On October 4, Russia celebrates the Day of the Space Forces. The holiday is timed to coincide with the launch of the first artificial satellite Earth PS-1 (The simplest satellite-1). It was launched into orbit on October 4, 1957 by the R-7 launch vehicle from the 5th research site of the USSR Ministry of Defense, which later became known as the Baikonur cosmodrome. The spacecraft was a ball with a diameter of 58 centimeters, weighed 83.6 kilograms, and was equipped with four pin antennas 2.4 and 2.9 meters long. The successful launch of the world's first satellite was the discovery of the annals of astronautics, including military.
Emblem of the Aerospace Defense Forces. Photo: ommons.wikimedia.org
AiF.ru tells about what the space troops are doing, their composition and history of origin.
Tasks
Space Forces - a branch of the Russian Aerospace Forces. Their main tasks are:
- warning the top military-political leadership of the country about a missile attack;
- missile defense of the city of Moscow;
- control of outer space;
- creation, deployment, maintenance of the national orbital constellation and control of military, dual, socio-economic and scientific spacecraft.
The composition of the space forces:
- Command of the Space Forces;
- main center missile attack warnings;
- The main center for reconnaissance of the space situation;
- Directorate for the introduction of new systems and complexes of the Space Forces;
- Missile defense formations;
- Main test center named after German Titov;
- State test cosmodrome Plesetsk.
The number of personnel of the Aerospace Defense Forces of the Russian Federation is 165,000 people.
Orbital constellation
The orbital satellite constellation of Russia for September, 2015 is the second in the world and consists of 149 vehicles. Together with the orbital groups of the CIS countries - 167 vehicles.
For comparison, the United States has the largest orbital constellation, which owns 446 artificial satellites. In third place is China with 120+ satellites. India maintains 40+ operational Earth imagery satellites in polar orbits.
Pilots during an exercise to check the combat readiness of the Aerospace Defense Forces, the 1st Air Force and Air Defense Command of the Western Military District at the Baltimore airfield in Voronezh. Photo: RIA Novosti / Alexander Utkin
Names
- Central Directorate of Space Facilities (TSUKOS) of the Strategic Missile Forces (RVSN) (1964-1970),
- Main Directorate of Space Facilities (GUKOS) of the Strategic Missile Forces (RVSN) (1970-1981),
- Main Directorate of Space Facilities (GUKOS) General Staff armed forces (1981-1986),
- Office of the Chief of Space Facilities (UNKS) of the USSR Ministry of Defense (1986-1992),
- Military Space Forces (VKS) (1992-1997),
- as part of the Strategic Missile Forces (RVSN) (1997-2001),
- Space Forces (KV) (2001-2011),
- Aerospace Defense Troops (VVKO) (from December 1, 2011 - August 1, 2015),
- Space Forces (KV) of the Aerospace Forces (since August 1, 2015).
Major General, Commander of the Aerospace Defense Forces (VKO) Alexander Golovko. Photo: RIA Novosti / Mikhail Klimentiev
Commanders
1964-1965 — K. A.-A. Kerimov
1965-1979 — A. G. Karas
1979-1989 — A. A. Maksimov
1989-1996 — V. L. Ivanov
2001-2004 — A. N. Perminov
2004-2008 — V. A. Popovkin
2008-2011 — O. N. Ostapenko
2012 — V. M. Ivanov- interim officer
from December 2012 - A. V. Golovko
Educational establishments
The training of officers for the space forces is carried out by:
- Military space academy named after A. F. Mozhaisky,
- Military Academy Air and Space Defense named after Marshal Soviet Union G. K. Zhukova.
Story
The first space units were formed in 1955 as part of the artillery of the Reserve. Supreme High Command(RVGK), when a decision was made to build a research site by a decree of the Government of the USSR.
In 1964, in order to centralize work on the creation of new means, as well as to quickly resolve the issues of using space means, the Central Directorate of Space Facilities (TSUKOS) of the Strategic Missile Forces (RVSN) was created. In 1970, it was reorganized into the Main Directorate of Space Facilities (GUKOS) of the Strategic Missile Forces.
In 1986, GUKOS was transformed into the Office of the Chief of Space Facilities of the USSR Ministry of Defense.
Servicemen of the Aerospace Defense Forces greet Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu during the parade dedicated to the 68th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, on Red Square. Photo: RIA Novosti / Vladimir Ostapkovich
In 1992, the Office of the Chief of Space Facilities was transformed into a branch of forces of central subordination - the Military Space Forces (VKS).
In 1997, the Military Space Forces, in order to increase the efficiency of command and control of troops and save the defense budget, were included in the Strategic Missile Forces.
In connection with the growing role of space assets in the system of military and national security In 2001, by a Presidential Decree, an independent branch of forces, the Space Forces, was created on the basis of the formations, formations and launch units and the RKO allocated from the Strategic Missile Forces. At the same time, it was taken into account that the space forces and means, the forces and means of the RKO have a single sphere for solving problems - space, as well as close cooperation between industrial enterprises, which ensures the creation and development of weapons.
In accordance with the decision of the President Russian Federation In 2011, a new branch of service was formed in the Russian Armed Forces - the Aerospace Defense Troops (VKO).
This is a fundamentally new branch of the military, which is designed to ensure the country's security in the aerospace sphere. It was on December 1, 2011 that the first duty shift of the command post of the Aerospace Defense Forces took up combat duty and began to provide centralized combat control of the forces and means of missile attack warning systems, anti-missile defense, air defense, space control, launch and control spacecraft Russian orbital group.
