Tundra Satellite System: Russia | 27 Nov 2021

Why in News

Recently, Russia has successfully placed into orbit a military satellite. The satellite is believed to be a Tundra Satellite, part of Russia's early warning anti-missile system named Kupol or dome.

Key Points

  • About:
    • Tundra satellite system is a constellation of Missile Early Warning Satellites established by Russia between 2015 and 2020.
    • It carries a secure emergency communications payload to be used in case of a nuclear war.
    • It is a series of satellites that are the next generation of Russian early warning satellites to replace the early warning satellites of the Oko-1 system.
      • This final Oko (Eye) satellite (missile defence early warning program) reportedly stopped operating in mid 2014, leaving Russia relying on ground-based missile detection systems.
    • They are part of the EKS or Unified Space System (USS-Also sometimes referred as Kupol or dome), which will also include several satellites in geostationary orbit.
      • Unveiled in 2019, Kupol is designed to detect launches of ballistic missiles and track them to their landing site, though its exact configuration is unknown.
  • Anti-Missile Defence Systems With India:
    • S-400 TRIUMF:
      • About:
        • India has S-400 TRIUMF, which also caters to the three threats (rockets, missiles and cruise missiles). But they have a much longer range.
        • It has a much larger air defence bubble to knock off threats.
        • It is a mobile, surface-to-air missile system (SAM) designed by Russia.
      • Range & Effectiveness:
        • The system can engage all types of aerial targets within the range of 400km, at an altitude of up to 30km.
        • The system can track 100 airborne targets and engage six of them simultaneously.
    • Prithvi Air Defence and Advance Air Defence:
      • About:
        • It is a double-tiered system consisting of two land and sea-based interceptor missiles, namely the Prithvi Air Defence (PAD) missile for high altitude interception, and the Advanced Air Defence (AAD) Missile for lower altitude interception.
      • Range:
        • It is able to intercept any incoming missile launched 5,000 kilometres away. The system also includes an overlapping network of early warning and tracking radars, as well as command and control posts.
    • Ashwin Advanced Air Defence Interceptor Missile:
      • About:
        • It is also an indigenously produced Advanced Air Defence (AAD) interceptor missile developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
        • It is the advanced version of the low altitude supersonic ballistic interceptor missile.
        • The missile also has its own mobile launcher, secure data link for interception, independent tracking and homing capabilities and sophisticated radars.
      • Range:
        • It uses an endo-spheric (within the Earth’s atmosphere) interceptor that knocks out ballistic missiles at a maximum altitude of 60,000 to 100,000 feet, and across a range between 90 and 125 miles.
  • Other Anti-Missile Defense System:

Source: TH