Inside Russia Today

When the Soviet Union collapsed, Russia’s missile attack warning system became an incomplete patchwork of radars, creating serious vulnerabilities.

Not anymore. Moscow has finally completed a unified anti-missile radar defense system which covers its entire territory with advanced Voronezh radars capable of detecting enemy missile launches up to 6,000 kilometers away.

Russia’s radar system isn’t just massive — it’s also extremely effective. The use of multiple radars to track a single target makes it possible to better calculate an incoming missile’s trajectory.

And of course, once the trajectory is calculated, it’s just a matter of time before it comes within range of a patiently waiting S-400.

As Vesti reports:

Anything launched from the Arabian Peninsula, Madagascar or India, whether they are ballistic missiles, satellites, or simply space garbage, it will all be seen from Orenburg radar station. We are able to track objects in space, everything from spaceships and ballistic missiles, to warheads the size of a soccer ball. Each radar can simultaneously track up to 500 objects. This allows us to fully control what happens to any object that approaches Russia. Regarding the modernization of the existing facilities and the opening of the three new radar stations in Orsk, Barnaul, and Yeniseysk, Russia’s skies are now fully protected around its perimeter.

The Voronezh radar station is far superior to its global counterparts.

Watch the full report:

Everyone agrees that tensions between NATO and Russia are at an all-time high. American soldiers are valiantly jogging through Latvian villages, as part of NATO’s ingenious strategy of making Americans less fat.

Meanwhile, in Russia …

Vladimir Putin ordered a snap air drill involving 45,000 troops who launched missiles at unidentified objects in the sky.

One hundred and fifty aircraft and 200 anti-aircraft units were also scrambled for the three-day exercise this week.

There’s less than 10,000 NATO troops currently stationed across Russia’s European frontier. We’ve been told that this force is supposed to guard Europe and democracy from the sinister Russian bear. Yeah right. It is, however, a rather rude provocation, and Russia has just reminded NATO (once again) that it’s ready to tango.The size and scope of this snap drill would not have been possible ten years ago. The Russian armed forces really have made tremendous leaps forward over the last decade.

It’s a bit vulgar to even think about, but should a war break out, Russia would pulverize any kind of conventional force that attempted to invade from the west. Just imagine those 10,000 or so NATO troops marching on Moscow. There would be unprecedented carnage.

It would be an ungodly disaster for NATO, especially if the results (a perfect score, according to the Russians) of the snap drill’s air defense exercises are accurate:

“During the snap combat readiness check of the Russian Aerospace Forces, all the air targets that performed maneuvers in the zone of responsibility of the air defense system and missile defense system and simulated flights of fighter jets, drones and cruise missiles of a simulated enemy, were intercepted in due time and ‘destroyed,’” the ministry said.

There were more than 150 air targets, the press service said. The units involved in the check showed a high level of training and the ability to perform tasks efficiently. The aircraft, helicopters, antiaircraft missile systems and mobile radar stations are returning to their permanent base.

These were S-300 and S-400 systems, just to be clear.In other words, unlike like the Patriot Missile system, the S-300 and S-400 actually work. What a revolutionary concept.

NATO obviously shouldn’t be amassing troops on Russia’s borders. But if it chooses to do so, Russia is ready for anything, especially if it’s in the skies around Moscow.

The Russian Navy will arm its upgraded Project 949A Oscar II-class nuclear-powered guided missile submarines (SSGN) with 3M-54 Kalibr cruise missiles, Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov said on March 6.

Two Project 949A SSGNs are currently being retrofitted as part of a life extension program at the Zvezda shipyard in the Russian Far East, which is supposed to expand the subs’ service life by 15 to 20 years.

“The Zvezda shipyard is carrying out profound modernization of Project 949A nuclear submarines, including the replacement of armament with the Kalibr missile complex and also the replacement of navigation, life support, and other systems,” Borisov told TASS news agency this week.

Project 949A subs, built between 1985 and 1999, are primarily designed to attack U.S. carrier strike groups and coastal targets in the event of a conflict. They are the largest cruise missile subs currently in service in Russia. The Russian Navy is currently operating two Project 949A subs in its Northern Fleet and five with the Pacific Fleet.

Displacing around 24,000 tons (submerged), Project 949A subs can carry up to 24 P-700 Granit (NATO designation: SS-19 Shipwreck) anti-ship cruise missiles. Following their mid-life upgrades, the submarines will be refitted with 3M-54 Kalibr (NATO designation: SS-N-27A Sizzler) anti-ship cruise missiles.“The 3M-54 Kalibr is a supersonic cruise missile available in land-attack, anti-ship, and anti-submarine variants. It is specifically designed to evade active air defenses and electronic countermeasures,” I explained elsewhere. The submarine-launched anti-ship version of the missile, dubbed 3M54K, has an estimated range of 270 to 410 miles.

There are over a dozen variants in the Kalibr missile family (some nuclear-capable), and the subs could also likely be equipped with a land-attack version of the weapon system, dubbed Kalibr 3M14T and 3M14K (NATO designation: SS-N-30A), with a substantially larger range estimated between 1,000 and 1,500 miles.

In December 2015, a Russian improved Project 636.3 Kilo-class (aka Vashavyanka-class) diesel-electric submarine launched four  such Kalibr land attack cruise missiles from an underwater position in the Mediterranean against targets near the city of Raqqa in Syria.

It is still unclear how many Project 949A submarines will be upgraded in the coming years. The Russian Navy officially has eight submarines of the class in service at the moment. In 2015, it was announced that all eight will be upgraded for an estimated $180 million per boat. However, this number was later reduced to two: The Irkutsk and the Chelyabinsk.

The status of a third Project 949A submarine, the Oryol, currently being retrofitted at the Zvezdochka shipyard in the Arkhangelsk region in Northern Russia, remains unknown. As I reported previously, the submarine caught fire during maintenance work at a dry dock in April 2015. The boat was supposed to rejoin its submarine squadron by the end of 2016, but this appears to not have been the case.