This was reported to our correspondent in the press service and information department of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.
The Aerospace Defense Troops are formed on the basis of formations and military units Space troops.
The new type of troops also included formations of the operational strategic command of the Aerospace Defense.
The creation of the Aerospace Defense Forces was dictated by the objective need to unite the forces and means responsible for ensuring the security of Russia in and from space, with military formations providing air defense of the country, in order to create a unified national system of aerospace defense.
Forces and means of the troops of the aerospace defense
Aerospace Defense Troops solve a wide range of tasks, the main of which are:
- providing the highest levels of management with reliable information about the detection of ballistic missile launches and warning of a missile attack
- defeat of warheads of ballistic missiles of a potential enemy attacking important state facilities
- protection of command posts of the highest levels of state and military administration, groupings of troops (forces), the most important industrial and economic centers and other objects from strikes by enemy aerospace attack means within the affected zones
- observation of space objects and identifying threats to Russia in and from space, and, if necessary, parrying such threats
- implementation of launches of spacecraft into orbits, control of satellite systems for military and dual (military and civil) purposes in flight and the use of some of them in the interests of providing the troops (forces) of the Russian Federation with the necessary information
- maintenance in the prescribed composition and readiness for use satellite systems military and dual-use, means of their launch and control, and a number of other tasks
On December 1, the personnel of the Aerospace Defense Forces celebrate their professional holiday - the Day of the Aerospace Defense Troops
The assigned tasks of the Aerospace Defense Forces are carried out as part of:
- space command (Main Center for Missile Attack Warning, Main Center for Space Situation Intelligence, Main Test Space Center named after G.S. Titov)
- air and missile defense command (air defense formations, missile defense formations)
- Plesetsk State Test Cosmodrome (centers for testing and use of space facilities, a separate scientific and measuring station at the Kura test site)
- educational institutions
TO educational institutions troops of the aerospace defense include:
- Military Academy of Aerospace Defense named after Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov(Tver city)
- Military Space Academy named after A.F. Mozhaisky(city of St. Petersburg) with a branch (city of Yaroslavl), training center anti-aircraft missile troops(the city of Gatchina) and a training center for training specialists (calculators) radio engineering troops(city of Vladimir)
- Tver Suvorov Military School(Tver city)
- 183rd training center(city of Mirny, Arkhangelsk region)
Military units of the Aerospace Defense Forces are located throughout Russia, as well as in a number of countries that are members of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Every day, more than 3,000 servicemen and civilian personnel take up combat duty in formations, formations and military units of the aerospace defense forces.
Today we congratulate the command, all personnel, veterans and servicemen of the aerospace defense forces on their holiday - the second anniversary of their formation! We wish you all good health, happiness, a peaceful sky over your head and success in your military work!
In accordance with the decision of the President of the Russian Federation, on December 1, 2011, a new branch of service was created in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation - the Aerospace Defense Troops (VVKO).
Aerospace Defense troops are formed on the basis of formations and military units of the Space Forces, as well as the troops of the operational strategic command of the aerospace defense Air force.
The creation of the Aerospace Defense Forces was dictated by the objective need to unite the forces and means responsible for ensuring the security of Russia in and from space with the military formations responsible for the country's air defense (Air Defense) in order to create a unified aerospace defense system.
The first parts and institutions for launching and controlling spacecraft (SC) began to be created in our country in 1955 with the decision to build a test site in Kazakhstan for testing intercontinental ballistic missiles (now the Baikonur cosmodrome).
In connection with the preparations for the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite in 1957, the Command and Measurement Complex for Spacecraft Control was created. In the same year, in the Arkhangelsk region, construction began on a test site intended for launching R-7 intercontinental ballistic missiles (now the Plesetsk cosmodrome).
On October 4, 1957, the launch and control units of the spacecraft carried out the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite PS-1, and on April 12, 1961, the launch and flight control of the world's first manned spaceship"Vostok" with cosmonaut Yu.A. Gagarin. In the future, all domestic and international space programs were carried out with the participation of associations, formations and parts of the launch and control of the spacecraft.
To organize the management of space activities in 1960, the 3rd Directorate of the Main Directorate of Missile Weapons was formed in the USSR Ministry of Defense, which in 1964 was transformed into the Central Directorate of Space Facilities (TSUKOS) of the Ministry of Defense, and in 1970 - into the Main Department of Space Facilities (GUKOS) of the USSR Ministry of Defense. In 1982, GUKOS and its subordinate units were withdrawn from the Strategic Missile Forces and subordinated directly to the Minister of Defense of the USSR - the Directorate of the Head of Space Facilities of the Ministry of Defense was created.
In August 1992, the Military Space Forces of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation were created, which included the Baikonur, Plesetsk cosmodromes and, since 1994, the Svobodny cosmodrome, as well as the Main Test Center for Testing and Control of Space Assets (GICIU KS), the Military Engineering Space academy and 50 Central Research Institute of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.
Since 1957, units and institutions of spacecraft launch and control have ensured the launch and flight control of more than 3,000 spacecraft, carry out tasks to ensure national security in the space sphere, and take part in the implementation of all joint international manned projects and projects fundamental research deep space. In close cooperation with a wide cooperation of scientific and industrial organizations, flight tests of more than 250 types of spacecraft for military, socio-economic and scientific purposes were carried out.
Manned flights, exploration of the Moon, Mars, Venus, the most complex experiments in open space, the launch of an unmanned spacecraft of the Buran reusable orbital complex, the creation of an international space station is a far from complete list of the achievements of the national cosmonautics, a significant contribution to which was made by military formations for space purposes.
