The P-19 "Danube" 1RL134 (also referred to by the NATO reporting name

NATO reporting name

NATO reporting names are classified code names for military equipment of the Eastern Bloc...

 "Flat Face B" in the west) is a 2D UHF radar

Radar

Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...

 developed and operated by the former Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

. The radar was also known by the name "Renata" in Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 and "Dunai" in the former German Democratic Republic

German Democratic Republic

The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...

.

Development

The P-15 radar

P-15 radar

The P-15 "Tropa" or 1RL12 is a 2D UHF radar developed and operated by the former Soviet Union.- Development :...

 was upgraded to the point where it received a new designation, the P-19 "Danube". This new radar completed state trials and was accepted into service with the Soviet Air Defence Forces from 1974. The P-19 like the previous P-15 was designed to detect aircraft flying at low altitude and came to be associated with the S-125

S-125

The Isayev S-125 Neva/Pechora Soviet surface-to-air missile system was designed to complement the S-25 and S-75. It has a shorter effective range and lower engagement altitude than either of its predecessors and also flies slower, but due to its two-stage design it is more effective against more...

 "Neva" anti-aircraft system (NATO reporting name SA-3 "Goa"). The P-19 featured new electronics compared with the previous P-15 including a new magnetron transmitter. The P-19 is still in service today and was widely exported; many companies offer upgrade options to improve the performance and reliability of the radar and to replace out-dated components although the P-19 has been superseded by the newer Kasta series of radars.

Description

The P-19 shares many of the physical features of the previous P-15 radar, the P-19 is a high mobility radar and with the antenna mounted on the single truck (Zil-131) with the electronic equipment contained in a second truck. The P-19 uses two open frame elliptical parabolic

Parabolic antenna

A parabolic antenna is an antenna that uses a parabolic reflector, a curved surface with the cross-sectional shape of a parabola, to direct the radio waves. The most common form is shaped like a dish and is popularly called a dish antenna or parabolic dish...

 antenna

Antenna (radio)

An antenna is an electrical device which converts electric currents into radio waves, and vice versa. It is usually used with a radio transmitter or radio receiver...

 accomplishing both transmission

Transmission (telecommunications)

Transmission, in telecommunications, is the process of sending, propagating and receiving an analogue or digital information signal over a physical point-to-point or point-to-multipoint transmission medium, either wired, optical fiber or wireless...

 and reception, each antenna being fed by a single antenna feed in a similar fashion to the P-15. The radar can rapidly shift its frequency

Frequency

Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency.The period is the duration of one cycle in a repeating event, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency...

 to one of four pre-set frequencies to avoid active interference with passive interference being removed by a coherent doppler filter. Azimuth was determined by mechanical scanning with an associated accompanying PRV-11 (NATO reporting name "Side Net") used to determine elevation. A secondary radar for IFF

IFF

IFF, Iff or iff may refer to:Technology/Science:* Identification friend or foe, an electronic radio-based identification system using transponders...

 is generally used in conjunction with the P-15, generally the 1L22 "Parol". The armed forces of the Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

 described the P-19 as having "outstanding mechanical parameters, simple maintenance, overall reliability and multifunctionality". This evaluation was mirrored by a French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 evaluation of a radar captured in Chad

Chad

Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...

 in 1987 during the Chadian–Libyan conflict, describing the P-19 as sturdy, with good low altitude detection and high resistance to countermeasures.

Operators

The P-19 was operated by the Soviet Union from 1974 and though it has since become obsolete, it was passed down to successor states after the fall of the Soviet Union. It has been exported and continues to serve around the world.