[3] While pursuing his pre-graduation studies, Tikhomirov became a senior technician at the Nauchno-issledovatelsky institute-20 (Scientific Research Institute-20, NII-20) in Moscow, a close affiliate of the Aviapribor Plant, a manufacturer of aircraft instruments and radios.
Engineers at the NII-20, with the cooperation of NII-9 in Leningrad, further improved the RUS-2, developing a transmit-receive device (a duplexer) allowing a single antenna, as well as a range display based on a cathode-rayoscilloscope.
The major portion of the Aviapribor Plant evacuated to Kazan, and the part remaining in Moscow was designated Factory 339.
To assist in defending Moscow against German aircraft, an improved RUS-2 was set up and operated by NII-20 personnel including Tikhomirov; it was first used on the night of July 22 when it detected a flight of 200 Luftwaffe bombers when they were 100-km (62-mi) away.
This was actually the Soviet Union's first fully capable, pulsed, radio-location system; several hundred sets in different versions were produced at Factory 339.
[7] In late 1940, the Soviet Air Forces developed a requirement for an on-board enemy aircraft radio-location system.
During the battle of Stalingrad in late 1942, Tikhomirov and his design team went to the fighting scene where they installed airborne radars on Pe-2 frontline bombers and performed all set-up procedures on the spot.
[8] As the war was drawing to a close, TsKB-17 designed and prepared production plans for several new airborne radars, including the Argon for tail-protection of Tu-16 aircraft.
In addition to completing Argon, Tikhomirov led the design of Selen (Selenium) radar systems for attack aircraft detection.
His most important development at that time was the Kadmiy (Cadmium), a radar gun-sight and high-precision aircraft range-finder; he received his third Stalin Award for this work (1953).
These included the Toriy (Thorium), giving the MiG-15, an “all-weather” interceptor capability, and the Izumrud (Emerald) gun-sight series, the first of which was used on the MiG-15 and MiG-17 fighters.
Tikhomirov was also leading the research on an advanced, multi-functional, airborne radar system incorporating a digital computer.
The first NIIP projects supervised by Tikhomirov included several models of Uragan (Hurricane) airborne radar systems for interceptor aircraft.
Eventually designated the 2k12 Kub (Cube), each battery consisted of a number of similar tracked vehicles, one of which carried a radar with a range of 75 km (47 mi), as well as an optical sighting unit.
Both of these firms, as well as the previously mentioned Vega Radio Engineering, credit Tikhomirov as the technical leader of their founding organization.
Anatoly Kanashchenkovа, Director and Designer General of Phazotron-NIIR, made the following comment: “Victor Tikhomirov left a most profound imprint on today's inimitable style of doing research at our enterprise.
Under his supervision, many devices and equipment sets for automating biological research were developed; his accomplishments in biotelemetry were particularly important.
[13] When the Biological Instrument Design Commission was formed within the framework of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance in the 1960s, Tikhomirov became its proactive and respected member.
In 1979, Tikhomirov moved to the Institute of Oceanology, under the Academy of Sciences, where a laboratory for hydroacoustic equipment design was created upon his initiative; he worked there for the remainder of his life.