Over-the-horizon radar. Towards the launch of new Russian over-the-horizon radars. Radar systems as a complex of radio-electronic devices that solve the problem of detecting various objects in space. Main features of over-the-horizon radar problems. Special

Lieutenant Colonel V. Petrov

As a result of the improvement and proliferation of air-missile attack weapons throughout the world, the likelihood of surprise air-based strikes increases both on the territory of the state itself and on troops stationed abroad. Moreover, according to management foreign countries, transnational threats such as drug trafficking, illegal immigration and terrorism, as well as the incursion of ships into exclusively economic zones, pose a serious danger in peacetime.

Foreign experts are considering over-the-horizon radar stations (OG radars) of spatial and surface waves as a means of monitoring air and surface space, making it possible to eliminate the surprise of an air strike and ensure control over exclusive economic zones.

To date, the following assets have been adopted and operate in the interests of air defense: the American over-the-horizon system CONUS (CONUS OTN - Continental US Over-the-Horizon Radar) and the modernized transportable 3D radar of the AN/TPS-71 type; bistatic 3G radars in China; Australian JORN (JORN - Jindalee Operational Radar Network); French "Nostradamus", work on which has already been completed.

The American fixed-line CONUS system now has two radar posts - eastern and western. Since mid-1991, the eastern post has been transferred to limited use. As part of the expansion of the KONUS network, a 3G sky wave radar is being deployed in Japan: on the island. Hahajima (Bailey) - transmission system and on the island. Iwo Jima (Ioto) is the station's receiver and control center. The purpose of creating this radar is to strengthen control over the Aleutian Islands.

Capabilities of over-the-horizon and over-the-horizon radar equipment for detecting air and surface objects: L - bottom of a conventional radar; B - directional pattern of over-the-horizon radar equipment; 1 - low-flying air objects; 2- airborne objects at high and medium altitudes; 3 - boat; 4 - patrol boat; 5 - sea zone ship

Transmitting antenna and containers with station transmitter equipment AN/TPS-71

AN/TPS-71 station control center and receiving antenna

Receiving antenna of the ZG radar "Nostradamus"

Capabilities of the SWR-503 surface wave radar for monitoring a 200-mile coastal zone: 1 - warships; 2 - air objects flying at low altitudes at high speeds; 3 - sea oil platforms; 5 - fishing vessels; 6 - airborne objects at high and medium altitudes

Schematic construction of a mobile surface wave radar: 1 - communication channel with the information consumer; 2 - control and communication point; 3 - receiving antenna; 4 - transmitting antenna

In addition to the radar stations of the CONUS system for detecting low-flying targets, the US has developed and is continuously modernizing the transportable 3G radar AN/TPS-71, distinctive feature which consists in the possibility of its transfer to any region of the globe and relatively quick (up to 10-14 days) deployment to pre-prepared positions. For this purpose, the station equipment is mounted in containers. Information from the ZG radar enters the target designation system of the Navy, as well as other types of aircraft. To detect cruise missile carriers in areas adjacent to the United States, in addition to stations located in the states of Virginia, Alaska and Texas, it is planned to install an upgraded 3G radar in the state of North Dakota (or Montana) to monitor the airspace over Mexico and adjacent areas of the Pacific Ocean. In addition, a decision was made to deploy new stations to detect cruise missile carriers in the Caribbean, as well as over Central and South America. The first such station is being installed in Puerto Rico. The transmitting point is deployed on the island. Vieques, reception - in the southwestern part of the island. Puerto Rico.

In 2003, Australia adopted the over-the-horizon JORN system, capable of detecting air and surface targets at ranges inaccessible to ground-based microwave stations. The JORN system includes: bistatic 3G radar "Jindali"; a system for monitoring the state of the ionosphere, known as the FMS frequency management system (FMS - Frequency Management System); control center located at Edinburgh Air Force Base (South Australia). Bistatic ZG radar "Jindalee" includes: control center JIFAS (JFAS - Jindalee Facility at Alice Spring) in Alice Spring, two separate stations: the first with a 90° viewing area is located in the state of Queensland (transmitting point - in Longreach, receiving point - near Stonehenge ), the second with a viewing area of ​​180° in azimuth is located in the state of Western Australia (the transmitting point is located northeast of Laverton, the receiving point is northwest of this city).

China has two bistatic 3G radars: one is located in Xinjiang province (its detection zone is focused on Western Siberia), the other is near the coast of the South China Sea. Chinese bistatic stations largely use technical solutions used on the Australian ZG radar.

