory (retaliatory) nuclear missile attack.

The author’s view may not coincide with the editors’ position.

Author biography:

Mikhail Mikhailovich Khodarenok is a military observer of socialbites.ca, a retired colonel.

Graduated from the Minsk Higher Engineering Anti-aircraft Missile School (1976),
Air Defense Military Command Academy (1986).
Commander of the S-75 anti-aircraft missile battalion (1980–1983).
Deputy commander of an anti-aircraft missile regiment (1986-1988).
Senior officer of the Air Defense Forces Main Staff (1988-1992).
Officer of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff (1992-2000).
Graduate of the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (1998).
Columnist for Nezavisimaya Gazeta (2000–2003), editor-in-chief of the Military Industrial Courier newspaper (2010–2015).

In Russia, SPRN’s General Designer Sergei Boev said at the Army-2022 forum that two more radar stations of the Voronezh-type missile attack warning system (SPRN) will be commissioned and two more will be built. Gazeta.ru military observer Mikhail Khodarenok explains why the country needs them and how the stations will fill the gaps left after the collapse of the USSR.



Source: Gazeta

Popular

More from author

Russia and Belarus may cooperate in the investigation of the terrorist attack in Crocus 00:30

The Russian Federation and Belarus have opportunities to cooperate in the investigation of the terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall concert hall near...

The founder of the FTX crypto exchange was sentenced to 25 years in prison. 28.03.2024, 19:52

According to the TV channel, a New York court sentenced the founder of FTX cryptocurrency exchange Sam Bankman-Fried to 25 years in prison for...

Scientists found an effective way to get rid of insomnia 00:27

European and Australian scientists found that regular exercise helps cope with insomnia. This was reported by RidLife. According to the publication, a joint study...

Repeated meeting of the UN Security Council on the anniversary of the bombing of Yugoslavia is canceled 00:00

Western countries once again disrupted the meeting of the UN Security Council on the anniversary of the bombing of Yugoslavia. This was stated...