Radar in Soviet Union and Russia

A Brief Historical Outline

V.S. Chernyak*, I.Ya. Immoreev*, B.M. Vovshin**

*Moscow Aviation Institute (State Technical University), Russia

e-mail: v.chernyak@g23.relcom.ru, immoreev@aha.ru
** Stock Company Radioelectronic Systems, Moscow, Russia
e-mail: nti@eleron.net
1.
First Air Defence VHF Radars Before and During the World War II
From the Russian specialists point of view, radiolocation, as a physical phenomenon, was
discovered by Alexander Popov. In his report devoted to experiments on Baltic Sea in 1897, he
informed about the detection of a warship (Lieutenant Ilin) when it crossed the radio
communication link between two other ships (Europe and Africa). He supposed that this
phenomenon may be used for object detection and direction determination [1].
The growing role of military aviation and increasing of aircraft velocity at the beginning of
thirties set the problem to transit from sound methods of aircraft detection to radio methods. This
problem was solved in Soviet Union independently. The radar as a technical means was proposed
in USSR by a military engineer Piotr Oshchepkov in 1932. The first successful field tests of an
experimental radar were conducted in July-August of 1934. As a result of this experiment, the first
in the world industrial contract for the production of five radars was concluded already in the
autumn of that year. These radars were bistatic CW radars. They detected an aircraft by
measuring beat frequency at the height of 5-6 km at the range of more than 3 km from the
receiving station [24].
The first operational radar was RUS-1 (Radio Ulavlivatel Samoletov Radio Catcher of
Aircrafts), a bistatic CW radar. Transmitting and receiving stations were separated by 35 km, the
wavelength was 4 m. This radar was accepted by the Red Army in 1939. Forty-five of these
systems were employed in the Far East and Caucasus at the time of the Great Patriotic War
against Nazism [3, 4].
The first pulsed radar Redut (in production
RUS-2) was adopted by the Red Army in 1940. It
was bistatic as well, though with a shorter baseline
(up to 1000 m). It provided not only aircraft detection
(as CW radars) but range and angle coordinate
measurement. 12 radars RUS-2 had been produced
by the beginning of the Great Patriotic War [5, 6].
This radar was firstly used on 22 July 1941 when it
detected a raid to Moscow of more than 200
German bombers at about 100 km to the west from
Moscow. Thanks to the timely detection, the attack
was repulsed with the help of fighter aircrafts and
anti-aircraft artillery. Only several bombers broke to
Moscow [7].
A shipborne modification of RUS-2 (Redut-K)
was developed in 1940 and installed on the cruiser
Molotov already in April 1941. It took part in battles
on Black Sea [6].
RUS-2 The duplexer was invented in the Soviet Union
independently in February 1941. This invention permitted to create in 1941 the first true monostatic
mobile pulse radar with the common transmitting and receiving antenna Redut-41(in production
under the same name RUS-2) and the first stationary true monostatic pulse radar RUS2s, P-2

