Armavir Radar Station ( rus, Радиолокационная станция (РЛС) в Армавире) is an

early warning radar An early-warning radar is any radar system used primarily for the long-range detection of its targets, i.e., allowing defences to be alerted as ''early'' as possible before the intruder reaches its target, giving the air defences the maximum ...

station near Armavir in

Krasnodar Krai Krasnodar Krai (russian: Краснода́рский край, r=Krasnodarsky kray, p=krəsnɐˈdarskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the North Caucasus region in Southern Russia and ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

. It is a key part of the Russian early warning system against missile attack and is run by the

Russian Aerospace Defence Forces The Russian Aerospace Defence Forces (VVKO) ( rus, Войска воздушно-космической обороны (ВВКО), Voyska vozdushno-kosmicheskoy oborony (VVKO)) was a branch of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation respons ...

. There are two radars here - one faces south west and one south east. They provide radar coverage of the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. The station is located on the former Baronovsky Airfield ( rus, аэродром Бароновский) south west of the village of Glubokiy and south west of Armavir. The station was described as starting to operate at the end of 2006 and then entering "experimental combat mode" in 2008. On the day in 2009 that Russia lost coverage from radars in Ukraine it was announced that it had "begun operations". In May 2012 it was announced that it would go on combat duty before the end of 2012. In December 2012 it was announced it will be in the first quarter of 2013. 6 June 2013 commissioned by order of the President Vladimir Putin visiting the Central Command Post of the Russian Armed Forces. Planned second segment, which will overlap zone of the Gabala radar station. It was developed by

NIIDAR The NIIDAR company, the ''Scientific and Research Institute for Long-Distance Radio Communications'' (russian: Научно-исследовательский институт дальней радиосвязи) is a Russian manufacturer of radar ...

(НИИДАР) and was built by Spetsstroy (Федеральное агентство специального строительства, also called Спецстрой России). Equipment installation was performed by Spetstehmontazh (Спецтехмонтаж).

Voronezh radar

Voronezh radar are highly prefabricated radars needing fewer personnel and using less energy than previous generations. There are two in Armavir and they are described as Voronezh-DM, a

UHF Ultra high frequency (UHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies in the range between 300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (GHz), also known as the decimetre band as the wavelengths range from one meter to one tenth of a meter (on ...

radar with a stated range of . One of the radars, facing southwest, replaces the coverage lost by the dispute with Ukraine over the

Dnepr radar Dnepr may refer to: *Dnieper, a river flowing through Russia, Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea * Dnepr (motorcycle), a Ukraininan motocycle brand *Dnepr (rocket) The Dnepr rocket (russian: Днепр, translit=Dnepr; uk, Дніпро, trans ...

s in

Mukachevo Mukachevo ( uk, Мукачево, ; hu, Munkács; see name section) is a city in the valley of the Latorica river in Zakarpattia Oblast (province), in Western Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of Mukachevo Raion (district), the city ...

and

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

. The other, facing south east, can replace the Daryal radar in Gabala although it is behind in construction.

Armavir and Gabala

Data from Armavir, together with Gabala was offered to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

as part of the negotiations over Russian opposition to US missile defence in Europe. Armavir is close to Iran, like Gabala, and also provides intelligence on missile activity in the Middle East. Armavir cannot completely counter the loss of Gabala. Gabala is further south and has a longer range. Armavir may also be affected by the

Caucasus Mountains The Caucasus Mountains, : pronounced * hy, Կովկասյան լեռներ, : pronounced * az, Qafqaz dağları, pronounced * rus, Кавка́зские го́ры, Kavkázskiye góry, kɐfˈkasːkʲɪje ˈɡorɨ * tr, Kafkas Dağla ...

. In 2007 Vladimir Popovkin, then commander of the Russian Space Forces, said that Gabala, together with Balkhash in Kazakhstan and the two stations in Ukraine, cannot be relied upon as Russia cannot be sure it will have access to them in periods of international tension and war.

2013 ballistic launch in Mediterranean

On 3 September 2013 Armavir detected two US/Israeli ballistic test launches in the Mediterranean towards Syria.

References

External links

Voronezh-DM Armavir photos from Novosti Kosmonavtiki
{{Ru missile attack Russian Space Forces Russian and Soviet military radars Military installations of Russia