At the same time, the combat path of "space in uniform" was not limited to launches and control of spacecraft. With the beginning of the era of space exploration, it became necessary to monitor the launches of missiles of a potential enemy, space objects, control their movement, assess the state, and warn of possible emergencies in space. There was a threat of the enemy using weapons from outer space. Therefore, in the early 1960s. the first samples of missile attack warning systems (PRN), space control (SCC), and anti-missile defense (ABM) systems began to be created.
The most productive period in the history of domestic military space activities was the period of 1970–1980s, when rocket and space technology for decades to come, scientific, technical, and production groundwork was laid, which are being implemented at the present time. Space systems for PRN, reconnaissance, communications, and navigation were created and put into service. The orbital grouping became permanent and began to be actively used in the interests of solving problems and ensuring the daily activities of the Armed Forces. The PRN and ABM systems were put on combat duty.
All these and many other domestic and international space programs have been carried out for more than 50 years with the direct participation of military units for launching and controlling spacecraft and military formations of rocket and space defense (RKO), on the basis of which the Space Forces were created in 2001. At the same time, it was taken into account that the space forces and means, the forces and means of the RKO have a single sphere for solving problems - space, as well as close cooperation between industrial enterprises, which ensures the creation and development of weapons.
Over the 10-year period of active activity, the Space Forces have carried out and ensured more than 230 launches of launch vehicles, which put more than 300 military, dual, socio-economic and scientific spacecraft into orbit. Among them are communications, navigation, cartography, Earth remote sensing, telecommunications, scientific devices, etc.
Over 900 dangerous encounters between space objects and the International Space Station have been warned by means of outer space control.
The duty forces of the Main Test Center for Testing and Control of Space Facilities named after G.S. Titov conducted about 2.5 million sessions of spacecraft control.
Significantly increase the effectiveness of the use of both information and strike means capable of combating an aerospace enemy, made it possible to include in the Air Defense Forces the forces and means of air defense, dating back to the period of the First World War, when, to cover the most important centers of the country, air defense of the capital of Russia - Petrograd and its environs. Even then, it included anti-aircraft artillery batteries, air crews, and a network of air surveillance posts.
The organizational design of the air defense troops (since 1928 - air defense) developed with the development of military aviation. Since 1924, the formation of anti-aircraft artillery regiments began for air defense.
On May 10, 1932, the Air Defense Directorate of the Red Army was created. Formed separate brigades, divisions, air defense corps. On November 9, 1941, the Air Defense Forces of the country's territory acquired the status of an independent branch of the military. In January 1942, air defense aviation took shape organizationally within them. The branches of the air defense forces, in addition to fighter aircraft, were anti-aircraft artillery and air surveillance, warning and communications troops.
During the years of the Great Patriotic War The Air Force and Air Defense Forces had operational-strategic formations: air armies, fronts and air defense armies. During the war years, the Air Defense Forces destroyed more than 64 thousand enemy aircraft in air battles, anti-aircraft fire and at airfields.
At present, formations and military units of air defense are units of constant combat readiness. They include anti-aircraft missile and radio engineering units. They are designed to protect command posts of the highest levels of state and military administration, groupings of troops (forces), the most important industrial and economic centers and other objects from enemy aerospace attacks within the affected zones.
Radio engineering means and complexes of means of automation of radar complexes and stations of medium, high and low altitudes are intended for conducting radar reconnaissance of an air enemy and issuing radar information about the air situation within the radar field to higher command and control bodies and other types of the Armed Forces and combat arms, to combat control points means of aviation, anti-aircraft missile troops and electronic warfare in solving peacetime and wartime tasks.
Currently, the Air Defense Forces are armed with anti-aircraft missile systems and systems that make up the main fire force in the air defense (aerospace) defense system. Modern Russian anti-aircraft missile systems S-300, S-400, anti-aircraft missile and gun system "Pantsir-S1" are capable of destroying various air targets, including hitting ballistic missile warheads.
The personnel of the air defense brigades are on combat duty around the clock to protect the airspace over the capital region and the Central Industrial Region of the country. About 140 objects government controlled, industry and energy, transport communications, nuclear power plants are under the protection of the forces and means of anti-aircraft missile and radio engineering units of the air defense forces.
The creation of the Aerospace Defense Forces was caused by the objective need to integrate under a single leadership all forces and means capable of fighting in the aerospace sphere, based on current world trends towards expanding the role of aerospace in ensuring the protection of vital state interests in the economic, military and social spheres.
On December 1, 2011, formations and military units of the Space Forces, together with military formations of the operational strategic command of the Aerospace Defense Region, became part of a new type of troops - the Aerospace Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
Today, the Aerospace Defense Forces is a modern, dynamically developing, high-tech branch of the armed forces that ensures the tasks of defense and security of the state in aerospace.
The facilities of the Aerospace Defense Forces are located throughout Russia - from Kaliningrad to Kamchatka, as well as beyond its borders. In the countries of the near abroad - Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, objects of missile attack warning systems and space control are deployed.
On December 1, 2011, the Aerospace Defense Forces, in cooperation with the forces and means of air defense of the military districts, took up combat duty with the task of protecting the country's territory from air and space attacks.
space troops
From the history of creation
space troops The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation were created in accordance with the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of March 24, 2001.
The first military formations for space purposes were formed in 1955, when a decision was made by the government of the USSR to build a research site, which later became the world-famous Baikonur cosmodrome.
