The Russian government announces the activation of three new missile defence radars.

Three new ground-based air surveillance radars have been declared operational by the Russian government. These new radars will be used for the long-range detection of ballistic missiles. Their activation forms the latest development in Russia’s long-running overhaul of its ground-based air surveillance radar network with the new  RTI Mints/NPK NIIDAR 77YA6 Voronezh-M/DM/VP Very High Frequency (VHF: 150 megahertz/MHz to 200MHz) and Ultra High Frequency (UHF: 300MHz to three gigahertz) radars which are now being rolled out at sites across Russia.

According to open sources, these have a detection range of circa 5400 nautical miles (10000km). They were introduced into service from 2009, and the three new radars were constructed during 2017 at sites in the locale of Krasnoyarsk in central Siberia, Altai in southern Russia, and Orenburg southwest Russia. The radar located at Yeniseysk in Krasnoyarsk is through to be a 77YA6 Voronezh-DM system, as is the radar in Altai, while the radar at Orsk in Orenburg is reportedly a 77YA6 Voronezh-M. While the latter radar performs VHF transmissions, the 77YA6  Voronezh-DM is a UHF system. The location of the new radar at Altai is interesting, as it may have been thus positioned to improve the detection of ballistic missile launches from Middle East and South Asian regions.

TW