In France, under the Nostradamus project, the development of a 3D return-inclined sounding radar has been completed, which detects small targets at ranges of 800-3,000 km. An important difference of this station is the ability to simultaneously detect air targets within 360° in azimuth. Another characteristic feature is the use of a monostatic construction method instead of the traditional bistatic one. The station is located 100 km west of Paris.

Research conducted abroad in the field of 3D radars has shown that increasing the accuracy of target location determination can be achieved through the use of reference signal sources installed in the station's viewing area. Calibration of such stations for accuracy and resolution can also be carried out using signals from aircraft equipped with special equipment.

Foreign experts consider over-the-horizon surface wave radar stations as one of the most promising and relatively inexpensive means of effective control over air and surface space. The information received from the surface wave radar makes it possible to increase the time required to make appropriate decisions.

A comparative analysis of the capabilities of over-the-horizon and over-the-horizon surface wave radars for detecting air and surface objects shows that 3G surface wave radars are significantly superior to conventional ground-based radars in detection range and ability to track both stealth and low-flying targets and surface ships of various displacements. At the same time, the ability to detect airborne objects at high and medium altitudes is slightly lower, which does not affect the effectiveness of over-the-horizon radar systems. In addition, the costs of acquiring and operating 3G surface wave radars are relatively low and commensurate with their efficiency.

Representative samples of surface wave radars that have been adopted by foreign countries are the SWR-503 and Overseer stations. SWR-503 was developed by the Canadian branch of Raytheon in accordance with the requirements of the Canadian Department of Defense. It is designed to monitor air and surface space over ocean areas adjacent to the country's east coast, as well as to detect and track surface and air targets within the boundaries of the exclusive economic zone.

The SWR-503 surface wave radar for monitoring a 200-mile coastal zone can also be used for iceberg detection, monitoring environment, search for distressed ships and aircraft. To monitor air and sea space in the area of ​​the island. Newfoundland, which has significant coastal fisheries and oil reserves, already operates two unmanned stations of this type and an operational control center. It is assumed that the SWR-503 will be used to control aircraft air traffic over the entire range of altitudes and monitor targets below the radar horizon.

During testing, the radar provided detection and tracking of all targets that were observed by other air defense and coastal defense systems. Experiments were also conducted aimed at ensuring the possibility of detecting cruise missiles flying over the sea surface, however, to effectively solve this problem in full, according to Western experts, it is necessary to expand the operating range of the radar to 15-20 MHz. According to their calculations, states with a long coastline can install a network of such radars at intervals of up to 370 km to ensure complete coverage of the air and sea surveillance zone within their borders.

The cost of one sample of the SWR-503 surface wave radar in service is 8-10 million US dollars. Operation and comprehensive service stations are estimated at approximately 400 thousand per year.

The Overseer 3G radar, representing a new family of surface wave stations, was developed by Marconi and is intended for both civil and military applications. Using the effect of wave propagation over the surface, the station is capable of detecting at long ranges and various altitudes air and sea objects of all classes that cannot be detected by conventional radars.

When creating the station, foreign specialists used technical solutions that will make it possible to obtain better information about targets over large areas of sea and air space with rapid data updating.

The cost of one sample of the Overseer surface wave radar in a single-position version is 6-8 million dollars. Operation and comprehensive maintenance of the station, depending on the tasks being solved, is estimated at 300-400 thousand per year.

The development of 3G surface wave radar in Japan continues, but performance characteristics are focused mainly on monitoring hydrometeorological conditions and surface currents within a 200-mile zone. After improving the software, such stations will be able to solve air and surface reconnaissance tasks.

The ZG surface wave radar, developed in China, is designed to monitor coastal waters at a range of about 400 km. A log-periodic antenna is used as a transmitting antenna array. The receiving antenna is a chain of vertical grounded vibrators.

A further development of 3G surface wave radar could be the introduction of a difference-hyperbolic method for determining the coordinates of air objects. Based on this method a shipborne multi-position surface wave radar was studied under the SWOTHR (Surface Wave Over-The-Horizon Radar) program. The novelty and peculiarity of the multi-position 3G radar lies in the shift in emphasis when solving problems of determining the location of air and surface targets to software rather than hardware, as is done in modern 3G radars. The use of a multi-position station construction option will allow
replace complex antenna fields with linear dimensions of hundreds and thousands of meters with non-directional vertical vibrators to detect targets in azimuth within 360°. To implement the planned program for the deployment of radars as part of a ship group, it is necessary to have several equipped special equipment surface ships, as well as develop new software based on the use of high-performance computers.

After assessing the research results, foreign experts focused their efforts on creating a single-position 3G radar under a project called HFSWR (High Frequency Surface Wave Radar). As part of this project, a mobile surface wave station is being developed on the basis of existing surface wave radars of the SWR-503 and SWR-610 types.