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 Pegmatit (Pegmatite), which played an important
role in the Great Patriotic War [3,5,6].
The next more effective surveillance and
pointing radar for air defence, P-3, was created
in 1944. That radar could detect aircrafts at the
range 35 km for flight altitudes about 1000 m and
up to 100 130 km for flight altitudes about 8000 m
within the sector 0 360 in azimuth and 4 18
in elevation angle. The consumption power was only
1,5 kW and the deployment time was only 3
minutes. The important feature of the radar was the
use of two
antennas [6].
RUS-2s (P-2, Pegmatit)
The first aircraft radars were developed
approximately at that time also in VHF range with the
wavelength of about 1.5 m. 227 radars Gneis-2 (Gneiss-2)
were produced already in 1943. These radars were
successfully used in Soviet Air Force and Navy aviation
during the War [6].
A new VHF shipborne radar Guis-1 (Jack-1) was
developed in 1944 instead of the old Redut-K. These
radars played an important role in convoying Allied powers
ships [6].
Thus, on the basis of research and inventions in the P-3
thirties, several types of ground based, airborne and shipborne air defence radars were developed,
produced and adopted by the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War. All of them worked in VHF
range mostly with the wavelength about 1.5 m. From 1941 these radars were pulsed ones with
common transmitting and receiving antennas.
2. Rapid Development of Radar Engineering After the War
Just after the end of the War, in 1946, the State plan for radar engineering development in
Soviet Union was accepted by the Council of Ministers of USSR. According to that plan, new
radars in different frequency ranges and for different purposes had to be developed by several
scientific research institutes and factories. The plan marked the beginning of a vigorous
development of military radars in USSR [6]. The special geopolitical state of the Soviet Union
caused a distinctive, perhaps a unique, range of designed and deployed radars. The structure of
the Soviet (and then Russian) Army has been modernised so that priority has been given to the
radar in the development of Russia Aircraft Defence (AD) [8].
Radar engineering in USSR developed on the basis of radar science achievements.
Vladimir Kotelnikov in his doctoral dissertation The theory of potential interference resistance [9]
in 1946 for the first time in the world offered the probabilistic approach to the signal reception. Then
V.I. Bunimovich, L.A. Vainshtein and V.D. Zubakov, L.S. Gutkin, S.E. Falkovich [1013], and other
scientists made valuable contributions in the radar science at the first stage of its development. It
is necessary to mention an important influence of theoretical books translated from English into
Russian in 1955 1962 including Probability theory and information theory with applications to
radar by F.M. Woodward and An introduction to statistical communication theory by D.
Middleton. It should be noted that an important role in Soviet radar engineering development just
after the War played the so called Massachusetts series of books devoted to different topics of
radar engineering. These books were also translated into Russian and served as textbooks for the
post-war generation of radar engineers.

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2.1. Main Development Lines in Surveillance Radars for Air Defence
In the design and development of military air-surveillance radars in USSR and then in
Russia, one can see a high degree of succession and several lines of development. Surveillance
radars for wide range of tasks were designed in following frequency bands:
VHF band as a rule, 2D radars capable of detection targets with low RCS at high and
medium altitudes;
UHF band as a rule, 2D radars for low flying targets detection;
L band as a rule, 2D and 3D surveillance radars, lately with PAAs;
S band the most commonly used 2D and 3D radars for all target altitudes and for dual
applications (AD and ATC systems).
2.2. VHF-band surveillance radars
The first in this series are P-12 and P-18 [8, 14] which differ only by the horizontal antenna
size (6 and 8 vibrators, respectively). Depending on the target flight altitude, maximum range
varied from 18 km for the altitude 50 m up to 160-170 km for the altitude 10000 m. Detection
coverage in elevation angle was 0.6 30. Those radars had relatively low resolution capability:
about 1000 m in range, 11 (P-12) and 6 (P-18) in azimuth. Although the radars were designed in
the early sixties, they had effective clutter protection and amplitron transmitter of sufficiently high
pulse power (180 kW).
Later VHF frequency band became the basic one for early warning radars. The most
powerful radar for AD systems was P-14 (Lena) with antenna size 30 m 14 m and maximum
range up to 500-600 km for high-altitude targets (up to 50 km)[8].
The latest radar of this series is the 3D radar 55G6-UE (Nebo-U)
and its modification for the SAM system S-300V (Nebo-SV) [15]. This
radar can provide coordinate and track information under the condition
of intensive radar countermeasures. Due to chosen frequency band it
can effectively detect Stealth targets. Three target coordinates are
measured by combination of the range-azimuth measuring channel
and the range-altitude measuring channel. Principal technical
characteristics of the radar Nebo-U are as follows [8, 14]:
detection range of a fighter type air target
at altitude 10 000 m...........................320 km;
coverage
altitude................................................70 km;
azimuth..............................................360 deg;
Nebo-U elevation angle ....................................16 deg;
coordinate measurement accuracy
range....................................................................................100 m;
azimuth................................................................................12 min;
altitude..................................................................................400 m;
type of output data..............................................................................tracks;
output data update rate ..........................................................................10 s;
handling capacity..........................................................................100 tracks;
power consumption ..........................................................................100 kW;
number of transport units.......................................................................6.
The radar has an effective interference protection system. Modern circuit components are
used in the radar. It has a klystron transmitter and high-speed and high-capacity computers.
2.3. UHF-band surveillance radars
Radars of this frequency band were used primarily for air surveillance at low altitudes.
Effective ground clutter cancellation and performance characteristics maintaining under heavy
weather conditions are possible in this frequency band.

