In the time of the Cold War, the early warning network of the USSR depended on monstrous radars, such as The Daryal: huge buildings of 10 or more floors that consumed an amount of energy equivalent to a medium city and required thousands of technicians. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, many of these facilities were in independent countries (such as Azerbaijan or Latvia), which complicated its operation and maintenance. Some closed and remained in a state of abandonment.
Everything changed in the early 2000s, when Russia began the development of the Voronezh radars. The first (a voronezh-m) was deployed in Lekhtusi, near St. Petersburg, and got into service in 2009. This was a revolution for several reasons. Unlike their predecessors, who took almost a decade to build, A Voronezh radar can be deployed in just 12-18 months. It is built with prefabricated modules that are assembled there.
To this we must add your low energy consumption: approximately 0.7 MW (megawatts), a fraction of the approximately 50 MW that required a Dryal. This makes it much cheaper and sustainable.
Despite its lowest size and consumption, its capacity is enormous. The voronezh-dm, in particular, is the variant of high availability and long reach, Able to detect and track objects the size of a tennis ball to thousands of kilometers awayalthough it was mainly intended to detect ballistic missiles and satellites.
Finally, we must highlight your advanced technology. The voronezh-dm uses active phase arrangement antennas (AESA), which allows it scan large areas of the sky with great speed and precision, and is more resistant to electronic countermeasures. Basically, an Aesa works like the eye composed of a dragonfly, but where each “eye” can look independently and ultra -shaped in any direction, it is extremely difficult to blind and never blink.
Even so, there is a but: The maelfone, is it the largest radar in the world? It is undoubtedly one of the most powerful and advanced early and advanced terrestrial radars. However, the title of “Greater Physical Radar” is often taken by the Soviet Duga-3 radar nicknamed the “Russian carpenter bird.” It was A colossal structure 140 meters high and 500 meters wide. But in terms of technology, efficiency and capacities, Mongoronezh is infinitely superior.
His nickname arose in the mid -1970s and lasted for decades. Between 1976 and 1989, all over the world, Short wave radio emissions (Those used for international radio, aviation, emergency services and raised radio) began to be interrupted by a very potent radio signal that sounded like the repiqueteo of a carpenter bird.
It was a fast, sharp and repetitive sound, exactly like the pecking of a carpenter bird, but amplified thousands of times and transmitted with a brutal power. This interference I could completely obstruct communications and radio transmissions. As if this were not enough, it jumped from one frequency to another, sweeping different bands of the radio spectrum and was heard on all continents.
For years, this sound was a mystery and, at the same time, a global nightmare. Radio amateurs and Western governments were baffled. Finally, Its origin was discovered: the aforementioned Russian radar.
So why did the Voronezh-M/DM unsubscribe? The reality is that it has not been discharged. On the contrary. Confusion arises for two main reasons. The first is that they are “discharged” and dismantling the old Soviet radars (DNEPR, Daryal), to which the Voronezh comes to replace. When it is announced that A new Voronezh enters service in a location, it is often because it has taken the place of an old radar that was closed. The news of the closing of the old radar sometimes is misunderstood as if it were the closure of the new.
The second is the active expansion of the network. Russia is in an active and continuous expansion process of its Radares Voronezh network. And have been built installed in at least 8 strategic locations around the entire Russian territory (Like Lekhtusi, Ariavir, Kalinningrad, Krasnoyarsk, Altái or Orembourg), forming an early alert fence.
In summary: the family of Voronezh radars (including the variants M, DM, VP, etc.) is the current and future backbone of the Early Missile Alert System of Russia. Not only have they not discharged, but they are a program in full development and deployment. Something that It will be visible at least for the next 30 to 40 yearswhich is what remains to these radars of useful life.