In the past, a number of Russian print and Internet publications have repeatedly published information about testing Soviet-made combat aircraft in the United States and conducting test air battles with American fighters. The topic of the presence of armored vehicles, combat helicopters, radars and anti-aircraft missile systems manufactured in the USSR and Eastern Europe is much worse covered in the American armed forces and at training ranges.
The experience of local wars in the 1960s and 1970s demonstrated that the armies of Western countries are not fully prepared for armed confrontation with states whose armed forces are equipped with Soviet equipment and weapons and operate according to Soviet military manuals. In this regard, the United States adopted the OPFOR program (Opposing force) in 1980. Within the framework of this program, it was envisaged to create special units, which, during the exercises, were supposed to represent the ground forces of the Warsaw Pact countries. To give more realism, the OPFOR units wore uniforms that were outwardly similar to the Soviet ones, and acted according to the combat regulations of the Soviet Army.
According to declassified materials, the first Soviet tanks of post-war production: the PT-76 and T-54 were delivered to American proving grounds in the late 60s. Apparently, these were trophies captured during the hostilities in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Soviet armored vehicles supplied by the Soviet Union to North Vietnam did not impress American specialists, who noted that the amphibious PT-76, which has good maneuverability and mobility in rough terrain at a short distance, is vulnerable to 12.7 mm armor-piercing bullets, and the frontal armor of the T -54 confidently penetrates with American 90 and 105 mm tank guns. The sights and radio stations installed on Soviet tanks were considered obsolete, and the living conditions were Spartan. At the same time, it was noted that Soviet armored vehicles do not require highly skilled crews and are easily repaired. The next time the Americans got the opportunity to get acquainted with more modern models of equipment and weapons after the defeat of the Arab coalition in the Yom Kippur War. The Americans were especially interested in the combat capabilities of the T-62, which became the world's first armored vehicle equipped with a 115-mm smooth-bore cannon. In addition to the T-55 and T-62 tanks, Israel received the BTR-60, the Malyutka anti-tank missile system, elements of the S-75 air defense system and the P-12 radar station.
After testing the driving performance and weapons, captured Soviet tanks were used at the Eglin training ground during testing of the aviation weapons of the A-10A Thunderbolt II attack aircraft. One T-62 was shot with shells with uranium cores from an aviation 30-mm GAU-8 / A cannon. Another tank with a running engine received a direct hit from an AGM-65 Maverick air-to-surface missile with a thermal homing head.
In principle, the Israelis were ready to provide the American units depicting the "bad guys" in the exercises with the necessary amount of armored vehicles in exchange for the supply of weapons. However, the Americans were not ready to operate Soviet-made tanks and infantry fighting vehicles in everyday conditions. In addition to retraining personnel, it was necessary to solve the problem of supplying consumables and spare parts. As a result, the large-scale use of Soviet-made heavy armored vehicles at the first stage was abandoned, using limited reconnaissance vehicles BDRM-2, armored personnel carriers BTR-60PB and amphibious tanks PT-76 in maneuvers.
After the conclusion of the Camp David Agreement and the signing of a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, the rapprochement between Egypt and the United States began. In exchange for military and economic assistance, Anwar Sadat authorized the supply of military equipment received from the USSR to the United States. Among other things, an infantry fighting vehicle BMP-1, equipped with a 73-mm smooth-bore gun-launcher and a Malyutka ATGM, went to the United States.
A detailed study of the Soviet BMP-1 led to the fact that the Americans installed a 25-mm M242 Bushmaster cannon on the M2 Bradley BMP, which was being created at that time in the United States, piercing the frontal protection of the Soviet vehicle, and increased the level of protection in the frontal projection due to the use of spaced armor.
The 32nd Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment, formed on the basis of the 177th Armored Brigade at the US Army Training Center - Fort Irwin in California, was the first major American unit to be assigned the responsibility of playing for the Reds during maneuvers. But since the daily operation of Soviet-made armored vehicles was associated with a number of problems and it was required to ensure the conduct of exercises with the participation of large units, it was decided to use "make-up" American equipment, well mastered by the troops.
