Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov spent the beginning of last week in Azerbaijan. The topic of his meetings and conversations with the head of the military department of this Transcaucasian republic, Colonel-General Safar Abiyev, with the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, as well as a trip to the southern foothills of the Greater Caucasus Range, to the village of Gabala near Mingachevir, were the conditions for extending the lease terms of the local military department radar station of the Missile Attack Warning System (MARS radar).

The Daryal station or Gabala radar station, also known as Lyaki-2, was built in these places back in 1985. It was and is part of the domestic Missile Attack Warning System. The Daryal type radar has a phased antenna array of a receiving center 100 x 100 m (almost 4000 cross vibrators) and a phased array aperture of the transmitting center measuring 40 x 40 m (1260 powerful transmitting replaceable modules with an output pulse power of each 300 kW), provides target detection with an EPR of about 0.1 m at a range of up to 6000 km in a viewing sector of 110 degrees in azimuth.

The Gabala radar is distinguished by increased accuracy of parameter measurement, high speed and throughput, noise immunity, and the ability to detect and simultaneously track about 100 objects. It operates in the meter wavelength range and controls, as some publications claim, air and space over Turkey, Iraq, Iran, other countries in the Middle East and even India, as well as most of the Indian Ocean, including the northern coast of Australia.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Daryal radar became the property of Azerbaijan and, after lengthy negotiations with Baku, was leased by the government of the republic in 2002 to the Russian Space Forces for 10 years with an annual payment of $7 million. About 1.4 thousand of our officers and civilian specialists are currently working there.

Moreover, in addition to the rent, Russia pays the Azerbaijani energy system for the electricity used and provides jobs for local citizens, thanks to which the mountain village of Gabala today is one of the most comfortable in the republic.

At the end of 2012, the lease expires, and Azerbaijan is not against concluding a new agreement, but with a higher price for the services provided. The figure sounds like 15 million dollars. The reasons for the increase in rental costs include: receiving compensation for material damage suffered by Baku due to the impossibility of developing tourism in this mountainous part of the country, rising costs of electricity and even... environmental problems caused by high-frequency radio emissions from the station.

We will not comment on these claims. Let’s just say that the early warning system has become a “golden hook” for our southern neighbors, on which they can extract a variety of preferences from the Russian military. For example, play the card of transferring Daryala to the USA. This is nothing, as knowledgeable people understand that if the Russians leave here, they will take with them the most valuable thing that is here - the radar operating software, without which it is just a pile of concrete and metal.

Americans understand this too. Moreover, if they come to Gabala (let’s imagine this purely virtually for a moment), then Tehran, Azerbaijan’s neighbor, which is home to almost twice as many Azerbaijanis as the republic itself, is unlikely to like it. And spoiling relations with Iran in this way is more expensive for Baku. But the local authorities, by playing the Gabala card, are raising their geopolitical image in the eyes of the local population.

So Baku received the S-300PMU anti-aircraft missile system from Russia, not least due to the fact that it has Gabala. And, despite the menacing, let’s face it, very arrogant, if not aggressive statements addressed to Yerevan, Moscow’s military ally, Anatoly Serdyukov still flew in to negotiate on the extension of the lease of the Daryal early warning radar. He even proposes to increase the quota for training Azerbaijani military personnel in Russian military universities (interestingly, in the same ones where Armenian military personnel study?), promises to send a group of experts so that within two weeks they can coordinate and resolve all the issues raised by the Azerbaijani side at the negotiations according to Gabala.

No, we are not against the Azerbaijani political and military leadership, like the leadership of any self-respecting state, defending its national interests in negotiations with the Russian military, seeking and finding its own benefits from military-technical cooperation with Moscow. In their place, as they say, everyone would do the same.

We are not against the Russian side making certain concessions to its partners during negotiations with Baku regarding Gabala. After all, we are close and very close neighbors who have lived in the same “communal apartment” for more than two centuries. You could say they're almost brothers. But still, still, still...

We must also defend our national interests, our geopolitical, economic and military benefits in the same way as our allies and partners in the CIS do. Russia should not be a cash cow. For every concession, for every preference to an ally and partner, we must receive an adequate concession and preference so that our cooperation does not look like donation on the one hand and dependency on the other. Someone really needs help, and someone can pay with real money or provide geopolitical support.

