Barents Russia gets new missile radars
Will be built east of the secret town of Olenogorsk-1 on the Kola Peninsula and outside Pechora in the Komi republic.
The new radars are of the fifth generation missile warning system, named Voronezh-M.
Construction starting
The radars will detect incoming nuclear missiles from the Norwegian Sea, the Barents Sea and the Arctic. From before, similar radars are in operation along Russia’s southern border, in the regions of Leningrad, Krasnodar, Kaliningrad and Irkutsk.
With construction starting now, the two Voronezh-M radars in northern Russia will be in operation in 2017, reports TASS.
“Work has started on building the radar stations in the district of Vorkuta and in the Murmansk region,” says Colonel Viktor Tymoshenko, Chief of staff of Russia’s anti-missile warning centre interviewed by TASS.
Monitoring the North
Vorkuta is also in the Komi republic, but the actual location of the radar is just outside the town of Pechora, some nine hours by train southwest of Vorkuta. An older generation of Russia’s early warning radars are already in operation in both Pechora and Olenegorsk-1.
Operating together with Russia’s early warning spy satellites, the powerful radars monitors possible launches of intercontinental nuclear missiles from submarines or silos.
Olenegorsk-1 is a secret military town south of Murmansk on the Kola Peninsula and home to one of the military airfields with bomber planes. The radars are located to the east of the town on the road towards Revda some 27 kilometres east of the industrial mining city of Olenegorsk. The first radar was built in the late 60ies, according toWikipedia.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: (VIDEO) Canadian Rangers – The Watchers, Radio Canada International
Denmark: Nordics to step up security cooperation on perceived Russian threat, Yle News
Finland: Finland confirms 6th Russian airspace violation in just over a year, Yle News
Norway: Norway must ramp up military in response to Russia: report, Barents Observer
Russia: New Russian spy ship to keep tabs on Norway, Barents Observer
Sweden: New security landscape in the Arctic, Radio Sweden
United States: U.S. general says Alaska military cuts not final without Arctic plan, Alaska Public Radio Network
