Day of Radio Engineering Troops of the Russian Air Force

Among the holidays revered by military professionals, there is the day of perhaps the least advertised troops - the radio technical troops of the air force (RTV) In stories about ongoing exercises, in cheerful reports, you rarely see a mention of them The eyes and ears of the country's air defense protect no worse than strategic nuclear forces Few people know that the RTV separated from the air force several decades ago It is believed that the main direction of action of this type of troops is to conduct reconnaissance operations on the distant approaches to the country’s borders Radar data constantly arrives at Air Force control centers, reporting the presence of an enemy on the borders of our airspace In wartime, such data allows for a pre-emptive strike But even in peacetime, RTV does not remain idle, potential opponents do not give up attempts to discover our secrets Despite its youth, which is due to technological progress, the radio engineering troops have a rich history Observation posts formed to protect Petrograd from air raids were the prototype of modern RTV units Despite the lack of experience and technical means, the posts coped with their task and informed about air raids in a timely manner A military formation based on them appeared a few years later VNOS monitored the airspace and warned of the approach of enemy aircraft A year before the war, the first radars (radar stations) were put into service with VNOS RUS-2 underwent constant modernization During the war, using these stations, radio technicians detected German aircraft 40 kilometers before their approach point The enemy command understood the danger of detection stations and gave their pilots the primary goal of destroying them The experience of the Great Patriotic War showed that both the country’s defense capability and the integrity of the detection system itself depended on the timely detection of enemy aircraft On December 15, 1951, a decision was made to create a new branch of troops that would engage in early detection of the enemy and alert the military and civilians In the same year, the date of creation of RTV was approved as a holiday The first decade saw rapid growth in services and connections Massive supplies of radar equipment, the formation of units, and the training of specialists contributed to the rapid and high-quality development of this type of troops It was at this time that RTV specialists showed the whole world their capabilities On May 1, 1960, they promptly discovered, captured and destroyed the American Lockheed U-2 reconnaissance aircraft In the 80s, another breakthrough occurred in the development of the service: the supply of the latest radars, the development and implementation of automated detection and control systems The automation of the process could be the envy of any other troops The service ensured the normal landing of Yuri Gagarin RTV specialists took part in military conflicts around the world, from Vietnam, North Korea to Afghanistan, Egypt and Cuba The created radar defense field is still the basis for the defense of Russia, despite the fact that several decades have passed since the collapse of the Union The absence of combat operations is not a reason to terminate combat duty All RTV units guard our airspace every day Daily training, retraining in training centers, and the latest detection equipment allow us to carry out a combat watch with honor