In the end, we need Gabala, including because of the ongoing dispute-dialogue with the United States and NATO regarding the European missile defense system. But it is worth remembering that near Armavir the new Voronezh-M early warning radar of high factory readiness has already been put on experimental combat duty. And it may happen as happened with the Ukrainian early warning stations in Mukachevo and Nikolaev, near Sevastopol - the Orange government haggled for a long time with Moscow over the cost of their rental, even turned the radar stations into objects of the Ukrainian space agency, offering the United States and NATO to take them at their own expense ... It didn't work out. It worked out – neither for ourselves nor for people. Now there are no stations, no millions of dollars in the state treasury for their rental and operation.
To whom this is a lesson, let everyone think for themselves.

/Based on materials from nvo.ng.ru and arms-expo.ru/

Russia opposed increasing the rental rate for the radar from the current $7.5 million to $300 million per year, which Azerbaijan insisted on; a more advanced radar of the Voronezh-DM type is already being tested in Armavir

Gabala radar station Photo: AzerTAc/ITAR-TASS

Gabala radar station of the Daryal type 5N79 (RO 7, object 754) is one of the most important elements of the missile attack warning system (MSRN) of the former USSR, and now Russia. Located near the village of Zaragan, Gabala region of Azerbaijan. The radar is located at an altitude of 680 meters above sea level, higher than all populated areas located in the scanning radiation zone.

Designed for:

Detection of ballistic missiles on flight trajectories within radar coverage areas;

Tracking and measuring the coordinates of detected targets and jammers;

Calculation of motion parameters of tracked targets based on radar measurements;

Determining the type of goals;

Providing information about the target and interference conditions in automatic mode.

Radar composition:

Command and measurement center;

Transmitting Radio Engineering Center;

Repair and verification base;

Communication and information transfer center.

Lead developer of JSC RTI named after A.L. Mints", Moscow. Commissioned in 1983.

The radar controlled the territories of Iran, Turkey, China, Pakistan, India, Iraq, Australia, as well as most of African countries, islands of the Indian and Atlantic oceans.

A distinctive feature of the station is the ability not only to detect a missile launch in a record short time, but also to track the missile trajectory from the first seconds of launch and transmit data in advance for interception at the desired point.

The "Daryal" type radar has a phased antenna array of a receiving center 100 x 100 m (almost 4000 cross vibrators) and a phased array aperture of the transmitting center measuring 40 x 40 m (1260 powerful transmitting replaceable modules with an output pulse power of each 300 kW), ensures detection of targets with an ESR of the order of 0 .1 m at a range of up to 6000 km in a viewing sector of 110 degrees in azimuth. It is distinguished by increased accuracy of parameter measurement, high speed and throughput, noise immunity, and the ability to detect and simultaneously track about 100 objects.

During the Iran-Iraq War, radar detected 139 combat launches of Iraqi Scud missiles.

The Daryal facility is a 17-story building with a height of 87 m. Its creators were awarded the USSR State Prize.

The number of service personnel is about 900 military personnel and more than 200 civilian specialists (the intergovernmental agreement sets a limit of 1.5 thousand people).

After Azerbaijan gained independence and the radar became its property, Russia continued to use the station. In accordance with the bilateral agreement signed in 2002, the Gabala radar station has the status of an information and analytical center and is the property of Azerbaijan. Leased to Russia for a period of 10 years. The annual rent under the 2002 agreement is $7 million. The agreement expires on December 24, 2012.

The Russian Ministry of Defense announced negotiations with Azerbaijan to extend the lease of the Gabala radar station until 2025. According to media reports, Azerbaijan intends to sharply increase the price for renting radar stations. The conditions of Azerbaijan were an increase in Azerbaijani military personnel at the radar station and the transfer of food, trade and other services to local residents in the military camp at the station.

Russia was interested in maintaining the same rental price, but at the same time wanted to sharply reduce the territory occupied by the station. The station was subject to reconstruction. With its new appearance, a large amount of communications was not required. By 2020, it was planned to build a new generation radar station (Voronezh VP type) in its place).

