THE MAIN ASSET

Military-industrial courier. January 24-30, 2007. By Nina Korchagina

Six months ago, the Russian Scientific Research Institute for Radio Engineering (VNIIRT), one of the oldest Russian defense institutes, held its 85th anniversary. In point of fact, its history started even earlier — on October 27, 1908 when the State Duma (the Parliament) recommended building a scientific and technical laboratory for the military ministry. And the Institute began its long way through numerous transformations and subordinations to various institutions and ministries.

The Institute was changing its names and locations, various institutes and design bureaus separated from it, but the mission was always the same — design of military equipment. The first work of the Institute, known at that time as Ostechbureau, was a mine, Model 1926. Later on, floating mines appeared automatically keeping the submergence depth and antisubmarine bombs exploding at given depth. By using a metal detector designed in the Institute, five submarines lying at the depth 50-60 meters were found within two weeks. And all this was done in 1926!

According to authors' opinion, the most interesting work was done in the sphere of radiodetection and ranging. This work was started in 1939. The first radar designed in 1940 by a governmental order, has passed all the tests and included in the inventory of air defense forces.

First long-range radar stations RUS-2 were defending Moscow in 1941. During the defense of Leningrad in October — November 1942, stations RUS-2 and RUS-2S defected 7900 enemy planes, and 2020 of them have been destroyed. These stations were successfully used by the Navy and Air Forces as well. During the Great Patriotic War, the Institute designed and, in cooperation with defense plants, delivered grand lots of ground-based, shipborne and airborne radars including standalone and mobile ones; special radio equipment; radio-controlled mines; electric bomb droppers, and other special equipment. In1944, the Institute was awarded with the Red Banner of Labor.

After the war, the Institute expanded the sphere of its activity, and new trends in radio location techniques appeared. The first design after the war was a synchronous radar bombsight called «Kliver» (Jib sail) aimed to detect objects on the ground and sea surface and allowing the target bombing in automatic mode. The book about the Institute covers in great detail all the designs made up to the present time. But this publication covers not only equipment, but also people who created it. The book includes a gallery of Lenin and Stalin Prize awardees, Soviet and Russian State Prize winners, as well as portraits of veterans. During the post-soviet period, the Institute saved its main asset — its personnel and, hence, the school of radar equipment design which was being created during the decades.