Gabala Radar Station

Gabala Radar Station (Russian: Габалинская РЛС, Gabalinskaya RLS; Azerbaijani: Qəbələ RLS) is a Daryal-type (NATO Pechora) bistatic phased-array early warning radar, built by the Soviet Union in the Qabala district of the Azerbaijan SSR in 1985. It is now operated by the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces. The radar station has a range of up to 6,000 kilometres (3,728 mi), and was designed to detect missile launches as far as the Indian Ocean. The radar's surveillance covers Iran, Turkey, India, Iraq and the entire Middle East. It can detect the launch of missiles and track the whole trajectory to enable a ballistic missile defense system to intercept an offensive strike. The Radar Station hosts about 1,000 Russian servicemen with about 500 Azerbaijanis.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation and Azerbaijan negotiated the terms of the lease and in 2002 the two countries signed an agreement according to which Russia leased the station from Azerbaijan until 24 December 2012 for $7 million per year rent, $5 million per year for electricity and $10 million per year for other services.

In 2012 the future of the station is being negotiated between Russia and Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan and Armenia have ongoing tension and Russia and Armenia are close. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan are members of the CIS but only Armenia is a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation. Russia has a new Voronezh radar in Armavir which covers the same region as Gabala. Russia is offering to modernise the station and Azerbaijan is wanting to increase the rent Russia pays, from $7m to $300m according to one source. Finally Russia handed over the station to Azerbaijan.On December 2012 Alexander Lukashevich, a spokesman for the ministry, said that Russia stopped using the radar station.The lease, signed in 2002, was valid until December 24, 2012.The Gabala station had a staff of 1,100. Russia will replace the Gabala radar, a crucial element of its missile defense system, with a new station in Armavir in Russia’s southern Krasnodar Region, then-commander of Russia’s Space Forces, Oleg Ostapenko, said.

Read more about Gabala Radar Station:  Daryal Radar Overview, Strategic Importance of Gabala, Environmental Concerns

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