In recent years, special attention has been paid to the development of means of warning of aerospace and missile attacks. A significant number of radar stations have already been built, and the deployment of new ones continues. The other day, another representative of this class took over on experimental combat duty. The newest over-the-horizon 29B6 "Container" radar station has started operating near the village of Kovylkino (Republic of Mordovia). This complex is said to be an essential element of the strategic security system under construction.
On December 1, the Department of Information and Mass Communications of the Ministry of Defense announced the beginning of the experimental combat duty of the newest radar station. From official reports it follows that in the near future the "Container" station will have to undergo state tests, according to the results of which it will go into service, and will also begin full-fledged combat duty. Completion of state tests is scheduled for next 2019. Then the station duty will cease to be experienced.
Antenna field of the radar "Container" near the town of Kovylkino
The press service of the Ministry of Defense quoted the commander of the 1st Air Defense and Missile Defense Army of the Aerospace Forces, Lieutenant General Andrei Demin, who commented on the recent events. The general noted that the "Container" station is capable of monitoring air targets far beyond the borders of our country. This will allow the armed forces to timely reveal the takeoff of aircraft or the launch of missiles of a potential enemy in the direction of Russia. The station will be able to find and accompany aircraft, cruise missiles and, in the future, hypersonic ammunition. Thus, the "Container" turns out to be an important link in the system of strategic deterrence.
On December 2, the military department published new information on the progress of work on the "Container" project. In particular, the deadlines for the completion of the current stages of the project were specified. In the near future, the calculations of the new radar, together with a special commission, will carry out all tests and checks. The station will be put into service and fully commissioned in about six months.
It is reported that the first sample of the 29B6 product has been deployed in Mordovia. At the same time, the current state armament programs provide for the continuation of the construction of such stations. In the foreseeable future, several more "Containers" are to appear on the territory of Russia. However, the number of new radars and their location at the official level have not yet been specified.
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It should be noted that the latest reports on the 29B6 "Container" over-the-horizon radar are cause for optimism. Judging by the data of recent months, work on the deployment of such systems is going ahead of schedule. Just a few months ago, the defense industry indicated different dates for the launch of state tests and, as a result, the start of combat duty at the station.
On September 13, 2018, Rossiyskaya Gazeta published an interview with Kirill Makarov, Director General of the Scientific Research Institute for Long-Range Radio Communication (NIIDAR, Moscow). The head of the organization that created the "Container" clarified the actual plans at that time in relation to this station. K. Makarov said that a real sensation in the field of radar systems should have happened in the very near future.
At that time, preparations continued for the start of state tests of a completely new radar "Container". The first station of this type was supposed to take over on experimental combat duty at the beginning of the next year. Thus, the news of recent days shows that the first station of the 29B6 type began state tests ahead of schedule: it began experimental combat duty, at least a month earlier than planned earlier.
Transmitting antennas in the Nizhny Novgorod region
K. Makarov also spoke about the capabilities and approximate characteristics of the "Container". The main advantage of such radars is the ability to detect and identify various aircraft at distances of thousands of kilometers from Russian borders. The station is capable of seeing and identifying aircraft, helicopters, drones, etc. At the same time, the "Container" has advantages over other stations in the form of a long detection range. For example, a "conventional" radar is capable of accompanying an aircraft at a distance of 400 km, while a "Container" will notice it at a distance of about 2000 km.
Thus, the "Container" deployed in Mordovia is capable of monitoring the activities of the European part of NATO and monitoring the air situation over the respective countries. As a result, these states will not be able to quietly launch a strike group of bombers or a "swarm" of unmanned aerial vehicles.
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The news of recent months about the successes within the framework of the "Container" project is of great interest. The fact is that the development of a promising over-the-horizon radar started a long time ago and was seriously delayed. The design has been carried out since the mid-nineties, and various stages of testing continue to this day. However, during this time, the industry could bring the design to perfection, as well as update it using a modern component base. Thus, next year, an improved version of the station, capable of fully solving all the assigned tasks, will be able to enter service.
The main developer of the project 29B6 "Container" is the Research Institute of Long-Range Radio Communication. Other enterprises were involved in the project at different stages. So, in the second half of the nineties, together with NIIDAR, the Pravdinsky design bureau of the radio relay equipment plant worked on the "Container". Then the Pravdinsky radio plant itself joined the work - he was to build the first copy of a promising radar.
