MOSCOW, 19 Feb-RIA Novosti. The Russian Armed Forces will be able to use the existing version of the Open-sky Tu-214ON aircraft to solve military tasks in the Arctic region, in particular, to control the visibility of their troops and objects, Vladimir Verba, general designer of the Vega concern (part of the Roselectronics holding of the Rostec State Corporation), who developed the surveillance equipment for these aircraft, told RIA Novosti.
As sources told RIA Novosti in January, after Russia's withdrawal from the Open Skies Treaty, Tu-214ON aircraft will be retrained for intelligence purposes, monitoring the security of its own military facilities, evaluating the results of tests of various weapons and the effectiveness of exercises. It was noted that a preliminary decision on this matter had been taken.
The designer specified that the Vega concern initially built the Tu-214ON avionics complex "on the principles of open architecture, allowing it to be used both in the existing composition and with additional modernization." For example, the design of the aircraft radar includes the possibility of increasing its resolution by 4-6 times. At the same time, Verba noted that the official decision of the state customer on the modernization of the aircraft has not yet been received by the company.
The first Tu-214ON was handed over to the Russian Defense Ministry in 2011, and the second-in 2014, but it was only possible to pass the international certification of the aircraft in 2018, as Western partners were strongly opposed to the use of these aircraft under the Open Skies Treaty.
"In their opinion, the on-board radio complex allowed the aircraft to be retrofitted with some undocumented tracking systems. Although from a technical point of view, this is not possible: the protocol provides for the inspection of equipment during each observation flight. Only in 2018, we were able to successfully carry out the international certification of the Tu-214ON and thus get access to observation flights. In April 2019, the plane performed its first flights over the territory of the United States, and six months later, the Americans decided to withdraw from the Open Skies Treaty," Verba said.
He noted that at the presentation of the aircraft in 2013 in Vienna, experts unanimously noted that the presented Russian Open Sky surveillance system with the Tu-214ON aircraft is the best in the world, created under the restrictions provided for by the treaty.
The general designer added that the Tu-214ON onboard radio system is similar to the Tu-214R used in the scouts, but its characteristics are deliberately "roughened" to meet the requirements of the contract. The Tu-214ON equipment provides a ground resolution of 30 centimeters for images from photo and video cameras and 50 centimeters for infrared sensors. The aircraft also uses a side-view radar, which, in combination with the rest of the equipment, allows you to solve a wide range of tasks.
The main purpose of the aircraft in the framework of the DON is to legally monitor the military infrastructure-bases, airfields, defense enterprises, in order to prevent the imperceptible build-up of one or another party's potential for unleashing war.
