WASHINGTON ― Spanish company Indra said this month it has developed an active protection radar for armored vehicles that can detect drones and other projectiles.
The company’s technology comes in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, where armored vehicles have proven vulnerable to drones and missiles.
“In Ukraine, for example, the enormous vulnerability of tanks and armored vehicles to guided missiles, rocket launchers and drones has been highlighted, which, despite their low cost, manage to defeat much more advanced platforms, thus providing a great tactical advantage,” Indra said in a statement.
The new electronic scanning radar system is highly modular, so it can be fitted to small spaces like turrets and armored vehicles, according to the company statement. It can detect a variety of projectiles other than conventional munitions, including Javelin anti-tank missiles.
“[T]his sophisticated radar demonstrates Indra’s ability to provide a quick and effective response to the needs posed by new conflict scenarios, applying digital technologies to the development of a new generation of defence systems,“ Manuel Escalante, Indra’s managing director of defence, said in the company statement. “It is a pioneering system, which has already demonstrated exceptional performance and which is a critical element in protecting vehicles and armored vehicles from new threats.”
Indra leads Spain’s industry participation in the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) program in Europe, meant to introduce a swath of new military capabilities to Spain, France and Germany by 2040.
Zamone “Z” Perez is a reporter at Military Times. He previously worked at Foreign Policy and Ufahamu Africa. He is a graduate of Northwestern University, where he researched international ethics and atrocity prevention in his thesis. He can be found on Twitter @zamoneperez.