It is expected that the deployment of the ZG radar and its preparation for combat missions will take several hours. The station will be capable of detecting and tracking both subtle and low-flying targets, as well as surface ships of various displacements, using the full available spectrum of optimal frequencies.

Thus, foreign experts predict a further increase in the capabilities for detecting air targets and an expansion of the frequency range of the 3D sky-wave radar, mainly through the use of means of “radio heating” of the ionosphere and calibration. Over-the-horizon surface wave radar stations will remain effective means air and sea surveillance. Work will continue on the creation of a surface wave radar in mobile and multi-position versions.

Russia is creating a constellation of over-the-horizon detection radars with a continuous radar field at a distance of 1500-2000 km from the borders, an interlocutor in the military-industrial complex told Gazeta.Ru. Priority control of these systems is subject to takeoffs of aircraft with cruise missiles from air bases of countries, naval carriers of nuclear weapons and aircraft carrier strike groups.

In the near future, it is expected to deploy several "Container" type ZGO radars (in various modifications) on Far East, in Siberia and the Baltic, as well as the radar of the ZGO "Sunflower" on the Kola Peninsula, in Sevastopol and in Baltiysk, Kaliningrad region.

Look beyond the horizon

The operating principle of over-the-horizon radars has fundamental features compared to conventional over-the-horizon radars. The latter operate in a “line of sight” zone, which is limited to a distance of tens, maximum hundreds of kilometers. Over-the-horizon systems use the reflection of radio waves from the ionosphere - the upper layer of the Earth's atmosphere, highly ionized due to irradiation by cosmic rays. Radio waves of the required range are reflected from it as if from a “mirror” high above the horizon, then reach the Earth, where they can again be reflected from the desired targets - airplanes, ships and taking off missiles - and again through the ionosphere return to the receiving antennas. This creates a radar field over thousands of kilometers.

Due to the significant variability of the ionosphere depending on solar activity, time of year and day, the creation of such technology required domestic developers to solve completely new radiophysical, algorithmic and technical problems. Only with the help of the most complex mathematical processing can ZGO radars disassemble the necessary objects and, moreover, determine their speed and direction of movement by the nature of the Doppler shift of the spectrum.

The very idea of ​​using the effect of reflection of radio waves from the ionosphere for over-the-horizon detection of targets was put forward for the first time in the world in 1947 by a Russian scientist. However, at that time he was unable to detect targets beyond the horizon on his mock-up. Therefore, the opinion has become stronger that it is impossible to detect targets beyond the horizon against the backdrop of powerful reflections from the Earth. Work on over-the-horizon radar was resumed in 1958, when the fundamental possibility of over-the-horizon detection of aircraft at a single reflection range from the ionosphere (3 thousand km) and launching ballistic missiles at a double reflection range (6 thousand km) was proven.

In 1962, the USSR began developing an experimental over-the-horizon radar station N-17 “Duga-1” near Nikolaev. In 1972, it passed factory tests. The radar did not fully live up to the high expectations of the military, but for many years it became unique experimental base, which provided fundamental data for the development of military over-the-horizon detection radars.

Tests have shown the fundamental possibility of detecting a relatively weak signal from a target against a background of much greater intensity of reflections from the Earth. In addition, the problem of automatically adapting the radar to changes in the reflective properties of the ionosphere, as well as automatically tuning out powerful active interference, was solved in practice.

In 1971, a project was developed for the 5N32 Duga combat station. IN next year a decision was made to build two radars, at that time the most powerful in the world. One radar was built in Ukraine: the receiving position was 10 km from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the transmitting position was near the city of Lyubech, Chernigov region. The second is in the Far East, near the village of Bolshoi Kartel near Komsomolsk-on-Amur.

Great difficulties arose during the construction of huge antennas - two receiving tracks with a length of 900 and 500 m, a height of 140 and 90 m, as well as a transmitting track with a length of about 300 m.

In 1976, the radar station in Chernigov began operation. Its radiation was even recorded by the military in the West. Russian specialists, in turn, managed to detect American missiles launching from Cape Canaveral. After numerous upgrades, Duga began to consistently detect launches of launch vehicles with Shuttle spacecraft on board and launches of Titan ICBMs from Cape Kennedy at a range of 7-9 thousand km. However, all attempts to detect the launch of the US Minuteman ICBM from the Vandenberg base through the polar ionosphere due to its specifics ended in failure.

At the same time they received positive results Soviet tests space system to detect launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles.

After successes in the space component of the missile attack warning system (MAWS), the military lost interest in over-the-horizon radar, and funding for the corresponding program practically ceased.