Russia expected to complete negotiations before June 2012, since the new agreement must be concluded no later than six months before the old treaty expires.

On December 10, 2012, the Russian side suspended the operation of the Gabala radar station.

Expert opinion:

The Gabala radar station was important for Russia until it acquired a much more modern radar station near Armavir. This is the opinion in a conversation with a REGNUM correspondent expressed by Deputy Director of the Institute for Political and Military Analysis. According to him, today Russia does not need the Gabala radar station at all.

“I myself am categorically against the continued operation of this senseless facility. This would be a grave mistake,” the expert said. According to the interlocutor, the new radar is significantly superior to the Gabala radar in functionality and efficiency, and its more northern location does not play any (or almost any) role.

Answering the question about why, in this case, Russia conducted protracted and difficult negotiations with Azerbaijan regarding the extension of the lease of the Gabala radar station, Khramchikhin suggested that the loss of Gabala forced the commissioning of the Armavir radar station in a forced mode, which the Russian side would prefer to avoid . “In addition, perhaps Russia wanted to have two operating stations for some time. Let’s not forget that the Gabala radar station also made it possible to bargain with the Americans,” noted the deputy director of the Institute of Political and Military Analysis.

Regarding the possible impact of the decision to suspend the operation of the Gabala radar station on Russian-Azerbaijani relations, Khramchikhin noted that this is now a problem for Azerbaijan, since it was precisely because of its position that the lease was not extended. “Azerbaijan considered the Gabala radar station to be a lever of influence on Russia and decided to use it. This was his mistake, since there is no longer any leverage,” the expert concluded.

MOSCOW, December 10 – RIA Novosti. Russia, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, on whose territory the radar station is located, said in a statement issued on Monday.

The Gabala radar station of the Daryal type 5N79 (RO 7, object 754) is one of the most important elements of the missile attack warning system (MAWS) of the former USSR, and now Russia.

Located near the village of Zaragan, Gabala region of Azerbaijan. The radar is located at an altitude of 680 meters above sea level, higher than all populated areas located in the scanning radiation zone.

Designed for:

detection of ballistic missiles on flight trajectories within radar coverage areas;

tracking and measuring the coordinates of detected targets and jammers;

calculating the movement parameters of tracked targets based on radar measurements;

determining the type of goals;

issuing information about the target and interference conditions in automatic mode.

Radar composition:

command and measurement center;

transmitting radio engineering center;

repair and testing base;

communication and information transfer center.

Lead developer of OJSC "RTI named after A.L. Mints", Moscow. Commissioned in 1983. Operates in continuous duty mode.

The radar monitors the territories of Iran, Turkey, China, Pakistan, India, Iraq, Australia, as well as most of African countries, islands of the Indian and Atlantic oceans.

A distinctive feature of the station is the ability not only to detect a missile launch in a record short time, but also to track the missile trajectory from the first seconds of launch and transmit data in advance for interception at the desired point.

The "Daryal" type radar has a phased antenna array of a receiving center 100x100 m (almost 4000 cross vibrators) and a phased array aperture of the transmitting center measuring 40x40 m (1260 powerful transmitting replaceable modules with an output pulse power of each 300 kW), ensures detection of targets with an ESR of the order of 0, 1 m at a range of up to 6000 km in a viewing sector of 110 degrees in azimuth. It is distinguished by increased accuracy of parameter measurement, high speed and throughput, noise immunity, and the ability to detect and simultaneously track about 100 objects.

During the Iran-Iraq War, radar detected 139 combat launches of Iraqi Scud missiles.

The Daryal facility is a 17-story building with a height of 87 m. Its creators were awarded the USSR State Prize.

The number of service personnel is about 900 military personnel and more than 200 civilian specialists (the intergovernmental agreement sets a limit of 1.5 thousand people).

After Azerbaijan gained independence and the radar became its property, Russia continued to use the station. In accordance with the bilateral agreement signed in 2002, the Gabala radar station has the status of an information and analytical center and is the property of Azerbaijan. Leased to Russia for a period of 10 years. The annual rent under the 2002 agreement is $7 million. The agreement expires on December 24, 2012.