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 One of the first radar of this development line was the
radar P-15, Tropa (Path) adopted by the Soviet Army in
1955. It was capable of aircraft detection at the altitudes
from 100 m to 6000 m. The history of the Soviet pulse-
coherent (MTI) techniques began from this radar. Later after
the change to new circuit components, a modification of P-
15 with the magnetron transmitter (named P-19) became
the most widely used radar in the Soviet Army.
Frequency agility method against jamming was tested for
the first time just with this radar. Pulse accumulation
technique for better target displaying was introduced into
P-15 (Tropa) the radar. Transmitter pulse power was upgraded up to 900
kW for pulse duration near 2.5 s which enhanced detection range from about 100 km to about
240 km [6].
Then it was decided to use UHF frequency band mainly for low-altitude target detection. To
the middle of 1980s, the problem of low-altitude radar field creation became especially urgent.
Many people remember the landing of the German pilot Rust on the Red Square in Moscow. The
work on P-19 modernisation was very intensive. The result of this work was the first Russian full
solid-state radar Casta-2E1 (51U6) [16]. Designers of that
radar succeeded in creation of a high effective MTI system
with ground clutter suppression factor up to 54 dB. The
radar was designed for detection of small air targets flying
at low and extremely low altitudes.
At the second stage of P-19 modernisation, a new
convertible antenna providing phase centre height 14 m
and 50 m was introduced. The latest modification of the
radar has been given the name Casta-2E2 (39N6). The
tests of the radar have shown the capability of detecting
and tracking various air targets, such as aircrafts, low
speed and hovering helicopters, remotely-piloted vehicle
Casta -2E1 and cruise missiles
including those flying at low and extremely low altitudes. The
radar is also capable of detecting Stealth targets as well as
moving targets on sea surface.
The radar Casta-2E2 has following performance
characteristics [17]:
target detection range
at the altitude 100 m .........41 km,
........................55 km,
(with antenna phase centre height 14 m and 50 m,
respectively);
at the altitude 1000 m............................95 km;
output information update rate...............5 s, 10 s;
handling capacity .............no less than 50 tracks; Casta-2E2
coordinate measurement accuracy
range ..................................................100 m;
azimuth .................................................40 min;
velocity................................................. 20 m/s;
resolution
range ..................................................100 m;
azimuth ............................................... 5.5 deg;
target flight echelon classification ......02 km, 24 km, >4 km.

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2.4. L-band surveillance radars
On the one hand, target RCS in L band are
smaller than in VHF and UHF bands. In
comparison with S band, greater antenna size is
required for L-band radars. On the other hand, L-
band radars have certain advantages over S-
band ones in clutter resistance.
One of the first Russian radar systems Altai
(P-80) was created in L band. It consisted of two
2D radars and two altitude finders [68]. Later
the 3D radar Pamir (P-90) was created where
many design decisions from Altai were used.
Radar system P-80 (Altai)
Pamir showed itself to be a high handling
capacity long range surveillance radar. Each of two its
antennas had a system of partial patterns for target
elevation angle measurement by the amplitude
monopulse method [68].
In the late seventies, rapid development of
Phased Array Antenna (PAA) technologies and
techniques began. Solid state microwave amplifiers
for transmitters had already sufficiently high power
while receiver amplifiers had low noise temperature,
P-90 (Pamir)
and other components had low power losses. L band
turned out to be suitable for printing technologies
introduced in antenna manufacturing. Thus, L band
received certain advantages over S band which was
earlier the most widely used frequency band in radar
engineering. Just in L band the most perfect Russian
surveillance AD radar with PAAs Gamma-DE has been
developed.
The mobile 3D solid-state phased array surveillance
Gamma-DE radar Gamma-DE has the common active transmitting array
and semi-active receiving array. It provides detection and tracking of wide range of air threats in
severe clutter and jamming environment.
The radar Gamma-DE has following performance characteristics [18]:
target detection range (RCS = 1 m 2).360 km;
coverage
azimuth................................................................................360 deg;
height................................................................................30 or 45 km;
elevation angle............................................................from 2 to +30 or +45 deg;
resolution
range .................................................................................. 300 m;
azimuth ................................................................................1.35 deg;
coordinate measurement accuracy
range .................................................................................. 100 m;
azimuth ............................................................................... 10-11 min;
elevation angle .....................................................................15-20 min;
output information update rate .............................................. 10 s;
handling capacity ..............................................................up to 200 tracks;

