Skrunda-1
Mežaine, officially Military training area Mežaine (), is a Latvian National Armed Forces military training area of the 4th Brigade of the Latvian National Guard in Raņķi Parish, Kuldīga Municipality near the town of Skrunda. The military training area consists of a former ghost town, variously known as Skrunda-1, Skrunda-2, Lokators or Līdumnieki, and the surrounding area. The ghost town was built in the 1960s to house Soviet military personnel serving at two Soviet Dnepr radar (NATO designation "Hen House") installations at the site. Following the Soviet collapse in 1991, the Russian militar
Key facts
- Military installation.name
- Mežaine
- Military installation.native_name
- Militārais poligons Mežaine
- Military installation.location
- Raņķi, Latvia
- Military installation.map_type
- Latvia
- Military installation.type
- military training area
- Military installation.builder
- Latvia
- Military installation.garrison
- 4th Brigade of Latvian National Guard
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
4 sectionsContents
- Soviet military installation
- Ghost town
- References
- External links
Mežaine, officially Military training area Mežaine (), is a Latvian National Armed Forces military training area of the 4th Brigade of the Latvian National Guard in Raņķi Parish, Kuldīga Municipality near the town of Skrunda. The military training area consists of a former ghost town, variously known as Skrunda-1, Skrunda-2, Lokators or Līdumnieki, and the surrounding area. The ghost town was built in the 1960s to house Soviet military personnel serving at two Soviet Dnepr radar (NATO designation "Hen House") installations at the site. Following the Soviet collapse in 1991, the Russian military continued to operate the site until it withdrew completely from Latvia in 1998; the radar stations were torn down, the buildings were abandoned, and the site is now reserved by the Latvian government for use in urban warfare training.
== Soviet military installation == In the 1960s, two Soviet Dnepr radar (NATO designation "Hen House") installations were constructed at the site near the town of Skrunda. A Daryal radar was being built there before the collapse of the Soviet Union. The installation was strategically important to the Soviet Union as its radars covered Western Europe. The two barn-like radars were one of the most important Soviet early warning radar stations for listening to objects in space and for tracking possible incoming ICBMs.