Russia's Podsolnukh-E Radar Station Good Fit For India's Naval Defense: Expert

A Russian military analyst has said that the Podsolnukh-E coastal radar station, which New Delhi is willing to buy, would give more teeth to the Indian Navy's reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

The remarks from defense expert Alexei Leonkov - who is also editor of the military publication Arsenal Otechestva (Arsenal of the Fatherland) - came after a statement from the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation in which it mentioned that India was in discussions to buy the Podsolnukh coastal radar station from the Eurasian country.

"As for the Podsolnukh coastal radar complex specifically, the Indian side has shown interest in it; as part of an information request, relevant proposals have been submitted to the partner [organization in India]," an official of the agency told reporters in St Petersburg on Thursday.

Setting Up Advanced Frontiers

Leonkov noted that the main danger to India lies on its western and eastern coasts, which are located in the IOR.

According to the expert, India needs to build its own zone of naval defenses, and, unlike China, it doesn't have any island on which it can set up advanced frontiers.

India has the water area of the Indian Ocean, and this water area needs to be surveyed with the help of radar stations and naval reconnaissance aircraft, in the first instance, Leonkov emphasized.

Podsolnukh-E coastal radar station

"That is, to conduct such activities that would allow it to detect a threat which is still at a considerable distance - and this kind of radar station may well answer this requirement," he told Sputnik.

He emphasized that technical characteristics, which are often a consideration, are not the most important thing. Rather, the main thing is the ability of these stations to work with other defense complexes, to transmit information to them so that this information is in demand and, in which case, is used for specific military operations.

Leonkov even divulged the characteristics of the radar system revealing that the Podsolnukh-e radar station is an interspecific radar, that is, it complements, for example, coastal defense systems, collects preliminary information on air and surface targets that can come from the ocean. This, in a nutshell, is an early warning station.

"The fact that it detects about 300 targets means that from the whole set of targets that are simultaneously in the surface and airspace, it selects those targets that can be dangerous, there is a kind of selection," the Russian pundit explained.

Science & Tech

Android Technics Paving Way For Russia's Autonomy in Robotics

10 June 2023, 08:30

He commented that data on these targets are issued to coastal defense complexes, and in the event of a specific danger, fire suppression and destruction take place on these targets.

Plus, this radar complements the coastal defense systems: they have their radars, and each of them has a certain range.

"To see the enemy at long range and, say, 'Select targets' - that is, to determine what kind of targets they are, if an air target, then is it a bomber, tactical aircraft, cruise missile or operational-tactical missile, or if a ship, whether it is destroyer, cruiser or aircraft carrier," Leonkov said.

Here the radar antenna can work on these targets, it determines the range, determines their location. And this information is then transferred to the combat control centers, which are already determining what to do with these goals.

Why Podsolnukh-E Has An Edge Over Rival Systems

Leonkov believes that Russia's adversaries such as the US are also developing similar systems. They even have such a concept as a "multi-domain war", where the information space and means of detection are given priority.

Therefore, they think that unmanned surface systems should guard the distant frontiers, which should be detected by ships.

"It is clear that similar radars are also being created in the US. They even have a floating radar. But in terms of selection and detection range, they are not doing well," Leonkov insisted.

"Our station is a further development of Soviet developments. We are improving detection systems because the task was set by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief to detect a potential enemy at distant lines and beat the potential enemy at distant lines. This is how the complex appeared," he remarked.

The Russian radar can transmit information not only to coastal defense systems but also, for example, to ships of Russia's naval forces that are on combat duty.

Could Russia's Podsolnukh-E Radar Station Be A Good Fit For Indian Naval Defense?

Setting Up Advanced Frontiers

Why Podsolnukh-E Has An Edge Over Rival Systems