The Russian Ministry of Defense announced negotiations with Azerbaijan to extend the lease of the Gabala radar station until 2025. According to media reports, Azerbaijan intends to sharply increase the price for renting radar stations. One of Azerbaijan’s conditions is also an increase in Azerbaijani military personnel at the radar station and the transfer to local residents of food, trade and other services in the military camp at the station.

According to Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, Russia is interested in maintaining the same rental cost, but at the same time wants to sharply reduce the territory occupied by the station. The station will be completely rebuilt; with its new appearance, a large volume of communications will not be needed. By 2020, it is planned to build a new generation radar station in its place (

Finally a more or less sensible explanation

Gabala radar station - officially called the Daryal radar station, is located in the village of Gabala (350 km west of Baku), not far from Ganja. Data on the number of personnel fluctuates (from 1400 to 2000 people). Subordinate to the Space Forces of the Russian Federation and designed to detect ballistic and cruise missiles on flight trajectories, track and measure the coordinates of detected targets and jammers, as well as calculate the movement parameters of tracked targets and determine their type.

The radar range is up to 6-7 thousand km.
Ground-based radars with a longer target detection range, as far as we know, do not exist.
The decision to build the station was made in 1972 by the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee - in connection with US plans to establish a nuclear submarine base in the Indian Ocean (Diego Garcia Island).
Construction began in 1976. In 1983, the first radar units began to be launched. In 1984, the unit began experimental duty. In February 1985, the station went on combat duty.

The Gabala station faces outward (the radar monitors the territory of North Africa, Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, India and Pakistan, as well as a significant part of the Indian Ocean). The territory of Russia is not visible by the station (let us once again recall that the rotation of the viewing sector of such radars outward when they are located near the country’s borders is a condition of the ABM Treaty).

The Gabala station is the only one with experience in combat launches. In 1991, during Operation Desert Storm, the radar recorded all 302 launches of cruise missiles from American bombers, surface ships and nuclear submarines, including 15 cases of missiles not reaching the trajectory and 30 cases of missiles being hit by Iraqi air defenses. The radar was actively used in the post-Soviet period - during US air operations against Iraq (Desert Fox, 1998) and the Afghan Taliban (Enduring Freedom, 2001). The technical resource of the radar allows its continuous operation until 2012.

The agreement on the Russian lease of the radar station was signed by the presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan on January 25, 2002 and has already been ratified by the parliaments of both countries. According to the agreement, the Gabala radar station is the property of Azerbaijan. Russia leases the radar until 2012, and Moscow does not have the right to enter into any agreements with a third party on the use of the radar without the consent of Baku. The station has the status of an information and analytical center.

So, the Gabala radar station is a Daryal-type station with a very high target detection radius (6-7 thousand km). This is one of the specification parameters. Another has to do with the relationship between radar and military strategy.

What are the specifics of the old and new technological (and therefore military, and therefore political) era? The previous era - also known as the “era of mutually assured destruction” - is the entire cumulative system into which Gabala is included.

The specificity of this system is that Gabala (like the entire early warning system for a missile attack - early warning system) was “sharpened” on the instant detection of a missile attack on the USSR, guaranteeing the leadership of the USSR the necessary time to make a decision on a retaliatory nuclear missile attack impact

The leadership, having made a decision on this blow, could thereby ensure the following.

First, guaranteed retribution. Which was of decisive importance.

Secondly, the suppression of certain radar capabilities that turn American missiles into blind ones already in mid-flight. This second possibility was of absolutely no significance. But it was also important.

We could not protect the entire territory of the USSR from nuclear missiles if they were already launched. The Americans also could not defend themselves against our missiles. This was the old era.

At that time, our missile defense system existed only around Moscow. And in this form it exists to this day. At that time, their missile defense system also protected only the basing area of ​​their key strategic potential - silo-based ICBMs in North Dakota.

Gabala was focused on a nuclear attack by a super-powerful enemy (not just Iran, but the United States, which decided to wage a nuclear war to completely destroy the USSR). And to the “strike of retaliation.” All this is reflected in the technical solution. And all this is very different from what the Americans are now “warming up”.

