Every year on May 7, military personnel and specialists celebrate their professional holiday, whose activities are directly related to the radio technical support of the Russian Navy. In Russia, May 7 is a double holiday that directly affects both civilian and military specialists. The Day of the signalman and radio technical service specialist of the Russian Navy, approved on the basis of the order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy on July 15, 1996, coincides in our country with Radio Day, which is traditionally widely celebrated by workers in all communication industries.
The emergence of radio communications in the fleet
The history of Russian radio is inextricably linked with the name of the outstanding Russian inventor Alexander Stepanovich Popov, who was born in 1859. By 1899, he was already an Honorary Electrical Engineer, and from 1901 a State Councilor. This Russian scientist, physicist and electrical engineer did a lot for the development of radio communications in our country, including for the introduction of advanced technologies at that time in the army and navy.
Back in 1897, an outstanding domestic inventor carried out a series of practical works, the main purpose of which was to demonstrate the possibility of radio communication (wireless telegraph) between the ships of the Russian fleet. In the period from 1898 to 1900, under the direct supervision of Alexander Popov, military signalmen assembled two portable radio stations, and also conducted practical experiments on their use in the armed forces. Based on the results of the experiments, representatives of the Main Military Engineering Directorate of the Russian Empire ordered field two-wheeled radio stations abroad. At that time, Russia lacked the necessary production base for their manufacture.
In May 1899, the first radio part in the history of the Russian fleet was formed in Russia, we are talking about the Kronstadt spark military telegraph, and beginning in 1900, the first radio stations began to appear on the warships of the Russian fleet. In the same year, the process of training radio specialists for the Russian fleet began. It quickly became clear that in addition to the issue of mass equipping warships with radio stations, a second even more important issue appears - the training of specialists and the training of fleet personnel in their combat use, operation and repair. The first courses for military seamen in wireless telegraphy in our country were organized at the direction of the Main Naval Headquarters in Kronstadt. The two-week courses were deployed on the basis of the already opened Mine Officer Class. At the same time, the program for these courses, including lecture material and practical exercises, was personally prepared by the scientist and inventor Alexander Stepanovich Popov.
The chief commander of the Kronstadt port, Vice-Admiral Stepan Osipovich Makarov, greatly helped Popov in the issue of producing the first radio equipment, as well as equipping ships with radio communications. The improvement of the use of radio communications in the fleet is also associated with the name of this famous Russian admiral. It is with the name of Admiral Makarov that the specialists of the RTS of the fleet associate the birth of domestic radio intelligence, radio direction finding and radio interception. The limited use of radio communications for command and control was first used in practice by our officers during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. The war in the Far East showed the effectiveness and promise of new technical means: telegraph, telephone and radio communications. At the same time, the experience was bitter, since one of the reasons for the unsuccessful actions of the Russian fleet was the lack of a full-fledged organization of combat control.
It is no coincidence that the conclusions of the unsuccessful campaign were drawn immediately after the end of the war. By the end of 1907, when the First Russian Revolution died down throughout the country, the Regulation on the radiotelegraph part in the Naval Department was introduced. Two years later, a full-fledged Communication Service was created in the country, which was supposed to effectively ensure the process of controlling the forces of the fleet. Continuous development in this direction was carried out until the beginning of the First World War, which confirmed the correctness of the chosen course of development, once again proving to the whole world the importance of modern technologies in military affairs.
The importance of communications and radio engineering services for the fleet
The role of communications in the Russian armed forces, especially in the navy, cannot be overestimated. At sea, ships must communicate with each other and with coastal services at a distance of many thousands of miles. The success of solving the assigned combat missions directly depends on how smoothly, accurately and promptly the process of exchanging the necessary information and data will be established. This rule is invariably confirmed by all wars in which the Russian fleet took part. The experience of World War II once again confirmed the thesis that the combat power of formations or individual ships largely depends on control and communications issues. In many cases, the loss of communication led to a loss of control, and the loss of control was a harbinger of future defeat.
Taking into account these circumstances, the improvement of the organization of communications in the fleet and the combat techniques of its use, the creation of new radio technical means was carried out both during the Great Patriotic War and after its completion. This is an ongoing process that is important for the Russian military. At the same time, such an important issue for the Russian fleet as communication with submerged submarines, which today are the main striking power of the strategic forces of the Russian fleet, was also being resolved. At the same time, communication must be continuously maintained not only with surface and submarine ships of the fleet, but also with naval aviation, as well as coastal troops. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure control not only of strategic nuclear forces (the same strategic nuclear submarines), but also of general-purpose forces. Against this background, one of the most important tasks of the radio technical service of the fleet continues to be the development and improvement of communication systems at all levels.
Moreover, the importance of the tasks facing the radio engineering service of the Russian fleet is only growing. In the 21st century, the importance of protecting one's own communication channels and radio-technical systems used by the military has increased many times over. At the same time, the radio technical services of the fleet must simultaneously work to ensure the safety of their own systems and communication channels and to disrupt the operation of such systems on ships and coastal bases of a potential enemy. To solve these problems, it is not enough to develop and purchase modern equipment; constant exercises and training of radio engineering units are required, as well as training of personnel with the necessary knowledge and skills.
In our country, highly qualified personnel for the radio engineering service of the Russian Navy is trained by the Higher Naval School of Radio Electronics, which bears the name of the outstanding Russian engineer and scientist Alexander Stepanovich Popov. This higher military educational institution became the first independent Russian military university to train specialists in the field of communications and radio engineering for the Russian navy.
Nowadays, the Radio Technical Service of the Russian Navy is organizationally part of the Main Command of the Navy. The importance of this service is revealed through the tasks being solved. Its main purpose is to organize and equip ships and vessels of the fleet with the necessary electronic weapons, as well as coastal facilities and institutions of the Russian Navy. Also, the RTS of the fleet is responsible for the organization and management of the lighting system, the technical operation of all naval electronic weapons, as well as the organization and management of the engineering and electronic support of the fleet forces.
On this day, "Voennoye Obozreniye" congratulates all current and former signalmen and specialists of the radio technical service of the Russian Navy, as well as veterans on their professional holiday. We congratulate the employees of all branches of communications in Russia on Radio Day.
