MOSCOW, August 5. /TASS/. The integrated space system Kupol, created for monitoring ballistic missile launches, has been brought to the minimum standard strength, the CEO of the space rocket corporation Energia, Igor Ozar, said on Wednesday.
"With the launch of a fourth space satellite Tundra the space system Kupol has been brought to the minimum standard strength," he said.
He explained that the satellites in highly elliptical orbits monitored the areas of ballistic missile launches on mainland territories and in the world ocean. The fourth Tundra satellite was orbited on May 22.
In June, a source in the defense and industry complex told TASS that with the launch of a fourth such satellite Russia created a basic space segment of a missile attack warning system that allowed for monitoring the US territory for possible launches of ballistic missiles. The Tundra satellites, equipped with new generation infrared monitoring instruments, allow for accurately identifying missile launches from the Earth’s surface, tracking the missiles in flight and automatically forecasting the areas where the warheads might fall.
Another source in the defense and industry complex told TASS that the Kupol cluster would have a total of nine satellites. Kupol is to replace the previous generation space systems Oko and Oko-1.
Russia’s missile attack warning system has two tiers: the space component, currently consisting of four Tundra satellites, and the ground network of Voronezh radars that keep all missile threat directions under control. The main task of the system is to promptly identify and track ballistic missiles that may be launched against Russia or its allies.