By the end of the 70s, the American army had a large surplus of M551 General Sheridan light amphibious airborne tanks. This vehicle has been in service with American reconnaissance and airborne units since 1966. The tank was armed with a short-barreled 152-mm gun-launcher, from which it was possible to fire high-explosive fragmentation shells and an MGM-51 Shillelagh ATGM. However, the experience of operation and combat use of Sheridan tanks revealed many shortcomings, and about 10 years after they were put into service, they began to be withdrawn from line units and transferred to storage. By 1980, more than 1000 light tanks had accumulated in warehouses, some of which it was decided to use to create VISMOD (English visually modified - visually modified military equipment to simulate enemy forces).
As a result, several dozen futuristic-looking imitations of Soviet T-72, BMP-1, ZSU-23-4 Shilka and Gvozdika self-propelled guns were born. Despite the strange and sometimes ugly appearance, the converted Sheridans were actively used during the maneuvers carried out in the Mojave Desert, until the full depletion of the resource in the mid-90s. According to American data, a significant part of the modified light tanks had laser equipment that made it possible to simulate fire from cannons and machine guns.
In addition to the Sheridans, several HMMWV four-wheel drive vehicles were redesigned, which they tried to give the outlines of Soviet armored patrol and reconnaissance vehicles. However, it turned out even worse than with the recreation of the external appearance of the tracked Soviet armored vehicles.
As the resource was depleted and the M551 light tanks were decommissioned, other American-made armored vehicles were used. In particular, at least one VISMOD, imitating the ZSU-23-4 "Shilka", was created on the basis of the 155-mm M-109 howitzer.
Since the mid-90s, the M113 armored personnel carriers and the M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles began to be massively "made up" to participate in the maneuvers. As part of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, stationed at Fort Irvine, one battalion was fully equipped with "visually similar" vehicles depicting T-72 and BMP-2. By 1998, the new VISMODs completely replaced all vehicles based on the M551 General Sheridan tanks.
Mainly fiberglass and epoxy were used to create VISMOD, which allowed to reduce costs and quickly restore appearance in case of damage during maneuvers. In addition, the vehicles participating in the exercises for the "reds" received a set of laser firing simulators, sensors for fixing laser radiation and pyrotechnic devices that reproduce the firing of weapons and visual effects when armored vehicles are hit. This made it possible to implement various scenarios of the exercises and bring the situation closer to combat.
The vehicles created on the basis of the M551, M109 and M113, of course, externally differed from the American armored vehicles used by the line units, but they still did not have much in common with Soviet tanks and infantry fighting vehicles. The closest thing to the appearance of the BMP-2 was a "visually similar sample", created on the basis of the BMP "Bradley". You can visually distinguish these cars from the Soviet prototype by their higher silhouette. Otherwise, thanks to the ribbed frontal part, side screens and a modified turret, it was possible to achieve a high visual similarity.
The nineties of the last century became a "golden time" for American experts in terms of studying the equipment and weapons of a potential enemy. After the liquidation of the Warsaw Pact Organization and the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States had unprecedented opportunities for detailed acquaintance with various samples of Soviet production. In the late 80s, the Americans could not even imagine that in a few years they would have at their disposal the most modern Soviet armored vehicles, fighters, air defense systems and communications. Countries that were previously in the sphere of influence of the USSR, seeking to enlist the favor of the victors in the Cold War, the United States, vied with each other in a hurry to share military and technological secrets. However, the authorities of the "new Russia" in this respect did not differ much from the governments of the countries that were previously part of the Warsaw Pact Organization and the former Soviet republics. The T-80U tank with a gas turbine engine aroused particular interest in NATO. Unlike the T-72, this vehicle was not supplied to the ATS allies. In 1992, through the Russian organization Spetsvneshtekhnika, Great Britain for $ 10.7 million purchased one T-80U and one Tunguska air defense missile system with ammunition and a set of consumables. In the same year, the British transferred these machines to the United States. In 1994, four T-80Us were sold to Morocco, but as it soon turned out, these tanks did not make it to the shores of North Africa, ending up at American training grounds.
Since 1996, T-80 tanks have been supplied to Cyprus, Egypt and the Republic of Korea. Thus, the armed forces of South Korea received 80 T-80U and T-80UK with thermal imagers "Agava-2" and complexes for countering anti-tank missile guidance systems "Shtora".
Also at the disposal of the South Korean military there are 70 BMP-3 and 33 BTR-80A. Russian-made combat vehicles have been repeatedly used during joint South Korean-American military exercises.
