
A few kilometers from Pripyat was a new type of over-the-horizon (OTH) radar system, used as part of the Soviet ballistic missile early-warning network. The system operated from July 1976 to December 1989. Two Duga-3 radars were deployed, the other in eastern Siberia.


Starting in 1976 a new and powerful radio signal was detected worldwide, and quickly dubbed the Woodpecker by amateur radio operators.Triangulation quickly revealed the signals came from Ukraine. Confusion due to small differences in the reports being made from various military sources led to the site being alternately located near Kiev, Minsk, Chernobyl, Gomel or Chernihiv. All of these reports were describing the same deployment, with the transmitter only a few kilometers southwest of Chernobyl

Although complications put the plant 2 years behind schedule, the first reactor – Unit 1 – was commissioned on the 26th of November 1977, following months of tests. Three more reactors followed: Unit 2 in 1978, Unit 3 in 1981, and Unit 4 in 1983.