In 1957, in connection with the preparations for the launch of the first artificial satellite of the Earth, the Command and Measurement Complex for Spacecraft Control was created (now the Main Test Center for Testing and Control of Space Facilities named after G.S. Titov, GITsIU KS). In the same year, in the city of Mirny, Arkhangelsk Region, construction began on a test site intended for launching R-7 intercontinental ballistic missiles - the current Plesetsk cosmodrome.
On October 4, 1957, the launch and control units of spacecraft carried out the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite PS-1, and on April 12, 1961, the launch and flight control of the world's first manned spacecraft Vostok with cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin on board. In the future, all domestic and international space programs were carried out with the direct participation of military units for launching and controlling spacecraft.
In 1964, in order to centralize work on the creation of new means, as well as to quickly resolve the issues of using space means, the Central Directorate of Space Facilities (TSUKOS) of the USSR Ministry of Defense was created. In 1970, TsUKOS was reorganized into the Main Directorate of Space Facilities (GUKOS) of the Ministry of Defense. In 1982, GUKOS and its subordinate units were withdrawn from the Strategic Missile Forces (RVSN) and subordinated directly to the Minister of Defense.
In 1992, in accordance with the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of July 27, 1992, the Military Space Forces (VKS) of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation were created, which included the Baikonur Cosmodrome, parts of the launch of spacecraft from the Plesetsk test site, and the Main Test Center for Testing and Control of Space Assets. Colonel-General Vladimir Ivanov was appointed the first commander of the VKS.
In 1997, according to the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of July 16, "in accordance with the needs of defense and security, as well as the real economic opportunities of the country," the Russian Aerospace Forces merged with the Strategic Missile Forces (RVSN) and the Rocket and Space Defense Forces (RKO) of the Air Defense Forces.
In 2001, in connection with the growing role of space assets in the system of military and national security of Russia, the country's top political leadership decided to create, on the basis of formations and units allocated from the Strategic Missile Forces, the launch and control of spacecraft, as well as the RKO troops of a new type of troops - Space troops. On March 26, 2002, the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation presented a personal standard to the Commander of the Space Forces.
On October 3, 2002, the Day of the Space Forces was introduced by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation, which is celebrated annually on October 4.
- The Space Forces of the Russian Federation are designed to solve the following tasks:
- detection of the beginning of a missile attack on the Russian Federation and its allies;
- combating enemy ballistic missiles attacking the defended area;
- maintaining in the established composition of orbital constellations of military and dual-use spacecraft and ensuring their use for their intended purpose;
- control over outer space;
- ensuring the implementation of the Federal Space Program of Russia, international cooperation programs and commercial space programs.
- The Space Forces included:
- rocket and space defense association (RKO)
- State test cosmodromes of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation Baikonur, Plesetsk and Svobodny
- G.S.Titov Main Test Center for Testing and Control of Space Facilities
- cash deposit management department
- military schools and support units.
The RKO association includes missile attack warning (PRN), anti-missile defense and space control (SCC) formations. It is armed with radar, radio engineering, opto-electronic, optical means, which are controlled from one center, operate according to a single plan in real time using a single information field.
Orbital constellations of spacecraft are controlled by the Chief test center them. G.S. Titov. The state test cosmodromes Plesetsk, Svobodny and Baikonur are designed to create, maintain and replenish the domestic orbital constellation of spacecraft.
The objects of the Space Forces are located throughout Russia and beyond its borders. Abroad, they are deployed in Belarus, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan.
As of the end of 2007, the orbital constellation of the Russian Federation consisted of 100 spacecraft. Of these, 40 are defense satellites, 21 are dual-purpose (capable of simultaneously solving military, socio-economic and scientific tasks) and 39 spacecraft for scientific and socio-economic purposes. Since 2004, it has increased one and a half times.
The Space Forces are armed with satellites for specific reconnaissance (opto-electronic and radar reconnaissance), electronic control (radio and electronic reconnaissance), communications (Cosmos, Globus and Raduga series) and a global satellite navigation system for troops ( series "Hurricane"). The launch of satellites into a given orbit is provided by launch vehicles of light ("Start-1", "Cosmos-3M", "Cyclone-2", "Cyclone-3"), medium ("Soyuz-U", "Soyuz-2", "Zenith") and heavy ("Proton-K", "Proton-M") classes.
The main cosmodrome for launching military and dual-purpose spacecraft is the Plesetsk cosmodrome. It is based on technical and launch complexes for space rockets Molniya-M, Soyuz-U, Soyuz-2, Cyclone-3, Kosmos-3M, Rokot.
The Space Forces use the means of the ground-based automated spacecraft control complex (NACU KA): the Taman-Baza and Fazan command and measurement systems, the Kama radar, the Sazhen-T quantum-optical system, and the ground-based receiving and recording station " Nauka M-04", radar stations "DON-2N", "Dnepr", "Daryal", "Volga", radio-optical complex for recognition of space objects "KRONA", optical-electronic complex "OKNO".
The structure of the Space Forces includes the military educational institutions: Military Space Academy (VKA) them. A.F. Mozhaisky (St. Petersburg), Pushkin Military Institute of Radio Electronics of the Space Forces. Air Marshal E.Ya.Savitsky (Pushkin), Moscow Military Institute of Radio Electronics of the Space Forces (Kubinka), Peter the Great Military Space Institute cadet corps(Saint Petersburg).
From July 4, 2008 to December 1, 2011, the Commander of the Space Forces is Major General Oleg Nikolayevich Ostapenko.
With the formation of the Aerospace Defense Forces in Russia, the Space Forces ceased to exist. The Aerospace Defense Troops were formed on the basis of the Space Forces and the troops of the operational-strategic command of the Aerospace Defense.
