MOSCOW. Feb 10 (Interfax-AVN) - Russian Space Forces Commander Vladimir Popovkin arrived in the Belarussian city of Baranovichi on Thursday to inspect the Volga radar, which is a part of the missile attack early warning system, the Space Forces press service told Interfax-Military News Agency.
"The commander arrived in Baranovichi in the framework of his working tour of space missile defense units. In particular, he will discuss anti-terrorist backing of the facility's activity with the unit command," the press service said.
Popovkin will continue his tour until the end of the week. He has already visited the Dnepr radar in the Murmansk region.
The Volga radar is intended for detecting ballistic missiles and space objects. It fixed the hole in the early warning system that emerged in the northwestern sector in the 1990s after the radar in Latvia's Skrunda was dismantled.
Experts of the Long-range Radio Communication R&D Institute, who designed Volga, say that it is capable of detecting space objects and ballistic missiles in flight at a distance of several thousand kilometers, tracking them, identifying them and measuring their coordinates, thus maintaining control over Russia's western sector.
Volga has a huge potential whose advanced precision is achieved through the use of digital calculating systems. The radar's modular design makes it possible to develop the station gradually and to upgrade it without withdrawing it from the on-duty mode.