• Forum
• SITREP
• Military
• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security

• Space

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Public Eye

14F142 Tundra Early Warning Systems

As ususal, there is a bit of confusion between the Tundra and Kupol nomenclature. at times, these designations seem to apply to different spaceraft, and at other times it seems that Tundra is the name of the spacecraft and Kupol is the name of the entire system.

With the launch of the fourth Tundra Unified Space System [EKS Edinaya Kosmicheskaya Sistema] satellite into orbit, Russia created a basic space segment of an early warning system, which allows continuous monitoring of the United States for ballistic missile launches. The Tundra satellites are equipped with a new generation of infrared observation devices, which make it possible to accurately record missile launches against the background of the earth's surface, and are able to track the flight path of ballistic missiles and automatically predict the fall zones of their warheads.

Very little is known about the specific composition of the equipment on board the satellites of the Tundra series, this information is traditionally classified. However, indirectly, conclusions about what these spacecraft should be able to do, in addition to directly detecting the fact of launching ballistic missiles, can be drawn from the experience of operating the Oka and the recently published decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin on the foundations of state policy in the field of nuclear deterrence. One of the conditions for using our nuclear potential in response to the actions of a potential adversary, the document specifies the receipt of reliable information about the launch of ballistic missiles attacking the territory of the Russian Federation and (or) its allies.

That is, the "Tundra" must detect the launch, determine the type of missile launched, and predict the area in which its warheads will land according to the active section of its trajectory (when it accelerates on running engines). This must be done reliably and promptly, that is, only at the expense of the devices' own computing facilities, after which the satellite will send a message to the ground command post. Such a typical message will contain the coordinates of the launch area, the launch time, the type of missile launched, as well as the forecast of the affected area.

Based on the presentation shown at Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov's late 2019 briefing, it is obvious that infrared telescopes remain the main sensors of the new series of warning satellites. It was this type of instruments that was installed on the previous space echelon satellites of the early warning system. This highly sensitive IR sensor must detect and accompany the torch of a launching ballistic missile against the background of the earth's surface or clouds, and the type of missile is determined precisely by the nature of the torch. Providing the country's leadership with information about the launch of missiles on our territory from the CEN Kupol satellites will increase the time for making a decision on a retaliatory strike.

On May 25, 2017, the Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle launched Kosmos-2518 satellite into orbit. The launch was carried out from the Plesetsk cosmodrome. According to available data, this spacecraft is the second satellite of the Unified Space Detection and Combat Control System (TCE) and Tundra. This news was very important in the framework of Russia's strategic security.

According to the US specialized website Space flight now, the Kosmos-2541 spacecraft launched from Plesetsk has become the third satellite of the new Russian EKS. According to the American expert in the field of astronautics Jonathan McDowell, the previous two satellites were launched in November 2015 (Cosmos-2510) and May 2017 (Cosmos-2518). According to unofficial data, the EKS satellites are called "Tundra". The Ministry of Defense on its website said that the system took over on an experienced combat duty in December 2017. With the launch of the fourth Tundra-type spacecraft from the Plesetsk cosmodrome on 22 May 2020, the Kupol unified space system (CSC) has been brought to a minimum staffing level and makes it possible to track any launches of ballistic missiles and space rockets from the United States.

Tundra is designed to detect the launch of ballistic missiles and forms part of Russia’s missile early warning system. In 2014, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu called the creation of the Unified Space System “one of the key guidelines for the development of Russia’s nuclear deterrence forces.”

Ret. Col. Mikhail Tymoshenko, a military expert, told RBTH that the delay may be due to problems with the subcontractors who provide the project with electronic components. Russia’s electronics industry has been stagnant for the last few decades, and real investment began only in 2011.

“This satellite is vitally important for Russia’s defense today,” Tymoshenko said. Sources in the Defense Ministry said that the situation with Tundra is being personally overseen by Sergei Shoigu.

The specifications of the new meet the modern safety measures. Tundra is able to transmit information for the detection of the estimated target area of ballistic and other rockets, including those launched from underwater. The satellite also features an inbuilt command and control system permitting the transmission of a signal notifying of a retaliatory strike.

The last OKO-1 device went out of service in April 2014, and the two 73D6 remaining in orbit were able to operate only three hours a day.

To replace the Oko-1 system, the Unified Space System (EKS) is being developed. It will be able not only to detect ICBM launches, but also to determine flight trajectories, to detect the launches of more "small" weapons - cruise and operational-tactical missiles, as well as to solve civilian tasks (detection of fires, etc.). It can be assumed that the main component of the CEN will be the satellites "Tundra", the first of which will be launched at the end of 2014.

Russia has created from four satellites of the Tundra type a base space segment of a missile attack warning system (SPRN), which allows continuous monitoring of US territory for ballistic missile launches. The devices fulfill their task in full, a source in the military-industrial complex told TASS 03 JUne 2020. “By launching the fourth Tundra-type spacecraft (CEN) from the Plesetsk cosmodrome on May 22nd, the unified space system (CEN)“ Dome ”has been reduced to the minimum staffing level and allows tracking any launches of ballistic missiles and space-launched missiles from the territory of the United States. The devices complete the task in working orbits, "the source said.

He clarified that the Tundra satellites "are equipped with a new generation of infrared observation devices that can accurately record missile launches against the background of the earth's surface." Also, the devices "are able to track the flight paths of ballistic missiles and automatically predict the zone of impact of their warheads," the source said. According to the interlocutor, four Tundra from the CEN Dome rotate around the Earth in highly elliptical orbits with a maximum height of more than 35 thousand km above the planet. Their flight paths are located at angles to each other, forming the so-called constellation over the Northern Hemisphere.

The first three Tundra satellites were launched in 2015, 2017 and 2019. A total of nine new devices should be involved within the framework of the CEN Dome. The Kupol is intended to replace the Oko and Oko-1 SPRN space systems that have stopped working. The Russian SPRN consists of two echelons: space, which included four Tundra satellites, and ground, consisting of a network of Voronezh-type stations, covering all missile-hazardous directions with its radar field. The main purpose of the system is to detect and track ballistic missiles launched on the territory of the Russian Federation or its allies as soon as possible.