"Containers" and "Sunflowers"

Now the space echelon of early warning systems is really successfully coping with the tasks of detecting the launch of ICBMs from US territory. However, the space echelon cannot solve the problem of determining the coordinates of air targets. And in the early 1990s, they decided to return to the idea of ​​the ZGO radar, but rebuilding giant antennas after the collapse of the Soviet Union was considered inappropriate. Therefore, experts began creating the next generation of such radars, but due to the heavy economic situation In the country, the main work took place in the late 1990s - early 2000s.

The scientific and production complex "Research Institute of Long-Range Radio Communications" () created a two-coordinate radar station for over-the-horizon spatial wave detection 29B6 "Container". Its entire hardware complex was located in transportable containers and did not require capital construction.

The radio technical unit of such radars consists of two parts: transmitting and receiving. Each of them has a technical position and a residential town. Antenna-feeder devices with all necessary switching and other equipment are installed at technical positions.

The “Containers” signal, unlike the “Duga” signal, is reflected from the ionosphere only once, thanks to which it is possible to obtain fairly accurate target designation and track even small aircraft in Western Europe.

The first radar "Container" as part of the air defense-missile defense system began experimental combat duty in the Mordovian village of Kovylkino in December 2013. Its task is to monitor the western direction in order to detect and determine the coordinates of air targets in an azimuth of 180° and at a distance of more than 3 thousand km.

In the northwestern direction, the radar monitors the area from Poland, Germany and the Baltic to Turkey, Syria and Israel.

By 2017, the Container should be equipped so that it can detect aerodynamic targets in an azimuth of 240°.

The eastern over-the-horizon hub should be built in the next two years. In Zeya, Amur Region, reconnaissance has already been carried out and a place has been selected where the “Container” will be deployed.

In the 1990s, when there were no funds in the budget for the creation of expensive ZGO radars, the manufacturer also proposed to the command of the Pacific Fleet to create a reliable and inexpensive radar for illuminating the surface situation. As a result, a coastal over-the-horizon surface wave radar complex “Sunflower” was created, designed to illuminate surface and air situation, detection, tracking and classification of a target in the 120° sector as an element of a coastal surveillance system.

The first station was deployed on the coast at Cape First in the Kamchatka Bay area. In 1999, military specialists from China arrived to get acquainted with the radar of the ZGO "Sunflower". They set a condition: China would buy a station of this type if the radar detected a ship at sea at a distance of 200 km. As a result, the Sunflower detected two sea targets at a distance of 220-230 km.

A contract worth several million dollars was signed with China for the supply of three Podsolnukh-E radars (in an export version). In the early 2000s, all of them were deployed in China.

The Russian Navy then ordered three Podsolnukh radars with improved characteristics. They were deployed near Nakhodka, in Kamchatka near Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and in the Kaspiysk region on the coast of the Caspian Sea. The air control zone of these radars is 450 km in range, and the surface control zone is up to 300 km. “Sunflower” allows you to automatically detect, track and classify up to 300 sea and 100 air objects, determining their coordinates and movement parameters.

It is worth talking about those systems with the help of which in the near future a continuous field of radar control of the country’s aerospace space will be created. The airspace of neighboring countries will also be monitored. Moreover, at all heights - from the very surface to near space.

This task is not trivial, given the vast expanses of our country. It can be solved using non-trivial technical means. And we have such means. On December 2 of this year, the new generation 29B6 “Container” over-the-horizon detection radar entered experimental combat duty in Mordovia.

This is the first node of the network of reconnaissance and warning stations for aerospace attacks being created. The system will be built on the basis of new radar stations (RLS), including over-the-horizon (ZGRLS) 29B6. What is their fundamental difference from other radars?

First of all - in range. ZGRLS "Container" is capable of detecting targets at a range of about 3000 km. Moreover, both targets at altitudes of up to 100 km, and low-flying targets near the ground or the surface of the sea! The station, which took up duty near the city of Kovylkino (100 km from the capital of Mordovia, Saransk), is capable of viewing the entire territory of Poland and Germany in a westerly direction. And since the station has a giant field of view - 180 degrees - the entire Turkey, Syria and Israel in the south fall within the control zone; the entire Baltic Sea and Finland in the northwest. How is this possible? To understand this, you will have to dwell a little on the technical details.

Stations 29B6 belong to the so-called over-the-horizon surface wave stations. Its operating principle differs from above-horizon stations. As you know, the Earth has the shape of a ball. For this reason, a conventional radar does not “see” what is happening near the surface of the earth, beyond the radio horizon (zone of direct radio visibility). Powerful radars are capable of tracking targets at enormous ranges and altitudes, including in space. But not at low altitudes - the zone of direct radio visibility is limited to only tens of kilometers. Placing radars on hills and mast devices, of course, allows you to expand the radio horizon. But still only at a range of up to 100 km.