35
 number of transport units (without electric power source). 2;
crew..5 persons.
A world trend to creation en route ATC radars working at the wavelength 23 cm (according to
ICAO recommendations) had a positive effect on the
development of L-band radars.
First ATC radars were developed on the basis of
military radars. In particular, a series of radars Utes have the
3D radar Pamir (P-90) as a prototype. But the modern 2D
Russian ATC radars Utes-A and Utes-T embody the latest
achievements in radar engineering and technology including
solid-state transmitters, modern methods of digital signal and
data processing. These radars may be used both as en route
radars (Utes-T) and as aerodrome zone radars (Utes-A).
Main performance characteristics of Utes-A and
Utes-T are as follows [19]:
Utes-A, Utes-T Utes-A Utes-T
coverage
target detection range (RCS = 5 m 2)...260 km; 360 km;
azimuth......................................................................360 deg; 360 deg;
height...........................................................................10 km; 20 km;
elevation angle.............................................................45 deg; 45 deg;
resolution
range ............................................................................225 m; 225 m;
azimuth .......................................................................1.5 deg; 1.5 deg;
coordinate measurement accuracy
range ..............................................................................50 m; 50 m;
azimuth .........................................................................6 min; 6 min;
ground clutter suppression factor...50 dB; 50 dB;
output information update rate ...........................................5 s; 10 s;
handling capacity ..................................................................up to 500 tracks.
2.5. S-band surveillance radars
The first radars in S-band P-20, Periskop (Periscope) and P-50, Observatoriya (Observatory)
were developed and tested in USSR in 1950. They were 3D
radars: the V-beam method was used for target elevation
angle (height) measurement.
The mobile P-20 radar could detect aircrafts at the
range up to 200 km and to a height up to 13 km. The more
powerful stationary radar P-50 was designed for the
protection of important state objects. It could detect aircrafts
at the range up to
400 km and heights
up to 16 km [6].
P-20 (Periskop)
During the whole period of radar engineering
development in USSR and Russia, the greatest number of
radars has been created in S band. An undoubted
advantage of this frequency band over all frequency
bands considered above is the possibility of using
relatively small antennas. It permits to build mobile radars.
Using technology achievements in high power vacuum
tube techniques (amplitrons, magnetrons, klystrons etc.), P-50 (Observatoriya)
a series of mobile, and relatively not expensive surveillance S-band radars were created in 1960s-

