Russia has started the construction of a new advanced early missile warning radar site in the country’s northern region, Aerospace Defense Forces commander major general Alexander Golovko has revealed.
Golovko was quoted by RIA Novosti as saying that the site is being built near the town of Vorkuta, which is situated just north of the Arctic Circle.
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”The expansion of [missile early warning] radar coverage is one of the key areas of our work, especially when it comes to [Russia’s] extreme north – we have already started the deployment of electronic warfare units in the Arctic,” Golovko said.
The construction forms part of the comprehensive missile early-warning network Moscow, which is expected to complete by 2018.
Four easily relocatable Voronezh-class radar stations have already been added to the network, according to the news agency.
Out of four radars, a Voronezh-DM and Voronezh-M radars are on combat duty in the Krasnodar territory and Leningrad region, while the remaining two Voronezh-DM units in the Kaliningrad and Irkutsk regions are currently at the testing stage of operation.
Golovko said the preparations for construction of new-generation radars are also currently underway in the Krasnoyarsk and the Altai territories, as well as in the Orenburg region.
With an operational range of 6,000km, the Voronezh DM class radars are available in three types, including Voronezh-M, Voronezh-DM and Voronezh-VP, and are capable of quickly redeploying to a new site, with a minimal crew for operation compared with previous generation stations.
Around seven Voronezh-class radars are expected to be put on combat duty in the next five years, for replacement of the ageing Dnepr and Daryal-class radars, and also closing all gaps in radar coverage on Russian borders.
