The Russian army will soon be equipped with communication satellites of new generation, Major General Khalil Arslanov, Chief of the Main Communications Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces said.

According to him, the new devices were created on the basis of advanced hardware and software platform that would significantly improve the speed of information transfer and provide a more efficient anti-jam facility for satellite communications aimed at better operation of troops and weapons.

“As regards to development of satellite communication, military communication system has a great potential. In the near future we plan to launch satellite vehicles of new generation both on geostationary and highly elliptical orbit, that would replace the existing ones,” Arslanov, who is also Deputy Chief of the General Staff, added.

Arslanov also noted that currently Russia had more than 3,000 stations of satellite communication to ensure country’s defense capabilities.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry has signed a contract with the Lavochkin Research and Production Association on the development of a radar reconnaissance satellite system, the Russian Izvestia newspaper reported earlier this month.

Under the deal, the Defense Ministry will get five satellites that will need to be able to distinguish live objects on the ground under any weather conditions, the newspaper said citing a senior source in the Russian Aerospace Forces.

The first satellite is planned to be put into orbit in 2019. The radar reconnaissance satellite system will be located at an orbit of about 2,000 kilometers.

Representatives of the Russian Roscosmos space agency have confirmed to Izvestia that the Russian Defense Ministry had signed the radar reconnaissance satellite system contract with the Lavochkin NPO.

File Photo: A Russian Army R-412A Torf-A tactical troposcatter relay carried on a KAMAZ-4310