Russian radar system could make US stealth aircraft obsolete

Struna-1 is one of the systems developed by Russia to neutralize US stealth fighters such as the F-22 and F-35.

A broadcasting station in the Struna-1 complex. Photo: NNIIRT

The development of stealth fighters such as the F-22, F-35 and the US B-2 bomber has forced Russia to develop many systems to detect and track them in case of conflict. One of them is the Struna-1 radar system that Moscow announced in the middle of this year, according to National Interest.

This is a product of the Nizhny Novgorod Research Institute of Radio Engineering (NNIIRT) under the Almaz-Antey group, a leading manufacturer of air defense systems in Russia, famous for air defense missile complexes such as Tor, Buk, S-300 and S-400. The Struna-1 system was developed since 1999, and the upgraded version carried on Barrier-E appeared at the Moscow Air Show (MAKS) in 2007.

Struna-1 and Barrier-E are not part of Almaz-Antey's product portfolio, but they were still presented along with other radars at MAKS 2017. Experts believe that this system could be deployed to monitor and protect the airspace around the Russian capital Moscow.

Conventional radars integrate the transceiver into the same antenna cluster, making the reflected signal from the target only 25% as strong as the transmitted signal. Stealth aircraft take advantage of this weakness of radar, increasing the ability to scatter and absorb radar waves, making them harder to detect and track.

Struna-1 solves this problem by placing the transmitter and receiver at two different locations. This makes the radar more sensitive to the return signal from the target. The manufacturer claims that this design increases the radar cross section (RCS) of the target by three times compared to conventional radar, while also neutralizing the ability of stealth materials to scatter radar waves.

Not only stealth aircraft but also small RCS objects such as gliders and cruise missiles can be detected by Struna-1 from a distance. Russian military sources said that at least 10 Struna-1 transmitting and receiving stations will be deployed to protect Moscow. The maximum distance between these stations is 50 km, allowing the air defense forces to establish a surveillance belt with a perimeter of 500 km around the capital.

F-35 (left) and F-22 fighters could become obsolete due to systems like Struna-1. Illustration: USAF

The Struna-1 radars have low power consumption and emission, reducing the possibility of detection and destruction by anti-radar weapons. Mounting on a mobile chassis allows the Struna-1 to be deployed in the forward area in the event of a conflict. The transceiver system uses shortwave to communicate with each other as well as with the command center. The distribution of multiple radars allows the system to maintain operation even if one transceiver cluster is damaged, although this will reduce accuracy. The Struna-1 is also capable of detecting low-altitude targets much better than conventional radars.

The limitation of the Struna-1 system is its short operating range, it can only track targets at a maximum altitude of 7 km and a range of about 12 km. This makes the Struna-1 unable to play a long-range surveillance role, but only suitable for identifying stealth aircraft in vulnerable directions.

In addition, the Struna-1 cannot continuously irradiate a target, making it completely useless in the mission of guiding missiles using semi-active radar seekers. The best solution is to combine the Struna-1 station with long-wave surveillance radars, which have a long operating range but lower accuracy, to provide target parameters for air defense systems.

Despite its many weaknesses that are difficult to overcome, the Struna-1 is still considered a serious threat to US and NATO stealth aircraft in potential conflicts. If combined with modern anti-stealth radars and air defense missiles, it will become a nemesis to Washington's expensive F-22, F-35 and B-2, analyst Charlie Gao said.

According to VNE