Nebo-M makes stealthy F-22 and F-35 fighters visible
MOSCOW, (BM) – Russia has and operates radar capable of detecting aircraft and ballistic missiles at 1,000 km, said in an interview the executive director of the Almaz-Antey concern Yan Novikov. He told US stealth F-22 and F-35 fighters “are no problem” to be detected. “He sees them perfectly,” Novikov said.
In 2017, Russia began to introduce the Nebo-M radar gradually. According to a reference in the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, this radar, together with the Container radar, is the backbone of the Russian land border. The report also states that once this radar secured Russia’s border, Nebo-M was delivered and installed in some critical locations but did not specify where. According to the technical characteristics, Nebo-M can detect a hypersonic missile at 600 km.
Mark Episcopos gives more clarity on how this radar works in his article in NI. According to Mark, Nebo-M is very difficult to silence. It operates in the medium-high altitude range and is often accompanied by an integrated more miniature Podlet-E radar.
Nebo-M is a high-frequency radar. There are dozens of studies on the role and mode of operation of high-frequency radars. J. RöttgerM. and F. Larsen, in their scientific paper UHF / VHF Radar Techniques for Atmospheric Research and Wind Profiler Applications, write that such radars detect the echo of the refractive pattern consistent with variable humidity and temperature as a type of frequency. Nerbo-M operates in two frequency bands – low and high. In the low range (3 GHz), experts say, this radar can detect scattering of the electron density of the mesosphere.
Killing chain
Theoretically, Nobo-M could detect F-22 and F-35 stealth fighters. But this action, as Mark Episcopos writes, is only the beginning of a murderous chain that the Russians must build. In addition to detection, there is interception, tracking, and precise destruction after a missile launch from an air defense complex.
Russia has such a complex, and it is the flagship of the S-400 in recent years. But in the pelvis, the “killing chain” in question has one unknown on the other side of the equation – the stealth fighter pilot. A pilot cannot remain passive in such a situation, and he would react.
Russia has the technology to detect and intercept F-35s, and it’s no longer a secret. However, how successful this technology can depend not only on Russia’s capabilities but also on the enemy’s resistance. We are also talking about a pilot, and can the Russian air defense system handle F-35 squadrons?
Mark Episcopos says that Nеbo-M is a severe advantage to Russia and a chance for Moscow to build a tiered network of overlapping missile/air defense systems.
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