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Putin Says No Cuts to Space Program
19 March 2009
By Anatoly Medetsky / The Moscow Times
Russia will maintain its previously planned spending to develop and build new spacecraft in an effort to preserve jobs and continue moving toward a high-tech economy, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Wednesday.

The government is planning to spend 82 billion rubles ($2.4 billion) on the aerospace industry this year, Putin said at a meeting at the Khrunichev Space Research and Development Center. The figure is 580 percent higher than last year’s 12 billion rubles in government spending on the sector.

Advancing aerospace technology and entering new markets of aerospace services are part of Russia’s efforts to develop a high-tech economy, Putin said. The budget now largely depends on oil and gas for revenues.

“Even today’s difficulties associated with the global crisis don’t remove strategic goals from the agenda,” Putin said.

He announced the allocation of 8 billion rubles ($232 million) to the Khrunichev space center, saying it would support an industry that employs 120,000 people. The center’s director, Vladimir Nesterov, said at a meeting after taking Putin on a tour of the plant that it needed 10 billion rubles over the next three years to complete work on a new launch vehicle, Angara, in 2011.

“If we want to launch the rocket in 2011, we need more money,” he said.

Putin also said 16 other aerospace companies, including Energiya, would receive subsidies to pay interest on their debt.

Russia restarted its big-time spending on aerospace in 2007, allocating 9 billion rubles that year, the biggest amount since the decline of the Soviet Union in late 1980s, Putin said.

“There hadn’t been such extensive injections in this industry in 20 years,” he said.

Half of the spending in the past two years paid for new equipment for the industry, Putin said. Anatoly Perminov, chief of the Federal Space Agency, said 78 percent of the industry’s equipment was still past its intended lifespan, however.

In addition to Angara, priorities for the industry include developing new satellites for communications, navigation and geological surveying, Putin said.

Angara is a family of next-generation boosters that are designed to use environmentally friendlier fuel and lift a wider ranger of cargoes, weighing between 1.5 tons and 25 tons. It will be able to take heavy loads from Russia’s northern launch pad of Plesetsk, ending the country’s dependence on the Baikonur Cosmodrome that it rents from Kazakhstan.

Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said at the meeting that work to build launch facilities for Angara was going according to plan, although he did not specify a deadline.

Khrunichev-built boosters, such as Proton, accounted for one-fifth of all global launches last year, the center said. Russia was one of the world’s leaders in launching services in 2008, sending up 27 rockets, or almost 40 percent of the total 69 rockets, Interfax reported.

Perminov also said the Federal Space Agency would in the “next one or two months” announce the result of a tender to build a new manned spacecraft.

On the submarine fleet

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20090319/120643942.html

MOSCOW, March 19 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian Navy maintains a fleet of about 60 nuclear-powered and diesel-electric submarines, a senior Navy official said on Thursday.

“These 60 vessels include 10 nuclear-powered strategic submarines, over 30 nuclear-powered attack submarines, diesel-electric submarines and special-purpose subs,” the source said.

Delta-IV and Delta-III class subs form the backbone of Russia’s strategic submarine fleet. They each carry 16 ballistic missiles with multiple warheads, and feature advanced electronics and noise reduction.

“The world’s largest Typhoon-class submarines also remain in service with the Russian Navy,” the official said.

The Dmitry Donskoy submarine has been modernized as a test platform for Russia’s new Bulava missile. Two other subs, the Arkhangelsk and the Severstal, remain in reserve at a naval base in Severodvinsk in north Russia.

“They will most likely be modernized to carry new-generation sea-based cruise missiles to match the U.S. Ohio class submarines,” he said.

Russia has started mooring trials of the first Borey class nuclear-powered strategic submarine, which will be equipped with Bulava sea-based ballistic missiles.

The Yury Dolgoruky submarine, built at the Sevmash plant in northern Russia, was taken out of dry dock in April 2007.

The vessel is 170 meters (580 feet) long, has a hull diameter of 13 meters (42 feet), a crew of 107, including 55 officers, maximum depth of 450 meters (about 1,500 feet) and a submerged speed of about 29 knots. It can carry up to 16 ballistic missiles and torpedoes.

Two other Borey class nuclear submarines, the Alexander Nevsky and the Vladimir Monomakh, are currently under construction at the Sevmash shipyard and are expected to be completed in 2009 and 2011. Russia is planning to build a total of eight submarines of this class by 2015.

