Armed Forces
Czech Republic Buys Israeli Radar Systems. Fiasco of the Joint V4 Project
Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej fot. M. Dura
Martin Stropnický, Czech Defence Minister, announced that the Czech Army has decided to acquire eight Israeli airspace monitoring radars for 114 million dollars. Thus, we may assume that no agreement has been reached, when it comes to procurement of such systems through the V4 Group’s own industry (including the Polish companies), within the framework of relevant collaboration.
Czech Republic is about to acquire the ELM 2084 MMR (Multi Mission Radar) systems, manufactured by the Israeli IAI Elta company. These are 3D radars that are being used within the structure of the IADS and in case of the Iron Dome missile defence system in Israel. Besides Israel, Canada and Singapore also utilize the said radar technology.
The contract valued at CZK 2.9 million (114 million US dollars) assumes that eight radars would be acquired over the period between 2019 and 2021, which will make it possible to withdraw the currently used observation radars, manufactured in the Soviet Union.
The Czechs have selected an AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array), operated in the S-band, which is capable of detecting aerial targets at distances of more than 400 kilometres. Moreover, the radar is also able to detect artillery positions.
The acquisition of the 3D radars is one of the primary modernization initiatives within the Czech Army. Procurement of common radars within the Visegrad group had been considered to be a viable option earlier. Such solution would probably involve Poland and domestic (including Polish) industrial capabilities. Ultimately, the agreement within that scope has not been reached, and the radars will be acquired in Israel.