Romanian air and missile defense system
Unlike other, more prosperous states of Eastern Europe, which were members of the Warsaw Pact until 1991, until recently, Romania was not able to allocate significant financial resources for a radical modernization and strengthening of its own air defense system. In this regard, the troops still have heavily worn out Soviet-made radars, which are gradually being replaced by new American radars. The cover of critical facilities and the capital is currently provided by obsolete and outdated air defense systems supplied by the USSR and NATO allies.
Radar means of airspace control
During the Cold War, the radio engineering units of the Romanian Armed Forces were equipped with Soviet-made equipment. So, according to information available in open sources, in the period from 1961 to 1988, 18 standby radar stations of the P-14F meter range and six 5N84A Oborona-14, 10 P-37 decimeter radars, coupled with PRV radio altimeters, were delivered -13, as well as 9 Kabina-66 / 66M radar systems and two ST-68U three-coordinate radars. In addition, the Romanian RTV had about 50 P-12 and P-18 mobile radars of the P-15 and P-19 meter range, as well as low-altitude stations P-XNUMX and P-XNUMX.
Radar P-18
At present, several P-37 radars remain in service from the socialist heritage, working together with the PRV-13, with a dozen mobile P-18s.
Radar P-37 and PRV-13
The most valuable are the new radars: 5 AN / FPS-117 (V), 2 AN / TPS-77 and 17 AN / TPS-79R.
Towed antenna post radar AN / FPS-117 (V)
Three-coordinate phased array radar AN / FPS-117 (V) manufactured by Lockheed Martin operates in the frequency range of 1 215-1 400 MHz, is designed to detect and track ballistic and aerodynamic targets of various classes and is capable of seeing high-altitude air targets at a distance of up to 470 km.
Stationary version of the AN / FPS-117 (V) radar
The AN / FPS-117 (V) radar can be relocated if necessary, but is usually placed permanently. The first AN/FPS-117 (V) type station began operating on Romanian territory in 1998.
The AN/TPS-77 radar is a mobile version of the AN/FPS-117(V) designed for rapid deployment and deployment. The degree of unification at these two stations reaches 80%.
Radar AN / TPS-77
The entire hardware of the AN/TPS-77, along with the operator's workstation and related communication facilities, is located in one container. The radar can be loaded onto a C-130 military transport aircraft and transported on the roads by two heavy army trucks.
In March 2008, Romania signed a contract with the American corporation Lockheed Martin for the joint production of AN / TPS-79R mobile radars.
Radar AN / TPS-79
The station, operating in the 2,7-2,9 GHz frequency range, has a detection range of 110 km, is capable of effectively working on low-altitude air targets and is designed to quickly close gaps in the radar field that can form after the failure of large stationary radars. In the future, the AN / TPS-79R and AN / TPS-77 mobile radars should replace the old Soviet P-18 stations.
All information received from fixed and mobile radar posts flows to the Air Operations Center, located in the city of Otopeni, 16 km north of Bucharest. The reserve air force and air defense control center (2nd airspace surveillance center "North") is located at the 71st air base "General Emanoil Ionescu", located near the city of Campia Turzi.
Stable interaction between all links of the Romanian air defense system is provided by the 85th communications regiment, equipped with modern Western-made equipment.
The main and reserve air defense command posts are connected to the NATO Integrated Air Defense System in Europe (NATINADS), the central command post of which is located at the Ramstein airbase in Germany. Two-way data exchange takes place via digital cable and satellite communication channels. Information coming from radar posts is continuously broadcast in real time.
Anti-aircraft missile systems of object air defense
In the 1960s and 1970s, Romania was the recipient of the most modern Soviet weaponslike other Eastern Bloc countries. So, in the early 1960s, 10 of the latest SA-75M Dvina air defense systems, four technical divisions and 631 V-750 missiles were delivered to this country. These early modification complexes with a 10-cm guidance station and their missiles, with Soviet technical support, underwent several stages of modernization and preventive maintenance between 1971 and 1986, which allowed them to operate until the early 1990s.
Since 1964, the Romanian object air defense was strengthened by the improved S-75M Volkhov air defense system, the guidance station of which worked in the 6-cm frequency range. Until 1982, the USSR transferred 15 such complexes and 708 V-755 missiles. This complex, compared with the SA-75M "Dvina", had greater noise immunity and improved pointing accuracy.
