Notification of a possible attack and the detection of aircraft, helicopters, missiles, including low-flying ones, is one of the main tasks of the Russian air defense forces. Recently, they received another tool for its implementation.
The new Sunflower radar can detect targets previously inaccessible to radar stations. They “see” objects that are behind obstacles, and even those that, by all laws of physics, cannot be noticeable because they are on the side of the planet, hidden by the horizon. The rays emitted by the antennas of modern locators are usually spread in a straight line, they work only in direct visibility, but this radar is unique.
Horizontal alert
The principle of over-the-horizon vision is reflected in the design of several Russian radars of the latest generation. Among them are the systems "Container", "Taurus" and "Wave". They work on the diffraction principle, which means the ability of the signals emitted by them to go around obstacles in both forward and reverse directions. Russian experts are world leaders in the field of high-frequency location, such developments are currently considered the most revolutionary and have no analogues. Radar "Sunflower - E" - a modification intended for export supplies to countries considered strategic allies of the Russian Federation. It has a target detection radius of up to 300 km. The system has a pronounced defensive character and is not intended to conduct aggressive wars.
What is diffraction?
Everyone knows the effect of light refraction. Even if the direct rays of the sun or other light source do not fall into the room, it can be quite light in it. If the waves could only propagate in a straight line, then in many places complete darkness would reign. It is due to refraction and reflection that objects become visible. This phenomenon concerns not only light: for example, the signals of short-wave radio stations are easily received on the opposite side of the planet. They go around the Earth, reflected from the ionosphere, and safely reach the receiver antennas.
This is how the Volna radar station works, the design of which takes into account the reflectivity of the surface and ionosphere. At first glance, the Sunflower radar is simpler: it does not use the physical properties of the upper atmosphere. But her overseas opportunities from this do not become smaller. Specialists of the Research Institute of Long-Range Radio Communications did not disclose technical details, but it is known that the system creates an all-height radar field using signals of the short-wave range, which, as is known from the course of wave physics, can penetrate to any point in three-dimensional space.
From “Arc” to “Sunflower”
Overseas location experiments were carried out in the USSR back in the 60s. The systems developed then and later were very boldly conceived, but they were costly. Huge radiating structures were built (Duga in the districts of the cities of Nikolaev, Chernobyl and Komsomolsk-on-Amur), and their goal was the overseas continent, from where launches of ICBMs were expected. Theoretically, they could assess the situation within a radius of 10 thousand km, but in practice, the information obtained with their help could not be completely trusted. Americans called these stations “Russian woodpeckers” for the specific nature of the interference they create on the air. The irregularity of the ionosphere had a bad effect on the performance of the system, in addition, probable opponents learned to introduce additional distortions, for which high-power emitters were built in Alaska, Japan and Norway. Nevertheless, the work continued, an experience appeared, which found application much later, in the creation of modern over-the-horizon detection tools, including the Sunflower radar.
What is known to the public
The system was first presented at the international exhibition IMDS-2007, held in St. Petersburg and dedicated to naval weapons. A year later, a demonstration of the Sunflower radar took place at the Euronaval-2008 salon, where special emphasis was placed on the export version with the E index. The Brazilian delegation showed great interest in the new system, but its main purpose was to ensure the security of the Russian coastal borders. April 2014 was the date when large-scale practical tests of the Sunflower radar took place for the first time in conditions as close to combat as possible. They passed on the Caspian Sea, and the ships of the flotilla served as training purposes, as did the missiles launched by them. In order to complicate the task, the latest Uralich and Grad Sviyazhsk MRCs built using the Stells technology took part in the maneuvers.
What is a "Sunflower"?
This system is not mobile or small. Antenna (receiving and radiating) fields occupy quite a lot of space and can be spaced far enough apart. The station operates in the decimeter range, it is capable of detecting, tracking, identifying, and issuing air defense target designations of the country in any mode automatically for hundreds of aircraft and three hundred ships (surface). The range is up to 450 kilometers with a viewing sector of 120 °. Power consumption is 200 kW. For safety, all electronic equipment is mounted in special protected containers. With its help (in addition to direct tasks), the meteorological situation, radio interference and physical conditions of the sea surface can be analyzed along the way.
This is almost all the information about the export version of the system. Perhaps the exercises with the Russian radar "Sunflower", intended for "internal use", revealed great installation capabilities.
There are also problems. So, friend-or-foe recognition equipment that works only on line of sight is still difficult to coordinate with this short-wave radar.
From the Arctic to Crimea
Radar "Sunflower", according to S. Boyev, General Director of OJSC "RTI", is in a state of continuous improvement. Thus, the special climatic conditions of the Arctic require special approaches to some design solutions. The accuracy and quality characteristics of the station are also continuously enhanced. The safety of the Far East coast requires at least five such systems. One should work in the Bosphorus direction (Crimea). In the North, they are also needed. And then - according to the considerations of the General Staff.