Only long-range aircraft can raise the radar higher above the horizon. radar detection(AWACS). But they also have significant drawbacks. The signal power of “airborne radars” and the quality of reception and processing of reflected signals are limited by the weight of the equipment that an aircraft can lift into the air. In addition, the AWACS aircraft is quite vulnerable to ground-based electronic warfare systems and various weapons.

Surface wave ZGRLS is capable of looking far beyond the horizon without rising into the air. Such a station emits a radio signal upward. Reflecting from the Earth's ionosphere as if from a mirror, the signal again goes to the earth's (or water) surface, but already far beyond the horizon. Having reached the ground, the radio signal is scattered, but a small part of the signal returns back (also reflected from the ionosphere) to the radar receiving devices.

The receiving part of the ZGRLS can be located quite far from the emitting part. Thus, in Mordovia there is the receiving part of the new ZGRLS and the hardware for isolating and processing the useful signal. And the radiating part is in the Nizhny Novgorod region. In general, these are quite large structures. They consist of dozens of antenna-feeder masts with a height of more than 30 meters. In Kovylkino, the line of such masts stretched for almost one and a half kilometers. Despite this, the ZGRLS is quite mobile.

Antenna mast systems can be assembled quite quickly on equipped sites. And all the equipment, including a powerful computing complex, is placed in transportable containers. Due to the fact that the Container ZGRLS does not require the construction of special capital structures, the commissioning of new stations can occur quite quickly.

ZGRLS 29B6 “Container” operates on short radio waves (decameter, from 3 to 30 MHz). They are reflected from the ionosphere with low losses. For waves of this length there is no so-called “stealth technology” (technology for passive reduction of radio signature). Any "inconspicuous" aircraft, a cruise missile or ship will give an excellent reflected signal, also amplified by secondary radiation (reflections inside the structure).

The very idea of ​​an over-the-horizon location is not new. It was proposed back in 1946 by the Soviet scientist and designer Nikolai Kabanov. But the implementation of the idea turned out to be associated with a large amount of scientific and technical work. And we walked to the “Container” station along a long and difficult path. Let us allow ourselves a short historical excursion.

The first experimental ZGRLS appeared here in the early 60s in the area of ​​​​the city of Nikolaev. In 1964, she first detected a rocket launched from Baikonur at a range of 3000 km. And then they were built two combat ZGRLS "Duga"- one near Chernobyl (in the early 70s), the other in the Komsomolsk-on-Amur region (in the early 80s). They were supposed to be part of the missile attack warning system and were aimed at North America (only from different sides of the globe).

Two “Arcs”, duplicating each other, controlled the entire territory of the United States and vast surrounding areas. They were supposed to detect ballistic missile launches near the surface of the Earth so that a retaliatory nuclear strike could be launched earlier. Their range reached a fantastic 10,000 km. It was achieved due to multiple reflections of the signal from the ionosphere and the Earth's surface.

Over-the-horizon detection radar 29B6 “Container”

However, such “multi-hop” ZGRLS had a significant drawback. They lacked precision. “Arcs” did not allow accurately determining the coordinates of targets due to the fact that the beam “beat” the ionosphere several times. Additional distortions in the work of “Arc” were introduced by chaotic disturbances of the ionosphere, which were poorly studied at that time, and compensation for these distortions had not yet been worked out.

The construction of combat "Arc" began before the completion of experiments at the experimental station in Nikolaev, when sufficient experience in over-the-horizon location had not yet been accumulated. In addition, already in the late 80s, the Americans built powerful radiating systems in Norway, and then in Japan and Alaska. They were supposed to create nonlinear effects in the ionosphere, interfering normal functioning ZGRLS. We learned to deal with these effects, although not immediately.

But, nevertheless, the “Arcs” were never put into service. And the system early warning made do with over-the-horizon stations that could detect not taking off ballistic missiles, but only their attacking warheads. Currently, the detection of ballistic missile launches in the missile attack warning system is carried out by the space echelon as part of the satellite constellation.

It is worth saying that the Duga ZGRLS still left its mark on history. It gave rise to a lot of fairy tales about “psychotronic radiation” and “climate weapons”. The fact is that the start of work of the “strange Soviet radio station” (in 1976) was impossible not to notice. The signal strength was such that it was received by ordinary radio receivers around the world. It was heard as a pulsating knock, which quickly earned the station the nickname "Russian Woodpecker". In addition, Duga disrupted radio communications because it operated on frequencies that were actively used throughout the world.