Access to the most modern Russian armored vehicles made it possible not only to study in detail the samples of interest and to work out countermeasures, but also to equip the "aggressor" units acting for the enemy in the exercises to the necessary extent. The operation of Soviet and Russian military equipment was greatly facilitated by the fact that the Americans also had the necessary technical documentation and spare parts at their disposal.
In addition to the US Army, Soviet armored vehicles began to be used in exercises by the Marine Corps, since the US Marines, who are "rapid reaction" forces in local conflicts, had a much higher risk of collision with an enemy equipped with Soviet weapons than the Ground Forces. T-72 tanks from the former GDR army, Polish and Czech production, as well as captured in Iraq, appeared at the Fort Stewart and China Lake training grounds.
Tanks T-72, BMP-1 and BMP-2 are permanently operated in the 3rd amphibious assault battalion of the 1st USMC Division, stationed at Camp Pendleton, California. Armored vehicles captured in Iraq are available in excess of the states and are used at the training ground in the place of permanent deployment. Maintaining it in working order is carried out by the repair services of the division.
In addition to the T-72, BMP-1 and BMP-2, the "aggressor" units of the US Army and the Marine Corps have a noticeable number of lightly armored MT-LB tractors. Due to its good driving characteristics and high maintainability, this lightly armored tracked tractor is even more popular in the American armed forces than Soviet tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers.
Special mention should be made of the Soviet operational-tactical and tactical missile systems, which the Americans first encountered in combat conditions in 1991 during the anti-Iraqi campaign. The American media bypasses the topic of tests in the United States of the 9K72 Elbrus OTRK with the 8K-14 (R-17) missile. It is known that in the past, a number of anti-missile systems were tested on "simulators" of R-17 missiles. Nevertheless, there are "Elbrus" at the American test sites, as is irrefutably evidenced by satellite images published in the public domain. In the 70-80s, the Elbrus OTRK, known in the west as Scud B, was widely supplied to the allies of the USSR and was used in a number of regional conflicts.
To replace the "Scud" with a liquid-propellant rocket in the USSR, the OTRK 9K79 "Tochka" was created with a solid-propellant rocket on a three-axle floating chassis. Before the collapse of the Eastern bloc, these complexes were delivered to Bulgaria, Poland and Czechoslovakia, and also went to the "independent republics" during the division of Soviet military property. There is no doubt that the Americans have thoroughly studied this quite modern missile system, even by today's standards.
If the training of calculations of army air defense units could be carried out without problems on aircraft of American tactical and carrier-based aviation, which, when flying at low altitudes, in their maneuverability characteristics, thermal and radar signature practically did not differ from the Soviet MiGs and Su, then with the reproduction the Mi-24 attack helicopters and the Mi-8 transport combat helicopters, the matter was much more complicated.
At first, several JUH-1H helicopters converted from Bell UH-1H Iroquois were used to simulate the Mi-8. The helicopter carried camouflage atypical for the American army aviation, and its nose was modified. In the late 80s, laser equipment was placed on the pylons of the modified Iroquois, simulating the use of aircraft weapons, and on the armored vehicles participating in the exercises, sensors were installed, coupled with pyrotechnic devices, which were triggered in the event of a "hit" in a tank or BMP.
Judging by the dating of photographs taken at Edwards and China Lake Airbases, which are located in the immediate vicinity of the Fort Irvine training center, then some JUH-1H helicopters were used in the 21st century.
The disguised "Iroquois" were quite successfully used to train crews of armored vehicles and the anti-aircraft crews of the army mobile air defense systems "Chaparel-Vulcan" and "Evanger" that protected them. However, the command of the Ground Forces wanted to have a helicopter visually similar to the Soviet Mi-24, which the Americans rated very highly. For this, in the mid-80s, a contract was signed with Orlando Helicopter Airways for the development of a radio-controlled helicopter target, outwardly similar to the Mi-24, at which it could be fired with military shells and missiles. For the conversion, Sikorsky S-55 Chickasaw helicopters were used, taken from storage in Davis-Montan. During the conversion of the outdated piston-engine helicopter, which originally had a layout similar to the Mi-4, the appearance was radically changed.