Overloading of the B-759 anti-aircraft missile from the transport-loading vehicle to the launcher
Already in 1983, three “seventy-five” of the latest modification at that time, the S-75M3 Volkhov, arrived in Romania. In total, until 1988, Bucharest received 16 such complexes and 674 B-759 missiles, capable of hitting high-altitude targets at ranges up to 55 km, the reach in height was 30 km. Due to the presence of a television-optical sight, the noise immunity and secrecy of the application has increased.
In the early - mid-1980s, Romania was the last among the ATS countries to put into service the low-altitude S-125M1A Neva air defense system. Together with four firing and one technical division, 260 V-601PD missiles were received.
Until the end of the 1980s, 10 Akkord-75/125 simulators, one automated control system ASURK-1ME, one Almaz-2 and six Almaz-3 came from the USSR along with the on-site air defense systems.
However, attention is drawn to the fact that since the second half of the 1970s, the Soviet Union was reluctant to transfer the latest air defense systems to Romania. The only exception is the S-75M3 Volkhov medium-range air defense system. But this complex was widespread among the allies of the USSR, as well as in third world countries, and by the mid-1980s the West had learned to deal with it. Due to the personal ambitions of the Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and the contradictions they caused with the Soviet leadership, the Romanian air defense system, unlike other countries of the Eastern Bloc, did not receive long-range S-200VE air defense systems and the latest long-range mobile multi-channel systems S-300PMU.
Romania is one of the few countries where, until recently, the S-75M3 air defense systems with rockets fueled by liquid fuel and an oxidizer remained in service.
Launch of an anti-aircraft missile of the Romanian air defense system S-75M3
According to background information, the Romanian Air Force and Air Defense Joint Command now has 6 S-75M3 air defense systems. However, judging by indirect data, the 1st Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade “General Nicolae Dascalescu”, deployed near Bucharest, still has 2 S-75M3 divisions, but their combat effectiveness is also in question.
The last time the training firing of the Romanian "seventy-five" took place in 2016 at the Capu Midia training ground, located on the Black Sea coast, 20 km north of the city of Constanta. After the launches of anti-aircraft missiles carried out on real targets, the S-75M3 air defense system with three, instead of six, laid down by the state, remained at this position for another three years.
Satellite image of Google Earth: the position of the S-75 air defense system at the Capu Midia training ground
Combat duty of the S-75M3 air defense system in the vicinity of Bucharest was carried until 2018. Currently, the launchers remaining in position do not have combat-ready missiles. According to Romanian officials, the Soviet-made anti-aircraft missile systems will be permanently decommissioned after the replacement in the form of American Patriot anti-aircraft systems arrives.
Satellite image of Google Earth: the position of the HAWK PIP IIIR air defense system to the west of Bucharest
Part of the positions where the "seventy-fives" used to be deployed are now deployed by the HAWK PIP IIIR air defense systems. Satellite images show that the launchers of these complexes are covered with quick-detachable protective domes that protect against adverse meteorological factors.
Satellite image of Google Earth: the position of the HAWK PIP IIIR air defense system to the north of Bucharest
Romania bought from the Netherlands in 2004 8 Hawk low-altitude anti-aircraft missile systems with 213 missiles. But due to financial difficulties, they were only put into operation in 2012. Initially, the air defense systems, released in the 1970s, were supposed to be upgraded to the Hawk XXI level.
SAM HAWK PIP IIIR in position
However, during the restoration work, the complexes of the Cold War era were brought to the intermediate standard of the HAWK PIP IIIR air defense system. At the same time, Romanian sources claim that the existing HAWK PIP IIIR is already capable of interacting with Patriot PAC-3 + anti-aircraft systems.
The main firing unit of the Hawk complex is a two-platoon anti-aircraft battery. The firing platoon has a target illumination radar, three launchers with three anti-aircraft guided missiles on each. In the first firing platoon there is a radar for illumination and guidance, an information processing point and a battery command post, and in the second there is a control post, a radar for illumination and guidance. The HAWK PIP IIIR modification received a computerized universal command post with its own near-field radar, capable of simultaneously seeing several low-altitude targets at a distance of 60 km and can hit supersonic air targets at ranges from 1 to 35 km and in the altitude range of 0,03-18 km.
The calculations of the Romanian air defense system "Hok" successfully fired at training targets at the training ground in 2012, 2013 and 2017. According to information published in the Romanian media, approximately 30 missiles were used up. It is expected that the HAWK PIP IIIR complexes will remain in service for the next 7 years.