36
1970s and went into quantity production.
The most widely used are S-band radars of the following development line (which is going on
up to now): P-30, P-35, P-37, 1L117, 1L118, [20].
The 3D radar P-35 was developed at the end of fifties.
This radar and P-37 were modernised several times. They
were practically the first Russian radars of dual applications.
Their modification 1L139 is the most widely used en route
radar of the Russias ATC system.
Surveillance in the elevation plane is provided with the help
of 6 or 5 narrow antenna beams (in P-35 and P-37,
respectively) in both transmit and receive modes. The pulse
power in each beam is up to 0.65 0.8 MW.
Because of large horizontal dimension of the antenna
? -35 reflector (about 11
m) azimuth accuracy is sufficiently high (about 0.2
0.3). Due to the high transmitter power and receiver
sensitivity, those radars are capable of detecting
targets with RCS 10 m2 at ranges 270 to 350 km with
pulse duration 1.2 to 3.1 s, respectively [20].
However, to the beginning of nineties it became
clear that circuit components of those radars are
obsolescent. Recently the first stage of modernisation
has been completed. Introducing modern computers
has permitted enhancing of MTI efficiency by 7-8 dB as
compared to P-37. 1L139
One of the best among Russian surveillance S-band AD radars is the 3D mobile radar
Gamma-S1E. This radar has a plane printed PAA scanning in elevation plane. A klystron
transmitter with high power and high efficiency, an effective MTI
system and other technical innovations make this radar the
most advanced one in S-band. The radar performance
characteristics are as follows [21]:
coverage
rangefrom 10 to 400 km;
azimuth..360 deg;
elevation angle.from 2 to + 55 deg;
height....up to 30 km;
resolution
range.....250 m;
azimuth 1.4 deg;
measurement accuracy (r.m.s. values)
Gamma-S1E range. 50 m;
azimuth.. .15 min;
elevation angle.10 15 min;
ground clutter suppression factor ..45 dB;
average radiated power. 10 12 kW;
scan period .10 s;
number of tracks per a scan...up to 100.
3. Development of Radars for Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Systems
3.1. First SAM Systems
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) systems were adopted among weapons of many countries
(USSR, USA, Great Britain, France) in late fifties and early sixties as a result of the cold war.

37
These systems can defend military and industrial objects, troops and ships against air attack. The
greatest number of stationary and mobile SAM systems has been built in USSR for the territory
defence.
Already 30 years ago the following SAM systems were among weapons of USSR [14]:
the stationary multichannel SAM system S-25 deployed near Moscow;
the mobile single channel (for targets) SAM system of medium range S-75;
several modifications of the low-altitude short range SAM system S-125;
the SAM system of long range S-200.
At the same time the AD System of the Ground
Forces employed the mobile SAM system Krug with
technical characteristics close to those of S-75. Usually
SAM systems were adopted as parts of AD systems which
included also firing missile divisions, command posts,
surveillance radars, technical bases and later automatic
control complexes.
The first widely known incident of the SAM S-75
employment was the successful destruction of an American
reconnaissance aircraft U-2 in 1961 in the USSR air space.
Radar of S-75 System Real combat capabilities of those SAM systems were
revealed during the Vietnam War where they demonstrated high effectiveness. At the same time
certain drawbacks manifested themselves, particularly insufficient mobility.
In 1970s-1980s technical characteristics of offensive means became significantly better:
speed of reconnaissance aircrafts increased up
to 3 3.5 M;
tactical aircraft began flying at extremely low
altitudes;
self-guided missiles with low RCS including
anti-radiation missiles (ARMs) homing in on radars
were adopted among weapons of bombers;
unmanned reconnaissance aircrafts of small
size and hovering helicopters began widely used;
electronic countermeasure (ECM) systems
enhanced significantly.
From the technical point of view, it became clear Radar of S-200 System
that surveillance radars as well as radars for target tracking and interceptor missile guidance
should have PAAs with electronic beam steering. PAAs controlled by high-speed computers permit
to solve the problem of target handling capacity increase. At the same time the firing speed of SAM
systems increases due to the vertical interceptor missile launching.
Besides it was understood that it was impossible to create a single multipurpose SAM
system that could defend all types of objects against all types of targets. Therefore, three types of
SAM systems were developed in Russia:
S-300P for AD Forces;
S-300V for AD of Ground Forces;
S-300F for Naval AD.
A very interesting comparison of radars used in Russian SAM systems with Western (first of
all, American) SAM systems was presented by a well-known American radar specialist and
scientist Dr. David Barton in [22]. He noted some significant advantages of Russian radars over the
corresponding radars of Western systems. In particular, an important feature of all Russian SAM
systems is the use of several (two or more) specialised radars for air surveillance and fire control
(instead of one MultiFunction Array Radar, MFAR, in Western systems). This permits to optimise
each radar for performing its functions, and results in higher effectiveness and lower cost of the
SAM system as a whole.