The USA, Great Britain and Canada even expressed Soviet Union protest, however, without any result. At the same time, the purpose of such a strange radio signal remained a mystery for a long time. Naturally, the Western press headlines quickly filled with speculation that “ Russians want to influence the consciousness of people all over the world" And the news that the signal was directed at the ionosphere quickly led to speculation about the impact of the “cunning Russians” on the Earth’s climate. Echoes of these fables still excite minds today, including ours.

The second over-the-horizon system, already much more advanced, was the Volna station. Their appearance would have been impossible without the participation of the outstanding Soviet statesman - Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Sergei Georgievich Gorshkov. Difficulties with the first ZGRLS led to a skeptical attitude towards them among the Soviet leadership. Whereas Sergei Georgievich was a real champion of breakthrough military technologies. Through his efforts, the first combat laser systems and systems using electromagnetic pulses as a damaging factor were tested in the fleet. Although really effective samples Such weapons are appearing only today; it is to the credit of the Soviet Navy Commander-in-Chief that he was not afraid to take responsibility, giving way to developments that seemed fantastic at that time.

The Volna station was designed in the interests of the fleet. It was intended for control of the surface and air situation in the near 200-mile zone and radar reconnaissance in the far zone up to 3000 km. The “wave” was not supposed to “illuminate” the territory of the United States, so it worked within one signal reflection from the ionosphere. This made it possible to achieve high accuracy of the obtained data on targets, unattainable for stations of the previous generation.

Over-the-horizon far-field radar "Volna" (GP-120)

In 1986, the Volna station began operating in experimental mode in the Far East (near Nakhodka). It was constantly improved, its software and algorithmic complex was modernized, and its energy potential was increased. By 1990, the station consistently detected and tracked US aircraft carrier groups in the Pacific Ocean at ranges well above 3000 km, and individual air targets at ranges up to 2800 km.

In 1999, a new ZGRLS "Taurus" was built in Kamchatka, also in the interests of the fleet.. It uses a lower power signal and is used to detect ships and air targets at a range of up to 250 km. The development of the Taurus was the coastal ZGRLS "Sunflower", which are now being built in various parts of our country and are even offered for export. Their range is about 450 km.

And finally, Following the fleet, new over-the-horizon stations appear in the air defense/air defense forces. Station 29B6 “Container” is a development of the naval “Volna”. It began operating in experimental mode back in 2002. Since that time, vast experience in over-the-horizon radar has been accumulated, and technical means The station itself has been modernized several times.

At the moment, all the main modes of its use have been worked out, and in the Far East preparations have begun for the construction of a serial “Container” station. In total, more than ten similar stations will be built, which will allow short terms cover with a continuous radar field the entire territory of the country and the vast adjacent aerospace space.

The second part of the article is devoted to ways to see what is beyond the horizon.
After reading the comments to, I decided to talk in more detail about VSD communications and radars based on the principles of the “heavenly beam”; about radars operating on the principles of the “earth beam” will be in the next article, if I talk about it then I’ll talk about it sequentially.

Over-the-horizon radars, an engineer's attempt to explain the complex in simple terms. (part two) "Russian Woodpecker", "Zeus" and "Antey".

INSTEAD OF A FOREWORD

In the first part of the article, I explained the basics necessary for understanding. Therefore, if suddenly something becomes unclear, read it, learn something new or refresh something forgotten. In this part, I decided to move from theory to specifics and tell the story based on real examples. For examples, in order to avoid stuffing, misinformation and inciting the farts of armchair analysts, I will use systems that have been in operation for a long time and are not secret. Since this is not my specialization, I am telling you what I learned when I was a student from teachers in the subject “Fundamentals of Radiolocation and Radio Navigation,” and what I dug up from various sources on the Internet. Comrades are well versed in this topic; if you find any inaccuracies, constructive criticism is always welcome.

"RUSSIAN WOODPECKER" AKA "ARC"

"DUGA" is the first over-the-horizon radar in the union (not to be confused with over-the-horizon radars) designed to detect ballistic missile launches. Three stations of this series are known: Experimental installation “DUGA-N” near Nikolaev, “DUGA-1” in the village of Chernobyl-2, “DUGA-2” in the village of Bolshaya Kartel near Komsomolsk-on-Amur. At the moment, all three stations have been decommissioned, their electronic equipment has been dismantled, and the antenna arrays have also been dismantled, except for the station located in Chernobyl. The antenna field of the DUGA station is one of the most noticeable structures in the exclusion zone after the building of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant itself.

Antenna field "ARC" in Chernobyl, although it looks more like a wall)

The station operated in the HF range at frequencies of 5-28 MHz. Please note that the photo shows, roughly speaking, two walls. Since it was impossible to create one sufficiently broadband antenna, it was decided to divide the operating range into two antennas, each designed for its own frequency band. The antennas themselves are not one solid antenna, but consist of many relatively small antennas. This design is called a Phased Array Antenna (PAR). In the photo below there is one segment of such a PAR:

This is what one segment of the "ARC" HEADLIGHTS looks like, without supporting structures.

