Pionersky Radar Station ( rus, Пионерский РЛС-Pionersky RLS) 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 t ...
station near
Pionersky in
Kaliningrad Oblast
Kaliningrad Oblast (russian: Калинингра́дская о́бласть, translit=Kaliningradskaya oblast') is the westernmost federal subject of Russia. It is a semi-exclave situated on the Baltic Sea. The largest city and admin ...
,
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-eig ...
. It is a key part of the Russian early warning system against missile attacks 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 ...
.
The station is located on the former
Dunayevka air base south west of the village of
Pionersky and north west of
Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad ( ; rus, Калининград, p=kəlʲɪnʲɪnˈɡrat, links=y), until 1946 known as Königsberg (; rus, Кёнигсберг, Kyonigsberg, ˈkʲɵnʲɪɡzbɛrk; rus, Короле́вец, Korolevets), is the largest city and ...
.
The radar is modular and can be put into testing mode before being fully completed. It was announced in November 2011 that the radar was operational but without a fully completed array.
Previously
Oleg Ostapenko
Oleg Nikolayevich Ostapenko ( rus, Олег Николаевич Остапенко, uk, Олег Миколайович Остапенко, born 3 May 1957) is the former director of Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, the federal space ag ...
, commander of the
Russian Space Forces
The Russian Space Forces ( rus, Космические войска России, Kosmicheskie voyska Rossii, KV) are a branch of the Russian Aerospace Forces, that provides aerospace warning, air and space sovereignty, and other related protect ...
was quoted as saying in January 2011 that it had started working whilst being built
and
Vladimir Popovkin, then First Deputy Minister of Defence, was quoted as saying in February 2011 that it will not be complete until 2016.
It is fully operational in 2014.
The radar is estimated to cost 4.43 billion
rubles.
Voronezh radar
Voronezh radar are highly prefabricated radars needing fewer personnel and using less energy than previous generations.
The one being built in Pionersky is a Voronezh-DM,
a
UHF radar with a 6,000 km stated range.
Задача по быстрому развертыванию РЛС в России выполнима, сообщает ВКО
РИА Новости
References