The creation of the Aerospace Defense Forces was required to combine the forces and means responsible for ensuring the security of Russia in and from space with military formations, problem-solving air defense (air defense) of the Russian Federation. This was due to the objective need to integrate under the unified leadership of all forces and means capable of fighting in the air and space sphere, proceeding from the current world trends in the armament and rearmament of the leading countries to expand the role of aerospace in ensuring the protection of state interests in the economic, military and social spheres.
The facilities of the Aerospace Defense Forces are located throughout Russia - from Kaliningrad to Kamchatka, as well as beyond its borders. In the countries of the near abroad - Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, objects of missile attack warning systems and space control systems are deployed.
- Commanders of the troops of the East Kazakhstan region:
- From December 1, 2011 to November 9, 2012 - Colonel General Oleg Nikolayevich Ostapenko.
- Since November 9, 2012, acting Lieutenant General Valery Mikhailovich Ivanov.
- Since December 24, 2012 - Major General Alexander Valentinovich Golovko.
Organizational structure of the Aerospace Defense Forces
- Aerospace Defense Troops
- Command of the Aerospace Defense Forces
- Space Command (CC):
- Main Test Space Center G.S. Titov
- Air and Missile Defense Command (K Air Defense and Missile Defense):
- Air Defense Brigades
- Missile defense compound
- Plesetsk State Test Cosmodrome (GIK Plesetsk)
- Separate scientific research station (test site "Kura")
- Arsenal
Aerospace Defense Troops (VVKO)- a separate branch of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, created by decision of President Dmitry Medvedev. The first duty shift of the command post of the aerospace defense troops took up combat duty on December 1, 2011.
- These troops include:
- Main Missile Warning Center (Missile Warning System);
- The main center for reconnaissance of the space situation (Center for Outer Space Control);
- Main Test Space Center named after German Titov;
- Air and Missile Defense Command (K Air Defense and Missile Defense) (Operational-Strategic Command of Aerospace Defense), having an air defense brigade (former troops of the Operational-Strategic Command of Aerospace Defense and Command special purpose Moscow Air Defense District) and anti-missile defense formations;
- Plesetsk State Test Cosmodrome (1st State Test Cosmodrome), having a separate scientific research station (Kura test site). The Kura missile range is a test site for the Russian Strategic Missile Forces;
- Arsenal (a military institution for storing, repairing and assembling, recording, issuing weapons and ammunition to the troops, as well as for carrying out work on their assembly, repair and manufacture of some parts for them).
Main missile attack warning center
(Missile warning system)Missile attack warning system (SPRN)- a special integrated system for warning the leadership of the state about the use of missile weapons by the enemy against the state and repelling its surprise attack.
Designed to detect a missile attack before the missiles reach their targets. It consists of two echelons - ground-based radars and an orbital constellation of early warning satellites.
History of creation
The development and adoption of intercontinental ballistic missiles in the late 1950s led to the need to create means for detecting launches of such missiles in order to exclude the possibility of a surprise attack.
The Soviet Union began building a missile warning system in the early 1960s. The first early warning radar stations (RLS) were deployed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Their main task was to provide information about a missile attack for missile defense systems, and not to ensure the possibility of a retaliatory strike. The first radars fixed missiles after they appeared from behind the local horizon, or, using the reflections of radio waves from the ionosphere, "looked" beyond the horizon. But, in any case, the maximum achievable power of such stations and the imperfection technical means The processing of the received information limited the detection range to two to three thousand kilometers, which corresponded to an alert time of 10 to 15 minutes before arrival in the territory of the USSR.
In 1960, in the United States, the AN / FPS-49 radar (developed by D.K. Barton) for the missile attack warning system was put into service in Alaska and Great Britain (replaced only after 40 years of service with newer radars).
In 1972, the concept of an integrated missile attack warning system was developed in the USSR. It included ground-based over-the-horizon and over-the-horizon radar stations and space assets and was capable of implementing a retaliatory strike. To detect ICBM launches during their passage of the active part of the trajectory, which would provide the maximum warning time, it was supposed to use early warning satellites and over-the-horizon radars. The detection of missile warheads in the late sections of the ballistic trajectory was provided for using a system of over-the-horizon radars. This separation significantly increases the reliability of the system and reduces the likelihood of errors, since different physical principles are used to detect a missile attack: registration of infrared radiation from a running engine of a starting ICBM by satellite sensors and registration of a reflected radio signal using radar.
Soviet missile attack warning system
missile warning radar
Work on the creation of a long-range warning radar (DO) began after the adoption in 1954 of the decision of the Government of the USSR on the development of proposals for the creation of an anti-missile defense (ABM) in Moscow. Its most important elements were to be the DO radar for detecting and determining with high accuracy the coordinates of enemy missiles and warheads at a distance of several thousand kilometers. In 1956, by the Decree of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR "On missile defense" A.L. Mints was appointed one of the chief designers of the DO radar, and in the same year, studies began in Kazakhstan on the reflective parameters of BR warheads launched from the Kapustin Yar test site.
The construction of the first early warning radar stations was carried out in 1963-1969. These were two Dnestr-M radars located in Olenegorsk (Kola Peninsula) and Skrunda (Latvia). In August 1970, the system was put into service. It was designed to detect ballistic missiles launched from US territory or from the Norwegian and North Seas. The main task of the system at this stage was to provide information about the missile attack to the missile defense system deployed around Moscow.