The radio-controlled helicopter, designated QS-55, was provided with the maximum external resemblance to the Mi-24P. On the starboard side of the helicopter, a dummy of a 30-mm GSh-30K cannon was installed, and an influx appeared below, recreating the "beard" of the surveillance and sighting system. On the first converted QS-55s, dummies were placed in fake cockpits for increased reliability. For ferrying the helicopter on its own to the place of use, the standard controls were retained, but the view from the cockpit became much worse.
According to American sources, Orlando Helicopter Airways had converted 15 QS-55s in total until 1990, most of which were shot in the air over the course of several years during the combat training of air defense crews and crews of AN-64 Apache combat helicopters. Two QS-55 helicopters lost in flight accidents. Subsequently, the Americans used 10 times smaller radio-controlled models of Mi-24 attack helicopters in anti-aircraft crew training, which turned out to be significantly cheaper than converting vehicles taken from the storage base into targets.
In addition to radio-controlled targets in the American army in the 80s and 90s, the Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King amphibious helicopters and the French Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma, converted into VISMOD by the specialists of the Total Helicopter Company, were used to designate the Mi-24. Subsequently, these cars starred in the films "Red Scorpion" and "Rambo 3".
The Americans managed to closely study the Mi-25 (export version of the Mi-25D) in the second half of the 80s, after a Libyan Air Force helicopter made an emergency landing in Chad in an area controlled by the French Foreign Legion. The combat helicopter was disassembled, delivered to the airfield and evacuated by a military transport aircraft. Then the American specialists were unable to fully restore and capture the flight data of the Mi-25. However, they had the opportunity to assess the security, characteristics of surveillance and sighting equipment and weapons. In 1991, several Iraqi Mi-25s were captured during Operation Desert Storm.
After dismantling the main and tail rotor, Iraqi helicopters were evacuated by American heavy military transport helicopters Boeing CH-47 Chinooq. However, the Mi-25s captured in 1991 during the Gulf War were in poor technical condition and could not give a full picture of their capabilities.
However, no trophies of war could compare with the opportunities that opened up after the fall of the communist system in Eastern Europe. First of all, the Americans had at their disposal the equipment and weapons of the former People's Army of the GDR, and a significant part of the East German "crocodiles" ended up at American training grounds and research centers. Together with several Mi-8 and Mi-24 helicopters, a set of technical documentation and spare parts were sent to the United States. After that, the need for helicopters "visually similar" to the Mi-24 in the American armed forces disappeared.
The squadron, equipped with Soviet-made helicopters, was deployed to the Fort Bliss military base in Texas in 2006. The Mi-24 helicopters were involved in organizing the training process of the 1st armored division and anti-aircraft units deployed in the area, as well as in "joint maneuvering" with the American Super Cobras and Apaches.
As you know, Soviet anti-aircraft missile systems in the 60-70s had a significant impact on the course of hostilities in Southeast Asia in the Middle East. That is why the Americans during the Cold War paid great attention to training their pilots in evading anti-aircraft missiles and developing electronic jamming stations. At the training grounds located in the vicinity of large American air bases, layouts of Soviet air defense systems appeared, as well as simulators of the operation of guidance stations and radars. Traditionally, special attention was paid to countering the widespread medium-range complexes of the C-75 family.
However, the C-75 had limited capabilities to defeat low-altitude and targets maneuvering with large overloads,in this respect, the S-125 and Kvadrat air defense systems posed a much greater threat to American tactical and carrier-based aviation. Apparently, as in the case of the MiG-23 fighter, the Americans got the opportunity to get acquainted with Soviet low-altitude and mobile military complexes in the first half of the 80s, after the beginning of close military-technical cooperation between the United States and Egypt. In addition, in 1986, the French managed to capture the Libyan "Square" in Chad.
American specialists were especially interested in the characteristics of the guidance stations and the operating modes of the radio fuses for anti-aircraft missiles. A thorough study of these parameters made it possible to create a number of fairly effective jamming stations suspended on combat aircraft in a container version.
In 1991, the Osa-AK short-range self-propelled air defense system appeared at the White Sands training ground in New Mexico. Where it was delivered from and in what technical condition is not known.
