Armed Forces
Polish Air Defence System Gets Three New Radars
Selex ES, which is a part of the Finmeccanica company, officially finalized the deliveries of three stationary long range RAT 31 DL radars for the Polish military. The radars became a part of the Polish part of the NATO Backbone early warning system.
The event related to transfer of the radars was organized in Chrusciel, where one of the radar sites has been located. The official handing-off event was attended by a representative of the NATO Communications and Information Agency. This body supervised the construction works related to the radar site.
Three Italian radars have been acquired thanks to the NATO funding, within the scope of the investment realized as a part of the NATO Security Investment Programme. Thanks to the programme, six FADR (Fixed Air Defence Radar) stations have been constructed in Poland so far. In case of three of the aforementioned stations, Italian RAT 31 DL radars were used. These radars have been acquired and paid for by NATO. In three remaining cases, the Polish Ministry of Defence financed the erection of the RST-12M radars, designed by the Industrial Institute For Telecommunications, currently known as PIT-RADWAR.
The radar posts are located in Brzoskwinia (near Cracow), Chrusciel (near Braniewo), Łabunie (Near Zamosc), Roskosz (Near Biala Podlaska), Szypiliszki (Near Suwalki) and in Wronowice (close to Łask).
The RAT 312 DL Radar (Radar Avistamento Terrestre) is based on transistor technology, it does not utilize any tubes. It is a long range L-band radar (D band, according to the NATO codenames), which is used only to detect and track airborne objects. RAT 31 DL radar cooperates with the integrated IFF (identification friend or foe) system.
For Selex ES, delivery of the radars is not the first initiative of this type. The company has already delivered 59 RAT 31 radars for 13 countries. Three ‘Polish’ radars are important, due to the fact that they have become a part of the NATO early warning system, established along the European NATO borders, with additional stations located in Hungary, Czech Republic, Turkey and Greece. The meaning of the radars is even more pronounced, since in the future they are going to become a part of the NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defence System.
The Selex company has been, for a long time now, involved in cooperation with Poland, offering its contributions in difficult and complex initiatives. The Italians e.g. acted as contractors in case of the Maritime Areas Supervision Radar System, created in order to meet the requirements of the Polish Border Guard. The said system includes a network of radar stations, fitted with additional optronic devices. The whole suite makes it possible to continuously supervise the maritime situation, within the whole area of the Polish territorial waters.
The Italian company also cooperated with the Polish Navy, integrating the communications suite used by Poland with the NATO systems.