Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu instructed the leadership of the Almaz-Antey concern and the Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces, Army General Oleg Salyukov, to integrate a counter-battery counter-attack radar.

This was reported by the press service of the Russian Ministry of Defense.

“And this applies not only to fire weapons, but also to unmanned ones.

One of the main tasks of these systems is an instant response to enemy shelling,” Shoigu said during a visit to Almaz-Antey enterprises.

As the Minister of Defense noted, counter-battery radar stations are in demand not only in the area of ​​military operations, but also for covering objects in the border regions of Russia.

"General information field"

In a commentary to RT, military expert Alexander Zimovsky expressed confidence that the task set by Shoigu will be solved in the near future.

“It is no coincidence that Shoigu entrusted the task to Almaz-Antey.

The concern produces artillery reconnaissance equipment.

In fact, they were shown to the Minister of Defense during a visit to the enterprise.

The integration problem will be solved in the near future.

It provides for the establishment of direct communication between the radar crews and the artillery battery,” Zimovsky emphasized.

Military expert retired Colonel Mikhail Khodarenok shares a similar view of the task set by Shoigu.

In a conversation with RT, he said that the integration of radar with strike weapons will significantly reduce the speed of counter-battery warfare.  

“We are talking about creating a reconnaissance and strike contour that will operate in real time.

It will include radar stations, UAVs and artillery.

The whole trio will be tied into a single complex.

First of all, drones will be used to search for targets, transmit data and adjust fire,” Khodarenok noted.

In a conversation with RT, reserve lieutenant colonel combat veteran Oleg Shalandin said that modern counter-battery warfare requires the use of so-called network-centric warfare methods.

“As a result of the fulfillment of Shoigu’s instructions, a reconnaissance and strike contour will be created.

It will be a unified automated digital communication system that will operate on the line of combat contact.

To put it very simply, this is a general information field where the data transmission cycle from the radar to the weapons will take a minimum period of time,” explained Shalandin.

Within the contour, reconnaissance and strike ground radars and drones will calculate the coordinates of the enemy’s firing position and almost instantly transmit them to the crews of the artillery battery.

“Drones will greatly help in reconnaissance, but they will also be useful for destroying enemy artillery.

Moreover, the advanced units of the Armed Forces have various attack UAVs.

True, to deliver a quick strike, drone operators must be located close to the enemy’s firing position, or their drones will be in the air in relative proximity to it,” Shalandin added.

In particular, the Scalpel attack UAV, an analogue of the legendary Lancet kamikaze drone, can be used for counter-battery warfare.

The drone was developed by the Vostok design bureau, founded by representatives of Alexander Khodakovsky’s unit of the same name (now the 114th Separate Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade).

  • Shot from a cannon artillery gun

  • RIA News

  • © Stanislav Krasilnikov

The Scalpel's flight range is 40 km, payload weight is 5 kg, cruising speed is 120 km/h.

The device is capable of staying in the air for a long time near the target and quickly attacking it after receiving the appropriate command from the operator.

According to Khodakovsky, when determining the technical appearance of the Scalpel, the developers had to create a universal long-range drone for counter-battery warfare at a significant distance from the front line.

UAVs have been used in the Northern Military District zone since 2023.

The company plans to enter large-scale production of Scalpel.

Accuracy and survivability

Counterbattery warfare involves a set of measures to suppress enemy artillery and gain fire superiority.

In the air defense system, as a rule, artillery radar stations are used to identify enemy positions, and MLRS and cannon artillery guns are used to destroy them.

According to materials from the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, 152-mm long-range Giatsint complexes are often used in the Northern Military District zone for counter-battery warfare.

The gun is available in towed and self-propelled versions.

Fire adjustments and target hit control are carried out by UAV operators.

“The crews of the Giatsint-S self-propelled guns quickly destroy them at a range of more than 30 km.

The long firing range of a self-propelled gun allows you to effectively conduct counter-battery fire and successfully hit enemy equipment,” says the website of the Russian military department.

According to Mikhail Khodarenok, in addition to the gun, the characteristics of the radar, including the speed of processing and transmitting data on the location of enemy artillery, are of great importance for effective counter-battery warfare.

“A counter-battery counter station is necessary in order to detect a projectile or guided missile in flight.

It builds a trajectory, determines the launch point, the shot point and the fall point.

Then cannon artillery or MLRS operate at these coordinates,” Khodarenok explained.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Russian Armed Forces have several types of artillery reconnaissance stations in service.

Among them are the Penicillin, Zoo, Yastreb-AV and Aistenok complexes.

All of them are used in the special operation zone.

"Penicillin" is a sound-metric complex for artillery reconnaissance.

The machine was developed by the Vector Research Institute (part of Rostec).

It is capable of detecting the sound of an enemy artillery gun at a distance of up to 50 km.

  • Artillery reconnaissance complex "Penicillin"

  • © Research Institute "Vector"

“The combat work of the sound-measuring complex consists of analyzing sound waves arriving at special remote sound-collecting devices from shots of various artillery and mortar guns located at a considerable distance from the equipment room,” says the materials of the Russian Ministry of Defense.

According to the military department, due to the territorial separation of sensors and their correct positioning, Penicillin equipment is able to accurately determine the coordinates of the enemy’s firing gun.

In the NWO zone, the station detects howitzers, cannons and HIMARS MLRS.

“The passivity in the radio emission of the complex determines its survivability and the improbability of detection by enemy radio equipment... The complex is highly mobile, and every day its crew secretly changes its location to increase survivability,” noted the Russian Ministry of Defense.

According to the developer, the main difference between Penicillin is that it detects enemy artillery “thanks to the new principle of combining sound and thermal reconnaissance.”

“Zoo” is a reconnaissance and fire control radar station.

It is designed to intercept projectiles flying in the air.

The complex then analyzes their speed and trajectory and determines the coordinates of the enemy weapon.

“The high performance of the radar (“Zoo.” -

RT

) and the computer complex makes it possible to determine the coordinates of all enemy fire weapons even during massive artillery fire, give distributed target designations and destroy these weapons before they leave the firing position,” says the website of the Russian Ministry of Defense.

According to the Russian military department, Yastreb-AV is a radar system that can “significantly increase the effectiveness of the use of artillery and counter-battery warfare.”

“In its tactical and technical characteristics, the complex is many times superior to the analogues in service with the Russian army and the armies of foreign states,” Army General Dmitry Bulgakov said earlier.

In turn, the “Stork” is necessary for detecting enemy mortars.

As noted by the Russian Ministry of Defense, its use allows “to significantly increase the accuracy of missile and artillery strikes and reduce ammunition consumption.”

According to Alexander Zimovsky, the experience of the Northern Military District will make it possible to improve artillery reconnaissance equipment and create new models.

Increasing the effectiveness of counter-battery warfare, as the expert believes, is one of the key tasks of the Russian military and defense industry.

“Currently, counter-battery warfare is, without a doubt, on the agenda of the defense industry and the Russian military leadership.

The destruction of enemy fire weapons is the key to successful offensive actions.

In addition, more effective counter-battery warfare will make a significant contribution to the protection of populated areas from shelling by Ukrainian militants,” concluded Zimovsky.