After the unification of Germany, the air defense systems inherited from the GDR became the object of close attention of Western experts. In the second half of 1992, two German Osa-AKM air defense systems with military missiles, a transport-loading vehicle and a set of technical documentation were delivered to the Eglin airbase by military transport aircraft. Together with mobile anti-aircraft missile systems, German crews arrived. According to the information released to the public, field tests with real launches against aerial targets in Florida lasted more than two months, and several aerial targets were shot down during the shooting.
Following the German air defense systems "Osa" from the countries of Eastern Europe that were part of the Warsaw Pact, anti-aircraft systems were delivered: C-75M3, C-125M1, "Circle", "Kvadrat", "Strela-10" and "Strela-1", ZSU -23-4, as well as MANPADS "Strela-3" and "Igla-1".
All of them were tested at test sites in Nevada, New Mexico and Florida. Also, the Americans were very interested in the characteristics of Soviet radars in terms of the possibility of detecting aircraft at low altitudes and made using technology of low radar signature. Surveillance radars P-15, P-18, P-19, P-37, P-40 and 35D6 were tested on real flights in the 90s in the USA. The study of the electronics of Soviet air defense systems and radars was carried out by specialists from the laboratory of the US Defense Ministry at the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville (Alabama).
Before the liquidation of the Warsaw Pact, the Soviet Union managed to supply S-300PMU anti-aircraft missile systems (export version of the S-300PS) to Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria, and experts from NATO countries had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with them. But the leadership of these countries refused to provide modern air defense systems for those times to American test sites. As a result, the Americans separately purchased from Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan elements of the S-300P and S-300V anti-aircraft missile systems, as well as the 35D6 radar, which was part of the S-300PS regimental air defense system. At first, the radar equipment was thoroughly tested at the Tonopah test site in Nevada, and then used during various exercises of combat aviation of the Air Force, Navy and USMC.
According to information published in open sources, in 2008 at the Eglin test site, a Kupol target detection station and a self-propelled fire launcher, which are part of the Buk-M1 air defense missile system, were seen. From which country these combat vehicles were delivered to the United States is not known. Possible importers are: Greece, Georgia, Ukraine and Finland.
A large collection of a wide variety of Soviet and Russian military equipment and weapons has been collected at American proving grounds, research laboratories and test centers. The largest storage site for armored vehicles, artillery systems and air defense systems of a potential enemy in the United States is the southeastern part of the Eglin training ground in Florida.
On the basis of storage, in addition to artillery installations, multiple launch rocket systems, tanks, armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles, there are elements of S-75 and S-125 anti-aircraft missile systems of various modifications, mobile military air defense systems "Strela-1", Strela-10 "," Wasp "," Krug "and" Kvadrat ", ZSU-23-4" Shilka "and ZRPK" Tunguska ", elements of the S-300PS anti-aircraft missile system, radars P-18, P-19, P-37 and P-40 …
As already mentioned, the Americans from the very beginning showed great interest in Soviet radars, anti-aircraft missile guidance stations and anti-aircraft artillery target designation. The main reason for this interest was the desire to gain access to the characteristics of the detection range, noise immunity, operating frequencies and combat modes. Knowing all this, it was possible to create jamming equipment designed to suppress surveillance radars, gun guidance stations and air defense missile systems. And also to issue recommendations to pilots of long-range, tactical and carrier-based aviation participating in air strikes against countries that have Soviet and Russian air defense systems.
At the first stage, American pilots trained on real radars and guidance stations of Soviet-made anti-aircraft complexes. However, American specialists soon encountered difficulties in maintaining the equipment built in the USSR in working order. Readers who served in the USSR Air Defense Forces will probably remember how laborious the routine maintenance of first-generation anti-aircraft missile systems, radars and radio altimeters was. As you know, equipment made with extensive use of electrovacuum elements requires constant attention: fine tuning, adjustment and warming up. Radars, guidance and target illumination stations were equipped with spare parts with an impressive supply of electronic tubes, since they quickly lose their characteristics during operation and are actually consumables. In addition to purchasing spare parts, the Americans needed to translate mountains of technical literature or attract foreign specialists who had previously worked on Soviet technology, which was undesirable, as it could lead to leakage of confidential information. In this regard, at the first stage, it was decided to partially transfer the existing Soviet-made anti-aircraft missile guidance stations to a new solid-state element base, while maintaining operating frequencies and combat modes. The task was facilitated by the fact that the existing radio equipment was not intended for real launches of anti-aircraft missiles, but had to be used in the process of combat training of American pilots.