Arrangement of individual elements on the supporting structure

A few words about what PAR is. Some asked me to describe what it is and how it works, I was already thinking about starting, but I came to the conclusion that I would have to do this in the form of a separate article, since I need to tell a lot of theory for understanding, so an article about phased array will be in the future. And in a nutshell: the phased array allows you to receive radio waves coming at it from a certain direction and filter out everything that comes from other directions, and you can change the direction of reception without changing the position of the phased array in space. What is interesting is that these two antennas, in the photographs from above, are receiving, that is, they could not transmit (radiate) anything into space. There is a mistaken opinion that the emitter for the "ARC" was the nearby "CIRCLE" complex, this is not so. The VNZ "KRUG" (not to be confused with the KRUG air defense system) was intended for other purposes, although it worked in tandem with the "ARC", more about it below. The arc emitter was located 60 km from Chernobyl-2 near the city of Lyubech (Chernigov region). Unfortunately, I could not find more than one reliable photograph of this object, there is only a verbal description: “The transmitting antennas were also built on the principle of a phased antenna array and were smaller and lower, their height was 85 meters.” If anyone suddenly has photographs of this structure, I would be very grateful. The receiving system of the "DUGA" air defense system consumed about 10 MW, but I cannot say how much the transmitter consumed because the numbers are very different in different sources, but I can say offhand that the power of one pulse was no less than 160 MW. I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the emitter was pulsed, and it was precisely these pulses that the Americans heard on their air that gave the name to the station “Woodpecker”. The use of pulses is necessary so that with their help it is possible to achieve more radiated power than the constant power consumption of the emitter. This is achieved by storing energy in the period between pulses, and emitting this energy in the form of a short-term pulse. Typically, the time between pulses is at least ten times longer than the time of the pulse itself. It is this colossal energy consumption that explains the construction of the station in relative proximity to a nuclear power plant - the source of energy. This is how the “Russian woodpecker” sounded by the way on American radio. As for the capabilities of "ARC", stations of this type could only detect a massive missile launch during which large number torches of ionized gas from rocket engines. I found this picture with the viewing sectors of three “DUGA” type stations:

This picture is correct partly because it only shows the viewing directions, and the viewing sectors themselves are not marked correctly. Depending on the state of the ionosphere, the viewing angle was approximately 50-75 degrees, although in the picture it is shown at a maximum of 30 degrees. The viewing range again depended on the state of the ionosphere and was no less than 3 thousand km, and in the best case it was possible to see launches right beyond the equator. From which it could be concluded that the stations scanned the entire territory of North America, the Arctic, and the northern parts of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, in a word, almost all possible areas for launching ballistic missiles.

VNZ "CIRCLE"

For the correct operation of the air defense radar and determination of the optimal path for the sounding beam, it is necessary to have accurate data on the state of the ionosphere. To obtain this data, the “CIRCLE” station for Reverse Oblique Sounding (ROS) of the ionosphere was designed. The station consisted of two rings of antennas similar to HEADLIGHTS "ARC" only located vertically, there were a total of 240 antennas, each 12 meters high, and one antenna stood on a one-story building in the center of the circles.

VNZ "CIRCLE"

Unlike "ARC", the receiver and transmitter are located in the same place. The task of this complex was to constantly determine the wavelengths that propagate in the atmosphere with the least attenuation, the range of their propagation and the angles at which the waves are reflected from the ionosphere. Using these parameters, the path of the beam to the target and back was calculated and the receiving phased array was configured in such a way that it would receive only its reflected signal. In simple words, the angle of arrival of the reflected signal was calculated and the maximum sensitivity of the phased array was created in this direction.

MODERN air defense systems "DON-2N" "DARYAL", "VOLGA", "VORONEZH"

These stations are still on alert (except for Daryal), there is very little reliable information on them, so I will outline their capabilities superficially. Unlike "DUGI", these stations can record individual missile launches, and even detect cruise missiles flying at super low speeds. In general, the design has not changed; these are the same phased arrays used for receiving and transmitting signals. The signals used have changed, they are the same pulsed ones, but now they are spread evenly across the operating frequency band, in simple words This is no longer the knock of a woodpecker, but a uniform noise that is difficult to distinguish from the background of other noise without knowing the original structure of the signal. The frequencies also changed; if the arc operated in the HF range, then “Daryal” is capable of operating in HF, VHF and UHF. Targets can now be identified not only by gas exhaust but also by the target carcass itself; I already talked about the principles of detecting targets against the background of the ground in the previous article.

