Qabala radar

A radar image of the Qabala station.

The Qabala radar is a large land-based RADAR system near the town of Kutkashen in Azerbaijan. The Qabala station was manned by Soviet personnel until the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. Following this, Russian forces leased the station from Azerbaijan.[1]

The Qabala station is one of the largest radars in the world, and is used to monitor the environment of Western Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East.

In June 2007, the escalating tensions between George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin about placing Anti Ballistic Missile systems and radar in Poland and the Chzech Republic were softened when Putin offered to allow the use of the Qabala station to monitor for missile launches from "Rogue States" (See 2007 Anti Ballistic Missile System Dispute). By "Rogue States", the DoD presumably means Iran and North Korea.[2]