Mishelevka Radar Station | |
|---|---|
Мишелёвка РЛС | |
| MishelyovkaUsolye-Sibirskoye,Irkutsk, Siberia | |
 An image of the site fromlandsat. The 4Dnestr radar and 1Dnepr radars are upper right and theDaryal radar lower left. | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Radar Station |
| Code | OS-1 |
| Owner | Russian Aerospace Forces |
| Controlled by | Russian Space Forces |
| Open to the public | no |
| Condition | operational |
| Location | |
  Mishelevka Radar Station Mishelevka in Russia. | |
| Coordinates | 52°51′20″N103°13′54″E / 52.8555°N 103.2317°E /52.8555; 103.2317 |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1964 (1964)–2014[1] |
| Built by | Soviet Union/Russia |
| Garrison information | |
| Garrison | 46th Independent Radio-Technical Unit[1] |
Mishelevka Radar Station is the site of three generations ofSoviet andRussianearly warning radars. It is located inIrkutsk inSiberia and provides coverage of China and missile launches from submarines in the Pacific Ocean. There have been seven radars at this site and it is run by theRussian Space Forces. In 2012 a new Voronezh-M radar is being built at the site.
Mishelyovka is a village in southern Siberia and the station is 4 kilometres (2 mi) east of the village and 28 kilometres (17 mi) northwest of the town ofUsolye-Sibirskoye. Themilitary townlet for the station is called Usolye-Sibirskoye-7 (Russian:Усо́лье-Сиби́рское-7).
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Mishelevka was founded as OS-1, a space surveillance site with fourDnestr radar, which were started in 1964[1] and tested in 1968. It could detect satellites at an altitude of up to 3,000 kilometres (1,864 mi).[2][3]
In 1967-8 aDnepr early warning radar was started adjacent to the 4 Dnestr radars and it was commissioned in 1976.[4]
| Radar | Coordinates | Azimuth[4] | Type | Built[1] | Details[1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Radar 1 | 52°52′39″N103°16′24″E / 52.877574°N 103.273323°E /52.877574; 103.273323 (Mishelevka radar 1) | 135 | Dnestr | 1964–1976 | Modernised to Dnestr-M and then Dnepr late 70s. Operational[5] |
| Radar 2 | 52°52′53″N103°15′58″E / 52.881511°N 103.266027°E /52.881511; 103.266027 (Mishelevka radar 2) | 135 | Dnestr | 1964–1970 | Modernised to Dnestr-M. Decommissioned 1990s. Now derelict. |
| Radar 3 | 52°52′59″N103°15′29″E / 52.883013°N 103.258045°E /52.883013; 103.258045 (Mishelevka radar 3) | 265 | Dnestr | 1964–1968 | Modernised to Dnestr-M. Used for research since 1993 – now anincoherent scatter radar[6][7] |
| Radar 4 | 52°52′33″N103°15′23″E / 52.875787°N 103.256414°E /52.875787; 103.256414 (Mishelevka radar 4) | 265 | Dnestr | 1964–1968 | Modernised to Dnestr-M. Decommissioned 1990s. Now derelict. |
| Radar 5 | 52°52′29″N103°15′39″E / 52.874829°N 103.260791°E /52.874829; 103.260791 (Mishelevka radar 5) | 70, 200 | Dnepr | 1967–1972 | Modernised to Dnepr 1976. Operational[5] |
One of the Dnestr space surveillance radars is now used as anincoherent scatter radar by the Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics, part of theRussian Academy of Sciences.[6][8]
Mishelevka had aDaryal-U radar, abistaticphased-arrayearly warning radar consisting of two separate large phased-array antennas separated by around 500 metres (1,640 ft) to 1.5 kilometres (4,921 ft). The transmitter array was 30 by 40 metres (98 ft × 131 ft) and the receiver was 80 by 80 metres (260 ft × 260 ft) in size. The system is aVHF system operating at awavelength of 1.5 to 2 meters (150 to 200 MHz). The claimed range of a Daryal installation is 6,000 kilometres (3,728 mi).[9]
Two Daryal-U type radars were to be built at sites inBalkhash and Mishelevka,Irkutsk, neither were completed. In 1999 the AmericanClinton administration offered financial assistance in completing the Mishelevka facility in exchange for amending theABM treaty to allow US deployment of anational missile defense system.[10] Russia rejected this proposal and in 2002 the US unilaterally withdrew from the ABM treaty.
The Mishelevka Daryal was started in 1979 and construction ended in 1984. The transmitter building was at52°51′20.11″N103°13′53.94″E / 52.8555861°N 103.2316500°E /52.8555861; 103.2316500 (Mishelevka Daryal radar transmitter) and the receiver at52°51′42.02″N103°14′20.49″E / 52.8616722°N 103.2390250°E /52.8616722; 103.2390250 (Mishelevka Daryal radar receiver). It was never operational and was demolished in 2011.
The Daryal radar was demolished on 23 June 2011[5] to enable the construction of a newVoronezh radar. There are going to be two radar faces on the site to replace the twoDnepr radars which, as of 2012, are still operational.[7][11] Once complete the MoD say that the radar will have coverage of 240°.[12]
Voronezh radar are highly prefabricated radars needing fewer personnel and using less energy than previous generations. The ones being built in Mishelevka are Voronezh-M, also described as Voronezh-VP,[13] aVHF radar with a stated range of 4,200 kilometres (2,610 mi).[14] The VP stands for high potential and may reflect that it has six segments, rather than the three of other Voronezh VHF radars.[12][15]
The first face of the new radar was announced as undergoing testing in March 2012.[11] In May 2012 it was announced that it had entered "experimental combat duty".[12][16] Fully operational in 2014.[17]
