India and Russia are likely to finalize a deal to install a Russian Voronezh ballistic missile attack early warning radar at Chitradurga in Karnataka, as per media reports.
The Sunday Guardian claimed that negotiations to acquire the US$4 billion Almaz-Antey-developed radar are in an advanced stage. Almaz-Antey is one of Russia’s largest manufacturers of air defense systems, including radar systems, missile defense systems, and related technologies.
Voronezh Radar
The Voronezh radar system can detect and track ballistic missile launches and stealth aircraft and provide situational awareness of space objects.
These radars employ phased array technology, which allows for rapid electronic steering of the beam. This makes them highly efficient and less mechanically complex than older systems like the Dnepr or Daryal radars. They are noted for their compact size, lower energy consumption, and reduced construction time compared to previous generations.
The Voronezh system’s strategic importance lies in its ability to cover vast areas, including parts of Europe, Asia, and North America, from key installations spread across Russia. This network provides Russia with a comprehensive shield against potential missile threats, ensuring national security through early detection and warning.
Types Of Voronezh Radars
The Voronezh radars come in several variants, including Voronezh-M, Voronezh-DM, and Voronezh-CM, each tailored for specific detection roles or improved performance.
Voronezh-M (VHF band): Optimized for detecting objects at long ranges but with relatively lower resolution. The radar is optimized to provide initial warning of medium and long-range ballistic missiles.
Voronezh-DM (UHF band): Offers better resolution and tracking accuracy for smaller targets.
Voronezh-SM (L-band) and Voronezh-VP (planned upgrades): Enhanced precision tracking and clutter rejection capabilities. The Voronezh-VP radar, which can track incoming ballistic missiles and even low-flying targets like cruise missiles from great distances, provides the Russian Armed Forces with ample time to react.
The “VP” version combines both VHF and UHF for enhanced capabilities.
Data Fusion
The different Voronezh radars can work in unison as part of an integrated Missile Attack Early Warning System to generate a comprehensive radar picture of potential missile threats and space activity.
Each Voronezh radar operates independently, monitoring its assigned sector. The data collected—such as target trajectories, speeds, and classifications—are transmitted to a central processing hub.
The central system fuses this information with data from other radars, satellites, and sensors to create a unified, real-time radar picture of the entire monitored region.
Voronezh radars are strategically positioned to ensure overlapping fields of view, providing redundancy and improving detection accuracy.
For example, if one radar identifies a missile launch, other radars covering nearby sectors can validate the observation and provide additional trajectory data.
The system can simultaneously track hundreds of targets at long ranges, extending to 6,000 km for a large ICBM-sized ballistic missile.
Chitradurga Installation
The radar proposed to be installed at Chitradurga is likely a Voronezh-M radar. Operating from Chitradurga, it would be capable of providing early warning of missile attacks both by China and Pakistan.
The Voronezh-M is an over-the-horizon (OTH) early warning radar system. Over-the-horizon (OTH) radar functions by using the ionosphere to refract radio waves, allowing detection of targets beyond the line of sight. It transmits high-frequency signals that bounce off the ionosphere and back to the Earth, where they can detect distant aircraft, ships, or missiles. This refraction extends the radar’s range far beyond traditional line-of-sight radars, covering thousands of kilometers. However, OTH radar can be affected by ionospheric conditions, leading to variability in performance.
Russia has strategically placed Voronezh-M radars to monitor potential threats from Europe, Asia, and North America, providing critical early warning information to the Russian Space Forces.
Voronezh-M radars are currently deployed in the Leningrad Region, Irkutsk Region, and Altai Territory (Barnaul).
A Voronezh-M system is being installed in the Orenburg Region (Orsk).
It may be recalled that in May 2024, Ukraine attacked the Voronezh-M radar located in the city of Orsk in Russia’s Orenburg Oblast.:
Sensor Fusion
Working in unison, the three types of Voronezh radars can provide a credible counter-stealth capability.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) needs counter-stealth detection and tracking capability because China has deployed stealth fighters and drones in large numbers, and Pakistan is likely to acquire J-35A stealth fighters from China.
Multiband radars, such as the Voronezh types and the Russian Nebo (Sky) series, can detect and track stealth aircraft by fusing data from three different radars, each operating in VHF (Decimetric), UHF (Metric) and L (Centimetric) bands. The VHF system performs initial detection and cues the UHF radar, which in turn can cue the L-band or other centimetric wavelength radar.
At a later stage, India may acquire and install Voronezh-DM and/or Voronezh-SM systems closer to its borders with Pakistan and China and integrate them with the Voronezh-M system at Chitradurga. Alternatively, it could integrate locally developed UHF and L band radars with the Voronezh-M.
Local Manufacture
According to claims, over 50 Indian partners, including startups, will manufacture at least 60 percent of the system. The project is expected to generate substantial employment across the country.
A ten-member team from Almaz-Antey, led by Deputy Chairman Vladimir Medovnikov, reportedly visited India last month. The team traveled to Delhi and Bengaluru to identify possible offset partners, among other things.
On the Indian side, the project is being handled by LRDE (Electronics and Radar Development Establishment), a part of India’s DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation).
Conclusion
India desperately needed a ballistic missile launch early warning and counter stealth capability. The US and the Western countries had nothing to offer. Russia, once again, came to our rescue.
It’s conceivable that India will proceed with the deal despite US pressure not to engage with Russia since the system being acquired is purely defensive in nature.
- Vijainder K Thakur is a retired IAF Jaguar pilot, author, software architect, entrepreneur, and military analyst.
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