{{Short description|Russian radar station in Belarus}} {{EngvarB|date=March 2017}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}} {{Infobox military installation | ensign = File:Russian military space troops flag.svg | ensign_size = 90px |name = Baranavichy Radar Station |native_name = {{langx|be|Вузел «Баранавічы»}} |partof = |location = Belarus |image = Hantsavichy radar.jpg |image_size = 300px |caption = Volga radar at Hantsavichy |map_type = Belarus |coordinates = {{coord|52|51|27|N|26|28|55|E|type:landmark|display=inline,title}} |map_size = |map_alt = Map of Belarus showing the location of Hantsavichy |map_caption = Hantsavichy located in Belarus |type = Radar station |code = |built = {{Start date|1982}} |builder = Soviet Union / Russia |materials = |height = |used = Since 2003 |demolished = |condition = Operational |ownership = |open_to_public = No |controlledby = Russian Space Forces |garrison = 474th independent Radio-Technical Unit <ref name="SovArmed" /> }} '''Baranavichy Radar Station'''<ref>{{cite web | url=https://president.gov.by/be/documents/ukaz-no-321-ot-20-avgusta-2021-g-1629701222 | title=Указ № 321 ад 20 жніўня 2021 г. Аб праектах міжнародных дагавораў | Афіцыйны інтэрнэт-партал Прэзідэнта Рэспублікі Беларусь }}</ref> ({{langx|ru|Узел «Барановичи»}}) (sometimes wrongly named Gantsavichy<ref group="note">The names vary as the station may be wrongly named after the nearby town of Hantsavichy, but with different transliterations depending on whether we consider the name to be Russian or Belarusian. The character Г is a G in Russian and an H in Belarusian. Using the BGN/PCGN Romanisation standard the Belarusian name Га́нцавічы would be written as Hantsavichy and using Wikipedia's Russian Romanisation standard the Russian name Ганцевичи would be written as Gantsevichi</ref>) is a 70M6 Volga-type<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/russia/volga-70m6.htm | title=70M6 Volga LPAR - Soviet BMD | access-date=30 November 2018 | archive-date=30 November 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181130113135/https://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/russia/volga-70m6.htm | url-status=live }}</ref> radar near Hantsavichy in Belarus (48 km from Baranavichy). It is an early warning radar, which is run by the Russian Space Forces.<ref name="TASS" /> It is designed to identify launches of ballistic missiles from western Europe and can also track some artificial satellites, partly replacing the demolished radar station at Skrunda in Latvia.
==History== The Volga was developed by NIIDAR from the Dunay-3U radar.<ref name="PodvigBook"/> Construction started in 1982 to counter the installation of Pershing II missiles in West Germany which were only 6 to 8 minutes away in flight time.<ref name="NovostiK"/><ref name="kommersant"/> These intermediate missiles were eliminated by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which was signed in December 1987.<ref name="NovostiK"/>
Work still continued on the radar even though the Pershing missiles had been removed. The radar was not compliant with the 1972 ABM treaty as this forbade multifunction radars. The Volga was in breach of this as it was designed to guide anti-ballistic missiles (an 'ABM radar') as well as acting as an early warning radar.<ref name="NovostiK"/><ref name="kommersant"/> As the United States had managed to get the Daryal radar at Yeniseysk demolished for being in breach of the treaty the Soviet Union removed ABM radar abilities from the Volga as it was being built.<ref name="NovostiK"/><ref name="kommersant"/>
Work on the radar stopped in 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed. It restarted in 1993 once it became apparent that Russia would lose the early warning station in Skrunda and with it coverage of missiles from the north west.<ref name="kommersant"/> Some testing took place in 1994 and in 1995 a 25-year agreement was signed between Russia and Belarus giving Russia a 25-year lease on the ground and all buildings with no taxes and with no charge made for communication channels.<ref name="kommersant"/> The lease was extended in 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tass.com/defense/1351827|title = Moscow, Minsk prolong agreements on presence of two Russian military facilities in Belarus}}</ref> When the Dnestr-M radars in Skrunda were shut down in 1998 Russia restarted the construction of the Volga.<ref name="kommersant"/> Test operations started in 1999 and pilot operations in 2002. It was finally commissioned on 1 October 2003.<ref name="Podvig-History" /><ref name="redorbit"/> The radar was upgraded in 2016.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://russianforces.org/blog/2016/12/no_gaps_in_early-warning_cover.shtml|title=No gaps in early-warning coverage as three radars to begin combat duty in 2017|journal=Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces|publisher=russianforces.org|date=23 December 2016|access-date=1 March 2017|last1=Podvig|first1=Pavel|archive-date=7 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207123418/http://russianforces.org/blog/2016/12/no_gaps_in_early-warning_cover.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref>
