Russia to upgrade missile attack warning system

The Oko-1 ballistic missile early detection system, which formed part of Russia’s missile attack warning system (MAWS), is to be superseded by a new unified outer space system capable of tracking tactical missiles as well as ballistic ones.

It came to light recently that the last geostationary satellite of the Oko-1 ballistic missile early detection system had gone out of commission. The 71H6 apparatus, put into orbit in March 2012, was operational for only a third of its expected working life.

The loss of the satellite weakened the outer space segment of the missile attack warning system (MAWS), which is one of the main elements of the country's strategic defense system.

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