The Russian military base in Tajikistan will be reinforced with the latest Pole-21 electronic countermeasures system, according to the Russian Defense Ministry’s official website.
Together with the available Zhitel, Silok and Lesochek electronic warfare systems, the Pole-21 will substantially enhance the protection of the Russian military facility against drones, radio-technical and radio-electronic reconnaissance means and precision weapon guidance systems.
Citing the press office of Russia’s Central Military District, TASS reported yesterday that the military transport plane will deliver the first set of special equipment to the Ayni airfield in the Hisor district of Tajikistan before the end of this year.
The Pole-21 is designed to protect strategic installations against enemy cruise missiles, smart bombs and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) reliant on the GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and Beidou positioning systems for navigation and guidance.
The system consists of R-340RP ECM devices that are mounted on cellular service providers’ masts, integrated with their transmitting antennas and pooled into a single network jamming the satnav signal in large areas through and through.
The Russian military base deployed in Tajikistan is Russia's largest non-naval military facility outside the country. It was officially opened in Tajikistan in 2004 under a previous agreement, which was signed in 1993, and hosts Russia’s largest military contingent deployed abroad.
A total of some 7,000 Russian troops are now stationed at two military facilities collectively known as the 201st military base – in Dushanbe and Bokhtar (formerly Qurghon Teppa, some 100 kilometers from Dushanbe.