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3.2. S-300P SAM System
The S-300P system was designed in 1982 primarily to defend administrative and industrial
objects, military headquarters and bases, stationary command posts against strategic, tactical,
battlefield aircraft and strategic cruise missiles. There
are two modifications of the system: the S-300PS
system is deployed on a beforehand prepared sites
while the S-300PT is a mobile system capable of
manoeuvring. The main unit of both systems is a
command post. It is associated with the most powerful
S-band 3D surveillance radar 64N6E, which provides
target designation. Its antenna system is a plane
space-fed PAA with a wide-angle two-coordinate
electronic scan. Thanks to flexible electronic beam
steering, special sectors for ballistic target detection
may be formed.
Main performance characteristics of the 64N6E
64N6E radar are as follows [23, 24]:
target detection range
at extremely low altitude ..................................limited by radio horizon;
at altitudes down to 10000 m ...................................................200 km;
maximum target velocity .........................................................10000 km/h;
target handling capacity ...........................................................100 targets;
antenna rotation speed ................................................................5 r.p.m.;
deployment time ...........................................................................5 min;
power consumption ...................................................................100 kW.
The modern fire control X-band radar 30N6E with expanded surveillance sector
incorporated into the export variant of the SAM system S-300PMU1 (which is an analogue of the
S-300PS system) provides [23, 24]:
range of assured kill
for aerodynamic targets ..................up to 150 km;
for strategic cruise missiles
at the altitude 6 100 m ...up to 30 38 km;
for ballistic targets
(operational-tactical missiles) ..........up to 40 km;
number of simultaneously tracked targets......9;
number of simultaneously engaged targets
(with 2 interceptors for each target)......................6.
Due to electronic scanning, the 30N6E radar
can
flexibly change its surveillance sectors: 1 90 for 30N6E
low-altitude target detection; 13 64 and 5 64 for aerodynamic target detection at medium
and high altitudes; 10 32 for ballistic target detection.
Additional information from external radars of AD systems also feeds into the command post
[19] and can be used for the SAM system control. However, own radar means of the system are
sufficient for its autonomous work.
High effectiveness of radar and firing means of the S-300PMU1 system (in production since
1993) was demonstrated at several international exhibitions including the exhibition in Abu Dhabi.
Shooting was performed at the Lance type missiles. Apart of the targets themselves, all their
fragments greater than 50 cm in size were shot down by the SAM system.
Further improvements of the SAM system S-300P during the last years was by no small
degree promoted by its high competition capability at the world market. Export requirements have
led to a new modification S-300PMU2 (Favorit, 1997) [25]. Following improvements will be

39
introduced into this system:
enhancing capabilities of search, detection and tracking of ballistic targets;
extending the far border of the kill zone for aerodynamic targets up to 200 km;
increase of effectiveness of low-altitude aerodynamic targets engagement under intensive
interference environments;
a new S-band radar 96L6E is planned to be incorporated for target acquisition and
designation under the conditions of autonomous combat operation.
To the specialists opinion, the system S-300PMU2 is the most universal SAM system in the
world.
3.3. S-300V SAM System
The mobile, all-weather SAM system S-300V [2629] was designed to defend tactical army
forces (troop concentrations) and their support facilities as well as administrative and industrial
centres against tactical, operational-tactical ballistic missiles, aeroballistic and cruise missiles,
battlefield, tactical and strategic aircrafts and helicopters.
Unique features of the system permit to defend the following areas:
500 km 2 against a simultaneous attack of four ballistic missiles of the Lance type;
240 km 2 against two ballistic missiles of the Pershing-1A type;
310 km 2 against one ballistic missile of the Pershing-1B type;
1400 km 2 against one ballistic missile of the Scud type.
An important peculiar feature of the S-300V SAM system is the capability to work
independently of other information sensors or command posts and to defend different formations of
troops, including on the go.
All units of the S-300V system are mounted on the unified
tracked vehicles, GN-830, designed for off-road mobility. Each unit
has autonomous power supply, radio communication links and
navigation equipment.
The S-300V SAM system includes three spec ialised radars with
PAAs. The 3D S-band radar 9S15MT is responsible for target
detection and acquisition, primarily for aerodynamic targets. Its PAA
is implemented on the basis of slotted waveguide lines and has very
low sidelobes (less than minus 35 dB). Main technical characteristics
of the radar 9S15MT are as follows:
coverage
in range.................................10 250 km;
in azimuth......................................360 deg;
in elevation angle...................0 55 deg;
9S15MT
antenna rotation speed............................................................5 10 r.p.m.;
maximum target altitude ................................................................30 km;
handling capacity .........................................................................200 targets;
average transmitter power ...............................................................7 kW;
power consumption .......................................................................130 kW.
The 3D sector Xband surveillance radar 9S19M2 with electronic scanning in azimuth and
elevation angle is additionally used for ballistic missile search within assigned sectors. This search
can be performed also using commands coming from different command posts. The 9S19M2 radar
has the following main technical characteristics:
search sector
(relative to the assigned direction) .. 30 deg;
coverage
in range......................................20 175 km;
in elevation angle ..............................................................0 75 deg;