According to known data, the deployment of the "Container" facilities began in 2002. At the same time, the construction of two objects was carried out with different means of the complex. One of them was under construction in the town of Gorodets (Nizhny Novgorod region), the other in the town of Kovylkino (Mordovia). The first tests started in the same year. The development and testing of various components took over ten years. On December 2, 2013, the first sample 29B6 was put on experimental combat duty as part of the 590th separate radio-technical over-the-horizon detection unit.
Specialists of the defense industry and the armed forces had to test a promising radar station, and, if such a need arose, finalize it. In particular, from the very beginning there was talk about increasing the horizontal sector of view from the original 180 ° to 240 °.
Receiving antennas in Mordovia
By now, NIIDAR, related enterprises and the army have completed the main checks and fine-tuning of the promising station, which made it possible to prepare and launch a new stage of work. A few days ago, the first sample of the "Container" took over on experimental combat duty as part of state tests. Over the next few months, it is planned to put the station into service.
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According to known data, the product 29B6 "Container" is a two-coordinate radar station using the effect of reflection of radio waves from the Earth's ionosphere. When developing a new project, the experience of creating and operating older over-the-horizon radars was taken into account. The station is capable of detecting and tracking aerodynamic targets of different types with different parameters.
The radar "Container" consists of two main parts: a receiving and transmitting antenna field, located at a considerable distance from each other. The transmitting part of the station is located in the Nizhny Novgorod region, the receiving part - in Mordovia. Both fields are large areas with a large number of masts on which transmitting or receiving elements are installed. For example, 144 antenna-feeder masts 34 m high each are deployed near the town of Kovylkino on an area of 1300 x 200 m.
Antenna fields work together with a hardware complex, the elements of which are mounted in standard containers. The equipment of the containers and the antennas are connected to each other using numerous cable lines. In a recent interview with the general director of NIIDAR, it was mentioned that the "Container" radar, solving complex problems, needs powerful electronic computers with special software. For station 29B6, the necessary components of this kind were developed.
In its current form, the "Container" radar station is capable of monitoring the air situation at ranges of about 3 thousand km. At such distances, both review and detection of targets are provided with their subsequent capture for tracking. It provides tracking of various aerodynamic targets, including small ones and those with a small reflective surface. The equipment of the complex provides simultaneous tracking of 5 thousand objects.
Thus, with the help of the new over-the-horizon radar, the Russian armed forces can monitor a large region that includes all of Europe, including the vast majority of NATO countries. The strategic implications of this are clear. The specialized station "Container" will make it possible to constantly monitor the activity of the air forces of foreign countries and promptly learn about their actions. In a threatened period, this will also make it possible to quickly identify preparations for an air attack or for a strike with the help of certain missiles.
Diagram of a complex that receives and processes radio signals
According to known data, the 29B6 radar is intended only for monitoring aerodynamic objects. Tracking ballistic missiles is not her job. However, to work with similar targets, our country already has several modern radar stations. Thus, thanks to the appearance of the first "Container" in the western direction, a mixed surveillance system appears, which ensures the detection of targets of all main classes. The warning system for an aerospace or missile attack acquires new capabilities.
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A few years ago, the first reports appeared about the possible construction of new "Container" stations in different directions. In particular, since 2015, rumors have been circulating about the deployment of such a radar in the Far East, from where it will be able to control a significant part of the Pacific Ocean and track the activity of foreign countries in this area. However, information about the Far East "Container" has not yet received confirmation.
At the same time, the Russian Ministry of Defense is already openly mentioning the intention to build new 29B6 radars in different regions. The number of such stations and their location have not yet been specified. Probably, this information will be disclosed later - after the adoption of the first station into service. It is obvious that the construction of new "Containers" will strengthen the potential of surveillance equipment in all strategic directions.
The development, testing and fine-tuning of the first type 29B6 "Container" station took several decades. Design work started back in the mid-nineties, and the finished model will go into service only in 2019. Apparently, these terms of the project were associated with the lack of necessary funding at some stages of the work, as well as with the overall complexity. As follows from the last messages, the main part of the tasks was successfully solved, and now the project participants are unlikely to have to face serious problems.
Probably, the further construction and development of new radar "Container" will be a less complicated process and will take less time. Thus, the deployment of a complete network of stations of this type may take even less time than it took to test and fine-tune the first sample. However, exact data on this score are not yet available.
Russian industry continues to develop, build and implement radar systems of various classes, including those required for use in a strategic air and missile attack warning system. One of the samples of this kind has been undergoing tests for several years, and in the near future it will have to enter service. Full combat duty of the first "Container" will begin in just a few months.