LONG LONG VHF RADIO COMMUNICATION

In the last article I briefly talked about kilometer waves. Maybe in the future I’ll do an article on these types of communications, but now I’ll briefly tell you using the examples of two ZEUS transmitters and the 43rd communications center of the Russian Navy. The title SDV is purely symbolic, since these lengths fall outside the generally accepted classifications, and systems using them are rare. ZEUS uses waves with a length of 3656 km and a frequency of 82 hertz. A special antenna system is used for radiation. A piece of land with the lowest possible conductivity is found, and two electrodes are driven into it at a distance of 60 km to a depth of 2-3 km. For radiation, a high-voltage voltage is applied to the electrodes with a given frequency (82 Hz), since the resistance of the earth's rock is extremely high between the electrodes, the electric current has to go through the deeper layers of the earth, thereby turning them into a huge antenna. During operation, Zeus consumes 30 MW, but the emitted power is no more than 5 Watts. However, these 5 Watts are completely enough for the signal to travel completely through the entire globe; the work of Zeus is recorded even in Antarctica, although it itself is located on the Kola Peninsula. If you adhere to the old Soviet standards, "Zeus" operates in the ELF (extremely low frequency) range. The peculiarity of this type of communication is that it is one-way, so its purpose is to transmit conditional short signals, upon hearing which, submarines float to a shallow depth to communicate with the command center or release a radio buoy. Interestingly, Zeus remained secret until the 1990s, when scientists at Stanford University (California) published a number of intriguing statements regarding research in the field of radio engineering and radio transmission. Americans have witnessed an unusual phenomenon - scientific radio equipment located on all continents of the Earth regularly, at the same time, records strange repeating signals at a frequency of 82 Hz. The transmission speed per session is three digits every 5-15 minutes. The signals come directly from the earth's crust - researchers have a mystical feeling as if the planet itself is talking to them. Mysticism is the lot of medieval obscurantists, and the advanced Yankees immediately realized that they were dealing with an incredible ELF transmitter located somewhere on the other side of the Earth. Where? It is clear where - in Russia. It looks like these crazy Russians have short-circuited the entire planet, using it as a giant antenna to transmit encrypted messages.

The 43rd communications center of the Russian Navy presents a slightly different type of long-wave transmitter (radio station "Antey", RJH69). The station is located near the town of Vileika, Minsk region, Republic of Belarus, the antenna field covers an area of ​​6.5 square kilometers. It consists of 15 masts 270 meters high and three masts 305 meters high, with antenna field elements stretched between the masts, the total weight of which is about 900 tons. The antenna field is located above wetlands, which provides good conditions to emit a signal. I myself was next to this station and I can say that just words and pictures cannot convey the size and sensations that this giant evokes in reality.

This is what the antenna field looks like on Google maps; the clearings over which the main elements are stretched are clearly visible.

View from one of the Antea masts

The power of "Antey" is at least 1 MW, unlike air defense radar transmitters, it is not pulsed, that is, during operation it emits the same mega watt or more, all the time it is operating. The exact information transmission speed is not known, but if we draw an analogy with the German captured Goliath, it is no less than 300 bps. Unlike the Zeus, communication is already two-way; submarines for communication use either many-kilometer towed wire antennas, or special radio buoys that are released by the submarine from great depths. The VHF range is used for communication, the communication range covers everything Northern Hemisphere. The advantages of VSD communication are that it is difficult to jam it with interference, and it can also work in conditions of a nuclear explosion and after it, while higher frequency systems cannot establish communication due to interference in the atmosphere after the explosion. In addition to communication with submarines, "Antey" is used for radio reconnaissance and transmitting precise time signals of the "Beta" system.

INSTEAD OF AN AFTERWORD

This is not the final article about the principles of looking beyond the horizon, there will be more, in this one, at the request of readers, I focused on real systems instead of theory.. I also apologize for the delay in the release, I am not a blogger or a resident of the Internet, I have a job that I love and who periodically “loves” me very much, so I write articles in between times. I hope it was interesting to read, because I am still in the test mode and have not yet decided on what style to write. Constructive criticism is welcome as always. Well, and especially for philologists, an anecdote at the end:

Matan teacher about philologists:
-...Spit in the face of those who say that philologists are tender violets with sparkling eyes! I beg you! In fact, they are gloomy, bilious types, ready to tear out the tongue of their interlocutor for phrases like “pay for water”, “my birthday”, “hole in the coat”...
Voice from the back:
- What's wrong with these phrases?
The teacher adjusted his glasses:
“And on your corpse, young man, they would even jump.”