In 1967 - 1968, simultaneously with the construction of radar stations in Olenegorsk and Skrunda, the construction of four Dnepr-type radar stations (a modernized version of the Dnestr-M radar station) began. For construction, nodes were selected in Balkhash-9 (Kazakhstan), Mishelevka (near Irkutsk), Sevastopol. Another one was built at the site in Skrunda, in addition to the Dnestr-M radar already operating there. These stations were supposed to provide a wider coverage sector of the warning system, expanding it to the North Atlantic, the Pacific and Indian Ocean regions.
At the beginning of 1971, on the basis of the command post for early detection in Solnechnogorsk, a command post missile warning systems. On February 15, 1971, by order of the Minister of Defense of the USSR, a separate anti-missile surveillance division took up combat duty.
Developed in 1972, the concept of a missile attack warning system provided for integration with existing and newly created missile defense systems. As part of this program, the Danube-3 (Kubinka) and Danube-3U (Chekhov) radars of the Moscow missile defense system were included in the warning system. In addition to the completion of the construction of the Dnieper radar station in Balkhash, Mishelevka, Sevastopol and Skrunda, it was planned to create a new radar station of this type at a new node in Mukachevo (Ukraine). Thus, the Dnieper radar station was to become the basis new system missile attack warnings. The first stage of this system, which included radars at nodes in Olenegorsk, Skrunda, Balkhash-9 and Mishelevka, began combat duty on October 29, 1976. The second stage, which included radars at nodes in Sevastopol and Mukachevo, was put on alert January 16, 1979.
In the early 1970s, new types of threats appeared - ballistic missiles with multiple and actively maneuvering warheads, as well as strategic cruise missiles that use passive (false targets, radar traps) and active (jamming) countermeasures. Their detection was also hampered by the introduction of radar visibility reduction systems (Stealth technology). To meet the new conditions in 1971 - 1972, a project was developed for a new early warning radar of the Daryal type. In 1984, a station of this type was handed over to the state commission and put on combat duty in the city of Pechora, Komi Republic. A similar station was built in 1987 in Gabala, Azerbaijan.
Space echelon early warning system
In accordance with the project of the missile attack warning system, in addition to over-the-horizon and over-the-horizon radars, it was supposed to include a space echelon. It made it possible to significantly expand its capabilities due to the ability to detect ballistic missiles almost immediately after launch.
The lead developer of the space echelon of the warning system was the Central Research Institute "Kometa", and the Design Bureau named after A.I. Lavochkin.
By 1979, a space system for early detection of ICBM launches from four spacecraft (SC) US-K (Oko system) was deployed in highly elliptical orbits. To receive, process information and control the system's spacecraft in Serpukhov-15 (70 km from Moscow), an early warning control center was built. After conducting flight design tests, the US-K first generation system was put into service in 1982. It was intended to monitor the continental missile-prone areas of the United States. To reduce the illumination by the background radiation of the Earth, reflections of sunlight from clouds and glare, the satellites observed not vertically down, but at an angle. To do this, the apogees of the highly elliptical orbit were located over the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. An additional advantage of this configuration was the ability to observe the US ICBM base areas on both daily orbits, while maintaining direct radio communication with the command post near Moscow, or with Far East. This configuration provided conditions for observation of approximately 6 hours per day for one satellite. To ensure round-the-clock surveillance, it was necessary to have at least four spacecraft in orbit at the same time. In reality, to ensure the reliability and reliability of observations, the constellation had to include nine satellites. This made it possible to have the necessary reserve in case of premature failure of the satellites. In addition, the observation was carried out simultaneously by two or three spacecraft, which reduced the likelihood of a false signal from the illumination of the recording equipment, direct or reflected from the clouds. sunlight. This configuration of 9 satellites was first created in 1987.
In addition, since 1984, one US-KS spacecraft (Oko-S system) has been placed in geostationary orbit. It was the same basic satellite, slightly modified to operate in geostationary orbit.
These satellites were placed at a position at 24° West longitude, providing observation of the central part of the United States at the edge of the visible disk of the Earth. Satellites in geostationary orbit have a significant advantage - they do not change their position relative to the Earth and can provide constant support to a constellation of satellites in highly elliptical orbits.
An increase in the number of missile-hazardous areas required the detection of ballistic missile launches not only from the continental territory of the United States, but also from other areas the globe. In this regard, the Central Research Institute "Kometa" began to develop a second-generation system for detecting ballistic missile launches from continents, seas and oceans, which was a logical continuation of the "Oko" system. Her distinctive feature, in addition to placing a satellite in geostationary orbit, was the use of vertical observation of the launch of rockets against the background of the earth's surface. This solution allows not only to register the fact of the launch of missiles, but also to determine the azimuth of their flight.
The deployment of the US-KMO system began in February 1991 with the launch of the first spacecraft of the second generation. In 1996, the US-KMO ("Oko-1") system with a spacecraft in geostationary orbit was put into service.
Russian missile attack warning system
As of October 23, 2007, the SPRN orbital constellation consisted of three satellites- 1 US-KMO in geostationary orbit (Kosmos-2379 was launched into orbit on 24.08.2001) and 2 US-KS in a highly elliptical orbit (Kosmos-2422 was launched into orbit on 21.07.2006, Kosmos-2430 was launched into orbit on 23.10.2007). On June 27, 2008, Kosmos-2440 was launched.
To ensure the solution of the tasks of detecting launches of ballistic missiles and bringing commands to the combat control of the strategic nuclear forces (Strategic nuclear forces), it was supposed to create a Unified space system(EKS).