The Americans (at least declaratively) want to protect themselves from individual “adventurous” missiles, and not from a massive strike to destroy the United States. Is this desire just a declaration (behind the desire to protect ourselves from Russian missiles that might be fired after the Americans launch a first strike) or a real strategy? Let those who are entitled to answer. In the official statements we have already cited from officials (that is, those who are “supposed to”), it was said that the Americans want to protect themselves from our “retaliation strike,” and not Europe from Iran. Now officials may say differently. But this, as they say, is an everyday matter.

Already today, the Americans want to chase every single missile aimed at the point they want to protect. They want to protect themselves. But precisely its entire territory. They say that they also want to protect Europe, NATO allies, all friendly countries and all progressive humanity.

Employees of the Daryal radar station (radar), located in Azerbaijani Gabala, which is being transferred to rotational duty, wrote a letter to Vladimir Putin asking him to protect their rights. The document was signed by several dozen wives of Russian officers who, from August 1, according to the decision of the leadership, must remain on the street - none of the officers have either permanent or official housing in Russia.

“We do not demand anything impossible, we are simply looking for a human relationship, a clear explanation of what is happening and what will happen to our families,” the women wrote to Putin.

According to the text of the letter, a copy of which is available to Izvestia, by August 1, officers and sergeants who serve at the station must independently take their wives and children to Russia. Those who cannot do this are asked to write reports for transfer to another duty station or resign from the army.

“The unit has not received an explanation of how to organize the move until today,” the letter says. But work has been organized to liquidate the kindergarten and the Russian sector at the local school, in which the children of officers studied, and their wives worked as teachers, the officers’ wives note.

The letter especially emphasizes that it is unclear what to do with children in families where both parents are military personnel. In addition, the parents of the wives of some Russian officers do not live in Russia, but in other CIS countries.

The Gabala Daryal radar provides Russia with control over the airspace of the entire Middle East, China, India and the Indian Ocean up to the northern coast of Australia. The station's lease expires on December 24.

The leadership of the Aerospace Defense Forces (VKO), to which the station in Gabala is subordinate, explained to Izvestia that the rotation method was chosen for the sake of economy.

— In order to somehow reduce the cost of rent, it was proposed to minimize the number of rented objects and abandon the use of a military camp. It is proposed to accommodate the officers in housing on the territory of the station itself - there are former barracks there. For a rotational basis, such housing is quite suitable,” explained Izvestia’s interlocutor.

In addition, the representative of the East Kazakhstan region emphasized that officers in Gabala “earn decent money and can afford not only to move to Russia, but also to buy housing.”

— The average salary of a military personnel is €4 thousand. The minimum salary is €2.5 thousand. For civilian specialists it is approximately the same. With such an income, it is not difficult to find housing, a representative of the East Kazakhstan command is sure.

At the same time, the command of the unit claims that they share the indignation of the officers and their wives, but they cannot do anything.

— There will be no kindergarten employees on the staffing table; the wives of officers who worked as teachers in the Russian sector of the school are actually listed in other positions, and we are forced to prohibit them from such combination. But we are doing everything possible to help those who cannot continue to live like this leave: we give 10-day leaves of absence “for personal reasons.” During this time, it is quite possible to take the family to their parents or settle down outside the military town - for example, rent an apartment in Gabala,” explained a high-ranking officer of the unit.

He also emphasized that officers who have nowhere to take their families can submit transfer reports at any time, but many are held back by high salaries. However, since the beginning of the year, out of almost 200 officers, a little more than 140 remained in the unit. At the same time, he emphasized that after transferring to the rotation system, it will be difficult to keep officers without wives from drunkenness and debauchery.

“The family still serves as a serious deterrent from addictions,” the officer noted.

According to officers’ wives, a third of the women remaining in the unit are “in pregnancy” or caring for children 1.5-3 years old. More than 100 work at the radar as civilian employees. From time to time they are asked to “resign of their own free will,” but are not hired for vacant positions.

