Liana - Lotus C and Pion-NCC
The second generation ocean surveillance system "Liana" consists of the Lotus C and Pion-NCC spacecraft. Liana is the second-generation Russian system for space-based surveillance and targeting. Work on the project began in the early 1990s, shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Soviet predecessor to Liana was the Legenda, system built during the Cold War which used a network of US-P Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) and US-A ELINT satellites. That system was designed as a reconnaissance and targeting system for Soviet nuclear and anti-ship cruise missiles targeting US and NATO carrier groups and fleets.
The Moscow-based Almaz-Antey aerospace and defense concern is the lead developer on the Liana project, although dozens of other companies from across Russia are also involved. The system's control network is thought to be located outside Moscow. Control is responsible for making corrections to the satellites' orbit, and provides the military with exact coordinates in real time, allowing accurate monitoring and targeting of enemy units.
Development of Leganda's successor, Liana, began in the difficult period following the Soviet Union's collapse. Preliminary engineering on the project began in 1993, but the first Lotos-S and Pion-NKS satellites for the new constellation only began to be launched between 2009 and 2014, with designers making repeated upgrades to the system in the meantime.
Resuscitation of systems of reconnaissance and target designation returned in 2006, when the government instructed the Defense Ministry to study the issue from the point of view of using new optical technologies for accurate detection. 125 enterprises of 12 industries joined the work, the working title - "Liana". In 2008, a well-designed project was prepared, and in 2009 the first experimental launch and the launch of an experimental device to a given orbit took place. The new system is more versatile - because of the higher orbit it can scan not only large objects in the ocean, what the Soviet "Legend" was capable of, but any object measuring up to 1 meter anywhere in the world. Accuracy has increased more than 100 times - up to 3 meters. And there are no nuclear reactors that threaten the Earth's ecosystem.
In 2013, Roskosmos and the Russian Defense Ministry completed the experimental creation of the "Lianas" in orbit and began debugging its systems. According to the plan, by the end of this year the system will work 100%. It consists of four newest radar reconnaissance satellites, which will be based at an altitude of about 1,000 km above the surface of the planet and constantly scan ground, air and sea space for enemy targets.
Compared to its predecessor, the Liana satellites' design includes a higher working orbit (which was only 250 km for Legenda, but 1,000 km for Liana). This means an expanded scanning range, and improved lifespan. The new satellites also use solar panels instead of nuclear reactors. This became possible thanks to improvements in photovoltaic cell technology, and reduced power consumption of the system's onboard computers.
Another satellite for the Liana system was launched into orbit in autumn 2013 - Lotos-S 14F145, which intercepts data transfer, including enemy talks (radio technical intelligence), and in 2014 a promising satellite of radar reconnaissance " Peony-NKS "14F139, which is able to detect an object the size of a car on any surface. Until 2015, "Liana" will include another "Peony", so the size of the grouping of the system will expand to four satellites. After entering the design mode, the system "Liana" completely replaces the outdated system "Legend - Celina". It will significantly increase the capabilities of the Russian Armed Forces in locating and defeating enemy facilities.
The satellites of the series, along with the second component of the system RTR "Liana" - satellites series 14F139 " Pion-NKS ' should be replaced in service of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian satellites of the Soviet development of similar purpose Celina-2 (Pivdenmash , Ukraine) and US-PU included in the RTR GRU system and the system of marine space reconnaissance and target designation "Legend" , respectively.
Four satellites of the "Liana" system - two "Peony [Pion]" and two "Lotus [Lotos]" - will be in real time to detect enemy objects - planes, ships, cars. The coordinates of these goals will be transferred to the command post, where a virtual real-time map will be formed. In the event of war, high-precision strikes will be applied to these objects, "the representative of the General Staff explained the principle of the system's operation.
The Liana system is one of the most famous Russian space "long-term projects". It began to be developed back in 1993 as a potential replacement for the defunct Legend. The grouping was planned to be deployed already in the early 2000s, but due to funding problems and repeated revision of technical requirements, the first satellite of the future Liana, Lotos-S1, went into orbit only in 2009. He was never able to earn a normal income, and the next, modernized Lotus was launched only in 2014, and then, until 2018, two more similar satellites were put into orbit. Like the Legend, the Liana system was supposed to include both passive and active devices.
Equipped with active radar "Pion-NKS" "Liana" was deployed in the summer 2021, albeit in a minimal version. The exact service life of the Lotos and Pion satellites is unknown, the manufacturer limited himself to the wording "more than 3 years." If you rely on the service life of other modern military satellites, at least Lotos, launched in 2014, has already exceeded the warranty period.
It is assumed that, unlike the "Legend", "Liana" can be used for target designation of modern sea-based cruise missiles ("Caliber", "Dagger", "Onyx") not only at sea, but also on land.
It is possible that Liana is being used for Russian cruise missile attacks on Ukrainian targets. On March 31, 2022, the US Treasury published another package of sanctions against Russian technology companies. In particular, the St. Petersburg Research Institute "Vektor" JSC became the object of sanctions. The document of the Ministry of Finance emphasizes that "Vektor" was sanctioned precisely for its participation in the work on the "Liana" system. "The Liana satellite constellation of electronic intelligence was probably used to track ships, aircraft and armored vehicles during Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine," the document says.
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