Russia’s nuclear-powered attack submarine fleet comprises vessels of the Oscar II and Akula class. Each sub is equipped with 24 SS-N-19 Shipwreck long-range anti-ship cruise missiles.

A fourth-generation Graney class nuclear-powered attack submarine will be delivered to the Russian Navy in 2010-2011. The Severodvinsk submarine combines the ability to launch a variety of long-range cruise missiles (up to 3,100 miles) with nuclear warheads, and effectively engage hostile submarines and surface warships.

“The tests of the cruise missile for the submarine are under way,” the source said.

Diesel-electric submarines in the Russian Navy are represented by Kilo class vessels. They will be gradually replaced by Project 667 Lada class submarines. The sub features a new anti-sonar coating for its hull, an extended cruising range, and advanced anti-ship and anti-submarine weaponry, including Club-S cruise missile systems.

The first submarine of the Lada class, named the St. Petersburg, is undergoing sea trials and may enter service with the Russian Navy this year.

A second Lada class submarine, the Kronshtadt, which is the first in the production series, is also being built at St. Petersburg’s Admiralty Shipyards and will be commissioned in 2009.

A third submarine, whose keel was laid in November 2006, is named after a city associated with Russian naval glory – Sevastopol – and is expected to be launched in 2010.

The source also said the Russian Navy has several ‘special purpose’ submarines designed for testing of new technologies and weaponry. Some open sources earlier reported the existence of Project 20120 B-90 Sarov diesel-electric submarine, which has a nuclear reactor as a supplementary power generator.

The vessel was commissioned in 2007 and according to some reports may be used by Russia’s Northern Fleet as a spy vessel in northern waters.

The “Voronezh” radars, according to some reports can be used to track aircraft as a secondary function.

Quite interesting! Thanks for the datum. Anyway It can’t track beyond the horizon and to build such a monster for tracking planes have small sense. I think this secondary function is exploited just “for free”. Why not?

As to why one is metric and other decimetric maybe the Voronezh-DM at Armavir is a later improved variant (I’m just making a guess)

May be. Note that later metric wave radars are claimed to have much better accuracy respect to older ones. Although powerfully computers and algorithms can improve the whole estimations this have a limit. So I assume, raw power-aperture is the key… again.

Yes thats correct , the M stands for Metric system and DM stands for Decimeter , well the shorter the wave length (Voronezh-DM ) the greater is the accuracy ( range, azimuth,elevation) provided by such radars for tracking the target , the size of the antenna also reduces accordingly , but it may not be useful in detecting VLO target or target designed to evade such type of radar like say B-2.

Yes it can detect VLO, using your old friend very high radiated power. Even the most advanced stealth material has limits in the energy that can dissipate and deflect. Off course, then, its tracking capability depends now on the power-aperture parameter.

The Metric radar Voronezh-M on the other hand lack the resolution and accuracy a sub metric radar , but it compensates by providing better early detection of VLO targets and provides much greater range. the size of the antenna for such radar is also quite huge.

There are some articles claiming that new Nevo radars are highly accurate and can cue decimetre-band radars on small boxes in order to made high presicion tracking.

Russia’s SPRN system is developing rapidly – aside from the Armavir radar it opened a Voronezh-type station in Lekhtusi, Leningrad Region, recently. More radars are planned for other areas to replace ageing facilities: Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, as well as near Irkutsk and Pechora.

Do something know if the Irkustk site involves two radars to gain robustness? I mean the current site plus the one that should replace the un-finished radar that put the Americans raving during mid-eighties. AFAIK, it was located near Krznoyarsk.

Rodolfo , the Gamma AESA looks quite impressive , they have not put up the number of target it can track , but it looks nearly as good as Israel Greenpine in range/capability , both incidently operate in L band.

According to a brochure, “no less than 200”

Any idea what do they use for T/R module on Gamma , is it the Ga/A type or something else ?

No

Looking ahead they should now focus on building the more challenging large X-band AESA radar for S-400 and the new Long Range SAM under development for air and space defence.

Ga/N MMIC which offers energy effeciency and good increase in range is the building block for next generation of AESA , so that is one key area they should focus on.

Yes. I assume this is the first Russian step in the AESA field. I would expect incremental steps and logical grows in radiated power and, why not aperture. After all the antenna size is 3 m * 6 m. By knowing the Russian love for big things, it will not surprise me a bigger antenna. This is logical for a “S-500” type system.

What radar is the one on the left? Kopp claims is a 96L6 Cheese Board, but I am not sure. It seems different from this 96L6: