Qabala Radar

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Daryal early warning radar
A 1984 artist's concept of a Daryal-type (Pechora) bistatic phased-array early warning radar similar to the one deployed at Qabala.
Country of origin Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Union (now Azerbaijan)
Type Early warning radar
Frequency 1.5 to 2 meter wavelength (VHF)
Range Around 6,000 kilometres (3,728 mi)
Diameter Transmitter 30x40 m
Receiver 80x80 m
separated by 0.5–1.5 km
Azimuth array faces 162° (true) covering ~110° or from 107° to 217°
Power Initial capacity was 50 MW, and its target capacity is 350 MW

The Qabala Radar or Qabala Radar (Radiolocation) Station (in many Western sources Qabala is spelled Gabala) is a Daryal-type (known in the West as Pechora after the location Daryal was first tested and installed) bistatic phased-array early warning radar,[1] built by the Soviet Union in the Qabala district of the Azerbaijan SSR in 1985 located at ( 40°52′14.6″N, 47°48′09.6″E ).[2] It is now operated by the Russian Space Forces. The radar station has a range of up to 6,000 kilometres (3,728 mi), and was designed to detect missile launches as far as from the Indian Ocean. The radar's surveillance covers Iran, Turkey, India, Iraq and the entire Middle East. It allows not only detection of the launch of a missile but also to track the whole of its trajectory so as to enable an anti-ballistic missile system to intercept an offensive strike. The Radar Station hosts about 1000 Russian servicemen.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation and Azerbaijan negotiated the terms of the lease and in 2002 the two countries signed an agreement according to which Russia leased the station from Azerbaijan until 2012 for $7 million per year.[2]

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[edit] Daryal (Pechora) Radar system overview

Another 1980s artist's concept of a Daryal facility.
Another 1980s artist's concept of a Daryal facility.

The Daryal-type radar is a bistatic phased-array early warning radar. It consists of two separate large phased-array antennas separated by around 0.5 kilometres (1,640 ft) to 1.5 kilometres (4,921 ft). The transmitter array is 30x40 m (98x131 ft) and the receiver is 80x80 m (262x252 ft) in size. The system is a VHF system operating at a wavelength of 1.5 to 2 meters (150 to 200 MHz). It's initial transmit capacity was 50 MW with a target capacity of 350 MW.[1]

Originally, at least seven Daryal facilities were planned, however, only the first two facilities completed, Pechora and Qabala, remained as of 2002.[3] Two Daryal-U type were to be built at sites in Balkhash and Mishelevka, Irkutsk, neither were completed. The Clinton administration offered financial assistance in completing the Mishelevka facility in exchange for amending the ABM treaty to allow US deployment of a national missile defense system.[4] Two Daryal-UM systems were to be constructed at in Skrunda, Latvia and Mukachevo, Ukraine. The Mukachevo in the Ukraine was never completed after the fall of the Soviet Union and the Skrunda facility was turned over to Latvia to be demolished.[3] The Yeniseysk (Krasnoyarsk) Daryal-U site caused concern in the west over compliance with the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty during its construction in the 1980s. Following years of negotiations, in September 1989 the Soviets admitted it was a violation of the treaty, construction ceased and the facility was eventually dismantled.[5]

[edit] 33rd G8 summit

During the 33rd G8 summit in Germany on June 7-8, 2007, Russian president Vladimir Putin made an offer to deploy elements of an American anti-ballistic missile system in Azerbaijan, instead of Poland and the Czech Republic, using the Qabala Radar Station jointly with Russia. This offer came after the debate about the U.S. plan to deploy anti-ballistic missile system components in Eastern Europe to defend against possible ballistic missile attacks from Iran and North Korea. The plan met with sharp criticism by Russia which threatened to target Europe with its own ballistic missiles despite US claims that the system was not designed to defend against a large scale Russian attack. The Qabala radar is used as a sensor for the A-135 ABM system which Russia has operated in Europe, near Moscow, since the 1970s.

In the beginning of July 2007 the US announced that the Qabala installation was not an acceptable substitute for the Poland and Czech Republic sites.[6]

[edit] Environmental concerns

There were reports about environmental damage from the activity of Qabala Radar Station [7] which sparked some public debate in Azerbaijan. Similar health concerns were raised about American PAVE PAWS phased array radars, but as of 2005 available data did not support those concerns.[8]

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b GlobalSecurity.org. Pechora LPAR - Daryal.
  2. ^ a b GlobalSecurity.org. Qabala / Gabala - (aka Lyaki / Mingacevir / Mingechaur) . Coordinates from NIMA / NGA imagery.
  3. ^ a b History and the Current Status of the Russian Early-Warning System - Pavel Podvig (PDF)
  4. ^ GlobalSecurity.org. Mishelevka radar station.
  5. ^ GlobalSecurity.org. Yeniseysk (Krasnoyarsk).
  6. ^ AFP. Azerbaijan no 'substitute' for Pole, Czech bases: US. July 9, 2007.
  7. ^ Gabala Radar Station - Local Health Awareness (blog)
  8. ^ National Academies' National Research Council. Available Data Do Not Show Health Hazard to Cape Cod Residents From Air Force PAVE PAWS Radar. January 2005.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 40°52′14.6″N, 47°48′09.6″E