The P-35 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...

 "Bar Lock" in the west is a 2D E band

E band

The NATO E band is the range of radio frequencies from 2 GHz to 3 GHz in the electromagnetic spectrum. This is equal to wave lengths between 15 cm and 10 cm. The E band is in the upper UHF range of the radio spectrum...

/F band

F band

The F band is the range of radio frequencies from 90 GHz to 140 GHz in the electromagnetic spectrum. This is equal to wave lengths between 2.1 mm and 3.3 mm...

 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....

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Development

The P-30 was developed by the All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Radio Engineering (VNIIRT) as an early warning ground control and interception radar for the Soviet Air Defence Forces, airforce, and navy of the Soviet Union. Saturn was a development of an earlier radar design, the P-30 radar

P-30 radar

The P-30 "Khrustal" also referred to by the NATO reporting name "Big Mesh" in the west is a 2D E band/F band radar developed and operated by the former Soviet Union.- Development :...

 with which it shares many similarities. By 1958 the radar had completed state trials and was accepted into service, offering improved detection range and reliability than the previous P-30.

In 1961 an improved variant of the P-35 was developed, the P-35M, which featured an improved antenna layout. By 1971 a new variant of the P-35 had entered service, "sword-35". The sword-35 upgrade featured faster scanning and an improved antenna layout and polarization filters to help eliminate passive interference and improve detection of targets flying below 300 meters. Sword-35 also incorporated a limited capability to modulate pulse duration and frequency to counter active jamming. The P-35 has now been succeeded by its successor, the P-37 radar.

Description

The P-35 is a semi-mobile radar composed of a trailer mounting the control cabin and 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...

 equipment, equipment being transported by truck. The antenna system of the P-35 is composed of two open frame truncated parabolic antenna

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...

 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, with both antenna are fed by a stacked beam composed of six feed horns. The radar uses two antenna with azimuth scanned mechanically, but unlike the previous P-30 both antenna are horizontal, the radar not using the V-beam system to determine target altitude. The right hand side of the upper antenna carried the antenna array of the IFF

Identification friend or foe

In telecommunications, identification, friend or foe is an identification system designed for command and control. It is a system that enables military and national interrogation systems to identify aircraft, vehicles, or forces as friendly and to determine their bearing and range from the...

secondary radar, which was used to identify detected aircraft as friend or foe.

Operators

The P-35 was operated by the Soviet Union from 1958 and though they have since become obsolete, they were passed down to successor states after the fall of the Soviet Union. The radar has been exported and continues to serve in some areas around the world.