Russian Southern district, Crimea to get Nioby SV radars.

Nioby-SV (Niobium) radars will be deployed in the Russian south. They will be supplied to the Southern Military District by the end of 2019.

Nioby-SV (Niobium) radar (Picture source: Army Recognition)

These radars detect ordinary flying craft, as well as stealth aircraft, cruise and hypersonic missiles. Nioby is practically invulnerable due to high technical characteristics and maneuverability. The radars will increase airspace control in the southern direction, the Izvestia daily writes. The hardware has been tested in the field. Radar prototypes were earlier delivered to the air defense of the Central Military District, Defense Ministry sources told the daily. Nioby is not an aerospace forces hardware. It will go the air defense of the ground forces.

The new radars will reliably protect Crimea and the south of the country. The so-called US missile shield in Romania for the protection of Europe from an Iranian threat is a cover for the deployment of offensive weapons, expert Leonid Ivashov believes. "Experts know that the launchers of air defense weapons need no changes to fire Tomahawks. They are no defensive weapons. Their deployment in Romania is necessary for the United States from a strategic point of view. They can threaten the Russian south from there," he said.

RAND Corporation published a report this week ordered by the Pentagon. It suggested an urgent deployment in Romania and Bulgaria of modern air defense weapons, expansion of NATO navy training area, and assistance to Ukraine and Georgia in the military buildup. Ivashov said the report satisfied the requests of the customer.

"The Americans do not like that we reinforce the navy and, as they say, develop Crimea into a fortress," former head of the international law department of the Russian Defense Ministry Lieutenant-General Yevgeny Buzhinsky said. "But we have the right to reinforce the way we want. The new radars in Crimea and the south of the country are necessary for defense and maintenance of the radar field. They do not shoot in contrast to the US missile shield in Romania," he said.

The three-dimensional radar Nioby-SV was designed for the ground forces. It detects, tracks and determines the origin of airplanes, helicopters, cruise and ballistic missiles, as well as small drones. The radars monitor the airspace round-the-clock.

Several radars in Crimea can control the whole Black Sea, former Deputy Commander of the air defense of the ground forces for armaments Lieutenant-General Alexander Luzan said. The meter band of the radar can see stealth aircraft, such as B-2A Spirit bombers and F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II fighter jets. "It is the main advantage of the meter band against stealth aircraft. If Nioby is backed by centimeter band stations, guidance provision will become more exact. The homing warheads of antiradar missiles AGM-88 HARM do not detect the radars operating in the band," he said.

Due to the qualities, Nioby-SV acquires more effectiveness in peace and wartime. The radar operates in difficult jamming situations and can be engaged in conditions of major adversary electronic warfare. The radar sees difficult targets at a distance of 300 km and simultaneously tracks up to 300 targets. The radar is carried by all-terrain KAMAZ truck and can be quickly redeployed, the Izvestia said.

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