Specialists of the company AHNTECH, which has long-standing ties with the Pentagon, based on the SNR-75 missile guidance station, created an installation that, in addition to the combat modes of the S-75 air defense system, is capable of reproducing other threats.
At the same time, due to the changes made to the location of the antennas, the appearance of the guidance station has changed significantly. Thanks to the use of modern element base, the operating costs for the maintenance of electronic equipment have significantly decreased, and the station itself has received new opportunities in terms of imitating other Soviet air defense systems. There is information that at least one SNR-125 guidance station of the S-125 low-altitude anti-aircraft missile system was also refined.
About 10 years ago, towed universal simulators, known as ARTS-V1 (Advanced Radar Threat System – Variant 1 - an advanced system version of the radar threat, variant 1), appeared on American test ranges. The equipment placed on towed platforms, developed by Northrop Grumman, emits radar radiation that repeats the combat operation of medium and short-range air defense systems: S-75, S-125, Osa, Tor, Kub and Buk.
The equipment includes its own optical and radar facilities capable of independently detecting and tracking aircraft. In total, the US Department of Defense purchased 23 sets of equipment with a total cost of $ 75 million, which allows it to be used during exercises not only on American territory, but also abroad.
According to information released by Lockheed Martin, this company received a contract worth $ 108 million for the supply of 20 mobile sets of ARTS-V2 equipment, which should reproduce the radiation of long-range anti-aircraft missile systems. Although the type of air defense system is not disclosed, it appears that we are talking about long-range air defense systems such as the S-300P, S-300V, S-400 and Chinese HQ-9. According to American sources, research is currently underway on the creation of ARTS-V3, but so far there is no reliable information regarding this equipment.
I must say that this is not the first experience of Lockheed Martin in the development of electronic simulators of air defense systems. In the late 90s, the company's specialists, commissioned by the US Air Force, created the Smokie SAM stationary equipment, which reproduces the combat operation of the Kub self-propelled reconnaissance and guidance system and simulates the launch of anti-aircraft missiles with the help of pyrotechnic devices.
This equipment is still in working order and operates at the Tolicha Peak Electronic Combat Range, located in the vicinity of Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.
In 2005, ESCO Technologies created the AN / VPQ-1 TRTG radar simulator, which reproduces the operation of the Kub, Osa and ZSU-23-4 air defense systems. Sufficiently compact equipment is placed on the chassis of an all-terrain pickup truck, which allows it to be quickly transferred to the exercise site. The station has three transmitters operating at different frequencies, which are controlled by modern computing means.
The radar simulator is used in conjunction with the GTR-18 Smokey unguided missiles, which visually simulate the launch of a missile defense system, which in turn makes it possible to bring the situation in the exercises as close as possible to the real one. Currently, the AN / VPQ-1 TRTG mobile kits are being operated at test sites in the USA and Germany.
However, with the simultaneous creation of radar simulators, American experts are not abandoning their attempts to get hold of modern air defense systems, which are in service in Russia and countries that can potentially be among the opponents of the United States. More recently, information appeared that the US Department of Defense purchased another three-coordinate combat mode radar 36D6M1-1 in Ukraine. The radar, operating in the decimeter range, is capable of detecting air targets with high accuracy at a distance of up to 360 km and is considered one of the best in its class. This station, leading its ancestry from the ST-68 radar, was produced by the Zaporozhye production association "Iskra". Radars of this family were attached to the S-300P anti-aircraft missile regiments. After the collapse of the USSR, 36D6 radars produced in Ukraine were widely exported, including to Russia.
Ten years ago, the Americans have already purchased one 36D6M-1 radar. A number of Western experts then explained this by the fact that similar stations, after the delivery of the S-300PMU-2, may appear in Iran, and in this regard, it is necessary to test it to develop countermeasures. According to information published in the American media, the radar purchased from Ukraine was used during the tests of new cruise missiles and the F-35 fighter, as well as during the air exercises at the Nellis base. The Americans were primarily interested in the possibility of countering and camouflaging radar equipment working in conjunction with the S-300P air defense system. In what tests at the American proving grounds the newly acquired 36D6M1-1 radar will be used is not yet known. However, there is no doubt that this station will not be idle.
