The eye of Vietnam's air defense system

Although designed with the 76N6 radar, Vietnam has chosen the 96L6E radar for its S-300PMU1 air defense missile system.

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The 96L6E all-altitude all-round radar is a product of the KB Lira Design Bureau, manufactured at the LEMZ plant. It was developed to replace the 36D6 high-altitude target search radar and the 76N6 low-altitude target search radar.

According to the Russian manufacturer, the 96L6E radar has the advantage of combining both the low- and high-gain features of the two types of radars above in the same design. The 96L6E circular radar operates in the C band, its microprocessor can jump frequencies for high resistance to interference and good target discrimination in cluttered environments.

Radar 96L6E in Vietnam's S-300 system.

In addition, the phased array antenna design also has the ability to mechanically steer the beam in azimuth and electronically steer the beam in altitude. The 96L6E detects flying objects with all 3 parameters (range, azimuth and altitude).

The outstanding advantage of 96L6E is its low and very low capture capability, which is an important feature in detecting tactical and operational ballistic missiles. In low capture mode, the target speed is limited from 30 - 1,200 m/s.

In addition, the 96L6E also has a low-altitude search mode with the ability to cover 3600 in 6 seconds, with an azimuth angle of -3 - 1.50. In this mode, the target speed is limited to 50 - 2,800 m/s. The 96L6E radar is capable of detecting 100 targets simultaneously, with a maximum reconnaissance range of 300 km.

The entire antenna and control room are mounted on a highly mobile MZKT-7930 truck chassis. The combat deployment and recovery time is only 5 minutes, which is an important requirement in the "shoot-and-run" tactic to avoid enemy retaliation.

The 96L6E can use an independent power source from the SEP-2L generator when deployed on a self-propelled vehicle. This radar can deploy its antenna on a 24-meter-high 40V6M tower or a 40-meter-high 40V6MD tower. In the above configuration, the radar uses the SES-75M generator through a 100-meter-long connecting cable system. The system also has a 98E6U backup generator.

With the capabilities of the 96L6E radar, it can be seen that this is an effective tool for early detection of threats from cruise missiles and tactical-operational ballistic missiles. Ground-attack cruise missiles often fly at low altitudes, so the presence of a low-altitude radar like the 96L6E is very important.

Vietnam S-300 system.

In addition to its low-altitude capabilities, the 96L6E radar also tracks high-speed moving targets well, typical of tactical and operational ballistic missiles.

One of the outstanding advantages of the S-300PMU1 complex is its ability to intercept cruise missiles and tactical-operational ballistic missiles. That is the reason why Vietnam invested in equipping the 96L6E radar to optimize this capability of the S-300PMU1.

In addition, the 96L6E radar integrates many features suitable for upgrading to more modern standards, more advanced data interface. In essence, the 96L6E is a standard target search radar for the S-400 Triumf long-range air defense system, it can also be optional for the S-300PM/ PMU/ PMU1 and S-300PMU2 Favorit systems.

According to Russian media, by choosing the 96L6E radar instead of the 76N6, Vietnam may have prepared for the situation of upgrading the S-300PMU1 to the S-300PMU2 Favorit standard or purchasing the S-400 Triumf system in the future.

According to Baodatviet