At the end of 2017, Romania entered into an intergovernmental agreement with the United States on the acquisition, under the Foreign Military Sales program, of seven batteries of the Patriot PAC-3 + anti-aircraft missile system with a total value of $3,9 billion. operational-tactical ballistic missiles at a range of about 100 km.
Under the contract, seven AN / MPQ-65 multifunctional radars, seven AN / MSQ-132 command posts, 28 M903 launchers, 56 Patriot MIM-104E Guidance Enhanced Missile-TBM (GEM-T) anti-aircraft guided missiles, 168 anti-missiles are to be transferred Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE), seven EPP III power generators and 13 mast lifters. Raytheon and Lockheed Martin are the general contractors for the delivery.
The first Patriot PAC-3+ SAM battery arrived in Romania in early August 2020 and is now being used by the Romanian Armed Forces at the National Air Defense Training Center to train personnel of the 2019th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment, specially formed in 74. The next three batteries of the Patriot air defense system should arrive at the end of 2022 and will go into service with the 74th regiment. Three more Patriot PAC-2024+ batteries will be delivered between 2026 and 3.
Aegis Ashore anti-missile system at Deveselu Air Base
In 2016, the AAMDS (AEGIS Ashore Missile Defense System) ground-based missile defense system was put into operation at the Deveselu airbase in southern Romania. The missile defense facility located in Romania was previously in trial operation in the United States, in the vicinity of the city of Morestone, New Jersey.
Due to the fact that the main structural elements are modular, they were tested in the USA and then transported to Romania in containers. The total mass of the metal four-story ground superstructure exceeds 900 tons.
Satellite image of Google Earth: the hardware of the AAMDS complex at the Deveselu airbase
In addition to the Aegis CICS, which includes the AN / SPY-1 multifunctional radar, 24 SM-3 Block IB anti-missiles are deployed here. According to the announced plans, 24 more anti-missiles are planned to be deployed on Romanian territory. These can be SM-3 Block IIA interceptors with a firing range of 2 km and a maximum altitude reach of 000 km.
Satellite image of Google Earth: anti-missile launchers in Deveselu
The modernization of the American AAMDS complexes located in Europe is planned for 2022. In addition to new high-speed computers with improved software, additional SM-6 missiles will appear in the arsenal of anti-missile systems, which will make it possible to effectively deal with cruise missiles and combat aircraft.
Assessment of the state of Romanian air and missile defense and development prospects
Currently, the air defense system of Romania is at the stage of reorganization and modernization, and therefore is not capable of providing worthy resistance to the enemy, who has modern and numerous means of air attack. However, the leadership of the Romanian Defense Ministry is making significant efforts to rectify the situation. First of all, this concerns the cover of important strategic facilities and administrative and industrial centers.
Single-channel Soviet systems with liquid-propellant S-75M3 missiles are being replaced by multi-channel American Patriot PAC-3+ air defense systems, which use solid-propellant missiles stored in sealed transport and launch containers.
In the near future, a replacement for the low-altitude HAWK PIP IIIR air defense systems will also have to be found. According to some reports, these may be the Norwegian-American NASAMS-3 air defense systems capable of receiving target designation in the Link 16 data exchange standard. As part of this complex, developed by the Norwegian company Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace together with the American corporation Raytheon, missiles are used "air-to-air" AIM-120 AMRAAM-ER. The declared firing range is 50 km, and the ceiling is 20 km.
The anti-missile umbrella in the form of PAC-3 MSE and SM-3 Block IB missiles gives hope to repel a limited-scale attack by IRBM and OTR.
To replace Soviet-made radars, it is planned to deploy additional AN / TPS-79R and AN / TPS-77 radars, as well as powerful stationary radars of an unnamed type.
As mentioned in the post "Modern Fighter Aviation of Romania", the Romanian Ministry of Defense acquires 14 F-16 aircraft in Norway in addition to the already existing 32 F-16MLU fighters. In the next few years, the 5th generation F-35A Lightning II fighters should enter service.
Taking into account the fact that the country is a member of NATO and in the event of an armed conflict, other members of the alliance are obliged to take the side of Bucharest on the side of Bucharest, in the future, Romanian air defense in the event of an armed conflict in which only conventional weapons are used can become a serious force capable of inflicting significant loss to any enemy.
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