40
 coordinate measurement accuracy (r.m.s. errors)
in range........................................... ................................... ......200 m;
in azimuth............15 min;
handling capacity for ballistic targets...16 tracks;
average transmitter power................................................................................16 kW.
The 3D multichannel tracking radar 9S32-1 scans
the assigned sector, tracks targets designated by the
command post and controls the firing units by providing
target data for prelaunch loading into the missile, for
lunch control and for midcourse corrections. Besides,
this radar performs automatic surveillance around the
horizon for low altitude pop-up targets acquisition.
The main technical characteristics of the radar are
as follows:
scan sector in elevation (from the normal to the PAAs
9S19M2 plane).........0 42 deg;

angle of fast radar turning......................340 deg;

target detection range
at the altitudes down to 1000 m..................150 km;
handling capacity
(number of tracking targets) ..............................12;
average transmitter power ........... .....10 12 kW.
Since terminal guidance of the interceptor missile is
provided by a semiactive
seeker, homing on reflected
target illumination, a special 9S32-1
CW target illuminating radar is mounted directly on launcher unit.
Under the condition of intensive barrage jamming, radars of the S-
300V system goes to a mode of coordinate support: target ranges
are measured by the surveillance radars while target angle
coordinates are measured by the tracking radars. Besides, for the
intensive ECM conditions the S-300V system additionally includes a
mobile 2D surveillance radar Nebo-SV. This is a radar of the metric
wavelength with the maximum target detection range up to 330 km
and maximum target altitude up to 40 km through 360 in azimuth.
This radar is not only highly resistant to interferences but, due to its
wavelength band, can detect Stealth targets.
CW illuminating radar
3.4. Naval Air Defence System S-300F
This system [30] is designed to defend groups of warships against modern aircrafts, cruise
missiles and other air attack means including manoeuvring targets and targets flying at extremely
low altitude above sea surface.
The shipborne AD system S-300F (and its modification Rif) is a part of the armament of a
warship. Target designation for the S-300F system is provided by the ships surveillance radars.
Characteristic of the S-300F system is its operation in specific sea conditions with signal
reflections from rough sea, rolling and pitching of the ship, water splashes; compatibility with other
radioelectronic means of the ship is also necessary.
The multifunctional radar Fort provides target tracking and interceptor missile guidance with
high accuracy in clutter and jamming environment. The PAA of this radar is mounted on a tower.
Stiffness and rigidity of the tower in combination with electronic antenna beam stabilisation permit
operation in rolling and pitching conditions without loss of interceptor guidance accuracy.

