In the near future, the creation of the Unified Space System (CES) will begin, designed to track the launches of ballistic missiles and to protect Russia from a nuclear missile strike. Some of the existing components of the existing Soviet-era launch detection system are outdated and need to be replaced. The Ministry of Defense has developed a construction plan for the EKS, as a result of which its capabilities will be restored and improved.
On October 9, Defense Minister General of the Army Sergei Shoigu announced that the military department will create a new Unified Space System, which will replace the existing surveillance equipment. According to the minister, such a system will allow the Russian military to detect the launches of several types of ballistic missiles, both from the waters of the World Ocean and from the territory of various countries. The head of the military department called the construction of the CEN one of the main directions of the development of the forces of nuclear deterrence.
It is known that the CEN will include a number of new technical means: ground systems and spacecraft. Their joint work will allow observing different regions of the planet and detecting ballistic missile launches. The EKS will be based on spacecraft with special equipment, ground control and data processing complexes. In addition, according to some reports, existing missile warning radar stations will interact with the CEN.
The details of the architecture and equipment of the CEN have not yet been announced. Nevertheless, S. Shoigu mentioned the testing of some of its ground components. In parallel with this, new spacecraft are being created that will monitor the situation in space. Soon after the news about the TSA appeared in the domestic media, the first assumptions about its technical equipment and the approximate timing of the start of the project appeared.
The plans to create the TSA became known three years ago. In 2011, the commander of the aerospace defense forces, Oleg Ostapenko, who now heads Roscosmos, said that the Defense Ministry's plans did not include updating the existing system of spacecraft designed to detect missile launches. Instead, it is planned to build a new Unified Space System, which will allow solving a number of tasks, including detecting rocket launches.
According to the available information, the Oko satellites are currently engaged in the detection of missile launches. Until the spring of this year, three spacecraft of this system were in high-elliptical orbits: Kosmos-2422, Kosmos-2446 and Kosmos-2479. The last one in the spring of this year stopped working. As a result, the capabilities of the satellite system have dropped significantly. According to some reports, having only two devices, the Oko system can only monitor the United States for no more than a few hours a day. For this reason, the efficiency of the satellite tracking system is much lower than required.
Together with the satellite constellation, ground-based radar stations should be able to detect launches and track missiles. In recent years, Russia has abandoned several foreign radars, which have been replaced by the systems of the Voronezh project. According to media reports, they must track the flight of enemy missiles, the launch of which is detected by satellites. By the end of the decade, it is planned to build several radars of the Voronezh family, which will take over the work performed by other stations of the old types.
How exactly the orbital grouping of launch detection vehicles will be restored is still unknown. In the domestic press there was an assumption according to which in the near future satellites of a new type, 14F142 "Tundra", will be launched into orbit. These devices were developed by the Central Research Institute "Kometa" and RSC Energia. The first organization created special equipment, the second - a platform. Unfortunately, exact information about the Tundra satellite is not yet available.
In some sources, there are certain statements and assumptions about promising spacecraft. Thus, it is argued that the 14F142 satellites will be able to track the launches of various types of ballistic missiles in different areas. The Tundra apparatus is capable of detecting both a launch from a mine and from a submarine in the ocean. There is also information about equipping new spacecraft with combat control equipment. This will make it possible to use the satellite to transmit a signal for a retaliatory nuclear missile strike.
It is known that the Tundra project has been developed for several years and the launch of the first satellite of this type could take place back in 2009. Nevertheless, the customer's requirements changed several times, as a result of which the new spacecraft have not yet started to work. The publication "Vzglyad", citing sources in the aerospace defense forces, writes that everything is ready to start operating this equipment. The launch of the first Tundra spacecraft may take place by the end of this year. The central command post of the missile attack warning system is already ready to start operating the new technology.
The construction of a new Unified Space System may begin in the very near future, and the first step in this matter will be the launch of the first satellite of the 14F142 Tundra type. The CEN based on new spacecraft and new radar stations will ensure constant monitoring of potentially dangerous areas and timely detection of launches of various types of ballistic missiles. Together with the renewal of the strategic nuclear forces, the new tracking systems should increase the country's defense capability.
