The Space Forces is planning to add a new early-warning radar to the current radar network, although maybe only in a test mode. According to the commander of the Space Forces, the new radar will complement the existing seven sites and will be a modular "high degree of readiness" facility, which does not require extensive preparation of its deployment site - "we just needs a football field where we could bring a few containers with the hardware".
It seems that the new radar will be deployed near St.-Petersburg, where it could cover the gap in coverage created after liquidation of the early-warning radar in Skrunda, Latvia. The Volga radar in Baranovichi, Belarus, cannot close this gap on its own.
The concept of a portable "high degree of readiness" early-warning radar has been discussed for some time in Russia and it seems very attractive - why build expensive behemoths like Daryal when you could put a radar on virtually any parking lot? There is a problem, though. The main parameter that describes a search capability of a radar (which is exactly what an early-warning radar is supposed to do) is its "potential" - the product of mean emitting power to the antenna area. Of course, clever engineering could go a long way, but you would still need a lot of power and a big antenna. The more it will be interesting to look at the new radar when it's deployed.
Comments
Hello, I have the edition of Pavel Podvig book (that complements the Zaloga book "Kremlin nuclear sword") which is very interesting (specially regarding is the information about the nuclear weapons production complex and nuclear tests). Unfortunately the book lacks illustrations about the systems, specially thouse the early warning system, the comand and control systems (Kazbek, schemes about the Perimetr system, Okno and Oko and Prognoz systems). It woud be very reveling display information about these subjets. Congratulations for your job. Sincerily yours. Horacio A. Galacho. República Argentina.
Well, good illustrations are hard to come by. I think the FAS site is the best source of pictures of various systems.
I find very few data about these mobile early-warning radars in the net. It could be something related to the “Mars” early warning radars? Pavel, do you have the technical parameters of these systems?
Thanks in advance.
No, I don't have anything specific about these new radars. I hope that the Space Forces will deploy it soon, so we will get some data.