There were 150 children studying in the Russian section of the local school, who would have to be urgently placed in other educational institutions when they moved. At the same time, about 20 officers with their families are “at disposal,” that is, they have already been removed from their posts and are waiting for permanent apartments in order to retire from the army.

“We believe in the effectiveness of the reforms being carried out in the army aimed at strengthening the defense capability of our state, but we believe that they should not have a detrimental effect on our families,” the officers’ wives wrote to Putin.

At the reception of Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, Izvestia confirmed that the situation “causes sympathy,” but explained that the minister is currently on a business trip.

• April 9th, 2012 , 06:43 pm

Original taken from korotchenko_i in Armenian alternative to the Gabala radar station - Igor Korotchenko

Armenia's radar proposal is a real alternative for the Russian Federation

The Russian Federation may begin negotiations with Armenia on the construction of a radar if it cannot agree with Azerbaijan on a lease in Gabala.

Russia and Azerbaijan have been negotiating for a long time on the terms of renting a radar station in Gabala. The agreement, signed in 2002, expires in December of this year. In this connection, Russia is trying to agree on the extension of its action. The results of the negotiations are expected to be announced in the summer.

At the same time Igor Korotchenko, editor-in-chief of the National Defense magazine, Russia fully accepts Armenia’s proposal.

“Azerbaijan, for unknown reasons, suddenly significantly increased the rental fee for the use of the Russian station in Gabala,” the expert told Finam FM. - Such demands from Azerbaijan are unrealistic and absolutely do not correspond to the spirit of Russian-Azerbaijani relations. In my opinion, they are not based on real financial and economic calculations. Under these conditions, Armenia’s proposal may be a very real alternative.”

However, Prime Minister of Armenia Tigran Sargsyan announced the state’s readiness to provide territory to Armenia for the construction of a Russian radar: “I think that there may even be advantages here, since Armenia is a mountainous country. The coverage could be wider,” the prime minister was quoted as saying by Lenta with reference to Kommersant.

• March 15th, 2012 , 11:34 am

Azerbaijan's demands to increase the rent for Russia's use of the long-range radar located in Gabala by more than forty times - from 7 to 300 million dollars - surprisingly coincided with the aggravation of the situation around Syria and Iran. At the same time, negotiations between Russia and the United States on European missile defense have reached a dead end - this was stated on February 29 by Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who was in Kaliningrad at a meeting of the Interdepartmental Working Group on interaction with NATO in the field of missile defense.

And this gives reason to see in the actions of official Baku not only crude economic interest, but also a unique policy, at the same time clearly oriented. Yes, there were experts who immediately saw only an economic component in Azerbaijan’s financial claims. As if the bargaining is actually going on around the distribution of certain gas flows, and Gabala itself is only a lever of pressure on Moscow in this dispute. As is known, Azerbaijan does not exclude its participation in the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline project, bypassing Russia. “Pipe” will allow transporting gas from Turkmenistan to the Nabucco gas pipeline, which is a competitor to the South Stream pipeline.

However, official Baku rejects the gas motive and says that the rent should be made taking into account the real value of the radar in the Russian Aerospace Defense system. For some reason they are sure that this value is very great. Member of the Parliamentary Committee of the Milli Majlis on Defense and Security Faraj Guliyev said that if the Gabala radar station continues to be leased to Russia, this should be done taking into account the real price. “I believe that the Azerbaijani side is completely right if in negotiations with Russia it sets certain conditions and asks for a high price for renting this facility,” the parliamentarian emphasized. At the same time, he said that Baku understands the need for this station to function as a Russian military facility in the region.

The piquancy of the situation is that Russia itself has long doubted the need to spend millions of dollars annually on renting a radar station in Gabala and millions on its maintenance.

Raising the rent to $300 million will make the operation of the radar station in Transcaucasia truly enslaving, unprofitable in all respects - economic and military.

We need to remember history. In the USSR, from the early 1970s, a very powerful and effective strategic missile defense system began to be created. One of its main components was to be powerful over-the-horizon radar systems, which were part of a unified system for early missile attacks. Huge radars were built at various points in the USSR, which could monitor aerospace at a distance of thousands of kilometers.