At the beginning of 2012, a planned deployment of VZG radar stations of high factory readiness (VZG radar) "Voronezh" is being carried out in order to form a closed radar field for warning of a missile attack at a new technological level with significantly improved characteristics and capabilities. On currently new VZG radars were deployed in Lekhtusi (one meter), Armavir (two decimeter), Svetlogorsk (decimeter). The construction of a dual VZG meter-range radar complex in the Irkutsk region is ahead of schedule - the first segment of the southeast direction has been put on experimental combat duty, the complex with the second antenna sheet for viewing the east direction is planned to be put on OBD in 2013. Work on the creation of a unified space system (UNS) is entering the finish line.
Russian early warning stations on the territory of Ukraine
In December 2005, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko announced that the United States had sent a package of proposals for cooperation in the rocket and space sector. After they are formalized into an agreement, American specialists will have access to space infrastructure facilities subordinate to the National Space Agency of Ukraine (NSAU), including two Dnepr radar stations of the missile attack warning system (SPRN) in Sevastopol and Mukachevo, information from which is transmitted to the central command post of the early warning system in Solnechnogorsk.
Unlike the Russian-leased and serviced early warning radar stations located in Azerbaijan, Belarus and Kazakhstan, the Ukrainian radar stations have not only been owned by Ukraine since 1992, but have also been serviced by the Ukrainian military. On the basis of an interstate agreement, information from these radars, which monitor outer space over Central and Southern Europe, as well as the Mediterranean, is sent to the central command post of the early warning system in Solnechnogorsk, subordinate to the Russian space forces. For this, Ukraine annually received $1.2 million.
In February 2005, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense demanded that Russia increase the payment, but Moscow refused, recalling that the 1992 agreement was concluded for 15 years. Then, in September 2005, Ukraine began the process of transferring the radar to the NSAU, meaning the renewal of the agreement in connection with the change in the status of the radar. Russia cannot prevent American specialists from accessing the radar. At the same time, Russia would have to deploy new Voronezh-DM radars on its territory at an accelerated pace, which it did by putting nodes on duty near Armavir in Krasnodar and Svetlogorsk in Kaliningrad.
In March 2006, Ukrainian Defense Minister Anatoliy Hrytsenko announced that Ukraine would not lease two missile warning stations in Mukachevo and Sevastopol to the United States.
In June 2006, Director General of the National Space Agency of Ukraine (NSAU) Yuri Alekseev announced that Ukraine and Russia had agreed to increase in 2006 the service fee for the Russian side of the radar station in Sevastopol and Mukachevo "one and a half times."
Currently, Russia has abandoned the use of stations in Sevastopol and Mukachevo. The leadership of Ukraine has decided to dismantle both stations within the next 3-4 years. The military units serving the stations have already been disbanded.
The main center for reconnaissance of the space situation
(Space Control Center)The main center for reconnaissance of the space situation (GC RKO) is an element of the Outer Space Control System (SKKP), which is part of the Russian Space Missile Defense Army (RKO). SKKP serves to information support space activities of the state and countering the means of space reconnaissance of potential adversaries, assessing the danger of the space situation and bringing information to consumers.
- Tasks performed:
- detection of space objects in geocentric orbits;
- recognition of space objects by type;
- determination of the time and area of possible fall of space objects in emergency situations;
- determination of dangerous encounters along the flight path of domestic manned spacecraft;
- determination of the fact and parameters of spacecraft maneuver;
- notification of overflights of foreign reconnaissance spacecraft;
- information and ballistic support for the actions of active means of anti-missile and anti-space defense (ABM and ASW);
- maintenance of a catalog of space objects (Main catalog of the system - GCS);
- evaluating the performance of funds and SKCP;
- control of the geostationary area of space;
- analysis and assessment of the space situation.
History of education
On March 6, 1965, the Directive of the Main Headquarters of the Air Defense Forces (VPVO) was signed on the formation on the basis of the 45th Specialized Research Institute of the Ministry of Defense (SNII MO) of the "Special CKKP Personnel". This day has been the birthday of the CCMP since 1970. In April 1965, the government decided to build a complex of technological buildings for the Central Control Commission in the Noginsk district of the Moscow region, called the city of Noginsk-9. On October 7, 1965, the “Cadre of the Special CCCP” was assigned a number - military unit No. 28289. The first temporary state of the “Cadra of the Special CCCP” was put into effect on April 27, 1965. 20 November 1965 - the first order in the history of the CCCP was signed, which stated that Lieutenant Colonel V.P. At the end of 1965, Colonel N. A. Martynov, who graduated from the Academy of the General Staff with a gold medal, was appointed head of the Central Control Commission, Lieutenant Colonel V. P. Smirnov became chief engineer. On October 1, 1966, on the basis of the directive of the General Staff, the "Personnel of the Space Control Center" subdivision was transformed into the "Space Control Center", withdrawn from the 45 SNII MO and transferred to the command of the commander of military unit 73570.
Air and Missile Defense Command (K Air Defense and Missile Defense)
(Operational-strategic command of aerospace defense)Operational-strategic command of aerospace defense (OSK VKO)- the operational-strategic command of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, designed for the strategic defense of Russia from threats from the air and from space. The headquarters is in the city of Balashikha (Moscow region). On December 1, 2011, on the basis of the USC EKR and the Russian Space Forces, a new branch of service was created - the Aerospace Defense Troops.
The only commander during the existence of the structure was Lieutenant General Valery Ivanov, on November 8, 2011, he was dismissed from the post of commander of the USC East Kazakhstan troops and appointed first deputy commander of the Aerospace Defense Forces.Story
The USC EKR was formed during the military reform of 2008-2010 on the basis of the Special Forces Command of the Moscow Air Defense District, disbanded on July 1, as well as a number of other structures of the Air Force and Space Forces of Russia.