One of the manufacturers was quoted as saying that two other Volga installations were once planned - one at Komsomolsk-na-Amur and one at Sevastopol.<ref name="ng"/><ref name="army"/> Another source says that a Volga was originally planned in Biysk in Altai Krai to provide coverage of China.<ref name="army"/>
{{Ru missile attack}}
==Volga radar== The station, classed as a 'Volga' type, is similar to a Daryal radar but operates on the UHF band rather than the VHF of the Daryal. Like the Daryal it has a separate transmitter and receiver stations which in the case of the Volga are {{convert|3|km}} apart.{{r|"ru-arms-ency-5"|page1=86}}
The radar has an Active Electronically Scanned Array, a type of phased array. It continuously radiates such that it is receiving and transmitting at the same time. The array consists of spiral radiators which rotate in different directions in the receiver and transmitter. <!-- is this just circular polarisation? --> The transmitter array is {{convert|36|x|20|m|ft}} and the receiver array is {{convert|36|x|36|m|ft}}. Both arrays are surrounded by a ferrite frame which absorbs radio waves.<ref name="conf"/>{{r|"ru-arms-ency-5"|page1=86}}
The Volga has a range of around {{convert|2000|km}} and an azimuth of 120°, with elevation of 4° to 70°.<ref name="rus-mod-volga"/>{{r|"ru-arms-ency-5"|page1=86}}<ref name="conf"/> Its GRAU index is 70M6 .{{citation needed|date=May 2012}}
==The site== The radar is 8 km north east of Hantavichy and {{convert|48|km}} from Baranavichy. It is in the Hantsavichy Raion of the Brest Region of Belarus. The military townlet for the radar is called Kletsk-2 ({{langx|ru|Клецк-2}}).
{| class="wikitable" |- align=center ! Coordinates !! Azimuth <ref name="Podvig-History" />!! Type !! Built |- | {{coord|52|49|59.95|N|26|28|31.83|E|name=Volga radar transmitter|display=inline}} receiver<br />{{coord|52|51|41.98|N|26|28|2.88|E|name=Volga radar receiver|display=inline}} transmitter || 262.5°|| Volga || 1985–2002 |}
When the station opened it was stated that up to 200 local Belarusians could be employed there.<ref name="ng"/> In 2007 ''Kommersant'' estimated that 600 people worked at the station.<ref name="komm2"/>
== See also == * Russian military presence in Belarus * Vileyka VLF transmitter
==Notes== {{Reflist|group=note}}
==References== {{Reflist|33em|refs= <ref name="TASS">{{cite press release|title=RF electricity cessation to Belarus not hamper Volga radar functioning|publisher=Itar-Tass|date=29 June 2011|url=http://www.itar-tass.com/c154/175822.pdf|access-date=8 January 2012}}{{dead link|date=October 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
<ref name="redorbit">{{cite press release|title=New radar station gives Russia "tight ring of all-round defence" – commander|publisher=Itar-Tass|date=4 October 2003|url=http://www.redorbit.com/news/space/33403/new_radar_station_gives_russia_tight_ring_of_allround_defence/|access-date=8 January 2012}}{{dead link|date=December 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="Podvig-History">{{cite journal|first=Pavel|last=Podvig|year=2002|title=History and the Current Status of the Russian Early-Warning System|journal=Science and Global Security|volume=10|issue=1|pages=21–60|url=http://iis-db.stanford.edu/pubs/20734/Podvig-S&GS.pdf|doi=10.1080/08929880212328|bibcode=2002S&GS...10...21P|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120315024323/http://iis-db.stanford.edu/pubs/20734/Podvig-S%26GS.pdf|archive-date=15 March 2012|df=dmy|citeseerx = 10.1.1.692.6127|s2cid=122901563}}</ref>
<ref name="SovArmed">{{cite web|url=http://www.ww2.dk/new/pvo/radar/474ortu.htm|title=474th independent Radio-Technical Unit|access-date=10 February 2012|first=Michael|last=Holm|year=2011|publisher=Soviet Armed Forces 1945-1991|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304003936/http://www.ww2.dk/new/pvo/radar/474ortu.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="NovostiK">{{cite web|url=http://www.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/content/numbers/248/25.shtml|script-title=ru:Белорусская российская "Волга"|trans-title=Belarusian Russian Volga|language=ru|access-date=7 May 2012|first=V.|last=Davidenko|date=July 2003|publisher=Novosti Kosmonavtiki|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100812010221/http://www.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/content/numbers/248/25.shtml|archive-date=12 August 2010}}</ref>
