MOSCOW, April 22. /TASS/. Russia’s Ruselectronics Group (part of the state hi-tech corporation Rostec) has developed space-based radar equipment for the European Space Agency (ESA), the Rostec press office reported on Monday.

"The Ruselectronics Group of Rostec Corporation has developed a matrix of fast-acting switches with the control driver for the European Space Agency. The equipment is intended for its use on space-based radars in the near-Earth orbit," the press office said in a statement.

The device is twice as cheap as its foreign rivals but features better technical parameters. In particular, the device’s total loss does not exceed 0.3dB while its total decoupling (the signal suppression between the device’s certain inputs and outputs) is no less than 60 dB. At the same time, the device has smaller dimensions and weight than its foreign analogues.

The Russian hi-tech firm was developing the device, which is capable of switching to the signal’s transmission or receipt, "at the request of the ESA’s Italian supplier," the press office said.

Meanwhile, Rostec Executive Director Oleg Yevtushenko noted that "the devices with such characteristics will be used in the civilian sphere for the first time."

The equipment was designed at the Ferrite-Domen Company, which "produces about 40% of all ferrite items in Russia," the Rostec press office said. The company also supplies its products to India, Germany, Switzerland and other countries.