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 Firing means of the S-300F system are mostly borrowed from the S-300P SAM system (in a
modified form). One of variants of the S-300F system (adopted in 1983) can provide targets
destruction with the following characteristics:
target range limits .........................................................................5 75 km;
target altitude limits ...............................................................0.025 25 km;
maximum target velocity .............................................................1200 km/h;
number of simultaneously engaged targets .....................................6 12.
3.5. Medium-Range and Short-Range SAM systems
There is a great demand at the world market also for SAM systems of these types. The most
widely used is the Russian SAM system Kub. More than 500 units of the system have been
produced. It was exported in 22 countries. An important role was played by this system in Egypt-
Israel conflict in 1973.
The radar equipment of the SAM system Kub is very compact (mounted on one transport
unit) and includes two radars:
one L-band radar for target tracking and illumination;
one S-band radar for interceptor missile guidance.
The system provides target detection at ranges up to 50 km and at elevation angles from
8 to + 9. Target coordinate measurement errors are 1 in azimuth and 300 m in range.
However, because of the obsolescent circuit components, the system Kub does not meet
modern requirements. Its modernisation into the SAM system Buk [31] has been performed in the
following ways:
radar equipment installation directly on a self-propelled
firing unit;
complex (LFM) waveforms employment for the increase
of measurement accuracy and interference resistance;
introduction of digital radar signal and data processing.
Unlike its prototypes, the Buk-M1 system is jamming
resistant so that it can detect targets with the RCS 1m 2 at the
range 60 km in a background of barrage jamming with the
power spectral density 500 W/MHz acting from the distance200
Buk-1M km.
Apart from SAM systems designed to battlefield operations, the Russian Army has mobile
short-range SAM systems designed to defend vital objects such as:
nuclear power plants and other objects with nuclear reactors;
plants producing ecologically dangerous substances, materials and so on;
other objects that are to be protected against acts
of terrorism in peacetime and against high-precision
weapons in wartime [32].
The most known examples of such SAM systems
are the Tunguska system and the Tor-M1 system. Thanks
to employing a PAA, the Tor-M1 system has a very short
reaction time, i.e. only 5 8 seconds is required from the
moment of reliable target detection to interceptor missile
launch.
Tunguska-M
The main performance characteristics of the Tor-M1 system radar are as follows:
target detection range..........................................................................25 km;
target kill range..............................................................................1 12 km;
target kill altitude.......................................................................10 6000 m;
maximum target velocity...................................................................700 m/s;

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 maximum number of targets which can be simultaneously
detected....up to 48;
tracked................................................................................................up to 12;
engaged......... ...............................................................................................2.
Among SAM systems of this type which are now
in production, the Tor-M1 system is the most perfect
from the point of view of radar technology.
4. Concluding Remarks
1. It is impossible to overview the whole history of
radar in Soviet Union and Russia in the frames of
one, even so long presentation.
We have briefly and by no means fully considered
only two classes of radars: surveillance radars for
Air Defence (AD) systems and radars for Surface-to-
Air Missile (SAM) systems. Of course, you understand
that there are many other types of radars in Russia: Tor-M1
different airborne, shipborne, and spaceborne radars, radars for Ballistic Missile Early Warning
System (BMEWS) and Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) system, radars for space inspection, Over-The-
Horizon (OTH) Surface Wave and Sky Wave radars, Synthetic Aperture Radars (SAR), Ultra-Wide
Band (UWB) radars, Multisite Radar Systems (MSRSs), and so on and so forth.
2. Though radar development in USSR (as in other countries) was stimulated by military needs and
requirements, many types of radars for civil and scientific applications have been developed in
Russia during the last years. These are not only traditional ATC radars, but meteorology radars,
radars for Earth (and other planets) cartography and mineral resources exploration, radars for
pipeline inspection, automotive radars, radars for medicine purposes and others.
3. Unfortunately, the second half of the nineties was a very difficult time for radar engineering as
for the whole industry in Russia. Scientific research institutes and industry had no orders. Many
specialists left their jobs. Young engineers did not enter radar institutes and radar industry.
However, the situation is becoming better during the two last years. This situation changes not as
fast as we would like, but today is better than yesterday. Many scientific organisations and
factories come to the world market. They begin to engage young engineers graduated from
technical universities.

As you can see from our presentation, Russia today has modern radars and modern military
systems that are superior to many other corresponding systems in the world, but it is important that
new developments have already appeared including radars for civil applications.
Taking into account high level of radar science in Russia, important achievements in radar
research in the recent past, and the great experience in radar developments, we are sure that
Russian radar engineering will make up for lost time.
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Precision Weapons, Military Parade, May-June, 1996.

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