<ref name="kommersant">{{cite journal|last=Safronov|first=Ivan|author-link=Ivan Safronov|date=December 2002|title=CIS DEFENSE. VOLGA TO SHIELD RUSSIA FROM THE WEST: NEW RUSSIAN RADAR INSTALLATION PUT INTO OPERATION IN BELARUS|journal=Defence & Security|volume=148|publisher=Eastview|url=http://dlib.eastview.com/browse/doc/4586664|url-access=subscription|access-date=7 May 2012|archive-date=12 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210712003032/https://dlib.eastview.com/browse/doc/4586664|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="PodvigBook">{{cite book|last1=Bukharin|first1=Oleg|last2=Kadyshev|first2=Timur|last3=Miasnikov|first3=Eugene|last4=Podvig|first4=Pavel|last5=Sutyagin|first5=Igor|last6=Tarashenko|first6=Maxim|last7=Zhelezov|first7=Boris|editor-last=Podvig|editor-first=Pavel|title=Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces|year=2001|isbn=978-0-262-16202-9|publisher=MIT Press|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts}}</ref>
<ref name="rus-mod-volga">{{cite web|url=http://www.structure.mil.ru/structure/forces/cosmic/weapons/more.htm?id=10342852@morfMilitaryModel|script-title=ru:Радиолокационная станция 'Волга'|trans-title=Radar Station 'Volga'|language=ru|publisher=Russian Ministry of Defence|access-date=1 March 2017|archive-date=2 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170302193905/http://structure.mil.ru/structure/forces/cosmic/weapons/more.htm?id=10342852@morfMilitaryModel|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="ng">{{cite web|first=Igor|last=Plugatarev|url=http://www.ng.ru/cis/2003-10-20/3_pvo.html|script-title=ru:Минск латает дыры в системе российской ПВО|trans-title=Minsk patches holes in the Russian air defence system|language=ru|publisher=ng.ru|date=20 October 2003|access-date=7 May 2012|archive-date=8 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808041324/http://www.ng.ru/cis/2003-10-20/3_pvo.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="komm2">{{cite news|first=Mikhail|last=Lukin|url=http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/766827?stamp=634719642441367516|script-title=ru:Все Российские базы|trans-title=All Russian Bases|language=ru|publisher=Kommersant|date=21 May 2007|access-date=7 May 2012|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303214503/http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/766827?stamp=634719642441367516|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="army">{{cite web|url=http://army.lv/ru/volga/895/328|script-title=ru:Система предупреждения о ракетном нападении: "Волга" - РЛС|trans-title=Warning system for missile attack: "Volga" - Radar Station|language=ru|publisher=Army.lv|date=2008|access-date=1 March 2017|archive-date=23 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170123103831/http://army.lv/ru/volga/895/328|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="conf">{{cite conference|title=Experience of antenna complexes creation for the radars of distant detecting and space area monitoring|first1=G. A.|last1=Evstropov|first2=V. A.|last2=Rogulyev|first3=S. D.|last3=Saprykin|first4=V. P.|last4=Sosulnikov|first5=E. A.|last5=Starostenkov|conference=Fourth International Conference on Antenna Theory and Techniques|date=September 2003|location=Sevastopol, Ukraine|volume=1|publisher=IEEE|pages=47–51|isbn=0-7803-7881-4|doi=10.1109/ICATT.2003.1239148}}</ref>
<ref name="ru-arms-ency-5">{{cite book|editor-first=Nikolai|editor-last=Spassky|title=Encyclopedia "Russia's Arms and Technologies. The XXI Century Encyclopedia": Volume 5 — "Space weapons"|year=2002|publisher=Publishing House 'Arms and Technologies'|location=Moscow|language=en, ru|isbn=978-5-93799-010-5}}</ref> }}
{{Expand Belarusian (Taraškievica)|Вузел Баранавічы|date=July 2022}}
{{Russian and Soviet military designation sequences}} {{Soviet Radar}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hantsavichy Radar Station}} Category:Soviet military radars Category:Russian military radars Category:Russian Space Forces Category:Military installations of Russia in other countries Category:Military equipment introduced in the 2000s Category:Military locations of Belarus Category:Military installations established in 2003