Ukraine and Poland Commit to Developing a New Generation Tactical Radar System

Reference News Network, June 14 According to a report from the U.S. magazine "National Interest" on June 10, the Polish-Ukrainian joint venture Morfal Defense Company announced that it is developing a new generation of tactical radar systems designed to detect small low-altitude drones. This research and development effort reflects a significant insight brought about by the Russia-Ukraine war: drones frequently breach traditional air defense networks, making detection extremely challenging.

Ironically, modern militaries have spent decades and invested substantial resources in building radar systems aimed at detecting fighter jets, bombers, and cruise missiles. However, the focus on today's battlefield is increasingly shifting to another type of equipment: small low-flying drones that can silently bypass modern air defense systems. To keep pace, air defense systems also need to make corresponding adjustments to address these lower-tech drones.

Previous radar systems were primarily used to track large aircraft, high-speed vehicles, or high-altitude threat targets, all of which are traditionally considered strike-capable equipment. Nowadays, many military drones are small, slow, and fly at lower altitudes, making it difficult for radar to extract relevant information from background clutter. This is intentional. Modern air defense systems target large enemy equipment such as fighter jets or incoming missiles, rather than small suicide drones. The success of Ukraine's "Web" operation launched in June 2025 confirms this trend. In the "Web" operation, Ukrainian small drone swarms were able to penetrate Russian military bases and destroy large Russian aircraft.

It has been proven that fiber-optic drones are particularly troublesome for defenders. These drones do not use radio lines but are controlled by operators through long fiber-optic reels. Electronic warfare systems cannot interfere with fiber optics, rendering previously effective anti-drone tools ineffective.

To fill this gap, Morfal Company is focusing on developing new tactical radar systems optimized for low-altitude drones, multi-rotor drones, and adverse weather conditions. According to the company, they are researching advanced signal processing technologies and multi-dimensional target analysis, and are also working to enhance the ability to distinguish drones from other aerial objects. The goal is to improve detection rates while reducing false alarms, ensuring that targets can be identified quickly and accurately as either birds or attack drones.

Overall, the Russia-Ukraine war has been driving battlefield innovation, with Ukraine becoming an important testing ground for drone warfare. With adjustments come countermeasures. Ukraine's electronic interference has prompted Russia to develop fiber-optic drones, which in turn has driven Ukraine to develop new sensors, leading to further tactical adjustments by Russia. This war has become a continuous technological arms race, with impacts that extend beyond the conflict itself, affecting procurement and planning for military forces in other countries around the world.

NATO is closely monitoring the drone offensive and defensive struggle between Russia and Ukraine.

The Russia-Ukraine war demonstrates that expensive large radar systems are inadequate for comprehensively defending against small drones. High-value sensors themselves may also become targets. Once a large radar system is destroyed, it can create blind spots in the air defense network, allowing enemy large operational platforms to launch subsequent attacks. It is no longer feasible to rely solely on a few powerful radar systems; new response strategies must depend on a large deployment of small sensors, distributed detection networks, and low-cost tactical radar systems. (Translation/ Hu Guanghe)