- The OSK VKO includes the following systems:
- air defense (air defense)
- reconnaissance and warning of aerospace attack
- missile defense (ABM)
- space surveillance.
It is planned that over time, under a single command will be all the forces and means intended for the strategic defense of the country both from threats from the air and from space.
The basis of the subsystem of reconnaissance and warning of an aerospace attack, as well as the subsystem of destruction of aerospace attack means of foreign states, will be formations and units of aviation and air defense forces of the Air Force and missile and space defense forces from the space forces.
At the same time, the maintenance of all parts of the troops in a state of full combat readiness and the timely execution of commands given from above will continue to be in charge of the former headquarters and commands of the structure: for example, the Air Force in the case of fighter-interceptors or KV in the case of anti-missiles. However, the operational management, as well as decision-making on the use of a particular type of weapon, will be in charge of the Joint Command.
Plesetsk State Test Cosmodrome
Plesetsk Cosmodrome (1st State Test Cosmodrome)- Russian cosmodrome. Located 180 kilometers south of Arkhangelsk, not far from railway station Plesetskaya Northern Railway. The total area of the spaceport is 176,200 hectares.
The administrative and residential center of the cosmodrome is the city of Mirny. The number of personnel and population of the city of Mirny is approximately 28 thousand people. The territory of the cosmodrome belongs to the municipality of the city district "Mirny", bordering on the Vinogradovsky, Plesetsky and Kholmogorsky districts of the Arkhangelsk region.
The Plesetsk Cosmodrome is a complex scientific and technical complex that performs various tasks both in the interests of the Russian Armed Forces and for peaceful purposes.
- In its composition:
- launch complexes with launchers of launch vehicles;
- technical complexes for the preparation of space rockets and spacecraft;
- multifunctional refueling and neutralization station (ZNS) for refueling launch vehicles, upper stages and spacecraft with propellant components;
- 1473 buildings and structures;
- 237 power supply facilities.
- The main units located in the launch facility are:
- Launcher;
- Cable filling tower.
From the 1970s to the early 1990s, the Plesetsk cosmodrome held the world leadership in the number of rocket launches into space (from 1957 to 1993, 1372 launches were carried out from here, while only 917 from Baikonur, which is in 2nd place).
However, since the 1990s, the annual number of launches from Plesetsk has been less than from Baikonur. Russia carried out 28 launches in 2008, retaining its first place in the world in terms of the number of launches and surpassing its own figure in 2007. Most (19) of the 27 launches were made from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, six from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. One space launch each was carried out from the Yasny launch base (Orenburg region) and the Kapustin Yar test site (Astrakhan region). The United States in 2008 conducted 14 launches of launch vehicles, including four "shuttles". China launched 11 rockets into space, Europe - six. Other countries carried out three or less launches. In 2007 Russia made 26 launches, USA - 19, China - 10, European Space Agency - 6, India - 3, Japan - 2.
Among the currently operating cosmodromes, Plesetsk is the northernmost cosmodrome in the world (if you do not include sites for suborbital launches among the cosmodromes). Situated on a plateau-like and slightly hilly plain, the spaceport covers an area of 1762 km², stretching from north to south for 46 kilometers and from east to west for 82 kilometers with a center having geographical coordinates 63°00′ s. sh. 41°00′ E d. (G) (O).
The spaceport has an extensive network highways- 301.4 km and railway tracks - 326 km, aviation equipment and a first-class military airfield, allowing the operation of aircraft with a maximum landing weight of up to 220 tons, such as Il-76, Tu-154, communications, including space.
The railway network of the Plesetsk cosmodrome is one of the largest departmental networks in Russia. railways. From the railway station Gorodskaya, located in the city of Mirny, passenger trains depart daily on several routes. The length of the farthest of them is about 80 kilometers.
Kura missile range- test site of the Strategic Missile Forces of Russia. Located on the Kamchatka Peninsula, near the village of Klyuchi, 500 km north of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, in a swampy deserted area on the Kamchatka River. The main purpose is to receive the warheads of ballistic missiles after test and training launches, control the parameters of their entry into the atmosphere and the accuracy of the hit.
The polygon was formed on April 29, 1955 and was originally codenamed "Kama". A Separate Scientific and Testing Station (ONIS) was formed on the basis of Research Institute No. 4 in the village of Bolshevo, Moscow Region. The arrangement of the landfill began on June 1, 1955 by the forces of a separate radar battalion attached to it. In a short time, the Klyuchi-1 military camp, a network of roads, an airfield and a number of special structures were built.
Currently, the range continues to function, remaining one of the most closed objects of the Strategic Missile Forces. The following are deployed at the training ground: military unit 25522 (43rd Separate Scientific and Testing Station), military unit 73990 (14th separate measuring complex), military unit 25923 (military hospital), military unit 32106 (aviation commandant's office), military unit 13641 ( separate mixed aviation squadron). More than a thousand officers, ensigns, contractors and about 240 conscripts are serving at the training ground.
To monitor the test site, the United States maintains a permanent observation station "Eareckson Air Station" (the former air base "Shemya"), 935 kilometers from the test site, on one of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. The base is equipped with radars and aircraft to monitor hits at the range. One of these radars, "Cobra Dane", was created in 1977 at Shemya specifically for this purpose.
On June 1, 2010, the range was withdrawn from the Strategic Missile Forces and included in the structure of the Space Forces.
