The intensive development of aviation in post war years caused the necessity to develop up-to-date radio technical navigation, plane landing and air traffic control facilities that required establishing research and development base.

For solving such problems the radio navigation research institute (RNRI-33) was established with the CPSU Central committee resolution №1529-678 dated July 10, 1946 in Leningrad, thereafter named Federal Scientific Production Center All-Russian scientific Research Institute of Radio Equipment.

The flight control and plane landing radar facilities (Globus-1 and Globus-2), short range navigation systems (SRNS) within ground and airborne promptly introduced into production as well as instrumental landing systems (LS-50) used for landing all administration planes and weather radars (WR-1) had been designed by early 1960 years.

The leading role in developing equipment directions assigned to VNIIRA was confirmed in 1960 by government resolution and the new directions were defined. By this resolution the Institute was assigned as the leading enterprise on developing the Federal integrated air traffic control system, navigation and landing of military and civil aviation.

At the same time the first native addressed radio-sighting system and command transmission for fighter control to air defense team was elaborated. During the establishment of this system the range of new technologies that were tried out on engineering samples were created. Then these technologies including design documents were dispatched to production facilities.

The Leningrad scientific-research Institute of aviation equipment was renamed into All-Soviet union scientific research Institute of radio equipment in 1967 year.

By the early seventies VNIIRA had started developing complex systems of air traffic control, navigation and landing that provide high reliability and enhanced level of flight automation instead of separate systems.

In 1971 VNIIRA was defined as the leading enterprise on creating and implementing short-range radio technical navigation system, landing and control for ship borne planes on NAVY aircraft-carrying heavy cruisers. The complex of airborne and ground equipment was created, tested and the first aircraft-carrying heavy cruiser «Kiev» was fitted in 1976 year and then the following ships of this project.

In the middle of seventies VNIIRA developed a new generation of landing beam beacon VHF band LS-70, and then LS-75 that met the requirements of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

In the same period VNIIRA developed the airborne equipment of instrument landing system that met the international standards and recommendations. The surveillance drone drive and landing control system including airborne equipment that provided navigation of surveillance drones in radio range of short-range navigation system, carrying out of flight according to designated route and return to spot landing were designed and implemented.

According to technology advance obtained over the years of creating aids, systems and complexes for military aviation, the first domestic automatic air traffic control system (code «START») was developed and installed in civil airport of «Pulkovo», Leningrad in 1976 year. Later, ATC AS «START» systems were installed and commissioned in 14 airports with high-density air traffic. The first simulator for practical training of the civil aviation controllers was also developed by VNIIRA in 1976. All training centers of the USSR, where controllers were trained at that time, were equipped with the simulators «Trener».

All-union scientific Research Institute of radio equipment was awarded with the Order of Red Banner in 1977 for great achievements in creating and production of new special equipment.

According to government resolution in 1978 Institute was defined as the leading enterprise on creating radio technical complex (code «Vimpel») for navigation, landing, motion trajectory control and providing safety on atmospheric phase of orbital spaceship «Buran» as a part of reusable outer space system «Energia-Buran». The first flight and landing of spaceship «Buran» was successfully performed in November 15, 1988 by aids of complex «Vimpel».

The further improvement of aids, systems, ATC complexes, navigation and landing of aircraft planes, meteo radio-locating provision, addressed radio sighting based on implementing new element base and long-range software had been carried out in eighties.

VNIIRA started the intensive assimilation of equipment microminiaturization based on thin and thick film technology, uncased element base firstly for airborne equipment as well as ground radars of military and civil purposes. Thereupon the pass to arsenide-gallium technology for the development and production of high frequency components on airborne and ground equipment was performed in 1982.

The second generation of ATC AS «Spectr» containing radar data automation processing and full flight data processing as well as the 4-D trajectory calculation and the analysis of conflict-free air environment was developed in 1986 by VNIIRA.

In the ninetieths and early 2000th years, the unified series of ATC AS «SINTEZ» were created, including the state-of-the-art level of automation satisfying the EUROCONTROL recommendations and providing the strip-less ATC technology. Over than 40 ATC centers are currently equipped with the unified series of the ATC AS SINTEZ facilities in Russia and abroad.According to government resolution №453 SRI of radio equipment has got a status of All-Union scientific Research Institute of radio equipment (VNIIRA) on April 15, 1996.

On April 9, 1999 VNIIRA has got a status of the Federal Scientific Production Centre.

VNIIRA has successfully tackled ADS-B 1090 ES integration since 2003 – the technology that sufficiently increases flight-operating safety and reduces dramatically the air traffic management costs.


Since 2009 VNIIRA has operated as solution provider of design and survey, construction and erection works, a supplier of own design equipment for the modernization of more than 20 ATC area and terminal and air nodal points in Russia in the cities of Sochi, Moscow, Saint-Petersburg, Khabarovsk, Vladivostok and others. These works are carried out in accordance with the Federal Target Program "Modernization of unified Air Traffic Management System of the Russian Federation (2009–2015)".