The location of the Daryal 5N79 radar on the territory of the Azerbaijan SSR in the area of ​​​​the settlement of Gabala was determined at a time when the Shah's Iran was the most loyal ally of the United States in the region. At that time, there was a real danger of deploying, at a minimum, American operational-tactical missiles with nuclear warheads in this country. And the radar in Gabala was aimed mainly at monitoring aerospace over Iran, although its capabilities made it possible to conduct surveillance at a distance of 8,000 kilometers in the sector from Burma to Central Africa. The first stone in the foundation of the future radar station was laid in 1976 by the then first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev, the father of the current president of the country, Ilham Aliyev. The station was put into operation in 1985.

After the collapse of the USSR, the national missile defense system began to rapidly decline. Two powerful radar stations in Sevastopol and Mukachevo in Ukraine were physically preserved, but were actually taken out of Moscow’s control. An over-the-horizon radar station in Skrunda in Latvia was blown up. In reality, Russia has lost effective control over the aerospace sector in the most missile-hazardous areas.

Surprisingly, in the “dashing” nineties, we quietly began work on creating fundamentally new radar systems for missile attack warning and space control. A series of new modular-type over-the-horizon radars of high factory readiness was created. From ready-made blocks, like a children's toy "Lego", it was possible to form any type of radar for a specific task, to increase or, conversely, reduce the energy potential and resolution capabilities of the radars. The creation of over-the-horizon radar systems, which had the code “Product 77YA6” with different letter designations - M, DM, VP - can be considered a revolutionary breakthrough in strategic missile defense, and now in the aerospace defense system. The West certainly did not expect such a technological breakthrough from Russia.

Modular radars, called "Voronezh", are built quite quickly on pre-prepared sites the size of a football field. If the radar station in Gabala took almost ten years to build, now a station even with the best characteristics can be built in two years. And in the near future, the appearance of completely unique mobile multifunctional adaptive over-the-horizon radars of the “Mars” type is expected. These radars can be very quickly relocated to any missile-hazardous direction and placed on sea vessels. Voronezh, not inferior to stations like Daryal, consumes incomparably less electricity - only 0.7 MW. For comparison: the station in Gabala requires 50 MW, and its maintenance there really costs a pretty penny.

Currently, the Voronezh-M missile attack warning radar system in the Leningrad region is on combat duty. Two Voronezh-DM stations are being commissioned - not far from Armavir and in the Kaliningrad region. This year it is planned to put into trial operation the Voronezh-VP radar complex in the Irkutsk region. Construction of similar stations should begin in the Komi Republic and in the Murmansk region.

With the advent of the Mars-type radar, the problem of controlling aerospace anywhere in Russia, including those close to Azerbaijan, will no longer be a problem.

That is, the need for the Gabala radar station will be lost naturally.

Indeed, why does Russia need a radar that controls the aerospace over Iran and is capable of detecting the launch of even the smallest missile from the territory of this country and flights of all types of aircraft over it? Iran does not threaten us with aggression, it does not wave a nuclear missile baton over our heads. And US missile systems, of course, cannot be deployed on the territory of this country.

The only ones who should be interested in preserving the Gabala radar station are the United States and Israel. And even then only if appropriate agreements are concluded between these countries and Russia on the exchange of information about a possible missile attack. Moreover, the agreements are mutually beneficial. In 2007, Russia invited the United States to jointly use the Gabala radar station and abandon the deployment of elements of its missile defense system in Europe. Since the Americans are afraid of an Iranian missile attack, we were ready to give them a guarantee that the attack would not be unexpected. As then-president Vladimir Putin noted, “this station covers the entire area, which arouses suspicion among our American colleagues.”

Washington considered Moscow's proposal and refused. And now Azerbaijan’s demarche has only confirmed: the United States, of course, is not afraid of a missile attack from Iran.

The task of the European missile defense system is completely different - total control of aerospace over the territory of the Russian Federation.

It can be assumed that forcing our country to eliminate the radar station in Gabala is due to the fact that neither the United States nor Israel want Moscow - if the hour "X" happens - in no case to know where, where and what kind of missiles are actually will actually fly in this region.

That’s the whole secret of the “European open secret” in Azerbaijani Gabala.