Armavir Radar Station () 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 tim ...

station near Armavir in

Krasnodar Krai Krasnodar Krai (, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the North Caucasus region in Southern Russia and is administratively a part of the Southern Federal District. Its administrative center is the t ...

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

Russian Space Forces The Russian Space Forces () is the space force branch of the Russian Aerospace Forces. It was reestablished following the August 1, 2015 merger between the Russian Air Force and the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces, after the independent arm of s ...

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

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. The station is located on the former Baronovsky Airfield () 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 (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 ...

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 Dnestr radar () and Dnepr radar (), both known by the NATO reporting name Hen House, are the first generation of Soviet space surveillance and early warning radars. Six radars of this type were built on the periphery of the Soviet Union starting ...

s in

Mukachevo Mukachevo (, ; , ; see name section) is a city in Zakarpattia Oblast, western Ukraine. It is situated in the valley of the Latorica River and serves as the administrative center of Mukachevo Raion. The city is a rail terminus and highway junct ...

and

Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...

. 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 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 * * Azerbaijani: , * * * * * * * * * * * is a mountain range at the intersection of Asia and Europe. Stretching between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, they are surrounded by the Caucasus region ...

. In 2007

Vladimir Popovkin Vladimir Aleksandrovich Popovkin (; 25 September 1957 – 18 June 2014) was a Russian statesman and military figure. He was a commander of the Russian Space Forces, then First Deputy Defense Minister of Russia, then General Director of the Russian ...

, then commander of the

, 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.

Russian Invasion of Ukraine

On 23 May 2024, the station was hit by Ukrainian drone attack.

References

{{cite web , title=Ukraine Conflict Updates , url=https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/ukraine-conflict-updates , publisher=Institute for the Study of War , access-date=25 May 2024 , language=en

External links

Voronezh-DM Armavir photos from Novosti Kosmonavtiki
Russian Space Forces Russian military radars Military installations of Russia